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How long do you commit to stuff? You know, phone contracts, ISA saving terms, even personal relationships? A old friend of mine when on his third wedding day, his best man (a hat trick of wedding attendances under his belt) described Gary as, “Reliable chap, has been faithful to every woman he has ever slept with”. A bit near the bone, but accurate. I have now long lost touch with Gary, but I would be surprised if he is not already on his 5th or 6th set of nuptials.
Sometimes a break and reflection is necessary, almost essential.
Which brings me to housing software contract terms. Changing HMS or moving to a new solution platform on a CRM perhaps, is no quick decision, or implementation. Take those claims of phasing an implementation putting in a MVP module every 3 months with a pinch of the expensive Himalayan sea salt. Most of those claims are expensive and farcical, much like health claims for that particular sexy condiment
While smaller sites (under 3,000 homes) can usually move faster, most full HMS moves typically take 18-30 months. That’s partly down to suppliers and partly to the organisation implementing. Probably a theme for a whole new blogpost that one - resourcing right. So a 5 year term only may gives us 3 years-ish max of live running, hence aiming for a longer term. Indeed.
Some frameworks will only allow you to contract to a fixed term, maybe 3 or 4 years, then by the nature of those arrangements, the contracting body will have to go back to market. In some cases right back to that same framework. Most frameworks will allow you to contract for a longer period, however after that it is likely your procurement colleagues will expect a new procurement. On frameworks, don’t be confused about the typical three year re-tender term, this is for suppliers not you and generally the framework ID will change. RM1853 becomes RM3821 etc, when some suppliers might be added and some drop off. This 3 year cycle (which often becomes 4 year or more) does not restrict the length of contract that can be entered into. Hence, a 10 or 15 year contract is feasible, although I would say not practical or sensible.
Contracts are best split as something like a '5 plus 5 plus 5' or my favourite, a 5 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 which if your procurement folks will allow it, will give you from 5 to 19 year relationship, with plenty of option to exercise breakpoints. These can be used to reset relationships if service has deteriorated, your supplier has been 'acquired' or decided not remove their focus on SocialHousing, or technology dictates it. For example, who would have predicted the hybrid way we work now back in early 2020?
Another gotcha is anchoring a long term with payment arrangements. What happens if you are on the hook for 8 or more years of paying for a product or service and it becomes end of life mid-term? What if some of its underlying technology or components go that way? Any Third Party Items will have been resold with your primary supplier taking a wedge. |Housing solutions landed with unsupported Silverlight spring to mind (Keystone anyone?). CRM platforms are not a lot better, MS D365 components that can be difficult to upgrade when needed, represent a security risk or (get this) are acquired and then closed down deliberately.
I helped a D365 site that had this latter issue, when its MS Dynamics reseller had this happen and came back to the social care housing provider for another £60k to replace the obsolete component they had on their development. Luckily I could prove the original component had already been declared end of life 3 months before the reseller had started embedding it. Hence they had been negligent and it was not my clients liability. Just a few day's work for me but like many Critical Friend projects, I generally save organisation's more money than I cost them.
Anyway, I hope that helps provide some food for thought. If you have queries on this, procurement etc, please be in touch !
Any comments, observations or queries, please share.
Related Post: Software contracts - such a minefield. What to be aware of and what to try to avoid..
I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.
Cyprus Hill - Break ‘Em Off Some(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009
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