Long-term focus drives out shelfware demons at Mary Kay

In the past, shelfware loomed large at Mary Kay when immediate needs eclipsed long-term goals, says Steve Moore, technology leader at the Dallas cosmetics company.

Moore says his organization began working with HP OpenView network management software, but found it didn't fit the company's plans going forward.

"Some products were implemented… as temporary solutions that typically did not add much long-term value or were not satisfying the original requirements," Moore says. "Software, training and implementation costs were expended and wasted in this case and turned out to be a bad decision."

These days, Mary Kay technology leaders focus on buying products that align with long-term strategy rather than plugging holes with point products. "Some IT shops do feel that having temporary products in place is just a part of growth, and build that into costs, but we try to make longer term decisions. It save on resource time, training and ongoing maintenance," he says.

Still, Moore doesn't consider the experience with HP OpenView a complete loss. He managed to save the company some money when he discovered Mary Kay had already purchased the product licenses and simply needed to pay maintenance fees for its updated use.

"I happened to be digging through some old papers and found an old agreement that in the end saved us from having to buy licenses," he says. "With all the acquisitions these days, it is wise to check to see if you are already a client with licenses, as many companies are now branches of others and/or use the same code."

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