5 Tips for Spotting "Good Software"

As ServiceTrade grows, I am reflecting on the responses we get from customers on their purchasing criteria for service management software.  As it turns out, buying software is not much different than buying anything else you might consider in your life – which is the way it should be.  Here are some tips for spotting good software:

Pretty
Turns out that good software is usually attractive and easy on the eyes.  If the interface reminds you of the early days of Windows 3.1, you probably don’t want to sign up as a customer.  If it looks like something that you would see on an iPad in your living room, it might be good software. If it looks ugly and clunky, it probably is ugly and clunky.

Cloudy
There are few companies in the world that should be running their own servers and administering software infrastructure, and most likely you are not one of them.  If you see “free download” or “server requirements” or “installation manual” anywhere in the advertisements or documentation, it is probably not the solution for you.

Tiny
Not every element of every application will be mobile and portable, but many of all should be. Business does not stop and start at the threshold of your office building.  The more functionality that is able to fit into your pocket, the better.

Inexpensive
If it does not feel like a good deal, it probably isn’t.  I cannot think of a single software product we use at ServiceTrade that does not feel comfortable on the income statement.  If it hurts the wallet, it is probably because the vendor does not serve a broad market (or has no ambition to do so), and therefore you must pay the price.  Question closely the business model and ambition of the vendor.  You want vendors that serve large markets efficiently so you do not get trapped by high cost and low functionality.

Reference-able
Ask for lots of references, call all of them, and ask lots of questions.  If the references are not people and companies that you admire, if they do not gush about the partnership or functionality, if they seem uncomfortable talking about the details of their experience, caveat emptor. Keep looking for something better.

I absolutely believe that all of these elements for qualifying a software purchase (which coincidentally are easy to determine with a moderate amount of inspection) are better than the often touted “Return on Investment.”  ROI can only truly be calculated via the rearview mirror as you ponder the actual results.  At that point, the wreckage you see behind you may have cost you a huge amount of money with no positive ROI in sight as you shift your focus to the windshield and the road ahead.

If Communism Failed, Why do Software Vendors Continue to Embrace It?

With the winter games taking place in the former Soviet Union this month, it got me thinking about “Software Communism” – the practice of central planning by a single vendor that prevents the users from ever leaving. At the AHR Expo in NYC, I met with more than one prospect that was irate because he was being held hostage by their current software vendor, while there were others that had bought into the vendor’s utopian pitch of “a job for every worker and a chicken in every pot.”

The basic premise of communism was that a central committee planning for the needs of the state’s constituents would be far more effective in meeting those needs than the free flowing chaos of free markets and democracy. When it did not work out for anyone but the central planners who enriched themselves via corruption and graft, the state erected large fences to prevent the citizens from leaving. Longing for the innovations produced by free market commerce was a crime, and fleeing to a better situation was punishable by death.

I think of these failed communism experiments when I see software vendors promoting the premise that only through a single software package can you achieve effective business outcomes, or when I see a failing vendor erecting “high fences” (i.e. holding customer data hostage) to prevent mass exodus. Fortunately, the failure of state communism plus the success of free markets tells us how Software Communism will ultimately end – software that enables innovations by interoperating easily across multiple vendors will win, and Software Communism will be a part of history that is conveniently omitted from the timeline during the software olympics opening ceremonies (should such a thing as software olympics ever come into existence).

At ServiceTrade, we use Salesforce.com, Marketo, Google Apps, and Echosign, among others. Each sends or receives data from the other seamlessly thanks to Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). We get to enjoy the terrific innovations and features that each offers without feeling burdened by high walls siloing off the data each application holds. The idea that any one vendor will deliver every innovation you need to run your business is silliness anyway; no company is big enough or smart enough to do everything and do it well.

Even the biggest symbols of Software Communism (i.e. Oracle, IBM, SAP) are slowly being dismantled by free market innovations and yielding to the requirements for free flowing innovation. Now, companies like Salesforce, Google, and ServiceTrade are showing the way for customers to have the innovations they want no matter where they originate.

So as you think about your next software purchase, don’t be sold by the theoretical allure of Software Communism. It did not work for state planning and it does not work for software planning either. Look for the best features and value and then ask “How easy is it to integrate your application with others?” The correct answer is “It is not hard because we offer a rich set of APIs for you or your integrator to do what works for your business.” If the answer comes back “The only way to get great software features is through central planning by a single vendor,” then you should run the other way…towards software freedom.

New Year’s Resolution – No More PC Apps!

Software as a Service (SaaS) is the only architecture for business applications that small and medium-sized companies should consider purchasing in 2014.  Period.  In my mind this battle had already been fought and won by SaaS, but I continue to come across good companies with thoughtful management teams that are still considering buying new, core business applications that run on a PC server in their office.  These applications are not only more expensive, but they also trap your business in an unacceptable slow innovation cycle.

Why are these applications more expensive?  For the same reason that a puppy is expensive.  It’s not the cost of the puppy – you can probably have one for free from the animal shelter or the local rescue association.  But you have to walk it, and train it, and feed it, and clean up the poop, and take it to the vet, and pay the fine when it bites the neighbor, and on and on.  With a PC app, you have to buy hardware, back it up, install updates, maintain the operating system, install security and virus software, manage network permissions, and a whole bunch of stuff I did not mention because I have done my best to forget all this stuff from the “bad old days.”  Maybe you want a puppy because you think all of that care and feeding is fun.  If so, buy a PC app.  If you have better things to do and better investments for your money and time, stay away.

Even if you think having a puppy is fun, you cannot afford the lack of innovation inherent in these applications.  Think about your last PC app and recall how often you upgraded it to get new functionality.  Almost never, right?  (Exactly never is probably the honest answer).  SaaS vendors deliver new functionality to all of their customers monthly, if not weekly (at ServiceTrade we release new features weekly).  New and fun features just “show up” in the application – ready to use.  No work required by the customer other than to explore, learn, and enjoy.

You are going to use the next core application you purchase for your business for 10 years.  If you do not want to be operating in 2024 just like you do in 2014, stay away from PC server apps.  These applications are already 10 years behind the times, so in reality you are making a business plan to operate in 2024 using technology that was relevant in 2004.  If that doesn’t scare you away from buying a PC app, I can’t imagine what else I could say to change your mind.  Enjoy the puppy.