Right. One overarching thought now among top management is, "In-house development is too expensive. Let's buy an OOTB solution and just let the vendor support it. Then get rid of the in-house folks." So here are the loose conclusions I've always drawn:
* The OOTB solution is not a 100% solution. Customization is inevitable. * The vendor is under no commitment to support customizations...in fact it could work as a buyout on their part, as in: "Well, we don't know WHAT'S wrong with your system...you modified our code." * SOMEONE locally has to maintain your customizations and keep the thing running. So ultimately, where are your savings???? _____ From: Action Request System discussion list(ARSList) [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Rick Cook Sent: Friday, January 26, 2007 2:35 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: OT: ITSM Total Cost of Implementation Discussion ** One hole in your logic, Norm, is that customizations to apps aren't really supported anyway, because they're changes to the supported workflow. I mean, you will often get a tech who will try to help you, but that's only up to a point, and not many have the expertise any more, and fewer probably have the time. So the options really are to go on an ITSM 7 platform that can't be fully supported yet by anyone, or a customized v5 or v6 platform that you can basically support yourself. Or, of course, a completely custom-built app that would be supported in-house. I was recently in contact with a company who got sold ITSM 7, and had the implementation botched. They are now in a real pickle, because ITSM 7 resources aren't easy or cheap to find (or willing to try to clean someone else's mess up), they don't have qualified in-house resources, and their budget to get it working was mostly shot by the failed implementation. From the sound of it, they probably could have gotten along just fine with v6, which is currently better supported, has more people qualified to help with it, and is quicker and cheaper to implement. On the business/ITIL issue, that customer story illustrates a substantial part of the problem - most BMC sales reps basically sell only ITSM v7 as an option, unless pressed to the wall for a different option (some may try to sell PS to build custom stuff). Whether they were told to not sell v6 after v7 was released or not, v7 is what's being pushed, regardless of whether it is the best fit for the customer. Why? There is far more money in selling v7, and if there's one common motivator among sales people, it's money. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just something we need to remember. Rick __20060125_______________________This posting was submitted with HTML in it___ _______________________________________________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE or access ARSlist Archives at www.arslist.org ARSlist:"Where the Answers Are"
