What really makes the world go 'round: love, money... and technical support


It's been said that six months after you roll out a business application software, the data that's been encoded into it has already cost more money than the software itself.

When you think about it, that's probably reasonable. Calculate the cost of the man-hours spent encoding data into the software, and the man-hours spent training the users and indoctrinating the report consumers, and in six months you're likely approaching what you originally paid for the software to begin with.

But what takes the value of the data over the top is a new circumstance: the surprisingly sudden sense of dependency on all that encoded data that's felt all over your organization. The new ability to coordinate effortlessly that couldn't happen before, because the information simply wasn't available then.

The thrilling new clarity about business information that simply wasn't available before. The ability to produce on-demand MIS reports to guide superior, more confident decisions. The new speed at which things get done compared to before. All of this adds up to productivity gains whose value far exceeds the original cost of the application. And it's the gift that keeps on giving; the longer you use the software, the longer your productivity gains abide, and the further back in the dust the cost of the software is left behind.

Click here to read more.