A Business Document Software Solution Model for Small and Medium-Sized Companies
The concept of outsourcing has a complex history. For many years, it was every company for itself building its own business software. Gradually, companies began to employ service providers to complete tasks that were too costly for in-house staff to handle. With advancements in technology came the need for ever more complex and full integrated information systems.
Companies that specialized in a single aspect of these information systems began to arise, with experts who knew how to build out their document solution within a larger business architecture. Outsourcing one of the most complicated components of business organization – document processing software- became especially important because of regulatory concerns around client data, as well as the requirements for document software applications to be heavily integrated with the overall information system and workflow processes.
As document technology continued to improve, companies brought document processing software back in-house, developing software to create, sort, and archive important data. Unfortunately, creating new business document software can be an expensive undertaking, making it unreasonable for small and medium-sized companies and can become a time burden for large companies- without much of a strategic benefit to the overall business.
For these businesses, the choice has become situational. Which document technology option makes the most sense for your company? To build or to buy?
Save Your Company from Document Software Disaster
Before you can make an informed decision, there are important factors to consider. These factors include overall cost, project complexity, possible risks, and competitive advantages. In the following sections, we’ll explore these factors, among others. Considering them carefully will help save your company from possible business software disaster.
Reduce Your Document Software Costs
The following factors can affect whether your company saves or loses money:
- Overall Cost
Companies often find the initial cost of an outsourced document software system is less expensive than developing a similar system in-house. On the other hand, small and medium-sized companies must also consider the cost of implementation and ongoing maintenance. These costs when outsourced, however, can be more controllable, as the solution providers can anticipate potential issues and minimize risks.
- Risk
When companies choose to buy a software package, certain risks are avoided, including control, performance, and completion – any of which can fail during the building process. Still, there are vendor-related risks, such as reliability and support.
- Scale
Buying an oversized document software package can require expensive resources to maintain and operate, while built packages can be requirement-driven, meeting the specific needs of small or medium-sized companies.
- Intellectual Property
When a document software system is built in-house, the hosting company owns its intellectual property. Using a purchased solution may require ongoing costs for licensing and creative rights.
- Time
Building a document software system is often more time-consuming, and thus more expensive, than buying a similar application. However, if your company needs a long-term solution, the added time may be worth the investment, as purchased systems may eventually disappear or outlive their usefulness.
Improve Workflow, Reduce Printing Costs, and Consider Structure When Implementing Your New Document Software System
The following factors can affect the reliability of your new document software system:
- Operational Traps
Companies with no outsourcing history are more likely to develop in-house document technology systems, even when it doesn’t make financial or functional sense, leading to ultimate failure. In addition, when management doesn’t support the build or buy decision, the document software system will likely not function as intended. Document software, by its very nature, relies heavily on integration with the entire enterprise information system. Without careful planning and consideration from an expert, the entire business information and workflow system could suffer.
- Support Structure
All companies have an existing technological back-end. This current support structure must be taken into account before making the build or buy decision, since purchased (and improperly built) applications can often clash with existing technology. Building a fully integrated system can add complexity and costs to your build-it-yourself document software system.
- Competitive Advantage
Building a customized software system can provide a certain competitive advantage for small and medium-sized businesses, when the document solution is inline with the overall strategic goals of the business. For most companies, document output management and printing software is more of an essential business operation, part of normal workflow, and less of a strategic asset.
- Requirements Fit
If an implemented system doesn’t meet the needs of a small or medium-sized business, there’s no point in having it. Ensure the program includes all necessary functions before buying or make the requirements clear before starting a build.
- Strategy
Some companies have argued that less strategic applications should be purchased, since the cost is often more reasonable than an in-house build. When the needs are complex, it can help significantly to build components that fit company strategy.
Choose the Right Document Software Solution for Your Company
When choosing to build or buy, it can help to explore the experience of other company owners. Let’s examine a case study from a medium sized business looking to implement a document software solution.
Q: How did the idea of implementing a document software solution come about?
A: We started out with a traditional ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) based on matrix printing. At a certain point, management detected our need to improve the overall quality of our business documents to be able to include more information and to use new distribution channels, such as email. Finally, we decided that our matrix systems should be replaced with laser and had two options – invest heavily in adapting our document management systems or purchase a product that would allow us to implement laser printing without large internal software developments.
Q: What telecommunications infrastructure does your company have? How important is technology to your business?
A: Our six branches are connected by a fiber-optic, star-shaped network that depends on the host at our headquarters. Our communications are centered around this infrastructure, whether it be data, audio, or image. For quite some time, technology and information systems have given us a significant competitive advantage by increasing the flexibility, reliability, and quality of our customer service. Now, however, our main challenge lies in turning IT into an important of our strategy toward opening new markets and business opportunities.
Q: Why did you choose the software you did? Can you explain the requirements of your company and how the software responds to your needs?
A: Our host was an AS/400, the current iSeries. Our first need was to migrate from our matrix printing system, related to our ERP on the iSeries. We needed to move quickly to laser printing with new formats and new features, such as charts and bar codes, generation of PDFs, delivery by email, etc. the pre-built software solution could solve our needs quickly and easily. We would be able to map the iSeries print output formats and turn them into documents of a much higher quality without modifying our management systems. We would be able to generate electronic documents and send them automatically by email without large internal development efforts.
The company in the example above considered time, complexity, and company strategy before choosing to purchase a document software solution. Because the company needed a timely solution with convenient features that didn’t require modifying current technology, purchasing a scalable document software was the smart solution.
Kevin Fortier
DocPath Freelance Consultant