According to statistics, 76% of the leading 100 UK retailers have plans to replace at least one of their core IT systems in 2008.

Ensuring that your IT system is up to date is vital. Using outdated software packages often results in poor service delivery and inefficient business management. Many old systems are not capable of meeting current legislation requirements or are not able to deliver reports to demonstrate compliance.

Up-to-date packages will help to improve the efficiency of your business by enabling you to market goods and services effectively, enabling you to communicate and sell to customers in a quick and cost-effective manner, enabling you to target potential customers situated over a much larger area, or indeed for achieving more efficiently any other aim that you wish to achieve. However, poor implementation can reduce value and unless you are aware of the factors that govern and relate to your use of IT it becomes significantly harder to ensure that the package you choose will satisfy your requirements and represent money well spent.

There are more than 22 pieces of legislation that will affect the systems that you implement and the impact of these should be considered from the outset along with some of the wider issues that will affect your decisions:

• What benefits do you wish to achieve by using the new software package? Can your aims be achieved by purchasing and using a standard software package or do you require the creation of a bespoke package tailored to your specific needs? How will payment be structured and how can you ensure that the project stays within budget?
• How easily can this software package be installed and integrated with current packages or systems that you use? Will this impact on timing and how can you control this?
• What terms and conditions of usage are imposed upon you in relation to the package you have purchased or intend to purchase? Are restrictions imposed on who uses it, how they use it and the purposes for which they use the software? If so, are these restrictions acceptable?
• How will the software package be maintained? Will you have the resources to do this internally or will it be necessary to engage a third party to do this on your behalf? If you require a third party, on what terms will they carry out repair and maintenance and how much will this cost you?
• Where the software package relates to the collection and/or storage of personal information, are you complying with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998? Have you informed individuals that you are collecting and storing their information, the purposes for which you are doing so and if you intend to use their information for marketing purposes, have you obtained their consent to do so? A breach of principles can lead to investigation by the Information Commissioner and the prospect of dawn raids.
• Have you considered the level of security that the software requires? Will the software collect and store personal information or credit card details for example? If so, an adequate level of security must be adopted so as to avoid any loss, damage or theft of that information and you must ensure that this is capable of being updated to handle new threats.
• If you intend to use the software to enable you to trade using e-commerce, have you updated your standard terms and conditions to reflect that practice and to comply with Distance Selling requirements and Consumer Protection regulations?