No matter how you cut it, you need software to improve the data management performance of your operation. When you evaluate data capture technologies from bar codes and radio frequency identification to voice data entry, you also need to consider software that will capture, track, transfer and use the information. And if you evaluate a software package to improve an operation, you need to determine which is the best data capture technology to stoke the system with the fuel we call data or information.

With that in mind, here is a little different way to think about evaluating the software that is best for you: software is all about speed. But it's more than just speed of information processing. It also includes speed of implementation. That thought alone may give you a fresh perspective on the software evaluation process when you go to the Frontline Solutions Expo November 13 through 15 at Chicago's McCormick Place.

There you will see that many of the data capture hardware companies are offering application software that will help facilitate the use of their equipment. Additionally, some of the software and system suppliers now offer complete packages that include their software along with the printing and/or reading hardware. And, of course, there are software companies that are devoted to producing new enterprise type solutions that enable users to link a variety of systems through local or wide area networks.

Now start thinking about speed. We're all familiar with the processing speed or the time it takes to scan a bar code, interrogate a transponder, or recognize a voice command. But most are not as concerned with the time that it takes for you and your implementation team to find a solution, validate it, install it, and start it producing the anticipated payback. You should be as interested in both aspects.

If you include this broader definition of software speed in your thinking, it will help you achieve your corporate and professional goals. Quite simply, the quicker you can implement, the quicker you start to receive the return on investment.

But then there is the other reality. The quicker the software operates, the quicker the systems and the people who use them can make decisions that permit you to move products, plan production, and even get paid. So time to implement cannot be the sole point of evaluation, but it does provide a slightly different emphasis.

The secret to reducing the time from project start to productive use may be to employ a parallel rather than a sequential approach.

The sequential approach would be to: Step 1: Evaluate a variety of different data gathering techniques and select one. Step 2: See how fast the information can be made available to the decision-making software, test, and select one. Step 3: Test the turn-around time and validate the output. The problem is that step three cannot be optimized until step two is complete and that relies on step one. The parallel approach is to work on step one while, at the same time, working on steps two and three.

I can't say that the parallel approach is workable every time but, if you put the emphasis on total implementation time and then offer an alternative to traditional methods, you might strike a nerve that could have a big payoff.