This article is sponsored by Bangert.

If you’ve ever found yourself implementing new software, only to be met with unexpected challenges, ballooning costs, and a general sense of frustration, you’re not alone. In the realm of software implementation, the traditional approach — characterized by hourly billing and a lack of transparency — has long been the norm. However, what many fail to realize are the inherent flaws embedded within this outdated methodology.

The Cost Conundrum

Let’s talk further about the issues with traditional software implementations. First, the fact is that the cost of a traditional implementation is always unpredictable. When you buy software, the vendor does some discovery with you and then gives you their best price estimate based on your company needs. The base estimate is almost always exceeded in this method.

To address this issue, sometimes a contingency is built into your price estimate in the event that you go over your initial estimate. Moreover, a contingency is still not a foolproof way to ensure you won’t see more implementation costs. Often, if a contingency is not built in, you’ll see a change order for additional services, as not every vendor puts in a contingency in the initial estimate.

This is not necessarily the fault of the vendor. There are many times where a customer will go into an implementation not fully knowing what they need to have done, such as custom reports or dashboards. Sometimes, a customer will discover something that can be done in the software that they never thought possible and want to take advantage of that.

The Unpredictability of Traditional Implementations

Another key flaw in the hourly implementation model is that you don’t always get transparency into what needs to happen first, next, and last to get you successfully using your new system. A lot of things are promised upfront — you may get a general idea of what is going to occur in the implementation, based on a company’s set process or policy; however, in this model, often the consultant you’re working with will have their own idea of how the implementation should go and will deviate from what was initially outlined, claiming that their way better suits you.

This leads me to the next point — in an hourly implementation, you’re not guaranteed to have the very best consultant. This could mean a couple of things: it could mean that you get a consultant that is not as experienced as the next one; that you get a consultant that is excellent, but is stretched too thin, with too many implementations going on at once; or that the consultant is not the best personality fit for your team. Any of these can lead to the worst-case scenario, which is switching consultants mid-stream.

With this model, you’re at the mercy of not only your consultant’s schedule, but also your team’s schedules. It can be incredibly challenging to get a consistent time scheduled for implementation — your consultant will be limited in that they will have more than just your implementation to run, and you and your team have day jobs. If someone is sick or on vacation, then that can completely derail the implementation, and, ultimately, your go-live date.

The Need for Change

To pull all these issues together and synthesize them, you’re ultimately very limited in the hourly implementation model. You’re limited in technical resources — even though you’re “one-on-one” with a consultant, which does not mean that they will be available when you need them. You’re limited in time — you can only implement during prime daytime working hours and typically not on your own time. You’re also limited in the amount of time your consultant spends with you teaching you each part of the system. If you need more time than is allotted, then that’s a change order.

Fundamentally, the old hourly, one-on-one model puts the interests of you, the customer, and the interests of the software provider at odds. It is in your interest to pay less and theirs to bill more. Even if the services are billed to you as a subscription, interests remain misaligned when they are delivered through the one-to-one method. In such cases, the provider is incentivized to deliver only the minimum required for the subscription price.

Change orders, lack of transparency, and the multitude of limitations are no longer viable for today’s modern workforce. It’s time to flip the script and do away with the hourly and/or the one consultant-to-one-customer software implementation model. But what does this look like, exactly?

The Way Forward

Let’s look back to the first issue of the hourly implementation model: unpredictable costs and schedule. Implementation costs can, and should be, made predictable, and the timeline should be in your control. A guaranteed not to exceed price for full services should be offered, without the consultant’s labor rate per hour listed for anything unexpected that arises.

A clear and concise implementation road map should follow suit. This is entirely possible and really is a requirement for successful implementation. Yes, every construction company is unique; however, most are highly similar. Because of these similarities, it is possible to define a specific, standard, efficient, and therefore successful deployment process that takes every customer from zero to live on their schedule. The problem is that the old one-to-one model makes this nearly impossible and, in most cases, introduces chaos due to lack of standards from one consultant to another.

Instead of being limited to just one or two consultants, let’s envision a world where you have access to as many software experts as you can get your hands on, where you actually understand your software — not just how to operate it for your daily functions, but really know how it’s set up — and how to get from A to B and why B relates to C. Additionally, the consultants all know the overall software very well, are also subject matter experts in particular areas of the system, and each consultant, whether it’s two of them or twelve of them, is intimately familiar with your team and your company. You can go at your own pace, without being at the mercy of others’ schedules, and receive help when needed, not just during meetings with your consultant. Achieving all of this is entirely possible.

Maximizing Your Investment

With today’s rapidly evolving technology, companies can’t afford to be limited to the hourly implementation model if they want to get the most out of their investment. In our 40 years of experience, the companies that have the deepest understanding of their software are the happiest customers — not to mention, they get the most return from their software investment.

With the hourly model, companies who want to use the latest advancements in their systems will either be forced to pay more money to learn the new features. Alternatively, they’ll simply choose not to spend the money. This puts them at a severe competitive disadvantage.

A predictable, consistent, unlimited, all-inclusive service model enables companies to get the most out of their software and the highest return on investment.

To learn more about how you can achieve a stress-free, specified cost software deployment, go to bangertinc.com. There is a better way.