Business mentor: Computer system requires specialist advice

Q: I have a small business in the service industry. My computer system comprises an IBMRS6000 for hardware and a software package custom-written for my business nine years ago. I need a major upgrade to all my systems but don't really know how to progress things further. Are there simple checklists of things I need to consider? Can I manage this process myself or do you recommend I get someone in to manage it for me?


* Kevin Rapson, Systems Consultant, Infinity Solutions replies:

A: There are various reasons why you may look to upgrade the applications and systems for your business.

It may be that the present setup has been outpaced by the growth of your business or that advances in technology will allow you to become more efficient in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Whatever the reasons, you must follow a sound process to ensure that you make the right decisions.

In deciding on a solution, you will need to ensure that it conforms to your business needs, integrates seamlessly with appropriate business processes and meets your critical success factors.

To do this, it is imperative that you have a model built that clearly identifies the business application requirements that will meet your goals for the next few years.

The initial investigation and business process mapping should be conducted by an experienced business analyst.

The purpose of this exercise is to give you a sound understanding of how your business works, your critical success factors (as referred to above) and your business' requirements, so that any solution can be fully integrated and deliver the best possible result.

It is important at this stage that the views and needs of key stakeholders, including staff, customers and management, are captured and considered.

From there, you will need to develop a functional specification.

The next thing I suggest is you seek out people experienced in the IT field to help you with this.

It would pay to talk with a few companies until you are satisfied that you are dealing with people that understand your specific needs and have the expertise to provide you with the information that you require to make a fully-informed decision.

To do this, you should use the model that outlines the requirements of the business.

You then need to investigate the systems and applications that will most satisfy these requirements. GAP analysis (defining the difference between requirements and standard solution) reinforces the identification of key technology and features needed to provide an effective solution.

It will also provide insights into the implications on your business of implementing the final solution and identify any shortfall between your requirements and any proposed solution.

Through a Solutions Architect, this knowledge can then be transformed into a solution design.

The solution design is in effect a blueprint for the final solution that can be used by you to obtain competitive bids and by developers to create the required applications.

Finally, a benefits analysis should be performed so that any promised benefits can be articulated in economic metrics.

This allows you to better measure the business value of the proposed solution and compare it with alternative solutions or capital investments.

In turn, this lets you make better decisions about the viability of the development and helps you to inform key stakeholders.

Once you have completed this process, you should then be in the best position to determine your budget and select the applications and hardware platform that will be the best fit for your business.

You should expect to pay from $5000 for the business analyst.

* For more information, you can contact Kevin Rapson on 09 921-8173

Or visit Infinity Solutions

* Answers are provided by small business sector specialist Sarah Trotman of Spring Group.


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