After your people, it’s fair to say that software systems rank highly amongst the factors impacting the operations of a modern business. These systems drive critical processes, monitor performance and allow that most important asset, people, to do their job to the best of their ability.
Much like businesses in general though, business management systems perform best when they are flexible and adaptable. Business never stands still and flexibility is what allows organisations to react and capitalise to emerging challenges and opportunities.
At LEVEL8 we work with solutions like Unit4 Financials, Exact Globe & Synergy and FinancialForce because we know, amongst their many other functionality strengths, that these market-leading systems can adapt to support almost any business situation.
It’s not just the technology that you should be concerned with when selecting a systems partner for your business to work with. Once again we return to very human factors here – namely attitude and experience. Much like when selecting your software, you should be looking for a partner that is both flexible and who can evidence that they can do the job.
Our consultancy and support services are designed with flexibility in mind because we understand that while systems may drive linear processes, our clients don’t operate in linear business environments. Exactly like your business, we know we must adapt and react to offer a truly effective service.
That’s why we offer both on site and remote consultancy services; put both internal and client collaboration at the heart of our projects; and place huge importance on establishing clear channels of communication. We have supported clients worldwide through upgrades and change using this approach and we know it delivers results for all stakeholders.
And how does this flexibility lend itself to achieving desired outcomes in the real world? Well, it’s probably easiest to illustrate that with a real world example:
Recently, a Unit4 Financials upgrade client came direct to LEVEL8, (having worked with us as CODA consultants on their original project back in 1998!).
They had a mission critical issue with their go-live which was just around the corner and being managed by a non-specialist IT support organisation. We agreed to assist them at short notice – they provided secured remote access to their server and explained their issue.
We identified the problem immediately and corrected it in a 4 hour time frame. The software vendor had declined to intervene as none of its staff had been involved in the upgrade project. Since then we have had a number of hours booked for remote consultancy to correct other configuration issues.
This is a relatively common example of how our flexibility and willingness to accomodate the needs of our clients, regardless of outside influences, allows us to achieve results that others can’t.
We are also helping many clients in the UK where staff turnover has left a knowledge vacuum. For example, where the system administrator has left and the internal IT helpdesk is unable to answer any of the software-specific or user-related issues.
The software vendor often considers this consultancy and will not offer any guidance or support other than through pre-booked on site consultancy, for which resources are not immediately available and which doesn’t take into account the urgency of some situations.
In situations like this our experience of the systems we work with and our ability to both understand an issue AND define a solution allows us to react quickly to these urgent client requirements and approach them from a more appropriate systems support standpoint.
So, whether you’re looking to engage with a technology partner in relation to long-term strategy or to address a critical issue in the short-term, it pays to place flexibility at the centre of your selection process.
To discuss how our consultancy and support services across our range of solutions could meet your business needs contact us today or email balal.ahmed@level8.solutions.
