Five Benefits of System Integration
Recently I had to shop for a new clothes washing machine. The salesperson tried to get me to buy a new pair, washer and dryer, but I really only needed to replace the washer. I didn’t really care if my set didn’t match, and I was pretty sure the dryer would still be able to get my clothes dry if they came from a different brand of washer.
That experience made me think of our customers. Most are using several different business systems they like and really don’t want to change, but they wanted their systems to be able to communicate with each other. Moving data from one system to another is not as easy as moving clothes from one brand of washer to another brand of dryer. That’s why they asked for our help.
Here are five benefits of system integration:
Organizational change readiness – The speed at which you are able to respond to market changes, supply chain changes, staffing changes, etc. is essential to the survival of your business. Integrating your business systems gives you the advantage of using the software you have (and like) today and still keep your business flexible and ready for necessary changes.
“Connecting systems together can also help your organisation better adapt to internal changes, too. Having a holistic view of data from all areas of the business will enable decision-makers to spot trends, gaps and areas for improvement. These can then be tackled proactively, rather than when problems occur.” Barry Chignell, How your business can benefit from system integration
Improved data accuracy – different business systems serve different purposes, and the data they collect may be similar but not exactly the same. If each of those data sets are reviewed by different departments independent of each other, they may come to different conclusions.
“By reducing the need to duplicate data entry in multiple systems, you can also vastly reduce the probability of human error” Barry Chignell, How your business can benefit from system integration
Increased productivity – Systems that pass required data back and forth in real time will increase productivity and accuracy.
“Without linked systems, employees have to manually move data from one business app to another. This type of exercise not only distracts employees from other business-critical tasks but also increases the likelihood of inaccuracies occurring.” Barry Chignell, How your business can benefit from system integration
Enhanced employee communication and collaboration – when data is shared across the company, your workers will feel less like a member of a department and more of a cohesive team. Transparency builds trust, especially when that data is moving in real-time.
“By enabling all departments to share information seamlessly you are also encouraging collaboration and communication between these groups. Visibility and transparency of data from differing business areas encourages discussion and teamwork to reach common goals.” Barry Chignell, How your business can benefit from system integration
Real-time data visibility – when you are looking at operations data in real time you will spot trends or problems more quickly. In addition, the time spent poring over separate reports to make sense of them all will be a thing of the past. What will you do with the time you save when all of your systems are reporting to you as one?
“With the addition of real-time data, your company can use the time previously spent collecting and analysing data to improve strategies, re-think outdated approaches and increase overall performance.” Barry Chignell, How your business can benefit from system integration
Considering just these five advantages of integrating your systems, what are you waiting for?
Questions about integrating your business systems? Contact us!