AMS Therapy

Do you love your AMS?  Anytime I've asked that question, the answer has often been No.

Maybe it's time you did some AMS therapy, and examined your relationship with your AMS vendor.  While system functionality can be the obvious problem, the root cause is often in the relationship with the vendor.  Some functions were over-promised and under-delivered.  Or the system was implemented fine, but the ongoing support of the system is disappointing.

One Executive Director told how she would call up customer support, and talk to a patronizing 20-something IT person who would ask her if she had tried rebooting.  When a few easy fixes (that she'd already tried) didn’t solve the problem, her case was 'escalated'.  What that meant was that she would never hear anything back about it again.  She hated her AMS vendor and called us to help her choose a new one.

But the cost of replacing your AMS is high, in terms of the time you spend documenting your requirements, evaluating vendors, transferring your data, and getting reach to launch a new system.

So what if you could engage in AMS therapy, in couples counseling?  What if you could rebuild your relationship with your vendor?

We suggest taking time to think about the issues you face in your current AMS relationship, and identifying what needs to be fixed.

Then book a meeting with your vendor and get the same level of attention you got when they were selling you their product.  It's time to go beyond your normal point of contact and set up a meeting with the head of the company or a senior executive.  Consider having a facilitator to keep it on track, relevant and civil.

You will not end up with a fairy tale happy-ever-after relationship with your vendor.  But a good partnership, which deals openly with issues and in which both sides work toward joint interests, is a happy ending.