Buying Software Solutions Means Adapting Business Processes

CRM, SCM, FAS, ESS, ECM and BPA are just a few of the endless stream of acronyms and buzzwords that confront small business owners searching for good software solutions to automate key business functions. The promises of many cloud-based software solutions to automate key functions of a business are impressive. The ability of the technology sales rep to speak an entirely different language using English words injected with acronyms, jargon and unique expressions is equally impressive.

This creates an air of superiority as apparently only special people can know all of this stuff and make any meaning from it in business terms. Many small businesses readily adopt these solutions, believing they will accrue the compelling list of benefits.

The challenges for the business owner go far beyond learning an entirely new befuddling language. More importantly, they must learn to adapt their business processes, people, policies, practices and all of the information and work that must flow through the business functions served by this software. Ironically, many very large businesses cite this failure to execute this adaptation process as the reason many such systems fail to meet their expectations. This despite the hordes of information technology resources and business consultants applied to manage the process.

Small business don't have access to the same array of experts to help them manage the transition. Instead, they tend to rely more heavily on the supplier of the software solution. Unfortunately, most of these software suppliers do not provide services to help their customers redefine their business processes and work flows. The software supplier is focused on installing the product, providing training on the best practices in the usage of the product, providing basic technical support for the software and then moving on to the next prospect.

After a short period, the frustration mounts as the existing processes and work practices of employees in the business clash with the way the software operates by design. Attempts to adapt the software to the existing workflow or to develop workarounds to seemingly inappropriate or missing functionality invariably produce more frustration. All the while, the business never fully realizes the full benefits of the software as sold by the sales person. The truth is that the business never fully adopts the software so the benefits will only match the degree of its utilization.

Acquiring the software license and turning on the first user name and password is the easy part. To achieve the real value of this purchase requires an accurate and comprehensive assessment of the actual business processes in place in the business compared with those provided in the software solution is required to determine the work required to implement it successfully. This assessment must include process mapping, change management plan for each process, system and workflow integration, user training, and real-world testing and overall project plan to manage the transition to the new mode of operating. A competent project manager with business operations, business process analysis and software deployment expertise can be an invaluable asset to enabling long-term profitable deployments of software solutions for small businesses.

Asia Dominates Business Process Outsourcing Services Arena

Outsourcing has opened opportunities for companies to gain competitive advantage in the tough business world. It has been a great help especially for small organizations that wish to provide quality service at a lower cost.

Why Choose the Process? There has been a long debate whether companies should outsource jobs or not. For businessmen, it is a strategic way to save cost. However, opposing politicians think that it lessens job opportunities locally and in turn, affect the country's economy.

For what it's worth, outsourcing is a great option for organizations that wish to gain profit while reducing corporate expenses. This is plausible especially if the organization will use a suitable third party service such as business process outsourcing (BPO) or knowledge process outsourcing (KPO). Business process outsourcing services may include payroll processing, human resources, warehousing, transport, customer service, collections, distribution, sales, technical support, and so on.

Over the years, the system has utilized skills and expertise that are significant for the success of any organization. Here are the reasons why businessmen will consider it.

• Lower costs. One of the reasons why western countries will offshore their services is to save cost. Asia is the top choice of western countries because of lower labor cost. As a matter of fact, businesses expect a 60% savings by outsourcing their tasks to third-party service companies.

• Efficiency. Business process outsourcing services include customer assistance and management. Through the help of adept and well-trained employees, customer inquiries and concerns are immediately addressed. Thus, third-party service providers ensure that customer satisfaction, goodwill, and trust are strictly monitored.

• Excellent Management. An effective management is the core of a successful business. The availability of outsource providers give companies an opportunity to innovate and focus on specific tasks. For instance, a company outsources their human resource activities. This will allow the company to focus their manpower and resources (that were once allotted for HR tasks) to their core activities and innovation tasks.

• Productivity. Each company will outsource with one thing in mind and that is to be productive. Productivity is the capacity to apply skills, ideas, and technology to acquire profit. It is equally important to ensure that a business is able to render quality service to its client.

Outsourcing gives business a different name. It improves internal management, effectively saves cost, increases commitment in different business areas, and gains market access.

Over the years, Asian countries have shown increase in business profit. This can be attributed to the growing industry in the region. Here is a list of countries where business process outsourcing services is a success.

• India. With a large number of English speaking professionals and thousands of Information Technology graduates, India held the top position as the top country in the industry, both in Asia and around the world. It is said that 80-90 percent of the global market outsource in this country.

• China. This country is said to be the top rival of India for the number one spot. In a recent survey conducted by KPMG, with 280 senior company executives, 41 percent of the respondents said that they have an outsourcing provider from China. Over the years, China's activity has significantly increased. Its market has reached $7.5 billion in 2007 alone.

• Philippines. With an excellent experience in BPO industry and a large population that speaks American English, Philippines is a promising contender for the top spot. In addition to English competency, the Philippines also boasts a pool of medical graduates. This made the country a likely place to outsource medical and healthcare-related tasks.

• Malaysia. The government of Malaysia has shown an outstanding support for outsourcing companies through its world class infrastructures and policies focusing on improving English proficiency.

• Czech Republic. Another Asian country that has a 5.6 outsourcing index, and ranked on the seventeenth spot. It has developed the popular AVG antivirus software. Located between Austria, Slovakia, Poland, and Germany, it is often referred to as the gateway to both eastern and western countries. Also, the number of IT graduates has increased over the years, which greatly demands higher work force.

Business process outsourcing services greatly help in promoting global business impact. Aside from lower cost, its round-the-clock service has reached various customers of different cultures and time zone. Indeed, the process has opened absolute employment opportunities and competitive strategies for business sectors.