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Data Taming for Small Businesses |
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1. Pleasure to Use This might seem like an odd item. Software that's fun to use is normally for games or other entertainment. But too often business software is a chore to use, which gets in the way of productivity. Business software that's a pleasure to use should have navigation that makes sense. It should help you be highly productive and make tasks as easy as possible to accomplish. 2. Invisibility Software should be so trouble-free that it should hardly be noticeable and able to be taken for granted. It shouldn't be getting in your way, demanding special attention to keep it running. It should be such a natural, integral part of your processes that it's practically invisible. 3. Perpetuity Perpetuity is resistance to obsolescence. Software should be able to keep running on new computers and operating systems. You shouldn't be forced to give up something that's been working for you. You should be able to decide when you want to change. 4. Automation Repetitive, time consuming, boring tasks should be automated. Automation is often underutilized in business software. Computers are great at rapidly performing repetitive tasks. Automation frees you and your staff to spend productive time elsewhere. It reduces time spent typing at the keyboard and clicking the mouse. It's a key element to allowing a small business to handle more work. 5. Data Centralization This simply means everything in one place. As much as possible your business software should be tapping into a central data source. This is normally accomplished by using a software package that includes most of the components and functions your business requires, and that uses a single database. In the real world not everything your business requires can be found in a single software package. The goal is to minimize running separate software packages with their own databases, which create data silos. 6. Integration Normally it's impossible to have a single software package that does everything you need. You'll always have more than one piece of business software. Many times it makes sense to have separate programs because each program might have strengths that can't be found in an all-in-one package. Integration between separate programs should be implemented wherever feasible so that data can flow from one place to another, and ultimately into a central database. When software integration is absent in a business it results in entering the same data more than once, using up time that could be productively spent elsewhere. All of these elements are possible to have in your business software. You can have an efficient, integrated system that allows your business to compete with bigger ones. There are many ways to reach this goal. It doesn't have to be beyond your budget. You can make improvements in manageable, cost-effective steps. |