Choosing the Right Enterprise Software for Your Business

Like many businesses, enterprise software plays a crucial role in the backbone of any organization. Well-designed and selected enterprise software can be a strategic game-changer for the efficiency and output of your business. Large organizations and small businesses can both benefit from choosing the best enterprise application software to meet their specific needs.

However, enterprise software isn’t something to take lightly. It’s a significant investment and commitment. Not only will you need to budget the cost of the software, but you’ll also need to factor in training for your team members, updates, and security costs.

If you’re moving forward with enterprise software for your company, here’s what to consider to make sure you choose the best type of software for your needs.

Enterprise Software for a Competitive Advantage

Enterprise software is computer software designed to meet a complex business need. Typically, it helps your team manage and automate core business processes like human resources, inventory management, accounting, customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning systems (ERP systems), or supply chain management (SCM).

While there are many types of enterprise software options out there, from project management software to human resource management tools, there are some main similarities that set the standard for all kinds.

• Scalability: Enterprise software is scalable. It’s built to grow with your organization. The software can and should be able to handle additional users, higher volumes of data, and more complex operations as your company’s needs evolve and scale up.
• Ability to Integrate with Systems: Enterprise software often features the ability to integrate with other systems, software, and tools your business uses. For example, your CRM may integrate with your accounting system so you can seamlessly access leads and customer data analytics.
• Customizability: Similar to the ability to scale up or down with data volumes, enterprise software can usually be customized to meet your company’s specific and individual needs.
• Security and Protection: Enterprise software is designed to house and protect your sensitive customer and business data. Security measures and best practices are crucial when handling client and business information.
• Accessibility: Enterprise software is typically accessible by multiple users at one time and from different locations. The multi-point accessibility is especially crucial for project management and similar types of systems. Ease of use is a make-or-break factor in the future of the software.

Choosing the Best Enterprise Software

Most business decision-makers have a firm idea of what functions they need for their enterprise software to handle. But often, business owners may not recognize the full spectrum of automated and streamlined opportunities their chosen software offers. When you’re looking at the enterprise software market, it can be challenging to focus on the key features that will help your day-to-day operations and business needs.

Assessing Your Needs

It’s common to hear of companies that invest in enterprise software but don’t recognize the capabilities and end up underutilizing their investment. So, one of the first steps in choosing your software is to evaluate your business process needs.

Look at the core business processes that you need enterprise software to handle. Then, similarly, look at the features and functionality of the enterprise software you are assessing. Does it offer everything you need to support your business goals? Can the software handle the volume of data required? Can it support the number of users simultaneously without impeding performance?

Planning for Future Business Growth

Whether the software is designed for human resources, financial management, CRM, or supply chain details, it’s important to consider the future needs of your business. Enterprise software is often a multi-year investment, so make a choice that supports your company’s needs today and tomorrow.

Great enterprise software will scale with your company, handling an increase in workload, users, and data volume without impacting performance. Research the expansion and growth options in the software. Can it easily scale or will it require a complete overhaul as your business grows? What sort of future-proofing does the software provide? Do changes and updates to the system require significant downtime?

Integration Capabilities

Look at your current tech stack and assess how the enterprise software may integrate with existing applications. Ideally, most companies need a seamless flow of data between departments. Does your accounting program integrate with your marketing platform, for example?

Without integration, you may have redundancies, compromising your team’s time and accuracy. How does the software work with cloud-based vs. on-premise systems? Can you share data across departments smoothly?

User Experience (UX)

Although enterprise software will streamline operations and improve efficiency, it only works if you work it. Much of the success of the software depends on user experience—how easy or how difficult is the new software? Will your team require extensive training?

While user-friendly interfaces can increase engagement and employee use, challenging interfaces can leave the software by the wayside. If your team doesn’t buy into the software with their satisfaction and increased productivity, then it isn’t worth the investment. You’ll also need to consider training time after implementation. Can you train employees on the software without significant disruption to operations? How can you account for the learning curve?

