CIO OPINION
For the CIO
The headline suggests that CIOs and tech leaders can make huge savings by switching to third-party software support . With looming inflationary troubles and given the difficult recruitment climate , these monetary savings shouldn ’ t be overlooked . And few would argue against the positives of shifting budgets from operational costs to transformation , digitisation or even skills investment .
CIOs are always on the lookout for how they can consolidate their technical processes and ultimately produce better outcomes for their business and clients . To do this , they need flexibility and freedom . Flexibility to change their level of support or even change contracts if it ’ s not working for them and their time , freedom to choose which elements within the software stack they need maintenance and support for . Efficiency can only be improved when barriers to straightforward , streamlined work processes are removed .
These savings are also found in time and resources . IT teams often spend hours grappling internally with software issues , working collaboratively with their vendor ’ s in-house support to diagnose the problem and waiting for a resolution . Getting access to a senior support engineer can take time – lost time . But having access to high-level support from a dedicated software engineer , within minutes , is possible with third-party support . This dedicated engineer , in effect , becomes a part of the IT team themselves , who understands the intricacies of the business needs and the level of support required .
It ’ s the goal of third-party software support companies to help businesses realise their Digital Transformation goals through software .
The cost benefits of third-party software support are well documented and widely known – they ’ re always 50 % less than the annual cost of packaged support and maintenance options .
This price tag is attractive and is often touted as the motivating factor behind businesses ’ decisions to move away from their vendor ’ s packaged support . But having a software support system in place isn ’ t just about engineers answering your calls and your team paying a fair price for it . It ’ s about working collaboratively to understand your business ’ unique digitisation journey and goals . It ’ s about creating a productive , efficient , stable software environment .
For CIOs , the ‘ Fear of Missing Out ’ can also come into play . It ’ s natural to be concerned that moving away from a vendor ’ s software support also means a breaking of the ability to remain on the vendor ’ s software roadmap – be that on-premise or in the cloud . In fact , the decoupling often improves the CIO ’ s ability to execute against their roadmap in the shape , method and timeline that they want , and not that of the software publisher . p
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