Thinking about updating your rights system? Whether you are looking to make the switch from spreadsheets to something more robust or are looking to upgrade from a dated database to something that will deliver time savings in your workflow, there is a lot to consider before you determine the right solution for your organisation. As well as the rights team’s checklist of ideal features and functionality, your organisation’s tech team will also have requirements.
In this blog, we have identified some of the most common questions we’ve seen technology teams ask their rights colleagues, in relation to procuring a new rights system. We’ve also explained why this and what you may need to know.
5 questions your tech team will ask when you are looking to procure a new rights system
…and why they are asking them
Read on to find out the sorts of questions you should be prepared for, as well as some initial answers that you can share with your tech colleagues, should you be considering switching to RightsZone.
1 – Where would the new rights system be hosted and how secure is it?
Traditionally, most software was hosted “on-premises”, which means that the software was installed locally on a business’ own server. These days, it is increasingly common to find that software is hosted in the cloud. Typically, cloud solutions are favoured because they don’t require the same level of resourcing from your business, in terms of hardware and maintenance and therefore offer operational efficiencies. Cloud systems also tend to offer a greater level of flexibility in terms of being able to scale with you as your business grows.
The benefits of a cloud system
The best cloud systems have excellent security resources and disaster recovery capabilities too. It is essential to understand where your data will be stored and what security measures are in place to help defend against cyber attacks. With on-premises solutions, the security of the data held is managed by your own organisation on your own servers. With cloud solutions, data is held in data centres which could be anywhere in the world. Your software vendor should be able to advise where and how your data will be stored and how it will be encrypted, as well as how it implements redundancy (making replica copies of your data across different servers, to enable operations to be restored quickly after an attack) amongst other security procedures.
Even with secure servers, vulnerabilities can be introduced in other ways. For example, did you know that a significant number of data breaches occur as a result of human involvement, such as compromised user credentials? How well a system supports users in keeping it secure is another important consideration. For example, by offering multifactor authentication (username plus password plus another method).
RightsZone is hosted on the Salesforce platform which is generally considered one of the most secure in the world. From data centre security with a high level of redundancy to encrypted data in transit and at rest backed up by constant monitoring, testing and sophisticated risk management programs, security is built into everything that Salesforce does. They comply with various frameworks and standards including NIST 800-30, ISO 31000 and ISO 27001. Multifactor authentication (via authenticator app, key or operating system biometrics) is a requirement for all RightsZone users.
Find out more about Salesforce Trust and their Commitment to Customer Trust whitepaper.
2 – What does the implementation process look like?
Transitioning to a new system can be a daunting prospect, particularly if you have a lot of data to migrate from one system to the other.
Different vendors will have different approaches to implementation and understanding the approach of each of those that you are considering (for example how long it is likely to take and how much resource will be required from your IT team and other stakeholders) will be important to understand.
A good vendor will be able to work with you to evaluate your requirements and to share examples of previous implementations of a similar nature to give you a sense of the time, commitment and cost required to get to go-live. Talking to vendors about how you will cutover from the legacy system to the new one and how they will deal with any unexpected issues, might also prove useful when determining who you want to work with on a new software project.
Creating an implementation plan
At RightsZone, we work very closely with our customers to create an implementation plan, reviewing data samples and providing detailed estimates of the work required to get them live.
We have experience of migrating people from legacy systems as well as a myriad of spreadsheets. Our customers are often surprised at how quickly we can get them up and running, from inside a week for those without data migration requirements and 6 weeks (or faster) for a standard data migration project.
Our insider knowledge of the rights business means that we can spot and correct data issues very quickly, saving our customers from a lot of the pain often associated with data migrations. Implementing RightsZone is a collaborative process where we take on the lion’s share of the work, consulting with users and technology teams as needed to clarify requirements and keep them updated on progress and next steps.
3 – What level of support and/or training is offered?
It might surprise you to know that software subscriptions don’t always include support or training on how to use the software.
Therefore, it is important to know what is included and whether you are likely to incur any additional charges you might not have accounted for. The last thing you want is shiny new software that nobody understands how to use. That’s why it’s important to understand what training is included and whether it suits your team. Make sure you know:
- Will it be delivered by a human, online or in person?
- What documentation will you have access to?
- How will new staff be trained?
- How does the vendor handle support queries and response times?
Ticketing systems can help ensure that your query is logged and reviewed in a timely manner as well as giving you the ability to track and follow-up easily.
Support and bespoke training
At RightsZone, we know that everyone learns differently and adapt our training programme to suit each client. Our experienced team will guide you through a series of introductory training sessions. In addition, we put in place regular catch-ups to ensure that everyone is up and running and confident in using the system.
The standard RightsZone support package is included as part of your subscription. As well as access to our support portal to log and track tickets, users benefit from our comprehensive knowledge base where they can access information about how to use and make the most of all elements of the system.
4 – What other systems might your new rights system need to integrate with?
Your technology team will want to understand how the new solution fits with the other tools used by your organisation. In particular, which data needs to be shared and where it should flow between platforms (integration).
Enabling integrations via APIs (application programming interfaces) is often the preferred method of integration since they are relatively straightforward to set up and require little manual intervention once in place. They enable data to move quickly from one system to another, with updates often close to real time. As well as APIs, there are file transfer options that let you export data from one system and import it into another. The good news is that rights data rarely overlaps much with other information in your organisation, so the integrations you’ll need are usually minimal.
An array of solutions for your data
RightsZone users can take advantage of our REST API which enables Title Management systems to push bibliographic data relating to the titles you plan to sell rights for – title, author, publication date, page extent, etc. For those who can’t use APIs, simple import wizards enable data held in .csv format to be ingested straightforwardly. For outgoing data, such as rights sold information that needs to be communicated to financial systems, the system can export any combination of data as a file that another system can ingest. We work with clients to set up bespoke integrations where these are required.
5 – How frequently is the system updated?
Technology moves at break-neck speed and your tech team will be keen to ensure that the software you select is not going to be obsolete soon after you have gone live. Ask vendors about how frequently they release updates to their software and what is on their development road-map so that you can be sure that they are continuing to invest in keeping their product relevant and up to date. You may also want to ask vendors about how updates are rolled out, and whether support from the user side is required to implement them.
Consider whether there are additional fees for updates when evaluating the overall cost of a solution. Do they solicit feedback from their customers about development plans and priorities? It is important to work with vendors that understand your business as well as the technology so that they not only know how to meet your requirements but can begin to anticipate future needs as well.
Frequent updates
RightsZone users benefit from frequent updates throughout the year. In addition to the Spring, Summer and Winter releases, pushed automatically by Salesforce, rights specific updates are rolled out at least twice a year by the RightsZone team.
We send out a regular user newsletter, which includes information about planned updates and new features as well as chatting to customers at bookfairs, conferences and in calls about their evolving requirements.
We also host free Community Catch-Up events throughout the year where we share best-practice tips and seek feedback from our community of users on development priorities. It is a great space for our users to share their experiences and discuss their thoughts on a variety of rights matters with each other.
The power of early alignment and onboarding
We hope that helps to give you a sense of where your tech team are coming from when it comes to selecting new software. Ensuring both teams requirements are aligned early on will give you the best chance of successfully procuring the software that’s right for you.
We are always happy to answer questions from technology colleagues and can even provide bespoke demos for them if helpful so please do get in touch if you’d like to book in a call.
IMAGE CREDIT: Photo by fauxels, from Pexels