Before you move, know what you have

That is not a criticism of firms. Systems are often implemented in a hurry, trained once at go-live, and then left alone while the software moves on through years of releases nobody installs. People build workarounds, the workarounds become habits, and eventually the system gets the blame.

The gap usually is not the software

When we look closely, the problems behind a move are often configuration, workflow and training: matter templates that were never finished, time recording nobody enforces, documents saved anywhere but the matter, reports run from spreadsheets. A new system does not fix those on its own. It brings them along, with a bigger bill and a year of disruption.

Four checks before you decide

1. Are you on the current version? Many of the gaps firms complain about were fixed in releases they have not installed.
2. When did your people last have training? Ask whether your vendor offers refresher training, and use it, especially for long-serving staff and new starters.
3. What are you already paying for? Ask for a walkthrough of the modules and features in your licence that you do not use.
4. What is on the roadmap? Ask for the six-month roadmap and the vendor’s bigger ambitions for the product. The thing you are about to leave for may already be on the way.

Sometimes moving is still right

Price rises, a product reaching end of life, or a vendor moving customers onto a different product can make a move necessary however well you use the current system. Even then, knowing what you have means you do not leave capability behind, and you set the new system up properly from day one.