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What
should you look for in I&R
Software?
Deciding which I&R Software System
to purchase for your organization is a
difficult task, considering the
variety of software choices and the
multitude of features available in
each system.
The software choice
you make for your agency determines
the quality of your organization's
services for many years to come. From
service referrals to the creation of
directories and statistical reports,
good software makes all the difference
in the world.
Software
vendor's are always asked these
questions:
"Why
should I choose your software over the
other options?"
"How
does your software compare to this
other vendor's system?"
"Can
you give me a comparison chart of the
different systems?"
Brief
History of I&R software
Unfortunately, there
are no available up-to-date, independent, comprehensive
comparisons of the different I&R
software systems.
Furthermore, a comparison is only
valid for the tested versions of the
vendor's software at the time of the
analysis. Some vendor's
software evolves rapidly while other's
stay fairly static. A
comprehensive, informative, ongoing
analysis process is not in place in
the I&R community.
How can an
I&R organization looking for
software make a good decision?
Let's start
with the obvious . . .
1.
Does the vendor have a large I&R
software customer base?
There are only a few
established I&R software vendors
whose primary customer base are Information & Referral organizations.
Most vendors core software product
ARE NOT Information and Referral.
Their core products are HMIS,
Workforce, Funding or some other human
service software. Be wary,
these vendors
have the least sophisticated I&R
systems.
2.
Ask the major I&R organizations
what they are using and
why.
Many
of the well known and established
Information & Referral
organizations in the country have
completed a comprehensive analysis process
when choosing their current
system. Give them a
call.
3.
If you have narrowed it down to a
couple of I&R software systems, ask each vendors
for a list of I&R organizations who have
recently converted from the other
system to their system.
This will tell you a
lot about the a vendor's system.
If the vendor has not converted
customers from the other system to
theirs, Watch
Out.
4.
If your I&R organization is in a
particular field of I&R such as
Aging or 2-1-1, ask the vendor
for a list of well known organizations
in the same field using their software.
If your
organization is or is soon to become a
2-1-1 then find out what software the
established 2-1-1
organizations are using, such as
the United Way of Connecticut, United
Way of Atlanta, or the United Way of
the Texas Gulf Coast.
5.
Look at the technology behind the
software - what is the development
platform and what database systems are
used?
The software
industry is a rapidly evolving
environment, especially when it
relates to the operating systems on
your computers. Unless the
software is written in a current
development platform, you will be
buying instant obsolescence.
For example, if you are considering a
FoxPro based system then you are
considering a system that is 8 years
behind the technological
curve.
6.
How often does the vendor release a major
update? Not just a new
version number but a major upgrade
including a newer development
platform.
This relates to #4
as well. Is the vendor
staying on top of the ever changing
software programming and operating systems
environments that take advantage of new technologies?
7.
The choice of software will have a
huge impact on the quality of your
I&R service. Be
sure to involve the people who will be
actually using the software when
making a final decision.
There seems to be an
alarming trend that vendors are
pitching the merits of their software
to upper level management and IT staff
who have little or no experience using I&R
software. The best
resource for selecting a system is the
group of people who use the software;
Call Specialist and Resource
Maintenance staff. Be sure
to involve
them in the decision making process.
8.
Here is a commonsense tip that is
relevant to all small niche businesses,
including software
companies: If the vendor
offers fancy advertisement
materials, has a big fancy
office facility, and lots of
employees; remember, you will be
paying for that
overhead.
The I&R industry
is unique because the customer base is
primarily non-profits, which means
funding is limited compared to the
for-profit world. We as software
vendors have a choice to make:
Do we invest in our software or do we
pay for fancy offices and promotional
materials? (At RTM we
invest in the software).
9.
This is a WARNING! Vendors
will only show
you the good stuff during a demo.
All vendors
want you to buy their
software. In order to convince
you that their software is best for
your organization, they will stay away
from the areas in their software that
are "less than optimal". There is no way a
one or two hour demo is enough time to
fully evaluate a system. Don't be
fooled by the flash, study the
functionality in depth.
Now
let's look at the technical side of
I&R software . . .
* * Note from Ed
Toomey * *
Software System
Manager - RTM Designs
I would like to clarify that
the following section is based on
three opinions:
-
My
opinion (Ed Toomey at RTM Designs)
-
The
opinion of the majority of our
customer base
-
The
opinions from various
people in the I&R industry
Besides
being the head of the software
development department at RTM Designs,
it is my job to fully understand the
features and functions of the
competition's I&R software.
With this knowledge we make sure our
products are the most advanced in the
I&R industry.
Each
link below
represents an important topic
regarding I&R software in today's
market. The first section
under each topic is a an opinion based
on a summary of the three opinions
listed above. The second
section will be a commentary of RTM
Designs position.
Web-based or Window-based I&R
software?
Database Design - ServiceSite data structure
Full
utilization of the AIRS/INFO LINE taxonomy
AIRS XML Data Transfer capability
MORE TIPS COMING SOON!
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