When companies search for software solutions, they have many criteria in mind. Before deciding which software to buy, they look for effectiveness, affordability, intuitive use, and many other facets. Another feature that is highly sought after is that the software can perform multiple functions or services. Multi-service software enables companies to save money and streamline their operations and make the learning curve easier for their employees.
NaXum, a referral marketing firm based in Las Vegas, Nevada, explains why multi-service software is so valuable and how its special qualities can enhance any business’s bottom line.
Creating a One-Stop-Shop
Multi-service software enables companies to simplify their operations by creating a one-stop-shop. When employees have fewer software packages to learn and use, their time can be preserved for dealing with important business. Being able to get insights and data about multiple areas of business is a significant advantage.
Reduces Operational Costs
Buying one multi-service software package is likely to be far less expensive than buying several separate packages. The lower overhead cost of multi-service software can be valuable when setting up multiple offices or preserving money for other uses.
The cost of training employees to use the software is lower than when buying multiple packages, and it is easier for employees to become experts on the use of the software.
Improved Productivity
Only having one software package to learn in the context of their work makes it easier for employees to perform at their best. They are not constantly wrangling different software packages, trying to get the multiple programs to work together, or importing and exporting data. Frequently, these problems take up time that an employee should be using to care for customer needs.
Improved Customer Service
When employees have one centralized software package, they can better devote their time to helping the customer. Customer service should be the central quality of every business, and good customer service directly leads to higher revenues.
Having fewer software packages to manage means that employees will be more relaxed and have a better attitude toward their work. Positive attitudes are contagious, and work in general will be easier.
Better Planning
When companies are founded, most tend to solve problems in the fastest and cheapest ways. This includes buying software individually to deal with various challenges that crop up during the growth period. This can lead to significant knowledge gaps and areas where the software is missing important information. As the business grows more complex, inefficiencies will grow as well.
Improving Employee Morale
Multi-service software suites can provide a seamless approach to integrating business operations. Employees are less frustrated when they use one software package rather than a jumble of applications. They have better job satisfaction and are less likely to look elsewhere for work, reducing turnover.
Better Reporting
When software packages are not integrated, databases are siloed and may overlap. It isn’t easy to get a unified view of the business’s performance across multiple functional areas. Having proper reporting on service, fulfillment, marketing, sales, and finance is crucial to the company’s success. However, most companies give up on having this information because it is too complicated and costly to extract the data from multiple sources.
When a multi-service software package is used, it is far easier to find the metrics that companies need to target and improve their services in the future.
Preserving IT Staff’s Time
Gartner reports that 91 percent of IT staff’s valuable time is spent on software management rather than processes that lead to innovation. When multi-service software packages are used, the amount of time that IT staff must spend on managing multiple packages is greatly reduced. Compatibility issues between different software packages are eliminated, and IT staff can turn their attention toward making the company run more efficiently by deploying new technologies.
Avoiding Duplicate Efforts
When business processes are integrated seamlessly, companies can spend more of their time pushing the envelope and less time struggling to keep up with the volume of data they generate. Staff can be deployed to higher-value activities.
Comparing Software Suites to Standalone Systems
When companies find themselves frustrated by the necessity of wrangling multiple applications, they often look toward the advantages of multi-service software suites over the patchwork method. Some of the functions that can be combined in a software suite include customer resource management, order management, and recordkeeping, among many others.
Switching to an Integrated System
While some employees may initially balk at the effort required to convert data to a new system and learn how to use it, time and effort will be saved in the long run. Companies like NaXum provide multi-service software(see NaXum’s UNIFY Platform) to automate referral marketing, enhance customer service, and perform many other important tasks.
The advantages of changing over to an integrated software suite have been well-demonstrated. NaXum encourages all companies to look into streamlining their operations with the use of multi-service software suites like theirs.
