Breaking up is hard to do but Iain Saunderson, CTO, Spinnaker Support, has the tunes to get you through.
We’ve been together many years. Like any relationship, we’ve had our ups and downs. But recently it feels like we’ve been drifting apart.
We once worked together in harmony, but somewhere along the line you stopped supporting us like we needed you to. You’re always going after the next big thing and you don’t care how that makes us feel. We even joined you on your new, cloud-first adventures. We were worried that if we didn’t, we might lose you. We held out hope that you would change.
Where did it all go wrong? We wanted a partnership of equals, but we’ve found ourselves investing more and more into something with dwindling returns.
That familiar anniversary of ours, September 30, looms – a reminder that choices about our ongoing partnership need to be made. We’ve put together a mixtape we’ve been listening to on repeat as we approach this crossroads in our relationship, an emotional outlet to get us through this period of change. Do we continue dancing to a diminishing tune, or is it time to gracefully bow out and seek something new?
Money, Money, Money
When we first met, we paid a significant sum for your software system. A system that we invested huge resources and effort into. And we loved it. It’s functional, perfect for our complex infrastructure and highly customized. But as time went on, you told us that we’d need to upgrade our system to keep your support.
So, we did.
This became a recurring theme. You kept requesting we upgrade, with the prospect of diminishing support and maintenance looming over us. We compromised, but not on everything. The thing is, there are just some elements of our software stack that we want to keep because they’re the best fit for us. Isn’t that our prerogative?
So, you charge us more for the kind of bespoke support we need. And then we find ourselves paying for bundled support packages for products we don’t use, because that’s the way you do things.
We were desperate for that special relationship with you. We just wanted to feel like your priority. But you don’t understand the intricacies of our business needs and requirements. You just keep charging us more for less and less of your support.
That Don’t Impress Me Much
Recently you asked us to embark on a new and exciting journey with you, a journey that would transform our software environment. You promised us better functionality and access to the latest technologies. We hoped that by migrating to S/4 HANA, we’d get more of your attention back.
We did as you asked. Then you announced that to access some of your next-generation innovations, we’ll have to pay you more. Everything is on your terms: we have to use your cloud hosting services and transformation program. There we were thinking that, with our on-premise system, we’d still be eligible for those AI innovations you raved about. Now we’re left feeling like we’ve been strung along all this time.
Why do we always have to align with your expectations and objectives to get the most from you?
Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
What have we gotta do to make you support us? We rely on you to support our systems and to help us find ways to innovate and move forward with our business. But you keep announcing that support for your products – products that we love and use – is ending.
We’re worried about how this affects our security posture. Without your support, no new security patches are created. And without these new security patches, we won’t be able to meet several regulatory requirements. What happens when a major new vulnerability is discovered in your software, and you just turn your back on us?
You’ve got us in a bind. It’s just too risky to stay in an environment like this.
I Want to Break Free
We know you don’t want to hear this, but we’ve been looking at our options. We know you’ll try to dissuade us from moving on, but we’ve seen what’s on offer outside of the confines of this relationship and we’ll be honest – it looks good.
Third-party software support offers us something new. It’s used by highly regulated organizations to improve service and reduce risk. It offers security protections beyond what we currently get from you. We’ll get comprehensive protection and support for our systems, no ifs, no buts. It doesn’t matter that we’re using legacy software. We won’t have to wait for security patches or worry about staying compliant.
We won’t be forced into a perpetual upgrade cycle. We won’t have to beg anyone anymore to let us keep our legacy products without losing all of our support.
It’s also 60% cheaper. We can’t quite believe it, either. Can’t you see, we’ve got to break free?
The Winner Takes It All
If we part ways, we’ll be making huge cost savings right from the get-go. But there’s more. We’ll be investing in a partnership where our unique requirements and priorities are taken seriously. It’s not just about freeing up critical OPEX for us, but it’s about what we can do with it.
Just like you’re focused on your cloud-first and AI initiatives, we have our own priorities. You’d know about them if you asked. We want to work with a partner that’ll optimize our current systems, look for areas to innovate or streamline current processes and work with us directly to realize our long-term transformation goals.
Go Your Own Way
So, that’s it. It’s been a great ride, and we’ve learned a lot along the way. But it’s time for new pastures.
We know we have to give you written notification of our decision not to renew our support with you by September 30. Here it is. It’s over.
Instead, we’re choosing to move forward with a partnership that gives us the space and freedom to invest in our business and our people, exactly as we see fit. Our environment will be supported, secure, compliant and optimized. It turns out that it’s not us, it’s you. And now, for the first time in a long time, we’re excited for what the future holds.
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