Using custom applications to enhance business workflow

One of the main challenges that companies and businesses must deal with every day is improving the efficiency of business operations. In this respect, the efficiency of the business refers to the optimal execution of the overall workflow of the business. Technology, especially the stand-alone readymade software and applications have in the last decade has proved to be successful in helping solve this problem. However, since the beginning of the latter half of this decade, even these readymade applications find it harder to cope. They were successful in the past because most businesses had not integrated IT into all areas of their operations.

A typical illustration of this is a construction firm that only used IT in the processing and management of employee payrolls. This could easily be achieved using any of the many payroll software that are readymade and available for sale in the market. However, as this construction company continued to expand and embrace IT into its other departments, it would need, say, a separate application to process orders, another one to monitor stages of different constructions and so on. At the end it would require several stand-alone applications and software to cater for the various departments and this would be counterproductive.

The illustration above shows that as a business expands, so do its IT needs and at some point, readymade applications may not be able to provide what is needed. The best solution to this problem then is to come up with a single, customised application that embraces and incorporates all areas of operation of the business in a single unit leading to greater efficiency and overall workflow within the organisation.