Business Management Software

It is difficult to compare Business Management Software if you don’t know the difference between Vaporware and Shareware.

The functionality of management software varies greatly. Some software packages are only meant to handle a certain area of business management, for instance a business management finance package that will handle payroll and inventory control, but doesn’t provide any assistance with customer retention.

But there are software programs out there that will help you manage and control everything from the suppliers of raw goods, to a customer reward program, and everything in between. Once you understand what feature functionality you need, you just have to figure out the terminology so you can compare the different options.

Below you will find a partial list of some of the terms you may run into. You will also get a brief definition of those terms.

• Data Warehouse is a term used to signify a database that a company would use to store large amounts of historical business data. This might be used to keep customer buying records, inventory history, or for many other uses.
• eBusiness is used to describe the process of doing business on the Internet.
• eCommerce is a term used to describe the process of buying and selling products and services over the internet.
• End-to-End is a phrase that is used to describe the entire process in a business from the end user to the back office.
• Firewall is a specific type of software or combined software and hardware system that keeps outsiders from accessing a company’s computer network.
• Groupware is a type of computer software that will aid groups of people who work on a network to communicate with each other electronically and share data. This type of software could allow email sharing, meeting scheduling, and the ability to distribute files among the group with editing and white board applications.
• Infrastructure refers to the structure, systems, and subsystems that support a private network, equipment and software.
• Integration is the process that happens when you get separate software packages or computer systems to exchanged information or work together.
• Legacy is a term used to describe versions of software systems that are outdated or are no longer supported.
• Middleware software allows one software application to communicate with another one.
• Platform is the term used to describe the basic technology on which a software application is designed to run. Often this platform is one of the varieties of Microsoft Windows.
• Point of Sale simply means what is essentially an electronic cash register that allows a customer to check out. This is the POS terminal that generally includes hardware and software to manage taking the cash or credit, and often can be utilized to manage customer frequent buying programs and awards.
• Scalable means that a software program can be have other modules, new versions, or hardware added to it later.
• Shareware is copyrighted software programs that are available for no charge and are freely available to everyone for a limited time amount of time. After the specified time a fee is expected to be paid to continue utilizing the software.
• Turnkey is a term utilized to describe a system that can be installed and utilized almost immediately. It can be initialized with the proverbial turn of a key.
• Usability Testing is a practice that many software companies use to improve the look and feel of their software. They do this by offering users the opportunity to try beta copies of the software and then provide feedback on ease of use, task time, and more.
• Vaporware is software or hardware that isn’t currently available. This software has been announced publicly, sometimes to keep customers from buying a competitors’ product. But this software is either late for delivery.
• Web Server is a computer that will transfer web files from the publisher of those files to web users. There are two software products under the Microsoft Windows platform that will allow your computer to work as a Web Server. These products are Microsoft IIS and Microsoft Personal Web Server.

Summary

Business Management Software can come in all “shapes and sizes.” It can provide management for everything, or a concentrate on just a piece of what you need to manage. You can get systems that will run on a lap top, or systems that are managed by a hosting company and that will run on their servers.

There are multiple options and a range of feature functionality to fit any size business or any business specialty. Many Business Management Software systems are targeted toward specific fields. Retail Business Management Software would be a little different than the software utilized for a service industry or wholesaler.

Making an informed choice, means understanding the terminology as it relates to Business Management Software.

The purpose of finding and implementing the right Business Management Software is to ultimately manage your sales, customers, employees, vendors, inventory and all the paperwork associated with your business in an inexpensive, yet powerful manner. That can be a difficult process if you don’t understand the language used to describe the features and functionality of what you are buying. Like anything today that is technical, acronyms abound and cute buzzwords multiply at an alarming rate.

Below you will find a few of the most commonly used acronyms and terms. The intent is to give you at least a beginning idea of the meaning behind the letters and phrases.

• SCM stands for supply chain management. This is what you use to manage your inventory. The SCM should help you control how the goods get to you, how you store them and/or turn them into your product, and how you get the finished goods to customers. This part of the business management software will help you deal with suppliers, manufacturers, your retail stores, wholesalers, warehouses, distributors and other steps that wind all the way down to your end user or customer.
• PRM signifies partner relationship management. This term is used to describe a business strategy whereby a company works very closely with vendors and other business partners to increase supply chain efficiency.
• ROI is return on investment. This is a mathematical equation that helps companies determine if they should make an investment, or what the return on an investment has been. This equation estimates the financial benefit of spending (or spent) money.
• SME indicates small to medium enterprises. These initials are used to indicate all small to midsized businesses that will generate less than $100 million per year.
• SSL is used to describe the secure sockets layer. This data format was developed by Netscape. It is used to transmit private documents over the internet.
• TCO or total cost of ownership is a monetary equation used to figure the total amount of a system. This would include the cost to implement and maintain the system over its entire life. When utilized within the computer industry, the costs might include annual support fees, hardware and software upgrades, hardware repairs, and training. It might also include hiring a person or two to manage the equipment and training for you.
• VPN is a Virtual Private Network. This is how users would connect to a private network or an ISP, remotely. In other words, at work you may have dedicated access to your business database, but while you are at home there is a way for you to log-in remotely and access the work database. This would be accomplished by using a VPN. Utilizing a VPN establishes a secure connection.
• WAN stands for Wide Area Network. This is a data or data and voice network that connects separate locations. Often a business will be able to utilize a company dialing plan over the WAN. This means that you could dial, say four digits, to reach locations in other cities or states. Besides tying the voice systems together, it also allows the data network to be connected.
• XML or Extensible Markup Language is a language used to author or build websites or applications used on the web. It is used to design the appearance of and signify the relationship between data. There is speculation that one day XML will replace HTML as the standard language used on Web applications.
• Bandwidth is used to describe the amount of data that can be transmitted during a specified amount of time. Usually the time is expressed in seconds, for instance – kilobits per second. This term is normally used to refer to the transmission speed over dedicated circuits, networks, or dialup phone lines.
• Best of Breed is used to describe the best is a defined category.
• Database Replication is a process that allows multiple copies of the same database to be distributed across several servers on a network. This is often done for backup or disaster recovery purposes. It can also be used to speed up processing.
• Data Mining is a term used to describe the practice of extracting information from a data warehouse. This is done to analyze relationships or trends.

Summary

This is a start to understanding Business Management Software and the specific terminology that can sometimes seem like a foreign language. In order to find the best software for your business you must learn this language and apply the definitions to your particular industry. Among the terms and acronyms you will find that some of them are used to describe the network supporting your software. This is an important component when it comes to implementing the software and ensuring that it works the way you need it to.