In the modern landscape of today’s business world, software has become an integral component of large companies and small enterprises alike. Various kinds of software assist us in almost every facet or area of a company – helping us with relationship management, project management, inventory tracking, customer service initiatives, and more.
So what are some of the most popular software that companies are using today? Read on to find out.
Project Management Software
Today’s companies (tech or not) need to move at a faster pace while juggling many different projects. This is especially true for small startups, where founders and workers may wear many different hats as they try to complete different tasks. Keeping track of all these may prove impossible and it may be hard to find out who is accountable to what project. At this point, the old whiteboard and marker may no longer be appropriate for the job. Fortunately, there is a plethora of project management software out there to assist you. There are desktop and web-based software that individual users may employ to keep track of their own work. Companies may use cloud-based project management software to keep track of large projects and to identify the owner of different tasks. Depending on your needs, there are several leading ones available such as the in-depth workflow and document-rich interface of Asana to more of a ticketing and various-stage platform like Trello. Collaborative project management software allows different users to update and modify different sections of a project plan to inform other team members what tasks are being completed in real-time.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
CRM software utilizes information regarding customer interactions and behavior data that can be used by marketing, sales and customer support to make informed decisions regarding best practices and strategy. Insights from data provided by CRMs can determine how a company can effectively reach out to potential customers, retain them and offer more opportunities to do business. CRM is also effective in automating marketing tasks, allowing the marketing team to focus on the bigger picture. If a potential customer fails to complete the process of signing up for a subscription, for example, the CRM software can automatically send an email after a set period of time to remind the person about it. You may also have the system follow up on that email by offering discounted rates or a free month of service to convert these sales leads in paying customers. Leading the charge in most popular CRM services available today is Salesforce, with Microsoft Dynamics CRM not too far behind.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
ERPs refer to a systems of applications purposely built to help manage various components of a company such as inventory, manufacturing, accounting and human resources. While ERPs are effective in automating and assisting the different units of a company, their real beauty lies in their ability to consolidate data from all departments, allowing everyone to make informed decisions and act accordingly. And in any area they may not solve themselves, they often integrate with popular applications companies already use. For example, Kenandy’s ERP solution was built on the popular SalesForce App Cloud, automatically adjusting to the constant changes your business will undoubtedly encounter. With ERP software, executives can determine the best products to develop by looking at sales figures in the past few years. Manufacturing can easily manage the supply of raw materials in their inventory; when a certain material is in low supply they get immediately notified so they can purchase more. Another key advantage of cloud-based systems is that there is no need to invest heavily in IT infrastructures. Overall, the recent trend for ERP solutions is the result of their migration to the cloud, transforming them into SaaS providers. Now companies can easily develop and scale up their applications to keep up with the particular growth of their operation.
But it doesn’t stop there. New technologies and software are being developed seemingly by the day, all offering their own angle into solving a company’s problems. What software are you running to power your business? Let us know below in the comments section!
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