Maximize Your Investment with Packaged Software Implementations

Brett Beaubouef recently published a book entitled Maximize Your Investment: 10 Key Strategies for Effective Packaged Software Implementations. This book, published in December 2009, is a welcome addition to ERP literature if, for no other reason, than that there is a dearth of literature in the field regarding COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) or packaged ERP software implementations altogether. Beaubouef's work helps bring an end to that.

Beyond that, however, Beaubouef's writing is closely aligned with my thinking, as well. Plus, the vast majority of SMBs (small-to-mid-sized business) will end up implementing some form of COTS software. Most small businesses are simply not good candidates for "Big ERP," anyway.

Here are some salient quotations worth cogitating upon and that will, I trust, encourage you to go out and buy the book in order to gain more valuable insights:

• Customers are more concerned with implementing successful business solutions, not just installing software products and technologies.
• Flexibility in a business solution starts with a flexible implementation approach.
• The ideal COTS software implementation approach would focus on maximizing the “out of the box” value that packaged software can provide to a customer. The implementation approach would naturally filter out requirements that did not provide quantifiable business value, and keep the focus on the customer’s value-added strategic requirements.

As the preface says: “This book is aimed at enterprise architects, development leads, project managers, business systems analysts, business systems owners, and anyone who wants to implement packaged software effectively.”  That’s a great target audience because so many implementations lack real business-value effectiveness, even when the software is otherwise “successfully” deployed.

If you fit into any of the categories listed in the preceding paragraph, my advice is to buy the book.  I did!
Contact me at rcushing@geewhiz2roi.com.


Works Cited
Beaubouef, Grady Brett. Maximize Your Investment: 10 Key Strategies for Effective Packaged Software Implementations. Birmingham, UK: Packt Publishing Ltd., 2009.