Business & Leadership Behaviors HLG Products & Functions Project Management Thoughts Technical & Industry Thoughts

The New NORMAL in Software Installation

Everyone is feeling today’s current business challenges with the coronavirus and its impact on our economy.  The changes it’s introducing with the “remote work” environment and “social distancing” practices presents a new set of issues when it comes to our software tools for employees.

For over twenty years, HL Group was a reseller and system integrator focused on turnkey solutions for our clients.  Today, our focus is on the manufacture of our software solution, mobilePLUS.

In this new role, we didn’t just look at the software functionality of the product.  We applied our years of solution delivery experience to ensure a complete and successful mobilePLUS deployment in its entirety.

We included addressing areas like:

  • Configurability – We wanted to make sure that mobilePLUS easily allows for the tailoring of the solution to a customer’s specific requirements – without having to add custom programming. We also created workbooks and other packaged tools to ensure that our customers could configure their solutions themselves if they preferred.
  • ImplementationInstallation of mobilePLUS is automated and completed remotely – as are the Administrative and User training classes. This approach ensures the most efficient use of your time and money while still staying safe.
  • Support – An essential aspect of a successful solution is its support program. mobilePLUS seamlessly updates functionality and the solution environment without disruption to the workforce or the need for additional resources.  This program also encompasses ongoing training on demand.
  • Production – A solution only provides value when it is in use. We designed the mobilePLUS solution so that you can be up and running in days versus months like a traditional deployment.  mobilePLUS gives you the ability to address issues NOW – not months from now.

The focus of nearly all of our client and prospect discussions over the past few weeks has been the ability to deploy updated ways to keep track of essential items with a detailed history of activities.  Key to this is the ability to get this done expeditiously and remotely – both installation and deployment.  The concern is not just functionality, but both safety and timing as well.

While we can say yes to all these challenges with mobilePLUS, all software solutions in the future will need to make similar investments in their packaging going forward.  Customers need, and will now demand, the ability to not only quickly implement applications but also to have the tools to perform it remotely. This approach will substantially reduce the product life investment required by getting it into production quicker and with less effort afterward.

We pray for our country and all of the citizens of the world during this time of challenges.  While we all are 100% confident in our ability to overcome, we are also creating many “NEW NORMAL” practices based on this experience.  One of those is the approach to software and keeping our organization’s infrastructure running – a vital link we all are more dependent on every day.