Like software businesses the world over we find ourselves testing new releases in something of a vacuum – attempting to replicate the actions and environments of the real world can be a thankless and impossible task. Where the software can be used across a number of business scenarios and the twists and turns of a wider user community can vary enormously the scope of error is compounded. It’s an issue which the software community has wrestled with for many years now. Other than long, in-depth and often automated testing, the most common belt and braces proving route is by customer validation. Beta site testing is used the world over whether it be the big names like Microsoft, Oracle, Sage and others or the niche software provider.
Invu’s Early Adopter programme is typical. But we know that alongside those who are genuinely keen to see what’s round the corner, for most businesses the attraction can appear limited. We’ve been giving this a lot of thought. You see, high quality, real-world pre-release feedback is nothing short of gold dust. It can be the difference between success and embarrassment in some cases. But there must be something in it for the customer.
That’s why we’re formalising the Early Adopter programme with some sweeteners to add to the standards. (The standards being: a bit of first-mover advantage so you can be up and running before your competitors, enabling you to plan out your implementation and getting closer to the vendor and therefore being more influential in future product direction. There’s also the issue of ensuring the software quality for yourself – don’t trust anyone else, gain your own confidence etc. This is what large organisations with major roll-outs will do anyway so some of you may already be used to a period of User Acceptance Testing before new software is available to the business in a live environment.)
We’re looking for a good spread of customers across a range of organisational types. If you join us we’d like to make it a worthwhile exercise for all parties. Our most recent Newsletter leads with this request and asks that if you’re interested that you contact Mark Palmer or Sandeep Kang. Of course, we’ll be asking some customers and partners directly. But it would be great if you put your hand up first before we even send the invitations out….
