Are You Living in the Past?

It is amazing to see so many businesses living in the past. Its so easy to stay there too. No one likes change and so many businesses are set up to help you stay right there. Staying within this paradigm will hold you back from real business success.

So, you tell me you're a 2 million or 20 million or even a 500 million dollar business, so why should you change anything? You're pretty successful right? Maybe even a top business in your community? Congratulations.

If you are not running the best systems available to you right now your competitors are looking at them and when they have them up and running your days of success are numbered. Have you got a strategy to stay ahead of the pack?

Over the past twenty yeas the biggest businesses around the world have made huge strides in productivity and business growth through systems implementations. Software companies have grown into huge organizations and the implementing consultants have made a fortune. Lets check on that statement, ever hear the name Bill Gates? Larry Elison? or even Hasso Plattner? Maybe not the last one! Well, they represent Microsoft, Oracle and SAP. These companies are vying to rule the systems on big business and small.

If you are not a very large company you probably don't know much about any of this. That's not OK.

So what do I mean about living in the past? Well your computer programs are pretty old school. You're using the same accounting package as your competitors, and its most probably not even an updated version. If you know what CRM means but dont actually use one, its generally a package that connects a number of sales folk to a database of customer info, without any access to your accounting or inventory management package, in the old school. It generally helps the sales team plan and executes their strategy for selling. You are old school because you have been suckered by the IT consultants to integrate the stand alone pieces of software into a system! You are old school if you think your local IT development company could create these systems specifically for you. You are old school because you pay a person to manage your network and servers more than you pay your head sales person.

So you say to me 'wonderful, but how can I ever compete with the big guys?' What is the new paradigm? This is where things get really interesting. You can compete and you can discover a new paradigm. It won't cost you your first born either. Over the past ten years or so there has been a quiet revolution taking place. Software doesn't have to be owned and installed and managed by your company. You do not have to create and maintain a half baked IT department. It can be rented. You can actually rent an IT department that compares with what the Fortune businesses have. Originally these hosted services were called an ASP, or Application Service Provider, now known as SaaS, or software as a service. There are a collection of products you can subscribe to and run your business with.

What does that mean?

Well unlike the biggest companies on earth who have spent more than many countries entire defense budgets on these systems, there are now systems available that emulate the biggest and the best and the good news is you can afford to use them. These systems can run every conceivable back office operation in your business.

One of the biggest advantages companies implementing these systems notice immediately is that their business processes become simpler. They generally follow the software's best practice and it works better than what they had in the first place! The staff find them easier to use then the multi package, multi spreadsheet approach. Work gets done faster, less mistakes, more enjoyable work environment. But the most fantastic part is that the real part of business, servicing the customers, takes place seamlessly! Your customers are happier and do more business. It is easier to do business with you.

So when you think it through, for a reasonable investment, which could even be financed, you can have a system, which lowers your current costs, improves sales, increases revenue, increase your margins, by costing you less and being more productive. Which ultimately means.. ta daaaa..your profit starts climbing.

And you thought you were as good as you ever would be? Move away from good and move toward great, today.

Move to the future. Make way for change and learn to love it!