When it comes to selecting, contracting and implementing business software solutions - organizations all over the world tend to make the same mistakes. Again and again!
What my top-3 of the most popular ‘incorrect assumptions’ is?
- Considering the implementation as ‘just another IT project’
- The massive underestimation of the risks at management level
- Failing to properly prepare the organization for the implementation
Belgian water company Vivaque went live with a new CRM solution about one year ago. Unfortunately, the system doesn’t work very well. This is due to the data migration process. The data of tens of thousands of customers has not been transferred correctly.
The business impact is huge! The company has been unable to send invoices for months. As a result, much less money comes in. As a result of which Vivaque has to take out loans to pay employees and subcontractors.
The company is now examining whether it can hold the supplier of the new system liable. That is the logical and common response.
But wouldn't it make more sense to first check what was lacking in the internal preparation? And what the quality was of their own efforts and contributions during the implementation? Like how on earth can you decide to go live if your customer data has not been migrated correctly? No testing?
Read the full (Dutch) article.
I recently heard someone say: ‘if you can't swim, don't blame your swimsuit....’
If you are a software vendor yourself, what do you do to help prepare your current and future customers for project success in a structured way?
I support Microsoft Dynamics 365 partners with effective Masterclasses to help prepare their customer’s management for project success.
Check here for details.
