So your organization has just completed the roll out of a new software system/ case management software system to:
- make your agency run more efficiently
- report your data more accurately
- save your people tons of wasted double data entry time
Hooray! You’re finally seeing a return on your investment.
Attention: Software Upgrade... Ahead!
However, a couple of months down the road the software vendor announces it’s time for a software upgrade to the platform. In this particular upgrade - they've announced that there are critical security enhancements, new functionality and some changes will impact the users interface. Oh no! Your people just got used to the new system and now they’re changing things on them. That’s going to create complaints, confusion and you’re just not sure it’s worth it.
Don't Worry... Take It! We Got Your Back!
I can assure you, it certainly is. When an agency decides to decline the upgrade just to appease the disgruntled user community that doesn’t want to change, in so many cases - they're making a mistake!
- First, there are almost always very important security updates from third party vendors i.e. Microsoft, to name one.
- Second, you could miss some very important bug fixes that you may not have had a problem with yet but it’s just a matter of time.
- Third, you may miss some very valuable enhancements that could prove to provide even more time saving tools for your users.
Another important point is that more and more software vendors are forcing their customers to upgrade at some point by “sunsetting” the older versions. In this case you'd be left with two choices - either find another software system and that would be disruptive and expensive or take the upgrade (but, if your system hasn't been upgraded for a while - the cost to do a major upgrade may be substantially different than if you were accepting the in between upgrades all along).
No matter the reason, a key takeaway is this -> we will not let you fail. In all cases, when we do an upgrade to our software - we publish a list of changes in advance so you know what's coming. When needed - we often will create new documentation that could help you when discussing those changes to your user community. As often as we can - we look to help make a complicated transition - much easier.
Food For Thought
When you see an upgrade on the horizon - don't let the possibilities of minor issues or a new learning curve to master deter you from getting the upgrade. Instead - find out what the changes are, how they will impact the team and develop a transition plan (with our help if needed) to implement an upgrade whenever possible to keep your software running at optimum levels.
About the author:
April Freund is the CEO and President at GVT.
