Same as it ever was...

News.com's Matt Hines cites a new study by the Hackett Group showing that companies building too much complexity into HR and financial software systems will incur higher costs than companies that have simple strategies. The research group's findings were based on interviews with more than 2,000 companies. I could have told you that without doing any research. But David Herbert of the Hackett Group does have some good advice for IT execs: "CIOs are constantly faced with business leaders who truly believe that their particular group or unit is different and has unique requirements, and who will resist standardization efforts, fearing they will lose their competitive edge. IT leaders need to hold the line, sell the value of standardization and simplification, and at the same time be aware of situations where a valid business cases exist to support customization." Same as it ever was...