How to choose the right crewing software?
Small or big, most of crewing companies may come to the point that handling daily crewing operations by using different files or poor database is not sufficient and it’s the time to start deciding for professional crewing software.
However it is not an easy task especially because the market is saturated with different crew management solutions and understanding the right one, might be very time consuming.
Though there are some very basic starting points which might be very helpful for decision makers. Every crew manager, crewing agency director or fleet manager should concentrate on following aspects to start the journey:
- A. Develop crewing software within the company
- B. Buy it from a vendor
- C. Or lease/pay monthly license fee for using crew management system
Now we will take a look at positive and negative aspects for each of the subject for choosing the right soft for crewing.
Positive
- It is your software and you are the owner
- No license costs
- Possible to develop as you need it
- Database is hosted by you
Negative
- You can lose focus on your primary business which is crew management
- If you don’t have experience in IT development or your hired IT developer doesn’t have experience in crewing business, it is risky that you both can lose the focus from technical and business point of view
- You will need to invest in the software from time to time in order to keep it up to date with IT development
- Significant development expenses depending on region and functional requirements
- It can be outdated in few years time
Positive
- You get crewing software pretty fast
- Software is designed for maritime industry and most likely will meet your requirements
Negative
- It might be expensive to launch the software
- If there is no ongoing license fee, there is a chance that company you bought the software from may disappear at any time
- Software maintenance should be done by yourself, increasing internal IT costs
- Future updates are not free of charge
- Most likely it is an install-able solution and is not available through web
Positive
- Designed for crew management
- Fast and easy set-up
- Low initial investment and low ongoing costs
- Ability to discontinue using the software at any time
- Web based and accessible anywhere
- Possible to plan company financials as the monthly fee is fixed during the contract
- Ongoing customer and IT support
- Free software maintenance
- New features free of charge
Negative
- Ongoing licence costs
- Database is hosted by IT company
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