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Evaluating Suppliers of Software

Evaluating Suppliers of Program Management Software

When searching and selecting for Program Management software you are undertaking a huge investment. You want to ensure this investment will support your business goals and needs, now and in the future. Read Craven's advice on what you should look out for when you undertake a new partnership.

Question: Organisations spend a lot of time and resources when searching for a Program Management Software Vendor. What are the characteristics you should look for in a vendor before making the decision?

Answer:

You will likely spend months researching and analysing Project and Program Management software. So I think you would want to look for a vendor that you can develop a strong working partnership with who has flexible methods of working. That's why Hydra Management is dedicated to 100% customer satisfaction, supporting customers and partners at every stage with deep product and industry expertise, experience in a diverse range of implementations, and a commitment to ongoing service and optimisation. To deliver this we recruit trained Program Management staff, people with specific industry experience and technical expertise, who ensure we operate to the highest standards in all parts of our business, at all times.

Strong technology architecture

You would want a vendor that has a deep understanding of technology, but can also keep its application in touch with the latest business practices. For example, years ago vendors built their applications to address the specific issues of industries such as engineering and construction. Over time, new customers entered the market and demands became more sophisticated. Consequently vendors' legacy systems became large, complex and unwieldy. However, whilst Hydra Management's founders created one of the first ever Project Management Software systems, we decided to undertake a huge investment program that enabled us to create a unique technical architecture from scratch. This leading-edge application solution, Hydra, exploits the latest advances in technology and business practice, due to its unique and inherent flexibility in design.

Best-of-breed vendors

You would want to pick the best in the industry - a vendor that focuses its resource entirely on the development, production and support of Project and Program management software. At Hydra Management we eat, sleep, and breathe Project and Program Management and we leave the other things - complimentary software and systems integration - to world-class partners that also specialise in what they do best. Let's face it no one company can do it all, as much as they would like you to believe it. We know the business we are in, we understand our customers' needs and we are committed to satisfying those needs, which ensures that our customers have the best products and services available in the market.

Exploit technology advances

You would want a company that will continue to respond to technology advances. In my view, the only way vendors can achieve this is by forging stronger partnerships with their customers than they used to. No longer is it enough for vendors to sit behind their fire-fighting function, 'The Support Desk'. They need to keep abreast of the rapidly changing commercial environment. Customers are by far the best way to provide real impetus into development. At Hydra Management we will continue to respond to technology advances and in partnership with our customers we will provide leading edge application solutions which respond to the rapidly changing business environment. Hydra Management's Product Working Group enables us to effectively identify, analyse and track new development requirements. The acquisition and integration of Symularity, an advanced Collaboration and Document Management tool set, now Hydra Collaborator, was proof of this.

Facilitate Continuous Improvement

You would want a software company that will still be there for you after the sale, after the installation, even after the implementation. That's why we created a flexible implementation and optimisation methodology that adapts to the needs of your business. With dedicated on-site Hydra Management consultants or certified external systems integrators and consultants, we ensure you earn return on investment fast. Whether that's through increased efficiencies, shortened business cycles, optimum staff utilisation, information availability, collaborative working processes, we deliver measurable financial benefits and facilitate continuous improvement. Everything we do is customer focused; our procedures, our development and our delivery are all designed around our customer's needs and expectations. Our training programs can be tailored to the needs of your organisation and you have telephone support whenever you need it.

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