CIOs are cautious about implementation: Why can't Saas solve the "key" problem?

I have written a blog about whether SaaS DRP can be applied in garment enterprises. See article: http://blog.vsharing.com/drate/A598362.html clothing ERP Shouji (8) SaaS mode DRP system is applicable?

I don't want this topic to cause a lot of discussions. Of course, this article was a bit straightforward and caused some software companies to be unhappy, so that I was somewhat passive, although this thing has passed, what I want to say here is: on the matter, no matter which company should set this circle on itself, you have a burden, I also have a burden .. Here is a discussion about some of my friends in this case, sharing with you:

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Recently, Old Wang, who has many years of CIO experience, has encountered some very difficult problems.

Previously, the vice president of marketing of this well-known clothing company had shot the Board and adopted an Saas-Based ERP system. From the company's top management perspective, the Saas-Based ERP system does not need to build its own machine rooms, purchase servers, and build networks. The software is leasing, which is as simple as using tap water. You can unscrew the tap and turn it off when you don't want it.

With past experience, Lao Wang believes that he is sure to do a good job in this project. However, contrary to expectations, after the ERP project enters the implementation and deployment phase, Old Wang encountered many difficult problems during the application process. If these problems cannot be solved, the system will not be able to implement them.

Three questions

In the Old Wang's view, the company's most important security and maintainability have no way to talk about it now. This also caused him to be tired of handling various sudden problems like a fireman, however, the real application training of business departments, analysis and follow-up of business needs, and the re-Promotion of ERP systems to terminals are not enough. Although the ERP system has been applied in the headquarters and branches, it is unable to continue to push forward to agents and specialty stores.

Lao Wang summarized three main problems that the system cannot be used up:

First, the Network stability. Because SaaS uses an internet-based solution, that is, the system can be used only when the network can be connected. The headquarters of the company uses an optical fiber network, and the system is relatively stable, however, in stores and counters in other provinces, network disconnection is common due to lack of good network conditions, so that the system cannot be used normally.

The second is the limitation to meet business needs. Since the SAAs ERP system is on a public platform, if the business department has new business requirements that need to be implemented by the software system, it will find that there is no way to meet them. The reason is that the SAAs platform must take into account the business models and business processes of other customers. If it is modified according to the requirements of a company, it will be easily opposed by other companies.

Third, Client Security and it staffing issues. According to software vendors, the system can achieve zero maintenance, thus reducing IT staff by 2/3. However, the actual situation is that at the headquarters, the IT Department is also responsible for daily desktop maintenance and data center maintenance, because OA, mail and other applications have to be done. On the client, the most common problem is not the problem of the ERP client program, but the problem of IE or the operating system, because IE is the most vulnerable to viruses and Trojans, the loss of user passwords has already occurred many times.

In trouble

Low investment is an important reason for many enterprises to choose SAAS. Lao Wang's enterprise initially considered this. Since so many problems have been found in applications, should they be stopped, and then select a system suitable for your enterprise?

Old Wang also wanted to give advice to the company's senior management, but before giving advice, he went to the finance department to learn about the project contract and payment situation, and he was very frustrated. Old Wang originally thought SaaS was relatively cheap, but he only learned after reading the project contract: although this project does not have the cost of buying software, the renewal fee is 0.3 million yuan, and enterprises currently have 300 users, the monthly rental fee is also RMB 30 thousand.

In general, 600 thousands or 700 thousands yuan is required for a year, which is a huge investment.

Old Wang said: "If you add 0.2 million yuan, enough to buy a good, traditional ERP system. But now, the project license fee has been paid, and the monthly rent is also paid for two months. The company's senior executives certainly won't agree to let these investments go. In addition, the sales season is approaching, and now it's time to re-select the system ." [Nextpage]

Comment: SaaS cannot solve the "key" Problem

Hao pengcheng, CIO of Anhui dikang (Group) Co., Ltd.

The process of enterprise informatization is very different from that of using a set of software. He emphasizes the overall transformation of the enterprise.

That is to say, the ERP project is not only an ERP software, but more importantly, how to improve the management level of the enterprise and how to standardize the operating mode of the enterprise during the implementation process, to adapt to information management.

