There is nothing more frustrating than having a system that you are paying for and either not knowing how to use it or not using it to its full potential. In both scenarios software becomes a financial burden and obstruction to productivity and growth. There are three ways to manage your software and each has its own set of pros and cons.

• Train people within your organization to manage the system and train future users.

Training people within your organization is beneficial as they already understand your business processes and can apply the system to these processes right away. Make sure to train a few people to assist with coverage in case of time off or attrition.

Difficulties can arise as these users are newer to the system and have divided focus with original job duties and the software, so advanced capabilities may remain undiscovered and problems that arise pose challenges due to inexperience.

• Hire an expert with the software system to manage the system and train end users.

Hiring an expert gives you someone with detailed and tenured experience on the software system. Problems are easily solved and advanced capabilities are able to be integrated. Make sure to train a few individuals to handle basic issues and questions in case of time off.

Having a full-time employee that only works on one system may not be cost effective depending on how much administration and training is required. You can look at adding responsibilities outside of managing the system to help get more for your money.

• Use a consulting company to manage the system and train end users.

Using a consulting company gives you the benefit of having multiple experts with the software, so you benefit from many points of view and experience. Consulting companies specialize in helping organizations integrate software systems into their business processes and use the software to its fullest potential. There will be no divided focus, keeping your employees focused on growing the business and letting the consulting company focus on keeping your software running to support the business.

With consulting companies, the cost per hour can seem high; however, you only pay when using the service and issues can be resolved quickly due to expertise and experience with the system creating a positive return on investment. It can be beneficial to train a few individuals within the organization to handle basic questions and issues to help alleviate some of the cost.

Software systems are a substantial investment and each organization needs to review individual requirements and choose what option will work best for your organization.

At Implementation Specialists we can help you design a custom plan for your organization. With specialists in Microsoft Dynamics GP, Dynamics 365 Financials, Dynamics 365 CRM and Power BI we can assist with anything including total management of your system, system training so you can take a do it yourself approach or a hybrid between the two. Visit our solutions and services sections on the website to read more about what we offer or contact us directly and we can answer any questions you might have.