Full cost of a new matter management system includes conversion of data

Domenic Leo, in a post on Dec. 24, 2005, adds an important point to my earlier note (See my post of Dec. 23, 2005 on costs of licensing and staffing a matter management system.).

The total cost for migrating legacy information and processes from the old system to the new system frequently exceeds the cost for initial software. These components include: moving data to the new system, training staff on the new system and developing output (reports) for the system. In 1999 I implemented a new IP matter management system for a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical firm where the total cost of software and hardware accounted for less that $200,000 of a $3,000,000 project. The majority of costs were incurred in the QA, testing and training of the global system. Additional background on these items can be found in my two posts in September 2005.

Leo is very correct about data conversion, which can be an expensive bear.