In this report we will address why productivity is important to a company’s economic growth, how software can improve productivity by automating repetitive processes, adding analytical data and how a software system fits within your larger business system as well as address the functionality you should be looking for in a software solution to promote productivity.

If your company is in need software consultation services, software modification or you are looking for customized software development, please contact us here at Accelerated Design.

Why Is Productivity Important?

According to economists the most important driver of long-term economic growth is worker productivity. Information technology innovation is widely recognized as the primary contributor to creating and sustaining productivity growth today. As the economy slowed the last several years, technology helped businesses to adjust quickly. As a result, growth in productivity remained strong, building the basis for a recovery. Economist Hal R. Varian of the University of California, Berkeley said,

The fact that firms were able to respond quickly to signs of a slowdown may be due to better information systems.

Information technology increases company productivity more than any other type of capital investment. Research confirms that gains from information technology grow over time as workers use it to improve how they do business.

How Can Software Improve Productivity?

Software delivers improvements to company performance in three important ways:

Automating and streamlining repeatable core processes

Daily business activities are a combination of repeatable processes such as tracking billable hours, customer service, human resources, supply chain and product delivery. Software can have a strong cost savings impact on a business by automating and streamlining these types of repeatable processes. A company can also significantly reduce task time and increase efficiency with the right software solution in place.

Data analysis

In today's competitive business world information analysis is crucial to staying on top of emerging industry trends, quick changes in the economic environment and the day to day operational data you require to make intelligent business decisions. Software provides information to facilitate both research and analysis.

The importance of having software with strong analytical abilities is highlighted in a study by Henry D. Morris , Senior Vice President for IDC's Worldwide Software and Services, that finds that the Return On Investment (ROI) is 112% when a software solution provides powerful analytic functionality. Analytical functions allow you a clearer picture of what your profits and losses are at every level of your business. To be effective analytic functionality must be able to handle:

Research

Research functionality provides you with both quantitative and qualitative data to help you seek out and understand both structured and unstructured information to identify themes, glean insights into your company, industry or the marketplace and develop meaningful conclusions that enable you to make intelligent business decisions.

Historical Performance Reporting

Historical reporting should be able to clearly show what happens in every area of your operation on a daily basis. Real time and retained historical data allow you to identify short and long term trends as well as identify all processes and areas of the business that can be improved.

Forecasting

Forecasting functionality provides "what if" scenarios based on historical data so that you can test new and innovative alternatives. Forecasting data enables more efficient and effective planning and execution of your day to day operations.

Data accuracy

Data accuracy and security goes to the heart of efficient operations. Auditing and data entry checking capability software helps a company reduce manual labor, duplication of work and human errors. The ability to cross reference information checks and to restrict data access by levels provides uniform information accuracy and security across the entire company while increasing efficiency and productivity through the automation of manual processes reducing or eliminating costly errors.

What functionality should your software solution provide?

A good software solution will be able to deliver the following general functionality to increase a company's productivity and reduce costs:

• Automation of existing core processes
• Data auditing to reduce manual errors and ensure data accuracy
• Analytical data to evaluate past performance, forecast future needs and anticipated company performance
• Analytical research (Quantitative and Qualitative data) to help you make intelligent strategic and operational business decisions
• Data security by limiting access to data based on business rules

It is crucial to understand the capabilities of each software solution you consider but it is even more important to identify and understand the business drivers and the specific problems you are seeking to solve with a software solution because no solution is truly complete in and of itself. It must be integrated into your existing business practices.

Using software as a system to direct how you do business.

Software does not exist in a vacuum. Software development is part of a larger system. It is the integration of business rules and policies, employee work flows, customer needs and vendor requirements. Regardless of whether you purchase a pre-packaged software solution, software as a service or a customized software solution you must be committed to clearly identifying and mapping out each area of your business and how they are connected and integrated.

The determination of effective software must encompass all processes and procedures that make up the company. For software to deliver true value to a company it must be built upon a clear understanding of the business rules, work flows at every level, customer needs, supply chain logistics, vendor requirements and business policies.

By clearly defining all business rules, policies, work flows, needs and requirements for both internal and external relationships you significantly improve the odds that your software solution will effectively solve existing issues and address emerging issues that result from increased growth and complexity.

History clearly shows that new business processes made possible by technology can eventually multiply technology's direct benefits many times over. Applying technology to create, streamline and advance new business processes may be one of the most rewarding investments organizations can make today.

To begin enjoying the productivity benefits technology can deliver please complete our contact form or the one in the right column to begin learning more about how we can help you.