Few would argue that software is an indispensable tool for every organization. Even multiple pieces of software. Every business needs to compile, track and manipulate data and information. Businesses need to keep their eye on finances, and manage their processes, logistics and workflow. The problem happens when an organization continues to add more and more software to their business. This often occurs during a growth phase, when, to manage the growing complexity of processes and workflow, a growing business will begin to implement one-off software solutions; essentially assigning multiple separate software solutions to a process or processes without considering how or if they work together. This siloing of software rarely works. They eventually reach a point where they simply have too much software to be efficient. When this happens, it’s a good time to take a look at all the software being used and what can be done to minimize redundancy and improve efficiency.

Reaching the Point of Too Much Software

This growth phase tendency to continue adding software solutions to solve problems and automate processes is not a long term sustainable solution. Managing separate software solutions to manage timekeeping, tracking finances, managing workflow and approvals, project statuses, scheduling, and data management invariably leads to even more software to help them manage everything. As they grow, they keep adding on new software to handle new processes that need to be tracked, leading to way too many software programs in use at once.

Why This is an Issue

Adding new software is a quick fix that will allow the business to keep going, but it will eventually lead to a breakdown in the business’s workflow and process management. Management and employees will need to deal with duplicate data, entering data multiple times for each software it needs to be used in, finding a manual way to get around the issue of various software programs not talking to each other, and copying and pasting data which can lead to errors. Though the attempt was to use technology to refine existing processes, the end result is a lot more steps added to the workflow, which makes everything less efficient, not more.

Some Supporting-role, Single-Use Software is Important

Just because it’s possible and easy to reach the point of too much software with each piece of software added doesn’t mean that single-use software should be avoided. In fact, there are some software packages that fill an important need. The key is integration with other software so that everything works together to minimize data reentry and the possibility for mistakes. Some commercial software packages that may be important, yet are for a single use, include CRMs or financial programs like QuickBooks. These can be integrated to work in seamlessly with a custom software solution. 

The Solution for Too Much Software

The solution for an organization that is running too many software packages is to have a qualified software business analyst perform a deep dive into the organization’s entire software and technology infrastructure and to learn about and understand the business’ unique processes and workflow. The role of each piece of software and tool needs to be understood and analyzed against the goals and objectives of the organization and then a determination is made regarding which software packages are adding value, and which ones are redundant or unnecessary. A capabilities gap analysis is then  key to dealing with too much software is a custom software solution. The software is designed to address the specific needs of a business, so there’s no need for a workaround or for multiple programs to do the same thing. Plus, custom software can be designed to integrate with the single-use software that’s important, so everything works together, and efficiency is increased significantly. 

If too much software is an issue for a business, custom software could be a solution. Take a look at the benefits of custom software and learn more about how it could help improve efficiency for your business.