Software integration and business benefits

Let’s face the fact, a digitally operated world has come upon us all, the transformation of this time is somewhat that even the blind could see and there is never a turning back. The approach to things have changed in this time, the traditional methods of getting things done have been sidelined hence the embracing of software.  AS businesses start growing, even at the early stages of the business, business owners may need to employ the services of multiple software solutions so as to improve proficiency in management. A business might even go for bespoke software which integrates all your company processes in software; bespoke technology has proven to be the secret to the success of today’s multinational companies.

In defining business software integration, we say that it is the practice whereby a business connects and unifies different types of software parts of sub-systems. Companies making use of multiple databases or those having various applications will also integrate their software so as to have uniform metrics. Having all your data collected and processed in one system gives you the ability to effectively analyze all your business information.

The growth of every business places a demand for the owner to bring new solutions onboard to handle tasks such as customer account management, inventory management and more.

DO YOU NEED BUSINESS SOFTWARE INTEGRATION FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

Most business owners who are still in the dark to the unquestionable effect of technological invasion of the world keep asking if their businesses should be involved in software integration. The truth is that businesses of all sizes and industry require software solutions to streamline business processes.

However, it can sometimes be difficult for business owners to pinpoint the right time to implement software integrations.

To provide some guidance on this matter, it’s recommended that you factor in your business needs with your business workflow budget.

Think about what you require as a business to function efficiently.

For instance, if you run a business that requires your salespeople to discuss products and services over the phone, what would you need?

 

Well, obviously, you’d need a system for VoIP-based telecommunications.

This requires a complete set of components, including compatible hardware and software to enable communications, input and output devices, the right communication channels, reliable communication networks, and analog/digital signaling, and more.

There are several types of telecommunication software solutions on the market to choose from. Off-the-shelf software solutions are available and ripe for the picking.

However, you’ll soon find that these systems prove ineffective when they’re not utilized to their fullest potential.

To get the most leverage out of these solutions, software integrations are necessary.

Combining your telecommunications software with your other business processes, such as your network resources & inventory database, business support systems, CRM, ERP, and accounting systems, allows your team to complete tasks quicker and more efficiently.

This saves more time, which in turn saves more money.

This also promotes enhanced customer experiences since your salespeople will be able to provide more information in real-time, which is the number one demand of all customers.

The Global System Integration Market is expected to rise from its initial estimated value of $320.44 billion to an estimated value of $601.95 billion by 2026.

According to 451 Research, 90% of companies are on the cloud, meaning that cloud infrastructure services account for the highest growth.

These statistics clearly demonstrate the value that software integrations offer to modern businesses.

It’s safe to say that in the near future (and even now), system integrations will become a business requirement as business needs continue to evolve.

Because customers demand immediate service, typically in real-time, businesses must meet that demand. This makes it essential for current software solutions to have the capability to deliver, exchange, and update information readily and continually.

Software and system integrations open up seamless communication between software applications, creating more opportunities for enhanced efficiency, customer experiences, and cost-efficiency.

                                                                           

TYPES OF SOFTWARE INTEGRATION

When performing software integration, a business should consider the 4 main methods.

Star Integration

 

Star integration is the process of developing connections within all software subsystems. Its name comes from the fact that when all the systems are interconnected, its diagram would look like a star. Depending on the number of systems that are being integrated, its links may also look like spaghetti. Therefore, this method is sometimes referred to as the spaghetti method.

This type of integration is considered efficient because teams can reuse software functionalities. However, when businesses need to add new subsystems, they will need to spend a significant amount of time and money to perform the integration.

Horizontal Integration

A horizontal integration, also known as the Enterprise Service Bus, is the method of establishing a system for communication. Its main feature is message transmission and message monitoring. It also provides services, such as data transformation and mapping. Additionally, horizontal integrations will reduce the number of links for each subsystem. This approach will allow for flexibility, in which teams can add, remove, or adjust a system without interrupting the rest of the components.

This type of software integration works well for businesses that have many large, disparate systems. It is also cost-efficient to utilize this method because the expense of integration will become less expensive as the system expands. Therefore, horizontal integration can help businesses in the long run.

Vertical Integration

In contrast to horizontal integration, vertical integration is a short-term solution and is considered a fast and inexpensive option for software unification. For this method, the company must develop functional entities for their software systems and vertically sync them.

Vertical integrations can provide many benefits, such as better control over business processes and maximized competitiveness. For retailers, it can also help streamline supply chain management, improve vendor communication, and reduce operating costs. However, vertical integrations will create a silo to scale the software. This means that information will not be properly shared and will be isolated in each system.

Common Data Format Integration

A common data format is an approach to software integration that allows businesses to avoid the use of an adapter when converting or transporting data. For this method to be effective, the data format from one system must be accepted by the other system. Common data format integration can help businesses by providing data translation and promoting automation.