Security and Data Protection

From purchase history to contact information to sensitive personal details, your enterprise software may handle a plethora of proprietary data for your organization. No matter what software you choose, it should meet all industry standards and regulations to protect your data from any threats. You aren’t only protecting your data but your company’s reputation.

Security features, including encryption, data backups, and role-based access help protect data and users. Industry regulations like HIPAA or GDPR may also dictate compliance requirements. How can the system thwart unauthorized access, cyber threats, and data breaches?

Open or Closed Source

Is the software open source or closed-source? Open source often provides additional flexibility and customization options. Closed-source is more secure, with dedicated vendors to assist you when issues arise.

An out-of-the box or closed-source solution can mean regular updates and vendor support. If you choose an open source option, you may need to have the in-house software development capacity for future modifications. While open source is typically free or highly affordable, you’re trading some of the support, protection, and enhancements that are available with closed.

Implementation Partners or Consultants

As you consider enterprise software, you’ll also want to know if you will need to work with implementation partners and consultants. These guides can make a complex process much easier for you and your team to adopt the new tools smoothly.

Some vendors provide ongoing support and training, while other vendors rely on third-party consultants who can help you with setup, customization, and integration. There are advantages and drawbacks to both options. Should you require third-party support, they must also be carefully vetted and have the necessary certifications and endorsements to handle the software.

Pricing

There’s no doubt that enterprise software is a big decision and a significant investment of time and finances for your company. Measuring and evaluating the cost in terms of the TCO (total cost of ownership) is essential. Items like implementation costs, license fees, ongoing maintenance, and future upgrades should factor into the broad picture.

When you look at software, consider the short and long-term costs. Does the pricing model align with your budget? Is there perpetual licensing, or is it a subscription-based program? Will implementation and use require extra training, staffing, support, or hardware updates?

Data-Driven Approach

After pre-selecting Enterprise Software options that offer the necessary features and align with your business requirements, the next crucial step is choosing the best fit. To make this decision-making process more objective and streamlined, consider this data-driven methodology:

1. Prioritize Your Criteria
Assign weights to each evaluation criteria based on their importance to your organization. These weights should add up to 100. For instance:

• Pricing: 20%
• User Experience: 10%
• Integration Capabilities: 15%
• … and so on

2. Evaluate Each Software
Assess each software solution against each criterion using a standardized scale, such as 0.0 (worst) to 1.0 (best). This score reflects how well the software meets the specific requirement.

3. Calculate Weighted Scores
Multiply the assigned weight of each criterion by the corresponding score for each software.

4. Determine the Winner
Sum up the weighted scores for each software solution. The software with the highest total score emerges as the preferred choice.

Visualizing the Selection Process
The table below illustrates this methodology, making it easier to compare and contrast your shortlisted software options.

Note 1: The weights shown in the table are for illustration purposes only. Your organization will have unique priorities, so adjust the weights accordingly.
Note 2: Feel free to add specific criteria that are relevant to your business needs and are not included in this example.

By adopting this structured approach, you can confidently select the Enterprise Software that best aligns with your organization’s needs and priorities.

The Right Technology Gives You an Edge

Choosing the right enterprise software is a sound and advantageous investment toward your company’s future. One of the biggest factors to consider is how the software may improve your customers’ experience.

Technologies like CRM, AI-driven analytics, and automation help your company offer efficient, personalized service to customers. It can boost your reputation and draw in customers.

With machine learning and AI, you can offer customer service enhancements like predictive analytics and improved response times. Personalize offers to meet your customers where they are and give them what they are seeking.

Automation tools help you cut back on human errors and redundancies. With the right automation options, you can improve speed and keep your team available for those high-level jobs. Routine, time-consuming tasks like data entry can be automated to streamline your entire operation.

Finding the right enterprise software isn’t about looking for the most popular or robust option on the market. Instead, it’s a matter of knowing your business operations and needs well so you can make strategic decisions that advance your growth and set your organization up for more success with a competitive advantage.

If you have questions about expanding enterprise software options for your company, reach out to us. We’re happy to help you find ways to take your company to the next level.