Axia Consultants: Why Change Your Present System

30 widely used reasons for changing systems are listed below

Most organisations changing their software systems will find many reasons to justify their actions. Some, however, will only have a few reasons, which are so critical, that their system needs replacing simply because of these.

Generally, the more reasons that apply, the more likely you need to change your system. How many apply to you and your organisation?


Software system functionality reasons
1.   Web enablement
2.   Additional functionality available within the new software
3.   Workflow and automation
4.   Present systems comprise separate stand alone systems with limited integration between each other
5.   Integration with other systems


Management information reasons
6.   Improving the quality and quantity of management information
7.   Improving accuracy of information
8.   Improving access to and speed of access to management information
9.   Improving the flexibility of and speed to produce management information


System operations reasons
10.  Improving system processes
11.  Reducing manual effort and duplication of data handling
12.  Improving system flexibility to handle continual business change
13.  Improving system performance, speed and time to process data
14.  Improving data input / collection capability eg automated feeds, bulk data entry
15.  Improving transfer of information between systems
16.  Improving system reliability
17.  Present system is ageing, has not been upgraded and is now becoming difficult to maintain
18.  Easier system development in the future
19.  Supporting an increased number of system users
20.  Improving data storage


Vendor reasons
21.  Providing unsatisfactory / poor support
22.  Withdrawing support
23.  No longer supplying a specific range of products
24.  No longer developing products that you use


Organisational reasons
25.  Changing provision of services eg outsourcing, creating shared service centres
26.  Changes of hardware
27.  Rationalisation of systems and vendors
28.  Reorganisation eg due to take over, merger, decentralisation, restructure or disposal of business units
29.  Reducing costs (total cost of ownership)
30.  Other actions leading to a sudden and permanent large change in numbers of suppliers, customers, employees and consequent reduction of systems requirements