In our series of articles, we provide tips to help managers to make decisions to ensure the successful acquisition of an enterprise program or suite. In this post, we compare the myth of the ‘omniscient program’ and the ‘purpose-built systems’. If you haven’t read the first part, you can do it here.
If you are on the verge of purchasing of ERP systems, payroll programs, stock managers, sales support, marketing software or employment and HR applications, we can help you make the right decision.
In the previous section, we have shown that one of the pillars of success before purchasing is to compile precise specifications or clearly formulate their needs for the program to be procured. To do this, it is essential to know the workflows in which the application may help. We showed the three ways to procure enterprise systems. One form of it is the self-development, the second is the purchase of a finished program and the third is the purchase of a finished program combined with individual development requests.
As a CEO or purchaser, or the responsible one for the project, you may start looking around the enterprise applications market with the list of requirements of the system to be procured. Companies offer solutions to all problems, and there are companies that offer ones for each subdivision.
The decision
At this point of purchasing, you are facing a major decision regardless of whether you want to choose a program for a single area (e.g. payroll, worklog, inventory) or to find a solution for several at once.
Even if you could use a modern application for just one task, you should consider what else the company may need in the future. And if more than one process has to be effectively covered at the same time, two options are available.
Purpose-built tool
One option is to search for applications specific to different tasks from a manufacturer who specializes in the given process. These systems can be called a ‘purpose-built tool’. Programs and applications that have been developed over many years with many tests to provide a perfect user experience and maximum efficiency in a given area.
An omniscient program
Many companies want to provide solutions for almost all processes and areas with a single ‘large program’ or suite of programs. Sounds simple. With just one signature and every department gets an application which makes their job easier. The management is happy, the users are also happy and you or the project commissioner is appreciated. This all sounds very tempting, but anyone working in the technology industry knows that in practice this is a nice goal that needs to be achieved with IT, but the reality is very different for users.
The Myth
As we write this post in 2018, we are currently looking at any area, sales, marketing, corporate governance, office application, labor, HR, inventory, payroll… etc. then we find that there is one or more great purpose-built tools for everything but a single big program that is true to compete with purpose-built tools simply does not exist. It’s just a myth!
We also give you the reasons for this statement. The answer lies in the business policy of software developers. Developer teams and companies started with a single area and continuously expanded the portfolio to solve other problems. There are some who cover just a few areas.
Information technology has gone through a real explosion in the last 20 years, but we are simply not at the stage of a single large company being able to find solutions for everything in one program. This day may come, but now we’re actually at the point where a big field is a specialty, and then we’re gradually developing the other areas by opening the branches. At the moment, even the world’s leading companies are not yet able to create a single large enterprise ‘superprogram’ that fully meets all expectations.
However, worrying is superfluous because there is a high-quality software development company that competes for you and thus creates purpose-tool systems that will make your business truly efficient. But if you better read the lines of marketing materials, you can see that almost every enterprise software company has a main profile and modules offered additionally.
This is exactly like when you go to the store and choose an omniscient food processor or good kitchen tools, or just like when you choose a swiss knife or a kitchen knife and a hiking knife. One is good for pretty much everything, the other is for just a thing or two, but they excel in those ones. At first everyone is happy to use the omniscient processor and is content with the purchase and then, if there are a lot of special tasks, the device will be placed on top of the shelf and the special tools will be found. This is also the case for enterprise applications, only the amount of investments is higher.
Pros and cons
Enterprise systems covering a wide spectrum will be easy to procure and integration is guaranteed to be easier for compatible modules. This is an advantageous choice if the workflows are simple and should be used in an industry where a time factor is not important.
Its disadvantage is that the efficiency is questionable. However, the work of those working with the program may not be much easier. There may be an outstanding application module in one area and it is praised to the heavens by the people working with it, but in another area, the work of users becomes torture. Because of this, the work hours spent on the given task increase and the costs are far from being returned.
If you choose special applications for the subtasks, then as an advantage you can be sure that the efficiency will reach the desired level because the payroll manager has the best wage program, the employment manager uses the best employment program, the management the best corporate governance system, the procurement the best inventory manager, etc. – working in this way saves all departments and colleagues working hours, thereby increasing the productivity of your company.
The downside is that in some cases these target tools have to be integrated into each other which can sometimes cause difficulties. Furthermore, product support should be agreed separately with the distributors of the systems. Fortunately, today with modern API technology, most systems and applications can be integrated and thus you can get the best for all areas of your business.
You decide which solution to choose!
Own example
The ODT System is a professional working time record program based on ten years of experience, which covers the spectrum of employment and, based on our feedback, is a real tool that has earned the recognition of human resources, employment and employees. We are compatible with the market leader payroll programs. Thanks to the modular system, our HOLODAY or SCHEDULE and HR module often runs at companies which nominally possess similar function, but they still save money and time with the special module of the ODT System. Therefore, we are eager to recommend, based on our experience, choosing multiple purpose-built devices and avoiding myths.
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