Upgrading Your Software - 5 Things to Consider

							Upgrading Your Software - 5 Things to Consider
Thinking Of Upgrading Your Software?
Think Again!
No, I don't mean "don't do it" I mean think again.
Why do you want to upgrade and who will it affect? I recently had to make
that decision myself about upgrading from Office 2002, so I am sharing my
own thought processes.
5 Things to Consider:
1. Others Will others be affected by the change? Will employees, vendors,
customers, clients or service providers, have difficulties interfacing
with you? Remember, if you make it difficult for people to work with you,
they may choose to go elsewhere!
2. Compatibility Are there programs that you simply must use in the
course of your business? Will the new software be compatible? If file
sharing is something you do, will others that share your files have
problems accessing what you have done with their older versions of the
same program?
3. "Buggy" Software
Some software is notoriously "buggy" when first released. Others work
like a charm. Do your homework. If the one you are considering is one
that has a tendency to be "buggy" do you have the patience to work
through the problems until a service pack is provided to address those
issues? If not, you may want to wait until those issues have been
addressed.
4. Opinions
If you belong to a network of people in your industry, ask their opinion.
Get a consensus based on people with your same skill level and level of
patience. Is this something you can quickly pick up on your own, or are
you going to need to take a class or e-course to bring yourself up to
speed?
5. New and/or multiple computers
This is the one case where it is more important (from a financial
standpoint) to determine if you should downgrade the new computer or
upgrade the old, or perhaps run both versions on different computers.
Think long and hard how you can best serve: Your customer base, your
patience level, and your personal learning curve. If you have one or more
computers running on an older platform it may be financially sound to
consider a downgrade for the newer computer. On the other hand, having
the ability to switch back and forth from older to newer might make it a
win-win.
Ultimately, the decision is yours! As for myself, I made the decision to
go with the newer software. This decision was made because I had to
replace my desktop and my laptop within a few months of each other. Both
computers came with Vista. I asked my colleagues for their advice and
several of them have said, once they got used to it, they preferred
Office 2007 to older versions. Fortunately, my client base is such that
an upgrade will go unnoticed. I considered taking classes through the
local Adult Education, but have set that on the back burner for now. I
know from past experience this is a great resource for bringing my skill
level up to date.
Community Colleges and Adult Education: A great way to increase your
awareness and update your skills. Using your favorite search engine, type
in the name of your city and either "Adult Education" or "Community
College" to find a school close to you. Most will have the curriculum
online and many offer online courses as well.
Cheryl Harless is an administrative expert with over 20 years experience
working in Government, Corporate and Non-Profit Organizations. She is a
very capable creative thinker: versatile and self motivated. Cheryl
brings her unique perspective and sense of humor to everything she
touches, and is a valuable asset in any collaboration. To learn how her
services can help you, visit CH Enterprises at http://www.ch -
enterprises.com to schedule a Consultation Today.
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