Why is a best-of-breed workflow app for process management – the ultimate growth driver for your business?
When it comes to software to help you run your business processes – we believe in the philosophy of “small pieces, loosely joined” for a workflow app.
The benefits are incredible. If you are considering a refresh of your existing technology, or just starting out and need to give your business a real edge to differentiate and grow in today’s tough marketplace – this article explains why renting cloud apps is far better than the other alternatives.
Building software in-house or via a custom dev shop
This is what people have tried to do for a long-time – and effectively, why the cloud has such great benefits. Ultimately, your business needs to focus on what actually drives revenue, instead of becoming an under-resourced, under-skilled IT department that’s incapable of putting out fires or building products that really delight business users. Do what your business is supposed to do – you don’t need the headache of becoming a software company.
A single system that tries to do everything
The monolothic system approach has been well-established in enterprises for some time in the form of ERPs and other “catch-all” database-driven UI’s supplied by companies like SAP and Oracle. Whilst this seems preferable due to perceived one-vendor simplicity – it turns out to be a very poor approach for many of the criteria listed below. Modern apps are easily integrated, both in terms of functionality and data. The premise established by enterprise software vendors to buy their single-system offerings was before cloud apps emerged, when easy integration was more difficult to achieve. Today, different apps can and do integrate elegantly and simply – so it’s a very poor and high-risk business decision to assume that one system will fit all your needs.
Attempting to run and manage vendor software on-premise
Similar to the in-house approach above, except there’s an added layer of vendor management pain for business process management vendors with legacy software.
What you gain from “small pieces, loosely joined” in your workflow app
The benefits of building a technology architecture with “small pieces, loosely joined” are listed below. Your business applications can give you the edge you need to succeed and grow revenue if you choose them right. Integrating apps is easy though services like Zapier, and more – which are rapidly emerging in the market.
Maximum redundancy
… since there is no single point of failure
The very nature of different apps on the cloud means that a failure in one does not bring down everything.
Minimum risk
… since an enterprise-grade or next-generation workflow app comes with uptime/service level agreements
People assume that cloud apps pose data and security risks. It really depends on the agreement and focus of the cloud vendor. If they understand enterprise needs, and can service them – there is far more safety with such guarantees than you can even have in-house.
Maximum simplicity
… since each app has a focused purpose and simple user interface
People that build simple, focused apps are very motivated to make their product the best in it’s class. Imagine having 10 highly skilled, truly passionate teams – each of them absolutely committed to their specific product – working on tooling for you to enjoy. You can never get that in-house. The workflow app you choose has to bind together lots of point solutions.
Maximum scalability
… since cloud infrastructure is designed to service massive scale
It’s no big secret that cloud is built for scale.
Lowest cost through metered, flexible usage
… since a workflow app generally charges per user, per month
In the age of transient workforces (such as more freelancers and contractors) – you need to scale your pricing model for tools and software to suit modern business hiring and recruitment needs. Pricing models of yesterday – which committed you to long contracts at a fixed number of permanent employees are no longer appropriate. Even more importantly, paying for features and tools that certain people don’t use in your workflow app is very expensive. With cloud apps, you can pick the subset of people that actually use any given tool, and only pay for metered usage for those people.
Maximum ease of integration between best-of-breed apps
… since integration is now a service for a cloud workflow app
In the past, doing an integration meant being at the mercy of expensive consultants that are hard to find and don’t offer the quality of service you expect. These days, services like Zapier, Boomi and more – offer integration services between different apps easily and quickly. You can integrate and trigger actions from one app to another app yourself – without any IT knowledge or help.
Maximum future capabilities
… since a workflow app will constantly improve and you get their roadmap for free
When a highly focused and specialized app does just one thing really well – they continue to excel at that one thing. Instead of a large array of mediocre tools, it’s far better to have the very best workflow app for the specific job that needs to be done or the specific problem that needs to be solved. A workflow app that’s open to integration also gives you the chance to pick and choose a portfolio of tools that are not only the best-in-class but are also improving and responding to your feedback.
Minimum total cost of ownership
… since costs in the long-term are well-known and predictable
The cloud pricing model is usually based on a well-known rate charged per user, per time period. This provides incredible predictability and flexibility on costs. You don’t need to approve large capital projects for cloud apps, as they fall straight into the P&L account – and their costs are easily controlled through flexible pay-as-you-go pricing.
Zero reliance on a single workflow app vendor
… since each of your best-of-breed apps is a separate relationship
Previously, businesses were at the mercy of legacy vendors that held all their data to ransom, irrespective of the quality of their product or service. In effect, their customers are “locked in” to one vendor and one small ecosystem. This is a very poor business decision. In the modern world of cloud apps, this possibility is eliminated – as most cloud apps are specialized and also offer open API’s – allowing you to migrate your data in and out as you please.
Minimum staff training and adoption time
… since cloud apps are inherently easy to use
The most important attribute of the best cloud apps is usability. Legacy vendors are many years behind on this, and this is the single most important aspect to a business user. While IT thinks about technology, business users think about how easy it is to actually use the technology. Ease of use is the defining theme of the future of all software, whether it’s cloud-based or not – and should be a #1 vendor selection criteria. Ignore this at your peril – as you will find that a million-dollar piece of software you bought is not being used by anyone, and you may be forced to write off very significant investment.
Fully mobile and remote working capabilities
… since workflow apps are on the cloud and are often have mobile versions
These days, should not be considering any solution that isn’t mobile-enabled for remote working – due not only to productivity enhancements but because the workforce of the future expects this capability as a default.
Cutting edge marketing and lead generation technologies
… since these only exist as cloud workflow apps
Cloud apps offer highly refined, measurable ways to bring in leads and sales. You can only enjoy the best of these if you have a strategy that allows you to tap into the latest innovations in better customer capture and experience.
Wrapping up on a workflow app
We’re happy to hear from you anytime, especially when it comes to architecting your operations through a workflow app. You have a unique opportunity today to build a high-performing business that scales if you get this right.
Auto-document and track workflows with other people in real-time