Re: in-house development versus packaged solutions

Ray Porter wrote:

Kevin,
Based on your posts, I'd almost think we work at the same
institution.

I think perhaps it's just that they're all the same.

Besides having clients in a university, my sister and her husband are
both 100% academics. For two people that are so bright, it sometimes
makes my head spin how the world in which they operate is so different
from mine. It makes for some interesting (exasperating?) conversations
at family get togethers.

Oh, no problem here. This is what academics are best at. Applying
for government grants. LoL.

Maybe but one difference here is that we're on the business, not the
academic side of things.

Understood. I just used your comment about finding money as a
springboard to illustrate how poorly it is often managed by academics.

the university as a whole has
committed to moving core applications to PeopleSoft (Student Records,
Financial Records and HR) at an anticipated tab of $130-$150 million

PeopleSoft, SAP, and their ilk are incredible aren't they? The amount
of money they charge and the trail of destruction they leave behind
always makes me wonder how they manage to stay in business.

Now, I know I'm not being entirely fair. I'm sure there are plenty of
people, err management, that are happy with their investments in these
packages, it's just that I've never met them.

Besides 2nd and 3rd hand horror stories, every organization with which
I've had direct contact that has moved to a solution by one of these
big vendors speaks of nothing but complete disaster. Of course, once
you've gone far enough down that road and spent that much money, there
is no turning back. You have to make it "work".

We really need to start charging millions for our software instead of
the paltry thousands that we do now. Clearly, charging millions makes
you a better vendor.

--
Kevin Powick
.

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