| There are Enterprise Resource Planning systems that | | | | against minimum, maximum and re-order levels, for |
| help manage huge global corporations and small | | | | example. Manufacturing software enabled managers |
| business management software that are easier to | | | | to have a clear picture of the up-to-date status of |
| deploy and use. | | | | operations on the factory shop floor at all times. |
| Small business management software can be a suite | | | | Scheduling software enabled them to develop shift |
| of programs for office work or specialized packages | | | | working schedules based on complex criteria in a |
| such as accounting, inventory management, fleet | | | | manner that did not overburden any worker. |
| management or point of sale software. There are also | | | | While project management software helped project |
| industry specific business applications such as school | | | | managers execute projects within allowed times and |
| management and retail management software. | | | | costs, asset management software helped protect |
| How do Business Software Help Businesses? | | | | physical assets of the business. Compliance with |
| Speeding up business processes is one major way | | | | complex government regulations was another area |
| that software helps businesses. For example, word | | | | where business software helped. |
| processing has transformed the speed of creating, | | | | Web Applications add a new Dimension |
| editing, storing and retrieving business documents. Just | | | | Web applications such as e-mail and instant messaging |
| think of the typewriter days when any significant | | | | transformed the communication scenario. Web sites |
| revisions would have involved retyping the whole | | | | and e-commerce enabled even small businesses with |
| document, and of the cumbersome practice of using | | | | limited resources to trade globally. Internet telephony |
| carbon paper to create multiple copies of a document | | | | reduced the costs of long-distance calling to almost |
| (some of which might never be used, resulting in | | | | local calling levels. |
| wastage of paper). | | | | And now cloud computing is making the large outlays |
| With a typical office suite these days, you can do | | | | involved in hardware and software purchases |
| several things. You can create documents on demand, | | | | unnecessary. Instead, businesses can work with |
| do elaborate computations, develop fantastic sales | | | | applications on the Web, paying only for what they |
| presentations and manage large databases storing | | | | use, and even store their data on Web servers. In |
| information about customers, orders, sales and other | | | | addition to lowering costs, cloud computing also made it |
| business transactions. | | | | possible to access data from anywhere in the world. |
| Functional applications extended the advantages of | | | | Smaller pieces of software such as those that |
| using a computer to cover more business processes. | | | | improved the ease and effectiveness of time |
| Business accounting software, for example, not only | | | | management and calendaring helped individual workers |
| speeds up the accounting process but also improvs | | | | to achieve.higher levels of productivity. Business |
| the quality of accounting, budgeting and reporting. It | | | | contact management software can boost sales and |
| was now possible to generate elaborate analytical | | | | customer satisfaction as maintaining customer |
| reports that would have simply been impracticable to | | | | contacts becomes a much more fail-proof affair. |
| compile using handwritten processes. | | | | Business management software and the Internet have |
| All the major key result areas benefited from the use | | | | completely transformed the way businesses are |
| of specialized management software. Inventory | | | | managed. They have speeded up, enhanced the |
| management software helped keep track of stock | | | | quality and extended the reach of business operations. |
| levels of all inventory items and monitoring them | | | | |