When to Move On

Written by Danielle Birchard

How do you know when it's time to move on from a software or service provider that you utilize to conduct necessary business functions? Our company has recently run into some issues where we are starting to be dissatisfied with some of our old systems, so we are starting to do interviews with new service providers. But how do you when the time is right to make the plunge into consolidating services or going with a bigger software that has more capabilities?

What is the most common denominator when you decide it's time to move your company on from a provider of some type of service? For me, recently the determining factor has been customer service. As time has gone on in dealing with a certain vender and their software, I have noticed a downturn in customer service. The more I looked into it and the more I looked at their competitors, I noticed that our service was even worse than I realized when comparing it to what we could have for a similar price. It's hard to know when to cut ties, or when you are not receiving the quality of services that you should be getting while you are in the middle of utilizing a product. Word of mouth and other customer reviews help in seeing the potential of other services that are out there, and can help you see if you are getting your money’s worth.

Another part of deciding to move on to something new is scaling. Is your company big enough to make a significant jump? Can you afford the jump to the new service or vendor? In the long run, it will hopefully save time and money, but those up-front costs always have to be considered. Do you have people to implement the new systems? Will it take months of training to get it going? Would it be easier to hire the work out instead of investing in a new system? All valid questions to consider before taking that leap.

In the end, there is so much technology open to the modern workforce. There are tons of factors to consider when contemplating taking on software or vendors that will “help.” Pros and cons, benefits and drawbacks. The best plan is to weigh all options and decide if it is worth loosing people over their lack of tools and worth the implementation pains of putting those new tools into practice.