Business software or business applications is software or a series of computer programs used by business users to perform various business functions. This business application is used to improve productivity, to measure productivity and to perform other business functions accurately.
In general, business software tends to be developed to meet specific business needs, and is therefore not easily transferable to different business environments, unless the nature and operations are identical. Due to the unique requirements of each business, off-the-shelf software is unlikely to fully meet the needs of the company. However, where an on-the-shelf solution is required, due to time or monetary considerations, some level of customization may be required. Exceptions do exist, depending on the business being asked, and thorough research is always required before performing a bespoke or off-the-shelf solution.
Some business applications are interactive, that is, they have a graphical user interface or user interface and users can query/modify/input data and view results instantly. They can also run reports instantly. Some business applications run in batch mode: they are set to run based on predefined events/times and business users do not need to start or monitor them.
Some business applications are built at home and some are purchased from vendors (from shelf software products). This business app is installed on a desktop or a large server. Prior to the introduction of COBOL (universal compilers) in 1965, businesses developed their own unique machine language. The RCA language consists of 12 position instructions. For example, to read a note into memory, the first two digits are the instruction code (action). The next four positions of the instruction ('A' address) will be the leftmost memory location where you want the readable characters to be placed. Four positions (address 'B') of the instruction will record the rightmost memory location where you want the last character of the record to be found. The double-digit 'B' address also allows modification of each instruction. The instruction code and memory designations exclude the use of 8 or 9. The first RCA business applications were implemented in 1962 at 4K RCA 301. RCA 301, mid frame 501, and large frame 601 started marketing them in early 1960.
Many types of users are found in the business environment, and can be categorized using small, medium and large matrices:
- Small business markets generally consist of home accounting software, and office suites like OpenOffice.org or Microsoft Office.
- Medium size, or small and medium enterprises (SMEs), has a variety of software applications, ranging from accounting, groupware, customer relationship management, human resource management systems, outsourcing relationship management, origination loan software, shopping cart software , field service software, and other productivity improvement applications.
- The final segment includes enterprise-level software applications, such as those in enterprise resource planning, enterprise content management (ECM), business process management (BPM) and product lifecycle management. The app is very broad in scope, and often comes with modules that add native functions, or incorporate third-party computer programming functionality.
Technologies that previously existed only in peer-to-peer software applications, such as Kazaa and Napster, began to appear in business applications.
Video Business software
Type of business tool
- Enterprise application software (EAS)
- Resource Management
- Digital dashboards, also known as business intelligence dashboards, company dashboards, or executive dashboards. This is a visual-based summary of business data that shows a glimpse of conditions through key performance metrics and indicators (KPIs). Dashboards are a very popular tool that has emerged in recent years.
- The online analytical process (OLAP), (which includes HOLAP, ROLAP, and MOLAP) - is the ability of multiple management, decision support, and executive information systems that support interactive checks of large amounts of data from multiple perspectives.
- Reporting software generates a composite data view to keep management up-to-date on the state of their business.
- Procurement software is business software that helps automate the organization's purchasing function.
- Data mining is the extraction of consumer information from a database by utilizing software that can isolate and identify previously unknown patterns or trends in large amounts of data. There are various data mining techniques that reveal different types of patterns. Some of the techniques included here are statistical methods (especially business statistics) and neural networks, as highly sophisticated data analysis tools.
- Business performance management (BPM)
- The document management software is built to organize and manage multiple documents of various types. Some of them have storage functions for the security and backup of valuable business information.
- Employee scheduling software - used to create and distribute employee schedules, and to track employees' hours.
Maps Business software
Short history
An important motivation for business software is to increase profits by cutting costs or accelerating productive cycles. In the early days of white-collar business automation, large mainframe computers were used to handle the most boring jobs, such as bank clearing and factory accounting.
The factory accounting software is one of the most popular initial business software, and includes general ledger automation, general ledger of fixed asset inventory, ledger cost accounting, accounts receivable ledger, and ledger debt (including salary, life insurance, health insurance , federal and state insurance and pensions).
The initial use of software to replace white-collar workers manually was very profitable, and led to a radical shift in white-collar work. One computer may easily replace 100 'white collar' anesthesia, and the computer will not require health benefits or retirement.
