Choosing the right software solutions for your business can feel like navigating a minefield. Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace? Salesforce or Hubspot? Asana or Trello? With a head-spinning number of options available, how do you choose which is right for your business – or when you should make a switch?
Mike Hannan, owner of RBA Partner Spark Business Auckland – West, says he gets a lot of queries about how to choose from the plethora of software solutions on offer.
“It’s one of my team’s primary discussion points with clients,” he says. “We ask our clients: ‘What software do you use to drive efficiency and productivity within your business?’ If we can really understand what supports and drives the business to do its core roles, then we can really add some deep value.”
Mike says there’s no set of hard and fast rules when it comes to deciding which system works best for your business. Nor does he and his team recommend any particular brands (“We’re agnostic,” he explains.) Instead, Mike recommends launching any software overhaul with a discussion – and a fact-finding mission.
“The first thing we want to be really clear on is what systems you already have and what roles they play for your business,” Mike says. To lay this out in black and white, Mike recommends taking an inventory of what software and systems serve which purpose in your business, including who owns and has access to them. What you uncover during the discovery process might be surprising.
“Some businesses may have systems that were created as a bespoke solution many years ago,” Mike says, “or a manual process of doing things, like a ‘never touch’ spreadsheet.” He points out that for some parts of a business, having a master spreadsheet with a single owner might seem to work relatively well – but there’s a “massive risk” attached, not only in terms of there being one user with complete control of a business-critical document, but also “limiting the ability to access, collaborate on and secure” your work.
Other times, you might find that your business has already purchased a platform that replaces other software you’re using, but the platform isn’t being used to its full potential. Mike cites Microsoft 365 as an example. “Instead of using Power BI, the business might have a secondary way of doing reporting that might be really human centric and driven from spreadsheets, with lots of labour-intensive manual intervention. This risks spending more time on report building than analysis, reducing the benefit of the data.”
Other times, different arms of the business – or even different subsets of employees – could be operating on different systems. “We often have scenarios where the primary business we work with has acquired other businesses over the years,” explains Mike. “So now we have branches of the business using different software. That could be a wise move if you want to keep those businesses completely independent, but often, operational efficiency can lie in getting everyone onto the one best platform.”
Once you’ve completed a comprehensive inventory of software and systems, Mike recommends rating each one on how well it performs for the organisation.
“Would everyone in your organisation say that platform is a 3 out of 10, or a 9 out of 10? Often we see a difference between different functions, where one part of the business particularly hates – or loves – a software solution.”
From there, Mike says, you can move into the solutions phase, deciding what software needs to be upgraded, consolidated, or replaced with something new. The basis for your decision-making goes back to what you’ve discovered during the inventory process, namely what inefficiencies exist, what people in the organisation like and don’t like, and what the software needs to do for your business. Don’t be swayed by flashy promises or big brands on the basis of their name alone, Mike advises.
“Sometimes software sounds massive and impressive,” he says, “but it might just fulfil one role or one requirement, and people might not realise that what they need already exists within the framework of another piece of software.”
For businesses without a dedicated IT function, this is where engaging a third-party partner might make life easier.
“A lot of businesses have people wearing many hats, and the IT function may only be part of someone’s role,” says Mike. “Therefore we add value, as we quite often end up in a ‘chief technology officer’ kind of advisory role. “
Mike points out that Spark’s IT partners can provide expertise and lend a wealth of knowledge based on real-world experience across various industries and platforms. Plus, they can give you the confidence – and the confirmation – to go ahead and make the change.
“It’s a big decision with some costs attached,” says Mike. “Some people have been through really bad software integrations or switch-outs over the years, so they’re really gun shy about doing that again. For others, making a change is at the top of their project list, but until something breaks, they don’t prioritise it. But when people say, ‘We think we’re pretty happy’ and they start listing a whole series of software that they use, we often go, ‘Hey, that sounds like quite a complicated ecosystem. Let’s sit together and work out how we do it in a way that is streamlined and sets you up for the future.’ ‘As few as possible, as many as required’ is often a healthy mindset.”
Sometimes, says Mike, that future can include the moving the business on. “At that juncture, having the right software will be an incredible enabler for the sale of the business, when that time comes.”