On Enterprise Software

The more I use Enterprise Software the lower my opinion gets of any software associating with the term.

The sales pitch

Big businesses all have the same technology problems. Enterprise Software solves these problems and reduces risk. Accounting? HR? Expenses? Chat? Conference Calling? These problems are already solved and you can get a great volume license discount.

As a CIO you have probably got lots of problems. Why not buy a license for a tried and tested product and push the risk onto a third-party? At least if the software does not do what you purchased it for you can blame someone else. Do we have deal?

The forgotten user

There is one thing missing in this slick sales process. There is zero consideration given to the user that will be using the software. By the time the sales pitch is over the procurement team takes over, a healthy discount is applied and the process of deploying software into an Enterprise begins.

By the time software hits a user’s desktop the decision has been made. If the software does not help you do your job then tough luck. There is a three year deal in place now. What if the software does not make you feel happy? What do you think this is? You are here to work!

Acquired software

Most Enterprise Software has been acquired by big software corporations that buy in best-in-class products. By the time they go through a corporate machine and are released under a new banner a number of things may well have happened.

• The founders that created the software have moved on.
• The product feature set has been frozen.
• Other more innovative products will have entered the marketplace.

UX Disasters

I’m going to call out Lync, the Microsoft conferencing software. It is not better or worse than any other Enterprise Software but at a product level it represents some of the things I feel are broken in the Enterprise Software market. It suffers from terrible UX.

Using the web client it mutes users by default leading to a confusing pause as people join a call. Many users do not see this and think the application is not working. It happens over and over again. For regular users who know this flaw there is always an awkward pause as someone joins the call and then scrambles to unmute their microphone.

“Hi Mike!”

… pause…

“Are you there Mike?”

… pause…

“Hi everyone! Sorry I was just unmuting my microphone.”

As someone from startup culture I do not really expect to enjoy using Lync but interacting with the users that the software was purchased for they hate it too. They are used to using consumer software that has a better experience and hate that sub-par software is pushed onto them.

Business is technology

Over and over again companies using technology on a licensed basis come to depend on third-party software and it becomes utterly critical to their operations. This is a key point that CIOs are failing to realise in my opinion. Technology is increasingly no longer supporting a business. It is the business. Consider the following questions:

• Could the business function without the technology?
• Is your risk profile for critical operations controlled by you or a third-party?
• What percentage of time do employees spend using software?

Outsourcing software or using third-party software products is, in many cases, no longer an effective way to manage risk. On the contrary it is a huge risk. Procurement teams are more interested in striking a great deal than understanding whether the software is usable or enhances productivity. CIOs want a throat to choke if the software fails to deliver.

The awkward truth is that a poor software choice can result in years of reduced employee satisfaction and productivity.

So where to progressive CIO’s go from here?

Involve UX experts in software procurement

UX experts should be involved with procuring software. This is not just to ensure that the software is easy to use but that the correct software is being purchased. Often procurement teams and senior executives have a poor understanding of the problem they are trying to solve. By using UX experts to understand the problem first the software landscape can then be scanned for appropriate solution.

This would go some way to users receiving software that is easy to use and solves the problem they need it for.

Be nimble

The idea that a software product will fill the needs of employees for years is totally irrelevant. Software is moving too fast for contracts to span years. Organsiations should expect to change software regularly and recognise the benefits in doing this.

• Only consider software that is open and allows you to get data in and out easily
• Consider prototyping ideas to prove or disprove and idea quickly. You may be able to save millions by realising you are solving the wrong problem.
• Working software is better than meetings about software

Let users decide

Enterprises should empower their users to have more of voice in the software they use. It should be encouraged that employees have an opinion on software, that poor software choices are called out and that great software is championed. Instrumentation and measurement should be used obsessively to validate that software is working and organisations should use this information to learn and move forward.

Perhaps then we might see an Enterprise Software market that delivers products that can compete with the consumer sphere.