Do you want your business to keep running when everything is falling apart?
Picture this…
Your business is supposed to keep running, no matter what happens. That’s the whole point of business continuity plans. But when things go wrong, do you know what’s almost always the first thing to break?
Enterprise software.
Those massive mission-critical systems that keep your whole company running, from finance to HR to logistics. The minute they go down, your business is in big trouble.
It shouldn’t be this way. And there’s one solution that more and more smart companies are turning to. Why not visit www.supportrevolution.com to check out these services?
In this post, we’re going to look at:
- The value of expert software support in business continuity plans
- Why are more companies choosing third-party software support deals
- The key benefits of hiring an expert support provider
- 4 things to look for in the right support provider
- How to create a rock-solid software support business continuity strategy
The Role of Enterprise Software Support in Business Continuity
Enterprise software is the lifeblood of your business. Every aspect of your business runs on software.
ERP applications power your logistics and supply chains. CRM and sales platforms run your customer interactions. Accounting and finance software handles your money.
Software is what keeps you up and running 24/7/365. So what happens when that software breaks?
Not good.
Look at the stats:
- The global enterprise software market will reach $517.26 billion by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of 12.1%.
- The business continuity management market is also exploding, projected to grow from $510 million in 2021 to $1.81 billion by 2030.
This rapid growth means businesses are becoming increasingly complex and more dependent on software. As those systems expand and become more complicated, the potential impact of any failure grows exponentially.
Failure means downtime, lost revenue, damaged reputation, frustrated customers, lost orders, compliance violations, and more.
Software vendors do a lot of things wrong, but usually not on purpose. I’m talking about vendors’ less-than-stellar support contracts, like:
- Locked-in annual maintenance contracts at ever-rising fees
- Long and complicated terms and conditions
- The constant pressure to upgrade to the latest versions
- Waiting days or even weeks for routine support requests
Business continuity plans assume things will go wrong. IT systems are expected to fail from time to time. But overreliance on vendor support contracts puts business continuity at risk.
Vendor lock-in severely limits your options and increases downtime.
Enter Third-Party Software Support
Now for something I think you will find quite shocking…
The share of software deals with third-party support shot up from 27% to 45% in just two years. That’s according to the latest Gartner research.
We are talking an 18 percentage point increase in two years. That’s an average increase of 9 percentage points per year.
That’s crazy.
Smart companies realized they could get better service for less money.
We’re talking cost savings of up to 50% on annual maintenance while also boosting support quality.
But what’s more important to understand is that third-party software support providers are specialists in one area. And that’s helping you keep your existing software working.
Third-party providers have no interest in forcing customers to upgrade or switch software. Their whole business model is built around making sure your existing software keeps running as long as it makes business sense for you.
That is EXACTLY the type of support you need for business continuity planning.
The Value of Expert Software Support Services
The numbers alone tell part of the story, but let me cover a few specific benefits of expert software support services for business continuity.
Saving Money, Big Time
The average 3rd party support contract costs between 50-90% less than vendor support.
Not chump change. Real budget shifting. Take those maintenance dollars you’re spending on overpriced vendor contracts and funnel that cash into other business continuity efforts, like:
- Better backup and failover systems
- Redundant server infrastructure
- Business continuity training for staff
- Incident response and recovery planning
Faster Response Times
Vendor support operates on their schedules, not yours. And third-party support providers? They’re competing on service quality.
Look at what most top third-party providers offer:
- 24/7 support with real human experts
- Shorter ticket resolution times
- Direct access to senior technical staff
- Proactive performance monitoring to head off issues before they happen
Longer Software Lifecycles
The dirty secret of vendor support is that they want you to upgrade every year. That’s how they make money.
But upgrading software also means more risk, complexity, and potential downtime.
Opting for third-party software support means you can stick with the same stable, proven versions of your software as long as they continue to meet your business needs.
This approach will significantly improve business continuity. Less forced change means fewer opportunities for things to go wrong.
Customization and Flexibility
If your business needs a custom fix or tweak for your software, you’re out of luck with your vendor.
But specialized third-party providers can often:
- Offer custom patches and fixes
- Assist with integration challenges
- Optimize software performance
- Handle specialized configurations
Choosing the Right Third-Party Software Support Provider
Now, let’s go over four essential things you should look for when you are choosing the best third-party support provider for your business.
Evaluating Technical Expertise
Technical skills are, of course, a must-have for any software support provider. But the real question is, how deep do their skills go with your particular software?
Ask about:
- Vendor-certified engineers
- Experience with your exact software versions
- Years in business and track record with similar companies
- Specific technical certifications from vendors
Service Level Agreements
Avoid vague “we’ll do our best” statements. Demand clear commitments in writing, such as:
- Exact response time guarantees by issue severity
- Guaranteed resolution time frames for known issues
- Service availability standards like 99.9% or better
- Penalties if they do not meet the agreed-upon levels
Security and Compliance
Support providers are basically giving you remote access to your software and systems. Ensure they have:
- Industry security certifications like SOC 2, ISO 27001
- Compliance certifications required by your industry
- Stringent background checks on all support staff
- Secure remote access procedures
Financial Stability
You’ll need to know they won’t disappear in a crisis. Check their:
- Company financial health and credit rating
- Client retention rates over time
- Years in business and expected longevity
- List of customers you can contact for references
Integrating Software Support in Your Continuity Strategy
Hiring expert software support is just one important piece of the business continuity puzzle. Here is how it all fits together.
Documentation
Create and keep updated documentation of:
- Current software configs and dependencies
- Integration links between software systems
- Key business processes and their workflows
- Recovery procedures for different disaster scenarios
- Support provider contact information
Testing
Regular testing will uncover holes in your plans before disaster strikes. Schedule:
- Monthly basic system health checks and monitoring
- Quarterly failover and redundancy testing
- Annual full disaster recovery drills
- Ongoing, continuous system monitoring and alerts
Training
Staff need to know:
- How to contact support during outages
- Basic troubleshooting steps and escalation paths
- Incident response procedures for different issues
- Manual or alternative workflows when systems fail
Multiple Support Options
Don’t rely on a single support provider. Diversify your support options:
- Primary third-party support for day-to-day
- Backup vendor support as a contingency
- Build internal subject matter experts for key systems
- Use community resources like forums for open source platforms
Wrapping It Up
Business continuity through expert software support is not rocket science. It’s just simple math. Save money where you can, and spend it where you must.
Bring in third-party enterprise software support and you’ll get:
- Big savings (up to 50-90% less than vendors)
- Higher quality of service with faster response
- Extended software lifecycles with less risk
- More customization options to meet your needs
Businesses that expect the unexpected and plan for problems ahead of time are the ones that come out ahead when disaster inevitably strikes.
So make sure expert software support is part of your business continuity toolkit. Plan now for inevitable future problems, starting with your software support services.
Remember that 84.7% of software development projects involve enterprise applications. If you don’t have a plan to keep those enterprise applications running smoothly, then you are vulnerable.