Multi-National Software Selection Project Considerations

Recently, we have been doing a number of multi-national software selection projects for companies with operations in the US and Europe. This type of environment poses some unique challenges and considerations in the software selection and implementation process – not the least of which are the time zone and cultural challenges inherent with operating in a multi-national environment. Here are some things to consider if you are looking at a multi-national software selection and implementation.

• Make sure that the project team has representatives from each country as well as each area of functionality.
• Make sure there is a base of operation where the demos will be held. We have done them in multiple locations at once via web demonstrations, but it is better to have everyone together so a decision can be made together as a team.
• A multi-national environment is a good candidate for hosted or cloud solutions so you may wish to consider these types of solutions.
• Focus on software vendors that are multi-national in nature and can handle the accounting and reporting requirements in a multi-country environment.
• Make sure to take into account localization (languages, multi-currency, etc.) for each country that you will be implementing.
• Make sure the implementation partner you select has resources they can provide for each of the locations and countries that you plan to implement.

Posted By: Spencer Arnesen