Are you Wasting your Software Investments?

I speak with many business owners that are frustrated with Information Technology. They start with seeing opportunities in software to help their business, but get frustrated because it doesn't deliver what they need. They then go on to try another and another, hoping that they will be more successful.

While some software products may be more suitable for one business or another, the problems seldom have anything to do with the software. The software is working for someone, so it can provide value. The problem is usually with the way the software is used.

Problems come from a conflict in business processes, the impact that software has on processes and people, and reality. The reality of a software installation is that business is going to change, and that change will take effort, usually at a time when you can least afford it. These issues are the source of the problems and the lack of results.

Getting back to the waste question, why do we allow this waste to occur? It is waste because we have spent money to buy and install this software and we aren't getting anything for it. Even worse, as we move on to the next software product, we are adding to the waste.

The problem with software waste is that it is usually invisible, except on the Balance Sheet. Software is stored on a computer's hard drive, and nobody sees it. There is another type of waste created by the software and that is productivity. Because we have installed the software and we aren't using it effectively, our people are less productive that they could be.

In a plant, when we produce inferior products or have too much inventory, it is often obvious. It piles up on the floor and is visible to everyone. Software waste piles up in invisible places, and productivity waste disappears (lost time is gone, never to come back).

Another form of waste is software functionality. As your business grows and changes, the software you already have may be able to provide you with new functionality that you have already paid for. You may have the opportunity to turn on this functionality. While it's not free (no effort to enhance your business is free), it won't increase your costs but can improve your bottom line.

Don't let your Information Technology Investments add to the pile of waste! Look at how the softwarean can be used to upgrade your business.