It's a well known fact that implementation costs have a significant impact on the Total Cost of Ownership for packaged software. Historically, the implementation cost for packaged software averages between four to six times the costs of the software. Given the significant investment in both software and services, many customers have been more aggressive in reducing implementation costs and accelerating Return on Investment (ROI). In my observations, I noted the following approaches to reducing implementation costs:
1. Customers have taken on more responsibilities during the implementation. Typical areas include end-user training, organizational change management, software development, and project management.
2. Implementation partners have provided automated tools to streamline and accelerate certain implementation activities. Typical areas include data conversion and end-user training.
3. Implementation partners are now providing off-shore...