Enterprise Application Software, or EAS, has practically become a household term in recent years, but is often not particularly well-defined, delineated, or understood across the business landscape. At TechFides, our IT experts focus intensely on technology strategy, which guides our client engagements on both merger and acquisition integrations, and enterprise digitization/digitalization and process optimization efforts. We’re obligated to have a firm handle on EAS in order to provide the best strategies and most efficient utilizations for our clients. Let’s take a look into what enterprise application software entails.
What is Enterprise Software?
Enterprise software helps streamline business operations by allowing organizations to generate, manipulate, securely store, display, and enhance massive amounts of complex data. Quality data is the lifeblood of any enterprise, and this data cuts across every function therein, including finance, engineering and R&D, marketing, human resources, customer management, shipping and logistics, inventory, forecasting, travel, and everything else involved in running an effective organization. Software manufacturers specialize in each of these areas, as well as overarching multi-function systems like Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationship Management, and IT Service Management, as examples. Having a holistic enterprise strategy for how to effectively manage and plan the software that an organization and its employees depend on is more critical than ever.
The primary characteristics that most company strategists and operational managers typically evaluate when seeking out enterprise software are as follows:
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Robustness
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Scalability
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Central manageability
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Flexibility
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Integration ability
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Fit to enterprise strategy and mission
Benefits of Enterprise Software
The primary purpose of any EAS is to provide a tangible benefit to the organization. Examples of these benefits include improved efficiency, better forecasting, higher productivity, cost savings, and higher levels of integration with other software, platforms, and people.
Improved Efficiency
A key benefit of using enterprise software is a boon in efficiency. Repetitive tasks, large and small, can frequently be automated with proper application of appropriate software. Routine processes get streamlined and large data sets are easier than ever to process and utilize.
Accurate Predictions
Properly utilized enterprise software can enhance the accuracy and utility of forecasts, including supply chains, sales pipelines, budgets, market trends, operational requirements, and much more. Statistically, a greater number of data points will typically yield better predictions, if the software managing the data is configured to do so. Accurate, reliable forecasts mean that companies can plan longer term and craft more intricate strategies.
Gains in Productivity
As repetitive tasks that require little abstract thinking get automated, your workforce can focus more of their time on higher-order tasks. For example, a sales team that doesn’t have to spend a great deal of time entering numbers and producing reports could make far better use of that time meeting with clients and managing accounts. This will lead to overall better productivity and potentially higher employee satisfaction as they spend less time on mundane tasks.
Increased Flexibility
Depending on the requirements of an organization’s operational and manufacturing processes, enterprise software can be tailored to meet precise needs. Enterprise application software publishers are constantly working to improve their products, and a high value has been attached to integrative ability in the organizational environment. The ability to share and integrate data across platforms, towers, and functions is one of the most critical attributes of enterprise software and the backbone of enterprise software strategy.
Cost-Efficiency
Once implemented, enterprise software helps organizations save money on operations and administration. Proper packaging of information, preventing production delays, and quick decision making capability all contribute to a cost-efficient organizational software model.
Scalability
Quality enterprise software provides an application the ability to grow with your business through the addition of incremental capacity, features, and functionality. This scalability allows an organization’s software ecosystem and strategy to flourish as the company grows.Good software can provide one or even several of these benefits. Exceptional software and platforms can deliver all of them with proper planning and implementation.
Types of Enterprise Software
This isn’t a comprehensive list, but some of the most popular types of enterprise software are below:
Customer Relationship Management (CRM):
Having a strong relationship with your customers is the prime objective of any business. CRMs compile customer history, and use data analysis to help sales teams and other functions make optimal decisions regarding specific customer approaches and overall customer management strategy. Quality CRM software should provide dashboards and data views that help internal sales teams understand and dissect the performance of both their customers and themselves. From the customer perspective, CRM should provide an enhanced and more consistent customer experience when dealing with their vendor.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP):
An Enterprise Resource Planning system is the integrated management of main business processes. Quality ERP software and the underlying technology mediates these processes in a cohesive strategic framework. ERP serves as a bridge across enterprise functions to allow effective sharing of data, resources, commitments, and should allow comprehensive operational visibility across the purchasing, manufacturing, shipping, sales, accounting, marketing, and other applicable towers. The availability of these metrics across an organization gives leadership the capability to make optimal strategic decisions.
Business Intelligence (BI):
Business intelligence tools provide historical, current, and predictive views of business operations, and can be used by team leaders and managers to ensure that their decisions are aligned with the strategic goals of the company. BI applications help employees in the collection, storage, and analysis of large amounts of complex data, both structured and unstructured. BI is highly effective when it combines private internal organizational data with external market and industry data, and innovators in this field are constantly finding new competitive edges.
Supply Chain Management (SCM)
Supply chain management software provides a management framework for the flow of goods and services into and out of an organization. SCM software monitors production and provision from the point of origin to the point of consumption, and all points in between. Examples of tasks performed by high-quality SCM software are the automation of inventory management and the optimization of transportation and logistics operations.
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