January 10, 2007

Getting More from the Tools (like ERP) You Have

The problem of not maximizing technology is not something that small businesses have a lock on. Larger businesses, all businesses, need to get more out of the technology they have. Of course smaller business have more to lose.

Connect IT writes that many smaller businesses are losing out and wasting money by not using their ERP systems to the fullest potential.

Companies with revenues under $50 million annually use an average of 9.79 modules out of the 24 generic modules included in the study, while the largest firms use an average of 11.71 modules.

I recently posted an article from Gene Marks on "Penny Pinching Tips to Get the Most out of CRM", which also relates to this issue.

There's two things you can do 1) educate yourself and your staff, especially those who are using the technology in how to get the most of out of it; send them to training courses 2) ensure that your IT consultant reviews your use of the technology so that they can help you get more out of it.

Connect IT writes She recommended setting goals for the implementation and establishing performance metrics. In addition, as long as the software is a good fit, businesses should do their best to minimize the number of modifications the make. "The more able you are to run pure vanilla software, the better off you are,"

Read the full article here.

The classic example of NOT getting more out of technology is the use of Microsoft Word. Just about every person has it on their desktop but people use only about 10% of its features.

Part of the reason is need - Microsoft has given us a ton of features but most users simply don't need them. Even users, however, who do need the features might not even know they are available and how to use them.

Training will help alleviate this by 1) making users more aware of the features available to them and 2) by helping them know HOW to use them.

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