Easing the burden of software support

21 June 2010

When I recently read about a company exporting croissants, baguettes and claret to France I had to check it wasn’t April Fool’s Day.

It seems a delivery firm in Northamptonshire is running five vans a week to France full of groceries from UK superstores to expats all over the country.

And one distributor even claims it has delivered bottles of Bergerac bought in Sainsbury’s to customers in Bergerac.

This made me think about the lengths we go to to get what we want. When I’m talking to firms about how they run their businesses I am always impressed at the entrepreneurial spirit, passion and drive brokers have for their companies.

The rapport they have with their clients and the lengths they go to to support them makes me proud to be part of this business.

To maintain this, many use a plethora of systems and if these are integrated it creates challenges when one needs updating.

Moreover, the support these systems need is mind-blowing including operations management, systems management, maintenance, upgrade costs and user support.

Experts estimate that for every £1 you spend on computer software you will spend £5 supporting it. It’s worth bearing that in mind when considering a new system.

But many IT costs that would usually sit with broker firms can be removed by selecting the right IT partner. In other words - let the broker business concentrate on what it does best.