Someone who seems to be knowledgeable in a broad range of trades but is not necessarily great at any particular one is commonly referred to as a “Jack of all Trades, Master of None”. A similar effect can happen with business applications too. Organizations can take the right path to software selection by being laser-focused on the business issues that need to be addressed. Choosing a product such as
All too often, a software solution is developed to meet a specific business process and may perform that process quite well. Over time though, the original product has grown to try to meet far too many niche needs and is stretched to serve an ever growing audience. This often dilutes the product's capabilities. The product becomes overly complex, seemingly having a button, module, or “bolt-on” for everything. In the end, the product might be able to serve more needs but often fails to perform any one of them well.
Organizations that are looking to purchase new software need to be careful in their selection. Business applications that attempt to serve a large audience with many modules and many features are often mediocre at your most important business processes. This also relates to usability, long term cost and support and whether the solution can grow with your organization. If a solution is deeply complex, how easy is it to use? If it is over engineered, how easy is it to support? Are you paying for modules and features that you will never need or use? How easy is it to get the data out of a complex system for business analytics? How easy is it to extend or change the solution to meet your needs over time?
Organizations should focus on procuring solutions that not only meet the core business needs, but actually excel at meeting those needs. BroadPoint Technologies,
by BroadPoint Technologies,