What kind of vendors are out there in the world that can provide you with a software solution? There are hundreds of vendors who cover the gambit from completely customized to Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) software. To keep this conversation from becoming too complicated, I have grouped the vendors available into three specific categories: COTS, Configurable, and Custom.
COTS:
First, COTS is defined as software that you use immediately off the shelf and are not allowed to make many changes to how it works or looks. Microsoft ® Word is COTS software. This kind of software solves a very specific problem in a very specific way. When you install Microsoft® Word on your computer, you do not get much input on how Microsoft ® Word will work, it just does and you have to learn how it works to be able to use it effectively.
There are a number of benefits to a COTS system. One, your organization can quickly get up and running on the software from an installation point of view. This will allow your employees to get to using the software quicker than the other two kinds of software. The time it takes to implement COTS software is usually measured in days to weeks.
Second, COTS software has a very specific interface and process flow. This can be both a benefit and a drawback. The benefit of it is that it forces your organization to use it as it is outlined and if the process in the COTS software is sound, you should get the results you are expecting. The drawback is that most COTS software is built with a general idea in mind, and not your specific agency. Just because the COTS software does it a certain way does not mean that is the best for your organization. On the other hand, if the COTS software is designed well, it may be the best practice to solve the problem it was designed for.
Other drawbacks to COTS software are that you will have to retrain all of your employees to use a possibly foreign process. COTS software will not conform and work for your organization, your organization will have to conform to how it does business. This double edged sword means if COTS software is not a right fit for your organization; your purchase may not work for you and actually hinder your every day work. The cost of retraining one employee on an unfamiliar process flow takes 60 days and costs your organization approximately $9,000.00 in lost productivity. This factor must be considered when choosing COTS software.
In addition, with any kind of new software coming into an organization, you will have substantial employee resistance. This kind of resistance can be mitigated by involving them early in the decision making process. But with everything equal, bringing COTS software into an organization with a foreign process flow brings along with it the most employee resistance. Management of this problem will be required for the COTS software to become integrated into the everyday processes and keep employees from "secretly" reverting back to their old ways.
Configurable:
The second kind of software is Configurable. Configurable software is usually COTS software on some level which then allows you to make substantial changes to the software according to your organization’s needs. Configurable software comes with a base set of functionality which almost any organization will need, as well as a tested user interface platform. Most likely Configurable software will not contain all of the functionality you need to run your organization out of the box.
An Additional benefit of Configurable software is your organization can put your process flow into the software without having to start from scratch. This kind of benefit means your process flows are reflected in the software, and therefore training on this kind of software, when completed, is much easier and less costly. The cost of retraining one employee on a process flow they are familiar with will take 15 days and costs your organization $1,500.00 in lost productivity.
On the flip side, Configurable software requires your team to provide input to the vendor to create the process flows you are looking for. This kind of input takes both time and money. This overhead is much less than Custom software but more than COTS software. For this kind of purchase, your organization must be willing to invest some employee time into providing input and testing of the solution. The time it takes to implement this kind of software is usually measured in a few months.
There is a hidden benefit to this kind of involvement from employees. This involvement brings accountability and buy-in from the employees. It also makes the transition less sudden, allowing for employees who do not have buy-in at the beginning to "come around" without affecting productivity.
Custom:
The last type of software is Custom. Custom software is where your organization’s IT staff or a vendor contracted out by your organization builds software from the ground up. They build the software’s look and feel, its "guts" and framework, and your process flows, all specifically for your organization.
As for the other two types of software, there are both benefits and drawbacks of this choice. Custom software solves your organization’s problem very specifically. The software mirrors exactly what your organization needs, and training on this kind of software should be very simple. Through the process of implementing the Custom software, most of your employees should already have a very good feel on how it would work, and training costs are minimal.
But with this kind of Custom software comes a very large time and money commitment. Since the software must be designed, implemented, and tested from the ground up, the cost in time is substantial and greater than the other two software types. In addition, the time it takes to implement this kind of software, from beginning to use, may be a year or longer.
As you can see each of these software types comes with their benefits and drawbacks. What you must do as an organization is align your needs with the best fitting software solution. Now that you have received responses to your RFP, or at least have a list of vendors to look at, ask them where they fall in this spectrum of COTS to Custom. The answer you get will help you see what to expect in the long run once you have made your vendor choice.