Software systems are supposed to help a business work faster, manage information in an orderly way and save manual effort. But businesses change over time: the number of customers grows, more employees join, workflows evolve, and a need arises for information, reports and connections that weren't necessary before.
A system that suited the business a few years ago doesn't necessarily fit the way it works today.
The problem is that the gap isn't always noticed right away. Instead of replacing or improving the system, employees find temporary workarounds: they add an Excel file, send information by email, copy data between systems or perform a manual action that could have been done automatically.
Each of these workarounds looks small on its own, but when they pile up, they can be a sign that the software no longer supports the business process and is starting to hold it back.
So how do you know it's time to re-examine your business systems? Here are 7 signs worth paying attention to.
1. Employees are doing too many manual tasks
If the same information is typed in twice, data is copied from one system to another, or an employee has to perform a fixed series of manual actions every day, it's worth checking whether the process still makes sense.
Not every action has to be automated, but actions that repeat frequently take up time and also increase the chance of errors.
Sometimes a small change in the software, developing an additional function or automation between a few steps, can shorten an entire process.
2. Information is scattered across too many places
Customer details are in one system, sales data in another, documents in folders, tasks in email and other data in Excel files.
The problem isn't necessarily that the business uses several systems. Many businesses need different tools for different activities. The difficulty begins when the systems don't talk to each other and employees have to bridge the gap manually.
In that situation it's harder to get a complete picture, and a simple action can require moving between several screens and sources of information.
3. Every small change to the workflow becomes complicated
Businesses don't work the same way forever. Services are added, sales processes change, new roles are created, and sometimes the way customers are handled changes too.
A good system should be able to evolve, to some extent, together with the business.
When every change to a process requires a workaround, manual work or giving up the way the business really wants to operate, a gap may have formed between the system and current needs.
4. The business has grown, but the system stayed behind
A system built for five employees and hundreds of customers may behave differently when dozens of employees use it and thousands or tens of thousands of records accumulate in it.
Growth can expose limits that weren't felt before: long response times, cumbersome search, difficulty managing permissions, information overload or processes that weren't designed for the current scale of activity.
In cases like these, the problem isn't necessarily that the system doesn't work, it simply no longer fits the size and complexity of the business.
5. Excel files start to become systems in their own right
Excel is a very useful tool, and there's no reason to stop using it when it suits the task. But it's worth noticing the moment a simple file becomes a critical part of the workflow.
If there are complex spreadsheets that only one employee knows how to operate, different versions of the same file passing between employees, or important business information managed outside the central system, the file may in fact be making up for functionality that's missing from the software.
That's one of the signs that it's worth checking whether the process can be moved to a more organised environment.
6. It's hard to get a single picture of the business
Managers need to make decisions based on information. When producing a report requires gathering data from several systems, combining files or waiting for an employee to compile the information manually, decision-making becomes slower.
Sometimes the information already exists in the organisation, it simply isn't accessible in the right way.
In cases like these, software services can focus specifically on connecting the information sources, building suitable reports or creating a central screen that displays the relevant data to whoever needs it.
7. When the business adapts itself to the software instead of the software fitting the business
This is perhaps the most significant sign.
Every system has limits, and sometimes it makes sense to adapt a work process to the tool being used. But when employees repeatedly change efficient business processes just because "the system doesn't allow it", it's worth re-examining the situation.
Software is a tool that's meant to support the way the business works. When technological limitations start to dictate how the business is run, it can harm efficiency and the ability to keep developing.
You don't always need to replace the whole system
Identifying one or more of these signs doesn't necessarily mean you have to delete the existing system and start over.
Sometimes the right solution is upgrading a certain part, adding a module, building automation, connecting systems or changing an existing process. In other cases, when the limitations run deeper, it may be right to consider a new system.
So, before deciding on a solution, it's important to understand exactly where the bottleneck is: whether the problem lies in the software itself, in a lack of connection between systems, in the workflow, or in a combination of these.
Working with a software development company makes it possible to examine the current situation from a broader perspective and to assess which parts are worth keeping and which require change. In cases where the existing system no longer provides an adequate answer, custom software development makes it possible to build the solution around the actual workflows and needs, instead of fitting the business to the limitations of an existing system.
Read more about custom software development.
The question isn't only whether the system works
A system can function technically and still cost the business in time, in manual work and in missed opportunities for improvement.
That's why the question worth asking from time to time isn't only "Does the system work?", but rather "Is it still helping us work in the best possible way?".
When employees develop more and more workarounds, information gets scattered and processes become cumbersome as the business grows, it's worth stopping to check whether the technology still fits the business reality.
OLSI Systems, a boutique software house, works alongside businesses to develop and upgrade software systems, examining the existing systems and tailoring the solution to the workflows and future needs of the business.
Recognising a few of these signs in your own business? Talk to us, and together we'll pinpoint exactly where the bottleneck is and what's worth streamlining, upgrading or rebuilding.
We would be glad to help!