Why Context Matters in Software Selection
Analyst firms love to produce reports that compare technology solutions, businesses love to use those reports to support software selection and software suppliers in general love to hate them. Well, maybe that's too harsh, suppliers actually hate the process and only love the reports when it makes them look better than competitors. As a solution buyer, what do these comparison reports really tell you?
Agile Software Implementations
Complex software implementations have always been a challenge for most businesses. The systems are complicated, they touch people, processes and other systems across the company and have a low rate of success. There are many reports published on implementation failure rates, for example the 2020 Standish Group Chaos Report shows only 31% of the studied projects were successful, while 50% were challenged and 19% outright failed. This is not a new topic, the low success rates have plagued implementations for years. The numbers do seem to be improving though. One of the reasons for that improvement is the growing use of agile methodologies for complex implementations.
Finding the "Right" Digital Solutions
Last year businesses realized that digital transformation wasn’t just a tech industry buzzword but something necessary for them to rapidly respond to the growing Covid-19 crisis. For companies that could do business with a remote workforce, getting the tools, systems and processes in place to enable work from home, eCommerce and digital customer connections was chaos, at least for those that were not already properly outfitted. Looking back now, it's easy to spot three distinct phases of the transformation. Phase one was basically reactionary, get anything in place that will keep the business operating, particularly focused on the newly remote workforce and in communicating with customers and prospects. Phase two was focused on eCommerce (for businesses that had that opportunity), cleanup of work processes and tools, and a growing concern over digital experiences for customers. Phase three, which seems to have started late last year, is broader, and focused on optimizing tools, processes and experiences. This phase will likely continue for the next 18-24 months as workforce policies and new ways to be competitive are explored and implemented.