When “Cheap Price” leads technology investment decision
An overview of multiple experiences in selecting computer systems
Many organizations fall into the trap of marketing materials of software and computer systems which seem ‘similar’, in terms of features, choosing on the basis of ‘lowest price’. The impacts of such decision are becoming more and more obvious, and as such call for a pause to review this ‘misconception’ and this recurring attitude towards investing in software and programs which, undeniably, proved long-term risks and losses further to inevitable negative results with impacts that are draining in nature.
With a long list of losses and negative effects, known to many, it is worth to highlight here the loss of major functions the subject program was intended to perform, further to imposing greater efforts on employees to deal with the it and solve its endless problems, as well as the loss of several benefits and important features of same that were, in themselves, the main reason for purchasing it. Important to list here, are the issues of design and interface, which may, usually, lack features of user-friendliness, efficiency, and ease of use. Instead of facilitating and automating operations, and thus resulting in saving in the number of workers and manual efforts, companies incur, by this poor choice, additional costs which value doubles over years. As a matter of fact, the investor does not realize such accumulative losses until after at least three years, during which there is a lot of suffering, and after being aware that they paid, on average, 50 times the original cost of a high-level program. Not to mention here are the complexities in the work environment arising instead of moving it to a higher level. This collectively are results of a decision which lacks both: wisdom and feasibility; being built on the ‘fake’ basis that ‘all have the same features’, so choose the ‘cheapest’.
At this moment of recognition, with the repercussions evident on profits, it becomes obvious to the organization, that they have wasted enough time focusing on solving the problems of ‘cheap’ systems while pursuing ‘poor’ support teams with their daily and weekly solutions, instead of focusing on the causes of growth and development and keeping pace with updates, whether technical, commercial or service wise.
In conclusion, and reading many experiences around the world, the decision to choose programs, automate processes and invest in computerized systems is one that requires, and actually deserves, an in-depth study that entails a careful selection of programs that have proven their efficiency, contributed to the advancement of entities and delivered from reliable providers. Seeking the help of trusted consultants is one good suggestion also prior to taking such a decision; carefully and wisely, to implement an actually cost-effective solution without falling into further complications and accumulative losses, specially at this era of rapid technical advancement, required upgrades and interference of technology in every single matter. As such, investing in computerized systems and using software solutions has become inevitable not optional. It is finally to stress the point that being cheaper doesn’t not, by any means, mean being similar, so study well and select carefully as technology is leading the entire tomorrow’s game.