By building on this early success with IBM, Hewlett-Packard and other early suppliers of business software solutions, corporate consumers are demanding business software to replace the ancient draft board. CAD-CAM software (or computer-aided design for computer-assisted manufacturing) arrived in the early 1980s. Also, project management software was greatly appreciated in the early 1980s that may cost up to $ 500,000 per copy (although the software usually has far less capability than modern project management software such as Microsoft Project, which can be bought today for under $ 500 per copy.)
In the early days, perhaps the most striking and widespread change in business software was word processing. Due to rapid rise, IBM's ubiquitous typewriters vanished in the 1980s when millions of companies around the world switched to the use of Word Perfect business software, and later, Microsoft Word software. Other highly popular computer programs for businesses are mathematical spreadsheet programs such as Lotus 1-2-3, and then Microsoft Excel.
In the 1990s, business shifted heavily toward globalism with the advent of SAP software that coordinated the supply chain of vendors, potentially worldwide, for the most efficient and efficient plant operations.
But there is nothing in the history of business software that has a global impact from the Internet, with its email and website now serving commercial interests around the world. Globalism in business comes entirely when the internet becomes a household word.
The next phase in the evolution of business software is being led by the emergence of Robotic Process Automation (RPA), which involves the identification and automation of highly repetitive tasks and processes, with the aim of boosting operational efficiency, reducing costs and limiting human error. Industries that have been at the forefront of RPA adoption include Insurance industry, Banking and Financial Services, Law industry and Health Care industry.
App support
Business applications are built on the requirements of business users. Also, this business application is built to use the Business transaction type or certain data items. This business app works perfectly until there are no new business requirements or no changes in the underlying Business transaction. Also, business applications run perfectly if there are no problems with computer hardware, computer networks (Intenet/intranet), computer diskettes, power supplies, and various software components (middleware, databases, computer programs, etc.).
Business applications can fail when unexpected errors occur. These errors can occur due to data errors (unexpected input data or incorrect input data), environmental errors (errors related to the framework), programming errors, human error or workflow errors. When a business application fails, one must fix business application errors as soon as possible so that business users can continue their work. This work solves a business application error known as business application support.
Error reporting
Business User calls the business application support team's phone number or sends an e-mail to the business app's support team. The business application support team gets all the details of the error from business users on the phone or from email. These details are then included in the tracking software. The tracking software generates a query number and this query number is assigned to business users. This query number is used to track progress on support issues. Request is assigned to a support team member.
Error notification
For important business application errors (such as unavailable apps or apps not working properly), e-mails will be sent to all affected organizations or teams so they are aware of the issue. They are also provided with approximate time for application availability.
Investigation or application error analysis
A business app support team member gathers all the necessary information about a business software error. This information is then recorded in a support request. All data used by business users is also used in the investigation. The application program is reviewed for possible programming errors.
Error resolution
If there are similar business application errors occurring in the past then the troubleshooting steps are taken from the support knowledge base and errors are resolved using those steps. If this is a new support error, then new problem resolution steps are created and errors resolved. New support error resolution steps are recorded in the knowledge base for future use. For major business application errors (critical infrastructure or application failure), the phone conference call begins and everyone/support team required to join the call and they all work together to resolve the error.
Code correction
If a business application error occurs due to a programming error, then a request is made for the application development team to correct programming errors. If a business user needs new features or functionality in a business application, then a required analysis/design/programming/testing/release is planned and a new version of business software is used.
Correction of business processes
If a business application error occurs due to a workflow or human error issue during data input, then the business user will be notified. Business users then review their workflow and revise it if necessary. They also modify the user manual or user instructions to avoid such errors in the future.
Correction of infrastructure issues
If a business application error occurs due to an infrastructure issue, then a dedicated infrastructure team will be notified. The infrastructure team then implements a permanent fix for this problem and monitors the infrastructure to avoid recurrence of the same error.
Follow-up support and internal reporting
The business application error tracking system is used to periodically review all issues (daily, weekly and monthly) and reports are generated to monitor resolved issues, repeat issues, and pending issues. Reports are also generated for IT/IS management for the improvement and management of business applications.
See also
References
External links
Source of the article : Wikipedia