08 Mar Fit-to-Standard installations the prêt-à-porter of the IT world?
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To ensure a perfect fit for the individual client, Haute Couture is always made to order, designed and tailored by hand, using only the finest materials.
Prêt-à-porter, on the other hand, is high quality, affordable, factory-made designer fashion. Designed within the bounds of standardized sizing, these pieces are not meant to fit perfectly, and no tailoring is required.
Prêt-à-porter fit the most people pretty well, just not always perfectly. 1
Which is really great if you have an average body like most people.
Some people may be able to change into an average prêt-à-porter standard body size – by making a few lifestyle changes. For other people, no amount of diet or exercise will get their taller-than-average legs to fit into the required standard prêt-à-porter hip-to-heel ratio.
Fit-to-standard, “out-of-the-box” and cloud solutions are the prêt-à-porter of the IT software world.
Fit-to-standard software systems are affordable, world-class, best-of-breed solutions that can be rapidly deployed to many companies. These installations use standardized processes that are designed to fit the majority of companies fairly well.
Companies that implement fit-to-standard software often under-estimate the transformational impact of such an implementation on their company. Just like a garment will not alter to fit the wearer, fit-to-standard IT solutions will not change to fit the company, nor it’s business processes, or users.
“Focusing solely on configuring the pre-packaged technology without dedicating a significant amount of time and resources on organizational change and process reengineering can lead to suboptimal results.”
What is your view?
Do IT companies have a moral obligation to ensure that their fit-to-standard solution will be a good “fit” for their client’s business
or,
must client companies accept the prêt-à-porter deal and ensure that they fit into the cost-effective standardized solutions they buy?