The best support for the answer to this question is to let which environment best helps me reach my goals drive this decision. Many times when we’re looking for solutions to our problems, we start letting potential components of the solution be driving factors of the decision – when we still don’t know “What” of the need is yet! We first need to have a strong definition of the issue (the “What”) and a list of needs – hopefully in some priority order before we can determine this answer.
The hardest part of any solution is to clearly identify the issue with as many details as possible. After that we then create the list of objectives we believe a solution needs to deliver to help us achieve our greatest results.
An important part of the solution deliveries has to include the cost and effort for both implementation and sustainment. These are hard requirements when determining the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and solution value.
Some of the requirements review includes:
- Cost of any additional hardware / software for the full implementation
- Servers, Network, User Devices
- Warranty Period, On-going Maintenance
- Platform Updates (O/S, Versions, etc.)
- Application (Enhancements, etc.)
- Security of Data / Redundancy
- External / Internal Controls (Access, Backups, etc.)
- Shared or Dedicated Environment Use & Storage
- Fail Over / Fail Back Procedures
- Issue Escalation Procedures
- Services & Support
- Detailed Implementation Approach
- Documented & Proven
- Resource Requirements (Provider & Customer)
- Timelines
- Customer Transition
- Administration & User Training
- Complete Documentation
- Details of Customizations / Unique Configuration Changes
- Post Implementation Support
- Phone / Email / Website Contact
- Escalation Procedure
- Customer Resource Requirements
- Hours of Coverage
- Software Upgrades (New Releases, Enhancements, etc.)
- Detailed Implementation Approach
- TCO
- Predictable or Even Expenses
- What is required in the contract?
- What is covered under contract?
- What is extra (outside the contract)?
- One-Time/Monthly / Quarterly / Annual Payments
- Calculated Over Total Solution Life
- Most have a life of 5 – 10 years
- Predictable or Even Expenses
So after an organization has determined What it needs and Why, then they can more easily determine which solutions provide the best level of results. Once they identify that path, they can then look at best implementation approach that supports the solution desired and their ability to implement and maintain the solution over the 5 – 10 year window of use.
Throughout our 18 years of creating client solutions, HL Group has had many opportunities to work through this challenge with prospective customers. Whether it’s a specific brand of hardware/software (Dell, Microsoft, etc.), technology (RFID, mobile, etc.) or environment (Cloud, On-Premise, etc.), that brings them to us – we always begin with the What & Why. I can’t say this has always been beneficial in terms of captured business, but is has always been critical to the level of success we achieve with our customers.
So what will work best for your organization? Cloud? On-Premise? A Hybrid? Give me a call and we can start digging in to your challenge & we’ll find out!
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HL Group is an Asset Management and Supply Chain solution provider and the manufacturer of assetsPLUS, the foremost Asset Management Solution for PeopleSoft AM. Quality products, coupled with our proven experience and comprehensive implementation methodology allows us to deliver robust solutions quickly, on-time and within budget.
Find out more about HL Group by contacting us at info@mobileplusgroup.com.
