Stepping off a plane and running straight into a meeting is not usually my idea of fun but yesterday was an exception. Richard Messik is a partner with Vantis, with emphasis on the firm’s outsourcing activities. Richard has been a fan of saas/on-demand since 2001, years before most others had thought about the concept. He invented Easycounting, an early example of on-demand accounting. Like many others, Richard found considerable resistance to the idea of on-demand from within the profession.
Richard and I spent a couple of hours exchanging on-demand war stories and agreed that while attitudes are changing, it is still slow going. Even so, we both see indications of progress. At Vantis’s St. Albans office for example, Richard says the partners understand the value that on-demand can bring both clients and the practice. “They pretty much get it,” he says.
We discussed the barriers to adoption and agreed that familiarity with existing applications makes it hard for professionals to visualize alternatives. “I’m not sure they’re fully aware of the costs that are incurred in managing on-premise software, even when that means supporting multiple versions of the same software.”
We also talked about tactics that can be deployed to successfully onboard clients: “You need a great product and it must be really easy for clients to use.” That is only the beginning but if you want to know more then I’ll let readers talk to Richard. But be warned – Richard is a gadget freak:
…my Iphone [which] will have to be surgically removed from me if I were ever to get knocked down by the proverbial bus
loading...
loading...
