With the exception of a handful of EDI software providers offering enterprise class B2B Connectivity & Collaborative Data Exchange software solutions there has been very little advancement with the stand-alone EDI Translation Software so many organizations depend on daily. Most of this software was purchased well over ten years ago at about the same time providers of EDI Translation software were shifting resources to take advantage of advanced B2B concepts such as collaborative file sharing, direct connectivity, analytics, cloud solutions, data warehousing and high-speed meta-data manipulation and transfer. This has left most of you with an EDI Translator frozen in time. The “new releases and fixes” you receive from time to time typically do not offer you more functionality. They are more a necessity to stave off the growing number of clashes your translation software is having with your operating system. It is only inevitable that one day soon, if not already, you will receive the dreaded “Notice of Intent to DISCONTINUE Support”. The reason is a simple one, your translation software will run out of gas and not function with the newer operating systems and this is the perfect time to upsell you and your organization the high-end enterprise class multi-functional B2B software stack. When this day occurs you will be faced with either that option or an even less appealing one of purchasing EDI translation software from a small company attempting to mimic what the large companies did so well for so many years. You do have a third option and for most of you, despite your large or medium sized misconceptions, it is the most strategic and economical of all. Deploying a scalable Managed EDI Service solution.
The fact is most of you don’t really care or really even think you are behind the curve right now. Ignorance is bliss and after all, EDI is just a commodity. Right? Wrong. Think of it this way. You, like most, think and treat EDI no differently than you do your old tennis racket wedged in the back of a closet. You’re not even sure which closet you just know you have one somewhere. The only peace of mind you have is that you know it works should you need it. So what if all your friend’s (insert your competitors name here) have a modern racket with a bigger head, tighter string tension and it will hit a tennis ball harder and with more spin than the one from your era. They simply didn’t get the memo confirming EDI is now nothing more than a commodity. Besides, you’re not that much into tennis anyway so why would you need to spend more money or time learning to play with a more functional racket? Well, we totally agree to all the above for many of you. You couldn’t be more right except for the fact that there are many benefits to the advances in EDI and B2B technology your company is not experiencing. For many of you the cost-savings that resulted from treating EDI as a commodity has inadvertently strained your existing resources and stagnated your EDI capability to what was seen and acceptable in the late 1990’s. The most pragmatic, strategic and economically feasible solution for many companies is to seek out a high-touch Managed EDI Service solution. Here is where you can still treat EDI and B2B as a commodity while gaining the competitive and strategic advantage of having the best software capability relevant to the times with the cost of ownership. Ultimately, it is your call. You can wait to get the notice or act before the mass exodus and reduce your risk even more as a result.
Want more? Check out one of our case studies:
Your EDI Translation Software is About to Self-Destruct
