Getting your software applications talking to each other will help streamline your systems and increase operational efficiency in your organisation.
Actually making this happen is a challenge. Most companies use a variety of different software applications that handle accounting, sales, CRM, service and support.
The problem with systems that don’t communicate with each other is employees end up doing a lot of extra work, which doesn’t need to be done. In addition, your clients miss out on a unified and consistent experience because employees are using different databasesand there is no communication between departments.
Here are some reasons why you should get software applications talking to each other:
- Increase internal efficiencies
- Reduce excess workload
- Remove unnecessary systems that are not required and just cause confusion
- Create a consistent customer experience
- Enable communication across departments
- Reduce IT costs
Let’s look at a five step guide to getting software applications talking to each other.
1. Create an IT system map
Before you do anything, you need to plot out your requirements. Instead of starting with, “how do we get our accounting system to talk to our customer relationship management (CRM) tool”, you should first understand the information needs of different departments and how you’d like it to work.
Jason Neville, shares some insight on this:
A great example is an accounting firm. A team might need to receive specific information around important things like cash flow, while the executive team requires them to communicate that information so they can start strategic planning and forecasting.
Operationally, you’ve got two teams that need information quickly. The accounting team use one system while the executive team wait for it to be added to their own system. How do you streamline this?
Start out by visualizing your business with a system map. Create different areas that are important and draw lines between the different departments. Connecting areas that need to communicate with each other creates context around what you are trying to do.
2. Do a Gap Analysis
Once you’ve done a system map, your next step involves doing a gap analysis. The aim of this is to find areas in your IT systems that are weak or ineffective. Take a look at your systems to see what areas are not running efficiently or causing problems with communication of information.
A gap analysis is defined by Margret Rouse as a way to bridge the space between what your current systems do, and what you want them to do. The tool provides a foundation for measuring the investment of time, money and human resources required to achieve a particular outcome.
A common mistake companies make when implementing system integration is solely listening to employee needs, without considering other factors. For example, a staff member who wants two software systems to integrate tells the IT guy to build a connection. However, if the underlying problem is simply miscommunication, integration isn’t necessarily the ideal solution.
A gap analysis reduces the risk of making poor integration errors because it givesyou context around the problems so you can fix it from inside. It’s a great way to bring clarity around what you actually need to do to get your software applications talking together. Jason Neville shares some thoughts you should consider before spending big money on integrations.
Before you go and spend a huge amount of money trying to make your accounting systems talk to your CRM, I recommend you find out if that particular software or application is what you intend to stay with. Are you going to be looking at Xero, or are you going to be using some other solution? Because if you’re going to spend money, you want to make sure you’re spending it on something you intend to use for years to come.
Additionally, do you need another accounting system, when your CRM tool already has one incorporated?
I recommend asking yourself, “What is the smartest business decision for me to make? Am I making a short-term decision in favour of cash flow or am I making a long-term decision in favour of growth and flexibility?
3. Find an IT advisor (internal or external)
If you have identified gaps in your system, step three is to engage with your internal IT team or hire the expertise of an external IT consultant. This person should have some level of software development experience and an understanding of the impact IT plays on a business environment. They should also be able to work with your people and your operations team to map out the organisation’s processes.
Jason Neville recommends your IT advisor must have two different mindsets.
Creating software is what you need to do, but achieving efficiencies within the business is why you’re doing it.
I think the critical thing with any integration solution is take a step back from what you’re trying to do and look at the big picture. How is this going to affect my staff? Are we going to be able to get enough support from the vendors? Are these software applications designed to be used together?
Some of the worst systems I’ve seen are the ones are so heavily intertwined they’re like a spider web. Even though they may have achieved many efficiencies, the complexity of those integrations creates a support headache.
At the end of the day, your integration solution should streamline communication within departments without requiring excessive support or training. Convey this to your consultants to ensure they understand your objectives from a business standpoint.
4. Carry out product research
Now you need to do product research. See what products are available on the market that will help you fill the gaps. You should evaluate the systems before you start spending money on integrating them. Also, make sure there are no existing integrations already available.
There are a bunch of companies now specialising in building out software application integrations. For example, Onesaas has a bunch of integrations that you can purchase and implement. This works out a lot cheaper than hiring a software developer yourself.
5. Bring on/hire a software developer
Lastly, you must find yourself a software developer that can talk with your IT advisor and operations team to actually look at each of the application programming interfaces (API’s) and build the integration.
Once again, everyone must be working together under the correct context and looking at the bigger picture. This will eliminate duplication, which tends to be quite common when doing these types of software integrations. Be clear about what each department needs from the integration.
Jason Neville shares a great example:
A sales team needs to manage their opportunities, convert them into customers and send invoices, while the accounting team needs to file invoices and take payments.
Make sure that each teams responsibilities are aligned in the right functions of the business so you’re not creating a system around something that is flawed from the start. Think about your answer to this question, ‘If you didn’t have any systems, what would be an ideal world?’
Increase efficiencies by integrating software applications
Systems integration has the potential to increase operational efficiency and subsequently boost productivity and revenues. This five step guide has been created to give you an actionable plan that you can use today to start this process inside your organisation.
Use the strategies and practical examples provided by Jason Neville to streamline your systems and create more efficiency in your workplace.
If you don’t have internal IT resources, you might need to look for an experienced IT consultant. When evaluating IT consultants, make sure they have:
- A proven framework
- Past experience doing it for other companies
- An objective perspective ensuring no internal or cultural politics influence the decision making process