Art Pennington offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print. Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum. ----------- PUBLICATION GUIDELINES - You have permission to publish this article for free providing the "About the Author" box is included in its entirety. - Do not post/reprint this article in any site or publication that contains hate, violence, porn, warez, or supports illegal activity. - Do not use this article in violation of the US CAN-SPAM Act. If sent by email, this article must be delivered to opt-in subscribers only. - If you publish this article in a format that supports linking, please ensure that all URLs and email addresses are active links. - Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to [email protected] - Article Marketer (www.ArticleMarketer.com) has distributed this article on behalf of the author. Article Marketer does not own this article, please respect the author's copyright and publication guidelines. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this article. ----------- Article Title: Are You Missing This Key To Success With Your Business Software? Author: Art Pennington Category: Leadership, Medium Sized, Small Business Word Count: 668 Keywords: What is Computer Software, business software, business success Author's Email Address: [email protected] Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com ------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------
What is computer software? ANSWER: Your most potent business weapon to maximize profits. But be afraid . . . be very afraid. It can also be a dangerous weapon for your business. Would it surprise you to know? According to the Standish Group, who's tracked this for 20 years through 40,000 projects, software projects fail 2 out of 3 times! Over the past 40 years, I've seen many failures. Some of the more famous failures you might even enjoy reading about: * Ford Motor Company had a messy patchwork of purchasing systems that just limp along, doing a poor job, and costing millions every year just to keep working. So, they decided to replace them all with a single new solution. They began development in 2000 and cancelled six years later, over budget by $200 million. * Giant British food retailer J Sainsbury, with visions of merchandise deliveries orchestrated with precise timing, invested in a new supply chain management system. Timing was anything but precise. In October 2005, with merchandise stuck in warehouses and market share slipping, they cancelled the whole thing, wrote off $526 million, and hired 3000 clerks to stock shelves manually. * This is a classic. Do you remember the FoxMeyer Drug Company? They bought ERP software from the number one vendor, SAP. They configured it and put it in production with high expectations. That move led to the collapse of the entire company. In December 1995, FoxMeyer was a $5 billion-a-year company. It was later sold for a mere $80 million. Software project failure is not limited to big business. With a 66% chance of failure, they're a high-risk gamble for any business. And if failure happens in your business it can be financially devastating. So, what is computer software? It could be your worst nightmare, as we've seen. But it can also be your primary reason for business success. Information at the right time to the right person can have explosive impact on both the top and bottom lines. The quickest path to success is to have the information capability to deliver that information. That requires software. Software created just for your unique business, which can leverage your competitive advantage or even become your competitive advantage. Here are two examples of just how powerful a weapon software can be when a project is successful: * Steve Santa Cruz, President of SC Design in San Diego has worked with his CIO to create an information solution that enables him to dominate his market. Gross margins are consistently 5 to 8 points higher than all competition. He has the competitive power to accelerate profits during good times and accelerate acquisition of his competition during bad times. * Martin J. Dinehart Vice President of Life Operations for Grange Life insurance Company beats his industries average productivity by 678%! His software enables him to manage 2,868 policies per employee, while the industry average is 423. In addition, his yearly technology cost per policy is $14, while the industry average is $55. These two business dimensions at Grange combine to create options for pricing power, accelerating growth and increasing profits. So, what explains the difference? Why were these two software projects such a phenomenal success? How are they different from the famous failures above? Technology people led all the failures. A business leader, responsible for the bottom line, led both successes. It's just that simple. After all, who knows your business best? Some technology guy? . . . No, it's You! You can create information capability to maximize your profits. You'll need a technology person to help. But you're the one with the most important knowledge for success. You're the only one who has the deep knowledge of your business required to envision the right solution. A good technology person can build whatever you want. That's what their good at. But only you know what works for your business. Stay in charge. Call the shots. Never let go of those reins. You'll guide your software project, and your business, to phenomenal success. Art Pennington is founder of four successful software companies, author, keynote speaker, holder of multiple patents, and creator of "5 Simple Steps" to the perfect software to run your business. Are you missing out? Art explains each step at: http://www.Small-Business-Software-Made-Easy.com ------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
