IT Enabling Small and Medium Enterprises
Challenges
and Solution
Small and medium enterprises in India face several unique problems
in IT (Information Technology) enabling their systems and services.
Many of the observations are applicable to large industries also. This
brief write-up attempts to identify the challenges and suggest a roadmap
to the solutions.
Some basic facts
- Every enterprise is interested in solutions that will
directly or indirectly improve their bottom line either
immediately or in the foreseeable future.
- End users look forward to optimum and cost effective
solution (as opposed to the best or cutting-edge.
- Each enterprise has its own challenges and business
needs. There is no ‘The Solution’.
- The business needs are best known and understood by
the management of the enterprise.
- In any sequential process defects left in one stage
gets carried over to next stage making it more difficult
and expensive to correct at a later stage than at an early
stage. In our case first stage is ‘Requirements Definition’.
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Handicaps faced by organisations
- Inability to precisely define and convey their requirements
to solution providers, which require knowledge of both business
and technology.
- It is not feasible to employ full time IT managers with
requisite knowledge and experience due to the fact that
there is neither full time requirement nor it is affordable.
- Even if willing to setup an in-house IT department,
it is almost impossible to get right people.
- COTS (Commercial off the shelf) solutions are not always
the best or most effective. Issues like selection of right
solution, implementation and training needs to be addressed.
- Selection of vendors for custom solution has its own
share of problems. Best software vendors find Indian market
not lucrative enough thanks to huge disparity between real
purchasing power of $ & € and their exchange rate.
- Most vendors who cater to Indian market lack expertise
in requirement elucidation and management.
- According to Watts Humphrey . The CMM guru, topmost
reason for failure of software projects is unrealistic schedule.
Third topmost reason is changing requirements during development.
The culprit is poor requirements definition and management.
- Software vendors who quote without fully understanding
the requirements get into vicious cycle of escalating staff
costs, inability to convince customer, poor patched up work
to somehow complete the task at minimum cost; harming the
client and themselves in the process.
- Senior management of the organisation find it difficult
to devote sufficient time and energy to review the progress.
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How to overcome the handicaps?
Engage a consultant for the duration of the project. But wait! Not
everyone can fit into the slot. A fill understanding and diagnosis of
the problems goes more than half way to the solution.
The consultant should be-
- Experienced in both business and IT domains.
- Capable of understanding clients business needs, both
stated and implied.
- Independent of any software vendor / developer.
- Capable of interacting with all levels of the user and
software vendors.
- Use right language at right level. Should not use wrong
jargon at wrong place.
- A keen observer capable of understanding even new domains
he is never exposed to.
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Responsibilities of the consultant-
- Requirements elucidation. Define requirements in clear
terms with necessary details.
- Interact with vendors, assist client in selecting right
vendor.
- Closely coordinate with client and vendors to ensure
that requirements are met to the satisfaction of the client.
- To act as the client’s representative.
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©Upendran KR - Ver 1.0 Rev 07.08.21
http://www.upendran.com
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