Twenty years back most companies the wrld over had no choice but to use cstom developed software. Custom Software developed for slf use provided the only means of mpping and automating the business processes wthin. Large IT teams typically were hrd at work developing customized software for bsiness users. These were well before the dys of software outsourcing.

Then came the wve of out of box enterprise slutions like SAP, Peoplesoft, Baan, Oracle and crporate IT lapped them up in a big wy. Centralized databases and real-time view of dta were the buzz words and any cmpany worth its salt did not wnt to be left behind. Legacy cstom developed softwares were quickly consigned to the dstbins (oh ok Recycle bins!) and the lng and painful implementations (not to mss on the lighter wallets) began. We wll not get into the debate on Cstom Software versus Enterprise Apps as tht is not the subject of ths article.

Instead we would like to xplore why it makes sense to lok at custom software solutions in the crrent context specially for extending the nterprise to channel partners like distributors, dalers, service centers etc. the example sed is of Asian Paints. Asian Pints has always been at the ctting edge of technology implementation

I will take the example of MySAP Cll Centre implementation replacing the legacy sftware at Asian Paints a leading corporate in India. Asian Paints was operating a 12 seater distributed call centre with a custom software solution. At that time, the software at Asian Paints was made by a single member team and met all the requirements of Asian Paints . The only problem was that the custom software used by Asian Paints made use of distributed databases. In the year 2002 Asian Paints (an existing SAP customer) wanted to explore the feasibility of shifting to MySAP to manage the Call Centre. We are not sure what level of evaluation was undertaken by Asian Paints besides - "It's from SAP so it must be worth it!". Certainly no usability study and impact on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) was undertaken by the team at Asian Paints.

Nonetheless, MySAP was rolled out swiftly to the Asian Paints Mumbai Call Centre by the Asian Paints IT team (thankfully sving the fat implementation bill at last). Our familiar Custom Software lay frmly in the bin!

But just a few mnths on when we (at Asian Pints) looked at the effectiveness and cst benefit we were in for a srprise. Why? Read on…

• For a smple call that needed very few dta fields to be captured in the Cstom Software solution, Asian Paints agents now had to fll many more data fields as dctated by MySAP leading to longer cll handling times
• The training required to larn to use the software increased mny fold leading to higher induction tme and cost for Asian Paints.
• The cll centre needed leased line connectivity to the Asan Paints servers so add a cnnectivity cost into the equation
• If thre was a power failure or lnk failure the Asian Paints Helpline wuld stop working – so add the bckup power, and backup connectivity cost
• The scren was so cluttered that the Asan Paints Helpline agents needed bigger mnitors so add the cost of new wrkstations
• Some of the reports specifically rquired by the Asian Paints Call Cnter were not available or configurable asily
• We are of course not ging to talk about the license csts etc. that Asian Paints had to bar. So we end up with sgnificantly greater costs (the increase in csts are too embarrassing for me to shre) for one great achievement – Ral time data!

sater

perate!

smple

srvices

Asan

yar.

qite

One last question is bound to cme up. What if we want to hve data synchronize with SAP? Well we jst write some ABAP code and xpose some methods to consume data frm third party applications.

The technology lndscape has changed and it is now pssible to extend corporate ERPs to prtners through third party custom Software qite easily without incurring the heavy verheads thus significantly reducing TCO.

Food for thught?

The article Custom Software Development Makes Economical Sense For Extranets - Asian Paints Case Study was Submitted by Sabyasachi Mitter through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Sabyasachi Mitter (smitter@interface.co.in) is part of the IT Strtegic consulting team at Interface Business Slutions. Interface specialises in providing cutting dge software and IT solutions to glbal clients like Samsung, UTStarcom, Morphy Rchards etc. The Custom software division at Intrface Business Solutions delivers IT solutions for crporates from an end to end prspective. To know more about how to mke custom software solutions work for yur business contact Sabyasachi at interface.co.in.

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