Benefits of Software Company Maintenance Services

IntroductionMany construction businesses are running on tight budgets, and, especially after the recession, they may have whittled down their staffs to the bare minimum. As a result, they need to get as much out of their software as they can and get more done with fewer resources. It’s important to take full advantage of the software and support you have—which is why maintenance and support plans are here to provide assistance, offering customers the help they need to optimize the tools they have.

Maintenance packages—worth the investment?Face it, we live in a technological age, and some of the software that construction companies use on a daily basis is essential to maintaining operations, but everything can come to a halt if one application shuts down. Being able to access vendor support when you need it can help the company quickly solve the problem—be it a troublesome feature or a buggy app—and get back to business.

As tech consultant blog Optimeon notes, every software option will likely have bugs, regardless of how carefully it was designed and tested.1 If one of these problems pops up, a construction firm with a maintenance plan can contact the vendor to find a solution or log a complaint that can later be fixed.

Technology is constantly evolving, and the construction industry is, too. Those in the sector need to be able to stay on top of the latest developments, or they risk falling behind the pack and ultimately failing.1

Likewise, a firm that expands its services may also find that a software feature it didn’t need before is now vital. Being able to add a new modification created by the vendor will give the organization the extra technological boost it needs.1

As Laurie McCabe, vice president of SMB insights and business solutions for consultancy AMI-Partners, writes for ZDNet, it is “critical” to set up a maintenance contract for any software that is integral to the business.2 How would a construction firm submit new bids if its estimator software crashed, for instance?

To stay current, some of the services that should be considered are: software updates, technical support, training, online forums, and software patches, to name a few.2 Pick a plan that fits your needs—a construction firm that maintains a typical 9-to-5 schedule probably wouldn’t need a 24/7 service, while a larger company that has overnight operations may benefit from the additional support.2

It may be tempting to skip the maintenance services, thinking you can just get by with the system’s current capabilities. But that mindset can come back to haunt you when there are technological issues, or when your competitors make the updates that give them an added edge.3, 4

Technological advancements are picking up the pace, too. Just think about how quickly smartphones have evolved since 2007—without regular updates and improvements, the software capabilities you have today may seem woefully outdated in three years’ time. Again, you need to get more out of what you initially invested in. Take full advantage of what you already have.

Benefits of Software Company Maintenance Services

What do you get when you subscribe to a vendors’ support or maintenance package?When someone buys software from a vendor, quite often the vendor will offer an add-on or up-sell to a client’s subscription. This helps with implementation and support on an ongoing basis and often includes upgrades and updates as they’re released.5

When considering a maintenance contract, be sure that your vendor is actually working to continually improve the product.6, 7

“If the vendor is not investing in improving the product and you really don’t need their support services, or only need them rarely, you get little if any benefit from that what is usually a significant amount of annual cost,” notes Sheldon Needle for CTS Guides.7

When selecting a vendor, calculate the costs of updates and maintenance when determining the total price.8 Be sure that if the company is paying for additional support, it is using the resources. As ComputerWorld points out, if you only call the support line five times and are paying $1 million a year for the service, those calls can get expensive.

Look for a vendor that offers 24/7 hotline services, user groups, and other support resources.5 As Nicolas Hans of dotCast Consulting Services outlined in a 2008 presentation, these are the factors that determine the level of service you will get from a vendor. When drafting the maintenance contract, agree on a price for the initial product and then base the other fees on that. Hans points out that companies may be able to reduce the cost further if they pay for three to five years of the service up front.

Sage offers maintenance services and follows best practices when it comes to addressing your questions.9 The company offers a toll-free number for clients to submit inquiries, or they can ask questions over an online portal page. The Sage support staff can also remotely access a company’s system, providing additional assistance “when you have an issue that requires help beyond the telephone.”

ConclusionWhen a company buys new software, it does so with the intent of using the technology for a long period of time, getting the most out of its investment as the tools improve business processes and making things run more efficiently. In order to ensure the longevity of the software, companies may also want to invest in a maintenance package, which can be extremely useful as new versions and features are added or when users run into technical difficulties.

Benefits of Software Company Maintenance Services

Sources1. http://optimeon.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/cant-escape-enterprise-software-maintenance-cost/

2. http://www.zdnetasia.com/why-pay-for-software-maintenance-39227436.htm

3. http://info.iqms.com/IQMS-Manufacturing-erp-expertise/bid/44899/Why-Pay-Manufacturing-ERP-Annual-Maintenance-Fees

4. http://www.developerdotstar.com/mag/articles/maintenance_solution.html

5. http://www.slideshare.net/nick_hans/maintenance-beyond-the-software-vendors-pitch-presentation

6. http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/03/25/235380/Recession-buster-five-tips-to-lower-software-maintenance.htm

7. http://www.ctsguides.com/construction-software-maintenance-fees.asp

8. http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/app-dev-and-programme-management/2009/03/five-simple-steps-to-reduce-software-maintenance-costs/index.htm

9. http://www.sagecre.com/Support-and-Training/Service-Plans/Support

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