Lao Wang encountered typical problems in Saas applications. As mentioned in the article, if the emergence of SAAS can help enterprises solve the surface problems of capital, personnel, and technology, SAAS is helpless in the face of management problems rooted in the depth of the enterprise, this is precisely the key to enterprise informatization. The specific performance is as follows:

First, SAAS cannot solve the management dilemma. Due to the short development time, some enterprises still have incomplete management. In particular, many small enterprises still have very serious family-style management, which relies on human feelings rather than systems. Information Construction emphasizes the system and uses systems and standards to manage daily operations.

In the face of this transformation brought by the informatization process to Chinese enterprises, SAAS is powerless like other traditional software.

Those who believe that SaaS can lead Chinese enterprises out of the ERP dilemma can only be an unrealistic "ideal ". They did not realize that the results of Enterprise Informatization were unsatisfactory or even failed. The main problem lies not in technology, but in enterprise personnel and management.

Second, it is difficult for SaaS to solve implementation difficulties. Although China's enterprise informatization has been around for more than a decade and has trained a large number of implementation consultants with rich project experience, most of these consultants are owned by some large software companies, such as Oracle, sap, and China's Ufida, gold disks ...... Most of the implementation consultants of some small companies are fresh graduates who have just graduated and have no practical project experience, or technical talents who only understand technology and management.

As for the current development, most SaaS service providers are still in a relatively small scale, and it is difficult to undertake high-level implementation consultants, or even simply deliver implementation difficulties to enterprises. SAAS is hard to reach the implementation difficulties of informatization.

Therefore, I believe that although SAAS has a qualitative leap over traditional models. However, the enterprise information market, or the enterprise management software market, is still insufficient. Because information projects, especially management software projects, are more important to management and implementation, rather than technology.

SAAS implementation with caution

Yan Bo, CIO of Shanghai TEDA power Balancing Machine Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

The main reason why most enterprises choose SAAS is that it is deployed very quickly, without license fees and the cost of building basic links, and can handle general business processes, in this way, the company can focus on customer relationship management to create true differences and advantages. As modruson of Accenture said: "Saas is not costly to start, so companies are flexible enough to change the direction and speed up development when problems arise. In contrast, because the application software has been packaged, it lacks such flexibility ."

Another key reason for choosing SAAS is that it can encourage enterprises to use standardized business processes. Many companies are exaggerating the uniqueness of their processes and over-emphasizing customized services. But no one cares about what software you use to manage wage payments and online meetings. Moreover, even if a standard SaaS tool is used, it does not mean that each enterprise gets the same results. Because configuring and using SAAS is a secret recipe, different configuration methods may lead to different processes.

In fact, if applications penetrate into the company's core content, especially ERP, finance, business intelligence, and manufacturing systems, SAAS should be implemented with caution. Because these software are the main processes that reflect the difference between enterprises and competitors, they usually need to be customized.

For example, the equipment wholesaler zones wants to add a series of business intelligence applications to analyze the sales and wholesale situations, but the CIO and Senior Vice President Anwar jiwani does not want to be built by the enterprise, I don't want to spend manpower managing these applications either. He once considered the commercial intelligence tools of SaaS providers, but gave up when he realized that SaaS reports could be too common and have no value. He hired seatab software to design and build the customer's business intelligence software to minimize internal investment while obtaining the required technology.

The scale of SAAS "services" should be expanded

Wang ran, CIO of Fujian xinqishi clothing company

Currently, SAAS faces two major challenges: availability and security.

The Availability refers to whether a service provider can provide services at any time when an enterprise hosts data that is not used by a service provider. One reason on any server system may affect the Enterprises Applied on it. For some small operators, it may not be better managed than the enterprise itself. The importance of security is easier to understand. Therefore, it is especially important for SaaS service providers to establish a good credit relationship between themselves and users. For a software vendor, it is a great challenge for users to trust you with data at ease.

The threshold for SaaS services is very low, depending on the scale. Only after the scale is up can there be good market prospects and profit margins. Therefore, this is different from a set of software installed in a large company, where a few people and hundreds of thousands of people use it. The complexity here is much higher than the traditional mode. While focusing on scale, software service providers must also take into account personalized issues. For small and medium-sized enterprises, it is actually the same as that for large enterprises. Although the sparrow is small, it is dirty. Therefore, it is a big challenge for service providers to solve the problems of scale and personalization at the same time and to be closer to the use of enterprises.