As a busy year draws to a close, everyone's thoughts seem to be turning to the holidays. So what software should you ask Santa to put in your stocking?
I'm sure software vendors are smiling. Budgets are now becoming available to buy the latest greatest software. Let's face it there's lots of super duper new software about and the old software dogs have many new tricks up their sleeves. My fellow software junkies and I would love to play with all the new toys about, but the last thing the world really needs is more software.
Are companies using what they have to full potential? I would argue that more can be done with what we already have in place. So rather than considering what new software to buy, perhaps CIO's should think about existing features available in the software they have already implemented. They are likely to find that quicker and cheaper results will follow, that could have a huge impact on their company performance.
Just as we only use 3% of our brains, we leverage a fraction of the potential that our enterprise software offers. It's time to start working smarter. A good way to begin is to identify the constraints in your company. Is there duplication of effort? Are there manually intensive processes? Where could you still cut costs or improve efficiencies? Is there a gap in the market your competitors have overlooked? Then re-look at software already being used in your business to see whether features exist or can be configured to meet your needs.
Why re-invent the wheel when it's already turning? Your wagon may have a steam engine hiding under the hood if only you would look.
