Systems implementing
Every proprietor is interested first not in buying of a new billing system, but in putting in into operation. It is easier to buy a system than to make it operate properly in a utility company. The system bought quickly very often has been implemented for years and can be out of date before this process is over. It often happens that losses are bigger than the cost of the system and its implementing.
On the way of implementing any billing system the following obsticles nay arise:
- A system is partially (completely) not ready for industrial implementing, e.g. error in calculations, lagging, data loss, absence of necessary reports and functions, no protection against operators faults etc.
- A billing system is bought as a "turn key" solution and it has to be installed by the personnel of utility company.
- Personnel may sabotage the implementing of the system because of the fear to lose some bonuses or to get more work.
- Management is reluctant to take administrative decisions to cope with sabotaging personnel.
- Management does not trust developer and system, it prevents the system from being deployed completely.
- Management does not think it is necessary to buy a new billing system (not feasible).
- Billing system developer is not aware of the technology of a utility company operation and system implementation breaks the continuous operation of the company and makes this operation more complex.
- Developer does not have clear and debugged process of introducing a new billing system.
- Developer does not make data conversion or cannot retrieve data from old system or data available are not complete.
- Personnel is not trained properly how to operate system and tries to master the system without training - which is very problematic for complex systems.
Experience shows that sometimes it's easier to develop a system from grand zero than to implement a turn key.
