Posted on March - 29 - 2009
Packaged Applications – The Hidden Costs of Snake-Oil
Packaged Applications – The Hidden Costs of Snake-Oil
By David DeWitt
Most of us remember the dubious “doctor” in Huckleberry Finn who proclaims to have the cure for any malady. From the back of the crowd his shill would loudly proclaim that he himself had been healed by the magical elixir. Oh my, but the quantity of snake oil they sold before the townsfolk discovered they had been duped – and the doctor long gone. From the tone of many internet blogs it seems the same buyer’s remorse is lingering in the “Packaged Application” world.
Before we get into the discussion of packaged applications let’s take a step back and remember how these wonder cures manifested. In the late 1980’s – (when disco was dying) manufacturing companies wanted to shape supply chain management and enterprise resource planning. In short, they wanted to encourage the concept of a “process in a box.” (my quotes). Somehow over the last ten years the industry has forgotten that part about the need for the organizational “process” to change; and as we shall see, that is a key cause of hidden costs.
To belabor the point of “snake oil” for just a moment longer – what exactly is a packaged application?
1. You can’t see the ingredients (What is the quality of the code?)
2. You don’t know the recipe (How was it developed?)
3. You don’t know how it’s to be served (Is it designed for my architecture?)
4. When done – you hope it won’t upset your stomach (Will it run on or corrupt my databases?)
But it heals the sick and will bring peace and joy to the world … if it’s configured just right!
The top ten hidden costs are – in no specific order:
