FE and HE software funding has traditionally been focused on buying from outside agencies who in some cases look on the FE and HE Sectors as a gift horse. For Colleges and Universities who allow others to dictate the time scales and the feature sets and then setup "User Groups" to support the external supplier this can be an uncomfortable journey. No other industry approaches software development in such a way, there is an alternative.
Instead of User Groups being thankful for what suppliers offer with once a year meetings and a well hidden forum we suggest taking control of the process with dramatic cost savings. Funding FE or HE systems by Co-operative agreement will significantly lower both the initial capital cost and the ongoing support costs whilst enabling local customisations where required.
College software funding
If the User Group takes absolute control and agrees the funding and product specification then you will own your product and have far more control without the excessive annual fees you have become used to, look at the example below which user figures far lower than are usually levied:-
Using existing in house services and facilities and adopting a browser based approach to delivery will save considerable amounts, your own staff at the point of contact with the Learner are best placed to demand changes which can then be implemented locally or via a short phone call to a central support person. We manage many College installations in this way.
Avoid at all costs the "protectionist" - these people are locked away in dark cupboards and claim change will be expensive and almost impossible (having heard this mantra from the Company who installed the system you dont like), the reality is that your existing data can often stay where it is and simply be better utilised using modern methods of interacting with the data.
Compulsory Support and Maintenance Agreements
These rarely offer value for money, if the system worked you would not require it, if it needs changing why can't your own in house team alter it, and why would anyone pay annually in advance or in recent times Colleges were offered marginal discounts in return for a 5 year agreement! Paying for what you use at a fair price is the best option - no other industry would fall for this.
Existing way Colleges fund Development needs reviewing
| Status Quo assuming estimated figures |
Billable events |
Per College
|
10 Colleges
|
20 Colleges
|
Site Visits design and specification |
Billed at full day rates |
Billed at the same rates |
Billed at the same rates
|
| Full purchase price per College |
£15,000 |
£150,000 |
£300,000
|
| Enhancements |
£3,000 |
£30,000 |
£60,000
|
| Annual Support |
£10,000
|
£100,000
|
£200,000
| Total Costs may be even higher |
£28,000 year 1
£13,000 thereafter |
£1,300,000+
|
£2,600,000+
|
|
A better way to fund Development
| The proposed way forward benefits all parties and lowers costs |
Billable events |
Per College
|
10 Colleges
|
20 Colleges
|
User Group agrees product design specification and instructs "proof of concept" |
Project Costs to be agreed |
One tenth |
One Twentieth
|
| Purchase price is a percentage of development costs shared and set by the User Group |
... |
... |
...
|
| Enhancements |
Funded by the user group |
Funded by the user group |
Funded by the user group
|
| Annual Support |
Pay as you go estimated at £1,000
|
Pay as you go estimated at £1,000
|
Pay as you go estimated at £1,000
| WiredContact Maintenance Licence* |
Non Compulsory
£25 per named user - £50 per concurrent user
|
Non Compulsory
£25 per named user - £50 per concurrent user
|
Non Compulsory
£25 per named user - £50 per concurrent user
| Total Cost to User Group |
Cost of Development
Divided by the number of supporters |
...
|
...
|
| |
WCE Design Principles
The philosophy behind the WiredContact Enterprise design in based on these principles:
- Ease of use, ease of installation and ease of administration
- User security — consistent against all tables at the field and user level and provides flexible security options
- Industry standard architecture throughout the application, including database engine, browsers, HTML and web technologies
- Scalability — accommodate all company sizes and allow the ability to easily change the back-end database or the database structure without having to change the front end
- Long life cycle — an application that uses technologies that are built to last
Clients have Control
As a Cloud computing CRM solution WiredContact is capable of working with a wide variety of back end databases. Many clients prefer to use MS-SQL for the ease of use and wide availability of support.
References are availableAsk any of our College Clients who will tell you we achieve within budget and schedule and support is responsive and reliable. Also when we update the software it generally does not involve disrupting your table structure or any action that could take down your installation - a refreshing change.
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