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Buyers of service management systems now take system functionality for granted and look at the software as a solution-driven investment more than anything else.
According to Colin Brown, managing director of Tesseract, this sea change in the way prospective customers select then buy service systems is based upon user expectation that all modern systems are (or should be!) function-rich and therefore capable of doing everything required in terms of call control, and asset and customer/contract management, for example.
Rather, he says, the final choice of system is invariably based on user considerations of the ‘bigger picture’: will the system integrate with the enterprise IT infrastructure, and is it a solution that exhibits the correct level of flexibility to meet not only today’s business needs but also what is most likely to be an ever-changing operating model?
“System functionality is not an issue at all nowadays,” says Colin Brown, “as users expect all the bells and whistles (CRM attributes, automatic engineer scheduling and remote access capability, for instance, in addition to the ‘core’ service functions) just like we do when we buy PCs and mobile ‘phones.
“The priority today,” he continues, “is to determine whether the service solution is an easy fit with legacy financial or production systems (Great Plains or Pegasus financial, or Sage ERP, for example), what operating database it will run on (.Net, Oracle or Sequel) and will it meet operator expectations for user-friendliness?”
Of course, he says, cost-competitiveness is, and always will be, a key consideration, “but customers are now fixated on integrating their service solutions with their enterprise IT infrastructures and, wherever possible, using a single database to manage everything”.
He continues: “It is for these reasons that suppliers of service systems need to enter into ‘partnerships’ with their prospective customers; they need to understand their clients’ business needs, of today and their likely demands of tomorrow.”
Browser-based accessibility – to enterprise as well as service data - is also increasingly playing a key role in the service management system installation decision-making process, he contends, especially for global corporations that demand a real-time view of events, worldwide and at any time of the day.
“Of course, 24x7 accessibility via the Web also engenders ‘follow the sun’ support philosophies, thus providing a service delivery mechanism that meets customer expectations.
“In addition, multi-lingual software adds further to system attractiveness on a global scale; with each country viewing screens in their own local language, but with all data being shared universally - and simultaneously, if required - by any one of a number of users wherever they are located.
“Companies clearly want to minimise their overall IT investments and commitments, wherever they may be in the world, and browser-based service software is ideal for this, too.
“By definition, a browser-based system is ‘maintained’ (hosted) remotely, so the need for IT skills - perhaps traditionally based in several locations to support each separate system - can be eliminated.
“At the end of the day,” he concludes, “the supplier who can meet all these varying customer demands in the most cost-effective way will be the one that ultimately succeeds.”
Service system buying trend alters as users take functionality for granted.
