Re: software -Reply Mary Ann Jurgus 04 Jun 1998 09:32 EST
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