Why you should start investing in software no matter your industry

One of the first things that come to your mind when you hear the word software is about IT and technology-related industries. However, software will become much more than that in the next 10 years. No doubt, that Microsoft has started investing billions of dollars in cloud-based solutions, as well as other big companies. Although it might seem pricy, software can pay off greatly while ensuring that in whatever industry you are you will be able to do what you do better, with higher quality while accomplishing it faster and cheaper.

The majority will agree of the importance of technology and the fact that there is no sector of the modern economy that technology does not affect. As such if you want to build a scalable and successful business you need to learn to embrace technology. Even if you currently believe that you do not rely upon it, think twice. Many businesses and industries are being run on software and delivered as online services-from shopping, movies to medical consulting and others.

Here are the main five reasons on why you should invest in software if you want to be prosperous and have a competitive advantage over rivals:

Innovation: Developing and pushing the boundaries of innovation is essential for any business. No wonder why many entrepreneurs and supportive venture capital firms are funding innovation. Having good software makes it easier and cheaper to create new products faster than competition while securing the first-mover advantage.

Think of Apple, through constant focus on technology and innovation helps them design new and better mobile, computer and iPad devices, which no other can beat and this is how they have gained and maintained loyal customers. They have been a leader in the extremely saturated and competitive market for more than 10 years. In addition to this they occasionally buy tech companies to keep up with the fast-moving pace of technology. For example, recently they acquired AlgoTrim, a Swedish start-up that builds codecs and designs solutions that maximise performance of data, mobile imaging, video and computer graphics while minimising memory requirements.

Productivity:

Having the right software allows you to do things more efficiently and effectively, therefore contributing towards higher productivity. As a result, it contributes towards fewer mistakes and less costs. Using software to maximise business production truly helps realise success. Increased productivity can be traced to the standardisation and automation of processes allowing overcoming challenges and providing more time to spend on other priorities. Overall, having higher productivity, especially without discounting on quality, can allow a company to charge lower prices and therefore increase sales and profit margins.

Lower costs:

Even if software could seem expensive, in the long term it compensates and leads to reduced overall costs. As discussed previously, higher productivity leads to improved efficiency and hence cost reduction. The fact that business software is an integrated tool which can perform different tasks makes it cheaper to complete various tasks simultaneously. For instance, employees can execute various tasks through particular business management software, to achieve lower costs.

For example, recently Coca Cola reinvested in new software which performs better across multiple platforms, and as a result have lowered costs on software license, support, and maintenance.

Serve your customers better:

Without good software it is impossible to keep track on all of the data related to your customers. This is a crucial point because customers are at the heart of any successful business. An example of such software is CRM - a tool through which any information about customers` behaviour is kept. Nowadays, many businesses implement such software to learn better about their clients and to adapt their offers/products to serve them better. Almost all big retailers like Tesco make use of this system through loyalty cards which give points/discounts to customers in return of shopping in their store. Finally such initiatives can also improve the customer service you provide.

Profitability:

All the points discussed by now contribute towards higher profitability through constant innovation, higher productivity and reduced costs - altogether this leads to customer retention. As your business becomes more efficient by cutting out unnecessary work, gaining more customers by better offer and service, creating products that serve better clients` needs you will create a sustained competitive advantage and your profits will upsurge, all this thanks to investing in the right software systems.