Customization: Heads=You Win, Tails=You Lose
The customization equation has always been a difficult recipe – a subtle mix of three parts regulatory requirements mixed with two parts user-adoption and then simmered to perfection by a competent group of developers to be consumed by a team of end-users. The process was almost always a journey from disdain (“What do you mean it can’t do this?”) to total satisfaction (“I don’t know what we’d do without this!”). In the back of their minds, everyone seemed to know that the risk probably never really matched the reward, but there was always a sense of accomplishment. And done properly, the customization was almost always viewed as adding value.
Today, virtually every upgrade now talks about de-customization and people are realizing that the cost of de-customizing is almost comparable to the initial cost of the development. Interesting twist. CIO magazine presents an interesting perspective that everyone facing an upgrade should read. Here’s a taste:
“We do see more and more CIOs going the ‘less customization’ route” nowadays, she says. “In the last round of ERP deployments that people did, maybe 10 years ago, they did a lot of customizations. But I would say that the majority today are going 90 percent out of the box — with very vanilla installations. It gives you a more predictable and cheaper deployment and then obviously, it makes upgrades less disruptive and less costly.”
Part of the reason for this recent trend is that ERP vendors are now recognizing that if they build applications that include verticalization, they will be easier for more companies to adopt with fewer problems and far less customization, she says.
So, you flipped your coin, made your decision, executed your strategy and observed the results. Now you have the coin again – heads or tails? What’s your strategy?
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More links:
MIPRO Consulting main website.
