Last Updated on July 4, 2024
Aug 21, 2015
A growing business is an exciting time with lots of great new opportunities, but will your current construction software be able to handle this? Many companies might take the ‘wait and see’ approach, which may be pragmatic, but also might leave your company behind and struggling to catch up.
The importance of accounting for growth when determining software needs
There are a variety of factors that may come into play that can force your company to enhance their software solutions – whether you are ready or not. It is not enough to simply maintain the status quo, you want to stay ahead of the curve. Understanding the needs of your business and the level at which your business is growing can really help to determine whether it is necessary to upgrade your software needs.
Signs growth is on the horizon
Construction Global recently explored some of the key indicators which may help to understand if your business, and therefore software needs, are growing. Taking on a big job can instantly increase your company’s software needs. As the amount of employees grows, your construction solution may need to grow as well, to be able to perform tasks such as accounting, payroll, inventory and equipment, reporting, and document management. Analyzing your current system is another important determining factor. Outdated systems and processes may hold your company back, and if there is a change required down the road, may prove to be even more costly. “Seventy to eighty percent of….IT spending was on maintaining legacy systems rather than investing in improvements. That may actually be an under-estimate.”
Using software that doesn’t align with your business needs can be another sign your system is ready for growth. When you are having to modify your processes to accommodate your current system, it may be an indication that your current system is not adequate. As your business continues to grow, simply patching these growth areas with a variety of different software packages can end up creating more problems than it solves. The issue is that data will be spread out amongst multiple systems, which makes it harder to attain a single version of the truth. Think about how much time and effort would be required importing and exporting data just to achieve this. By consolidating these systems into one integrated solution, decision makers will have a more clear understanding of their business.
For any company considering serious growth, having the right software system in place is an integral piece of the puzzle to achieving success. Companies who resist or delay this change, may find themselves on the outside looking in.