SOFTWARE INTEGRATION IS QUITE NECESSARY IN THIS TIME FOR

Merging Disparate Systems

Companies that use multiple systems to manage their inventory, employees, and data reports, for example, will need an integration tool. For example, a retail store that uses a point-of-sale system may integrate it with inventory management software. This will help them track their stock levels in real-time, maintain optimal quantities of merchandise in their store, and make replenishments in a timely manner.

Migrating from Legacy Systems to Modern Apps

Legacy systems refer to outdated methods or technology. To ensure data security, save money, and boost accessibility, many businesses have been adopting more modern software applications. They will often use an integration tool that helps with integrating data from the legacy system to modern apps.

Increasing Functionality

When syncing software systems together, organizations can experience an increase in functionality. For example, connecting an employee scheduling system to the human resource software will automate payroll processes and ensure pay accuracy. By increasing functionality, the business can optimize its processes and prevent technology silos.

 

HERE IS AN OUTLINE OF THE MAJOR BENEFITS OF INTEGRATING SOFTWARE INTO BUSINESSES

 Increases Revenue

Efficient, integrated systems help you easily communicate throughout your business, so everyone understands the terms and conditions surrounding your products or services. It also lets your team access their work from multiple locations. Ultimately this will help your business identify information about your target market – including age, demographics, gender, preferences, and behavioral patterns. With this information in hand, you can easily decide what upsell and cross sell opportunities will work best for you.

Improves Customer Service 

Business information software (BIS) lets you quickly track customers’ questions. If you can successfully and quickly solve these issues, it’s more than likely that your customers will give your company a great review. This can boost the overall goodwill  of your company.

Reduces Time and Complexity 

By accommodating your system with BIS you’ll do away with the need to re-install your system and you’ll also be able to manage multiple systems at once. You’ll quickly be able to get your clients’ information without having multiple data entries. Having a proper process flow in your business will help you cut down time by simplifying projects.

Enhances Employee Communication And Collaboration

Enabling all departments to share information seamlessly encourages collaboration and communication between everyone. This is something that a cloud-based phone system can help you with. It enables visibility and transparency, while also encouraging discussion and teamwork towards common goals. These phone systems also make such collaboration much easier because now there’s no excuse regarding being in a different place or time zone.

Improves Productivity

Most people today use apps on their personal devices to integrate and automate social tasks and activities, so they can save time by minimizing their efforts. Your business can also use similar apps to improve productivity. When you link your different social profiles together, you create an automatic process that publishes an update on every social profile when you simply update one. There are apps like IFTTT you can use for this or you can simply depend on the functionality that’s built into the social network for this purpose. This same principle applies to your work too. When you integrate systems, employees can achieve tasks faster without compromising quality since they won’t be juggling between multiple tools.

Failure to link your systems together results in your employees needing to manually move data from one business app to another – something that is distracting and increases the likelihood of inaccuracies. When you can instantly share the information with everyone who works for you, reports on real-time information are easily created. Employees can then access these reports regardless of their location or what time of day it is. This helps ensure that there’s no downtime because you don’t have to wait on one system to update another.

Improves Data Accuracy

When you duplicate data in several systems you lose accuracy which isn’t good since you’re depending on this data to make strategic decisions. Inconsistencies in your data leaked throughout various departments can cause a lot of confusion that requires more time to correct. If you reduce the need to duplicate data entry in multiple systems, you can also greatly reduce the probability of human error. Once this is done you can rest assured that the decisions that are made are based on accurate information. This is a scalable and flexible system, so your business solutions can grow with your business. You can easily add new employees and modules when you need them.

Enhanced Interoperability, Flexibility, & Scalability

Software integrations enable enhanced interoperability, meaning that your current information systems, devices, and applications will work together with other business systems without any restrictions.

The most important industry vertical to adopt interoperable software solutions is the healthcare industry.

Health information exchanges (HIE) enable clinical information to move electronically amongst disparate healthcare information systems and facilitate access to and retrieve essential clinical data safely, timely, and efficiently

Automation Decreases Manpower & Reduces Human Error

Software automation integrators promote a friendlier software ecosystem where you can automate your workflows.

This helps to eliminate manual, repetitive tasks and reduce human error.

By automating repetitive business processes, employees are now freed up to focus on other projects!

The possibilities are endless regarding the tasks that you can automate with the right software tools. Automate anything from personal productivity to lead management to customer communications and everything else in between.

IN SUMMARY

The mode of operation in everything has taken a different turn and when it comes to business the current mode of operation has to involve the integration of software. The market has changed hence any business that wants to tip the scale in their favor must have to queue into the trend.

@ Digiweb Developers Company we give software solution to businesses at price friendly rate so do well to get in touch with us today.