Enterprise Software Usage Hits Record High
Joe McKendrick, writing for ZDNet’s Service Oriented:
Although its been a challenge to wring benefits out of bottomless pit investments in enterprise software, the study says things are drifting slowly in the right direction. 2010 marked the first year that organizations collectively achieved an average effective usage rate greater than 50%, the survey finds — hitting the 54% mark even. In 2008, the effective usage rate averaged about 43%, and hit 49% in 2009.
Trend is certainly in the right direction. But if you’re like many, you’re probably asking, “So what’s the reason for the uptick?”
Tight economic conditions probably have something to do with it — the mandate handed down to IT has been do more with less, make the most of what you already have, and make it stick to the business. Nothing clarifies a project more than when it’s on the chopping block. Getting smarter may also have something to do with it. There are methodologies and better tools available to measure adoption and progress of software installations (as I know the study’s sponsors will gladly point out).
Still, putting money into enterprise software projects is an uncharted walk into the wilderness. Fewer than 10% of organizations can measure the impact of IT on business productivity, the study also finds.
From where we sit, it’s a matter of focus.
Over the past few years, IT departments have had to make do with less, and in many cases, foster improvement over their own baselines. It hasn’t been easy.
When budgets are tight and every project could be axed, it brings a level of scrutiny to the project’s goals and returns that might otherwise get overlooked or taken for granted. This scrutiny leads to a renewed focus on the project, and a rehearsal of the question that will undoubtedly come from the C-suite: What’s this really going to do for the business?
IT departments have not only had to become smarter about what they do chase, project-wise, but also how they use the software they implement and roll into production. Results still need to be had, even without new app implementations.
We hear stories every day about clients using software in more expansive ways than they have before, and what McKendrick writes jibes with what we hear everyday. They’ve had to do more with what they have, so they got smarter and more creative. Simple as that.
If you have had to make do with less, and you’ve achieved results using a wider array of software functionality from apps you already had on the shelf (or even deployed), we’d love to hear about it. The smartest companies we work with have come out of the recession leaner, smarter and more efficient than before. It’s not easy to do, but more organizations than you may think have done exactly that.
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More links:
MIPRO Consulting main website.
