Anjit was excited. He had finally convinced his father to take their family business online. There was plenty for him to do now. But first and foremost, he wanted to have solid ERP software to manage his business. So, he went through a number of service providers online.
After an extensive search, he narrowed down one web development company which offered to create a custom ERP for dirt cheap price. He thought – “This is a great deal. They may not do maintenance for free. But how much would that cost.” He went ahead and got their service.
After a year
Anjit’s online business was picking up well. There were minor glitches with the ERP though. At times, it became impossible to modify even product details. Every time he approached the software guys to get a bug fixed, he was charged a decent amount.
He calculated the overall expense incurred to him for software maintenance. To his surprise, it amounted to around three times the software’s original cost.
Finally, it came to a point where he had to ask for an upgrade. The response he got left him even more dejected. He was told – “Sorry, Mr.Anjit. Your software architecture has its limitations. We can either provide you with minor maintenance or you will have to get a new package. Its architecture is now outdated.”
What went wrong for Anjit here?
Let’s see.
In our day to day life, we buy a lot of stuff – gadgets, stationeries, utensils, clothes, etc. In all these cases, we pay almost 70-80 percent of the total cost to buy the product. So, we tend to think that once we buy a product, the maintenance cost is going to be minimal.
It should be true in the case of software too. But, 60-70% percent of the total cost goes for maintenance.
Why?
In a bid to look for budget solutions, people like Anjit tend not to think about the quality. They do not think about long-term implications. Or, they do and ignore it because of the affordability.
The main reasons for exorbitant maintenance costs are
Poor Software Architecture
If the software you buy has a poor architecture which will not be able to support future updates and technology, high maintenance would be a given.
By nature, software is always evolving. If you use a smartphone, you know that new features are being added to the phone as well as applications by means of updates. The same applies to all types of software. Your software should be equipped to support such features. At least till the foreseeable future.
Lack of Proper Testing
Developing is not an easy job. It requires high level of skills and concentration. Under such circumstances, software bugs and glitches are unavoidable. The only way to deal with it is proper software testing. Unfortunately, a lot of people skip on testing because they want to launch their product as soon as possible.
With proper testing, software becomes highly polished, making it user friendly. Another benefit is minimal maintenance cost. There might be one or two rogue bugs even after thorough testing. But proper testing ensures the maintenance required for your software is far and few. This reduces the cost drastically.
So, relatively affordable software with minimal upfront cost
or
Expensive, properly tested software with good architecture and minimal maintenance – which would you choose? Let us know in the comment section.
Month: May 2015
7 Reasons to Get Your Software Tested
We live in a world that demands perfection, where mistakes are least tolerated. Though some mistakes can be ignored due to lack importance, some mistakes can lead to grievous after effects. You may loss a fortune or may be it can strip you off your reputation.
Same applies to software developers. They are not super heroes and therefore, you can’t expect the software they develop to be error-free. Making a mistake is not a crime but at the same time you should find a solution for maximum damage control.
Software testing is the best way to minimize the errors in software. Also, the best option is to hire a software tester to do it for you. If you perform the software testing yourselves, you may not really detect majority of the mistakes. Therefore, it is important for someone else to check it for you.
Apart from checking for errors, here are 7 reasons that underline the importance of software testing:
- Software testing points out the errors in software. If you wait for software to be tested after the completion of its development, you may have to start from the beginning in case of errors. Therefore, it is always wise to test software at its developmental phase
- The popularity of software depends on how comfortable it is for the customers to use and how satisfied they are after using it. Therefore, it is always necessary to test the software and ensure that there are no errors before the software reaches the customers
- While buying any product, customers give priority to the quality of the product. A product of poor quality can lead to the customers losing trust in you and this can affect your business. Therefore, it is important to have the software to be tested for errors
- People always go for the products that are affordable and have a low maintenance cost and gives accurate and consistent results. Software or application full of errors can lead to extra expenses and you may end up losing your customers. Therefore, software testing is important
- No customer accepts a product with poor performance. Therefore, it is necessary to do software testing to detect errors before introducing the software or application amongst clients
- It’s necessary to ensure that an application or software does not end to be a failure. It can lead to losing lots of money and all the efforts put by people to develop the application will be wasted
- An application or software of poor quality and performance can tarnish you image in the market. People will lose their trust on you and your company’s reputation will suffer
Software testing allows you to check all aspects of software such as browser compatibility and in case you find any mistakes, you get an opportunity to rectify it. This can save you from complaints after the software or application reaches the customers.
The reputation and persistence of your company depends on customer satisfaction. Unless they are not happy with your product, your reputation will be at risk. This can affect you badly, leading to monetary losses and the clients may not trust you anymore. So, why not have your software or application tested?