What type of software tools does a business need? from Ban Ladan's blog

In this article, we'll try to figure this out and offer a plan for building a software stack for business.

What should software for business be?

Ideally, this system of software tools works together to achieve a common business goal. These programs can be well-compatible or integrated.

Depending on the tasks to be accomplished, businesses use different software. For example, specific programs for marketing automation or a technology stack for application development, such as https://www.makini.io/products/nexgen 

Now let's take a step-by-step look at how to pick software solutions.

Step 1: Find out which processes you want to automate. 

To do this, take more main business processes and break them down into sub-processes. It may be more convenient to write each on post-it notes and place them linearly on the board.

Please pay attention to how they relate to each other within the process and different sub-processes. Then try to identify areas of inefficiency. To do this, find out:

-Where does the process slow down?

-How many approvals, approvals, and hand-overs are there for each step?

-Are there processes consisting of 10 or more steps? Can they be simplified?

-Are there extra steps that don't add value to the process?

-Where are the bottlenecks of each step?

The answers to these questions will help identify areas where processes are losing effectiveness. These are the ones that require automation.

Step 2: Choose between industry tools and process-specific software.

Industry-specific tools are designed for the specifics of a particular business, but process-specific programs are easier to get up and running. At the same time, the former is expensive, and the latter are usually ready-made solutions and have limited customization possibilities.

Industry-specific tools include software for e-commerce, banking, or construction. Process-specific programs are understood to include, for example, billing software, business analytics, and CRM.

To make the right choice, focus on your main business task and consider whether it is specific to your industry. For example, if you're in banking and have problems with loans, choosing an industry-specific lending tool is better. If, on the other hand, you are having trouble generating leads, for example, opt for a general-purpose solution designed for this task.