When it comes to addressing the organizational needs of your business, there’s practically an inexhaustible list of software platforms out there.
Whether it’s tools to help with point-of-sale (POS) operations, scheduling, and communication or other applications like HR or environmental, health, safety (EHS) software, there’s no end in sight. This is a good thing — no matter what industry sector your company inhabits, there are plenty of tools from which you can choose to help your business stay organized and efficient.
Yet there is one major drawback to having such a multitude of business software solutions at your disposal.
The truth is that with every new software tool you add to your systems, the complexity of those systems grow. Integration and communication between these systems, whether accounting, POS, or even EHS, can become a challenge if compatibility is low, and that can lead to needless time and energy spent trying to get these multiple software solutions working together with one another.
There are, in fact, a number of common issues that crop up whenever you’re using multiple enterprise software solutions. One of the most oft-encountered problems include having to waste time because you need to switch between one system and the next in order to finish a simple task. This can cause major bottlenecks when it comes to separate teams trying to collaborate and even lead to workers giving up on the systems altogether and finding their own solutions.
Meanwhile, cost-effectiveness is another major problem when you have too many business software systems that don’t integrate well with each other. Maintaining these separate systems increases company overhead by a sizable amount. Essentially, your company can end up paying for software that no one in your organization actually uses; in other words, not only are you losing productivity, you’re in a financially weaker position than you were previously.
Yet not all is lost if your company is struggling with multiple software solutions. If you feel like you’re drowning under a crazy-quilt of business platforms, one of the most effective solutions is to select an all-in-one management solution that integrates a number of key functions under one umbrella. This way, you won’t have nearly as many software solutions to accomplish the same tasks are you have currently, especially for small businesses.
Centralizing a number of project-related tasks in this way certainly makes it much less difficult to share organizational tasks across multiple teams. A central location for multiple project-related functions supports a shared mission among teams and across organizations.
Collaboration and communication become easier in an inclusive system, data insights become more accurate and reliable, and you won’t need to worry about workers going rogue and using their own solutions to complete tasks.
Most modern organizations simply have no choice but to use more than one software platform to get work done. Even so, choosing your management platform can take much of the heat off your company, make it more productive, more cost-effective, and a more enjoyable place for your staff to work.
Further reading: How SaaS Benefits All Business Models—Including Yours