Choosing the right software to suit your organisation’s needs can be a daunting process. There are offers out there – dozens of emails and salespeople all purporting to satisfy your exact requirements. They provide assurances their latest and greatest software packages are compatible with your existing programs and computer systems.
Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Buyer beware has never been more fitting. How many of you has learnt this the hard way? What appeared to be the answer to all your dreams turned out to be a nightmare. It’s not all bad news. There are some software packages that are a good fit with your requirements, however, recent research shows this to be true only about 70% of the time.
This is where IT companies such Microsolve can help. Microsolve’s strength is customising products to meet the individual needs of businesses and organisations. Its 25-years experience can give you peace of mind when buying new software.
Microsolve, which specialises in the aged care sector, understand the complexity of buying software to fit with the industry-specific programs used by office staff, doctors, nurses and carers. There are also many new IT applications that benefit both residents and visitors to aged care facilities.
Microsolve has introduced a new service to assist companies select the best software for their business. Like all Microsolve’s products and services there is a range of packages available, ranging from providing basic advice before your make a software purchase through to managing the selection procedure, training and hosting the application.
The first process involves a Microsolve consultant spending time with your people. Talks and interviews with senior management around what the organisation is trying to achieve with the new technology and how it fits with the business plan are extremely important and should be made well before any big decisions on purchases are made.
However, considering implementing new software without first consulting the people who will be using it daily is a mistake many organisations make when deciding on what is often a very expensive investment.
The Microsolve consultant determines your organisation’s requirements (eg: what you expects the software will achieve, how it work with existing software and existing IT systems) and the objectives (eg: will it save time or money, provide a safer environment for your staff, allow for a more mobile workforce, ensure greater cyber-security).
Having a document based on these interviews by an experienced independent IT company is invaluable before tendering or purchasing new software.
The service can end at this stage or go on to the next platform where Microsolve turns the document into a tender or expression of interest to go out to suitable vendors.
This can be a simple one page document to compare and assess the market or it can be a detailed tender document specifying the needs and expectations of the business.
Other optional services include Microsolve organising the tender process and evaluating the vendor’s products based on your business requirements and objectives, determining the software’s fit with existing programs and systems and co-ordinating demonstrations by competing vendors.
To totally remove the stress and frustration of implementing new software packages, Microsolve can host the application, train staff and provide ongoing 24/7 support.
The extent of the involvement and assistance given by Microsolve when making such an important decision relating to purchasing new software is completely up to our customers.