This is a great idea -- it would be helpful to find out whether they had
installation or did it themselves, or whether they had training, etc.
Another area of interest would be possible pit falls, possibilities of
or ease of modifications, expansions and/or upgrades, etc.
We have all seen and talked to these companies at meetings with their
wares, but nothing talks as loud or helps as much as the customers,
their satisfaction with performance, service, expansion, modifications
and upgrading.
Mary Ann Jurgus, Manager
Office of Research Administration
Loyola University @ Medical Center
2160 S. First Ave. Bldg. 120/400
Maywood, Il. 60153
p: 708-216-4288
f: 708-216-5881
e: xxxxxx@wpo.it.luc.edu
>>> Mary Watson <xxxxxx@VALDOSTA.EDU> 6/4/98 8:35 am >>>
Lisa
I agree most heartily with your suggestion. Making the decision as to
WHAT
to purchase is unbelievably tricky (for me, at least) and then getting it
up and running may be even worse. It would certainly help to have
roundtables where people talked about what they bought, how they are
using
it and what it took to get where they are (and are they pleased with their
decision) and what they wish they had more of, bettter, faster, etc.
Mary
At 08:30 AM 6/4/98 -0400, Lisa F. Richman Ballance sent a message
saying:
*John:
*
*I don't know if we know one another or not, but let me give the following
*"glib" "toungue-in-cheek" comment:
*
*I wouldn't buy a car without a testdrive.
*I wouldn't buy a house without an inspection.
*I wouldn't hire a person without an interview and reference check.
*
*ALL suppliers have references - or if the product is too new, the
supplier
*allows for a free trial period or some sort of money-back guarentee.
Stick
*with your intuition.
*
*Now, in defense of the software industry within ERA... These
companies
*are small and they have very new products on the market with new
buyers who
*may or may not have even figured out how to use these complex
systems.
*Those who have boldly purchased may not have taken the time to
properly
*install (figuring they could do it on their own)... they may not have
*contracted for training (which most software companies offer). So,
there
*may not be as many reliable referencees out there as one would hope.
In
*this case, I can understand why a company would want the potential
buyer to
*express a true interest, prior to the company releasing names and
phone
*numbers....
*
*Personally, I think that it would be a great idea to have ERA system
panels
*or roundtables at the upcoming SRA/NCURA meeting.
*
*It would be great to go to a session and have 4 people who use "XYZ"
talk
*about how they made the decision to go with that product, what
modules they
*purchased and why, what major steps were necessary for
implementation, how
*long implementation takes, did they integrate it with legacy systems
(how
*did that go)... etc.
*
*Comments anyone?
*
*Lisa
*
*_____________________________________________
*Lisa R. Ballance, Director
*Corporate and Foundation Relations
*101 Maryland Hall
*University of Richmond
*University of Richmond, VA 23173
*
*(804) 289-8445
*(804) 289-8943
*xxxxxx@richmond.edu
*http://www.richmond.edu
*
*
Mary H. Watson, Ph.D. xxxxxx@valdosta.edu
Director, Grants and Contracts Phone: (912)333-7837
Valdosta State University FAX: (912)245-3853
Regional Continuing Education
Center, Room 215
900 N. Patterson Street
Valdosta, GA 31698
