(This was written by Arnaldo Garcia - Sales Manager for GTS)

THE BASICS – How to select the best business management software application for the organization?

In the last 15 years I have seen many organizations going through the process of adopting business management software applications with the idea of maximizing productivity and profitability and increasing competitiveness.

A position organizations often take is to believe that they are too small to plan or have a long-term vision for the business.  They therefore believe that taking close attention to the business management software applications they adopt, or not, is not that important.

On the previous fact, my thought is that whether or not there is a long-term growth vision for the organization, the adoption of a business management software application is an investment that requires evaluation if the organization is planning to remain in business.

Now, to do it successfully, shopping for software that appears to have the features and functionality necessary will not be enough.  The smart adoption of a business management software application that works for the organization is NOT a complex process.  It does, however, require a clear understanding of the importance of THE BASICS and how they affect the long-term plan/vision of the organization.

So, what are The Basics?

The Basics are the four areas of initial analysis or consideration when adopting business management software applications to avoid a fiasco.  And they are:
•    Architecture
•    Openess
•    Adaptability
•    Partnership

Architecture – Provides the platform to deliver the other Basics.  It is the DNA of the software application.  The architecture ensures that everything works together (i.e. software features, report writing, database management, remote data entry, integration with other applications, etc.)

From database management to report writing to adding custom features and functionality; it would be faster, safer and more cost-effective with the right platform.

More importantly, the architecture ensures that when the time is right to migrate the application (features and functionality) onto the next best architecture the path to a successful upgrade is there.

Openess – Often misrepresented, it is NOT only about the database engine utilized by the application.  Frequently, we hear or read that as long as the application runs on an industry standard database, such as Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server the data can be extracted anytime.  Well, not really.

Essentially, the level of openess is going to be determined by how quickly and accurately data can be extracted by other utilities or application, such as report writers without having to dig deep into the functions of the database engine itself.

Adaptability – This is a two-way factor which can, and probably will, determine if the application is the right one or not.  It refers to how easy it would be for end-users to initially learn and understand the flow of the application and then adapt it to the current business processes.  Then, (and perhaps more importantly) how the application can adjust to the new business requirements necessary because of growth and diversification, sometimes imposed by the ever evolving market.

Partnership - “You can adopt a mediocre software application, but if you have a good partner that understands your business and knows the application, you’ll be fine.  You can adopt the best application, but if you partner with a mediocre consulting firm you will fail”.  This has proven to be true so many times.

The partnership you create MUST have clear answers about how the software application will serve your business now and in the future without reinventing the wheel.

So, before partnering with any organization that claims to have the right application for you, make sure THE BASICS are covered; and if you have doubts call my direct line. 503-968-4721