PROVEN RELIABILITY AND PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS If the package has been
on the market for any length of time, any major problems probably have been detected
already and corrected by the vendor. If the product is popular, it almost certainly has
been rated and evaluated by independent reviewers.
REQUIRES LESS TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT STAFF Companies that use commercial
software packages often are able to reduce the number of programmers and systems analysts on the IT staff. Using commercial software also means that the IT staff can concentrate on systems whose requirements cannot be satisfied by software packages.
FUTURE UPGRADES PROVIDED BY THE VENDOR Software vendors regularly
upgrade software packages by adding improvements and enhancements to create a new
version or release. A new release of a software package, for example, can include drivers to support a new laser printer or a new type of data storage technology. In many
cases, the vendor receives input and suggestions from current users when planning
future upgrades.
INPUT FROM OTHER COMPANIES Using a commercial software package means
that you can contact users in other companies to obtain their input and impressions.
You might be able to try the package or make a site visit to observe the system in
operation before making a final decision.