WITH two thirds of IT decision makers prioritising usability when making a buying decision, these functions, common in Internet applications, are now essential for software companies to build into the user interface, navigation and structure of standard versions of their business application software. How better design, improved usability, greater individualisation and increased integration with web-based applications are the key to unlocking the efficiencies promised by enterprise software is a key question.
Accustomed to the latest Internet applications available over a home broadband connection, technology users at work are asking for more from the standardised IT systems they use at work. 80 per cent of those questioned in recent research, carried out on behalf of IFS, want to be able to individualise their working environment, as they can on Google, Twitter or Facebook.
They believe this will improve their productivity. Being able to adapt the business application to a specific task, the experience level of the user and even the physical environment (in the office or on the road, for example) can boost productivity and give the individual a richer working experience. This goes beyond simply the look and feel of an application interface to designing an ergonomic business application that can be truly tailored to the individual's needs.
Enterprise software companies have been slow to recognise the change in expectations that developments in consumer software such as iGoogle and Apple's iTunes have driven over the last five years. The twenty-somethings who grew up with the Internet are now taking on a wide range of roles in management, bringing with them a level of expectation from software in the workplace that hasn't been seen before. This is influencing buying decisions, as attested by 64 per cent of respondents to a recent IFS survey carried out across Scandinavia, UK and USA of more than 1,000 IT decision makers.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software has suffered a blow to its image as a result. The "add-on sale" business model from the nineties is no longer viable and component-based, agile systems that provide a significant level of individualisation to the user as standard, are being demanded by customers more and more.
Thirty-four per cent of the survey respondents believe that web-based applications are the most intuitive type of software to use. The software industry also recognises this, with many of the best examples of usability found in the latest Web 2.0 applications. These sites and applications, such as MSN, MySpace and Facebook have fuelled the proliferation of blogging or created a multitude of online communication and information-sharing applications for virtual communities and individuals. All were designed to be as simple and easy to use as possible, and readily accessible through different browsers and devices.
Businesses are beginning to seek applications which require less training before workers can be proficient users. Consumer applications, such as Google, have to be easy to use because there is no opportunity to train the user, so they are designed to be entirely intuitive. This aim is also being pursued in the business application industry, with the eventual goal of 'zero training' enterprise applications.
It is clear from the survey results that businesses are looking for their software applications to deliver better productivity. Users are still spending too much time carrying out many tasks that the software should handle automatically. With only six per cent of respondents claiming they do not waste any time using enterprise applications, there are clearly many software companies who need to improve the usability of their products in order to help staff do their job better.
So how can things be improved? The results of the research clearly showed that there are three key capabilities enterprise applications should have:
1. Provide the ability to personalise the user interface -- 80 per cent of respondents agreed that this would help them improve personal productivity. No two individuals use a computer, or the software installed on that computer, in the same way. The ability to tailor user screens, adapt menus and access information in a way that supports the routines and roles of each individual is vital to getting the ultimate balance of functionality and usability that makes enterprise applications faster and easier to use.
2. Enable the application to incorporate, share and store information from web-based resources. Maps, travel information, prices, specifications, weather reports and more can all provide essential background information for business activities as diverse as planning work orders, scheduling visits from service engineers or adjusting project-based activities to fit with changes in demand, pricing, costs or available resources. For example, companies with dispersed assets, such as the utilities sector, can combine all this information when planning extensive maintenance and repair works across networks of power lines and sub-stations. 78 per cent of respondents would like to have such capabilities.
3. The ability to easily search for and find information. According to the survey searching for information was the second largest time-wasting activity for professionals. Integrating an intuitive Google-style search tool -- such as IFS's Enterprise Application Search -- makes it easy and quick for users to find what they are looking for within business applications.
The research also showed that 89 per cent of respondents agree that better collaboration with colleagues would improve the productivity of their organisation. With many users now accustomed to multiple channels of communication and data sources, enterprise applications must make it easier for workers to enlist the assistance of colleagues, delegate to team members, and follow up on others' actions, while working with the processes and data held within the application.
Working with structured and unstructured information, sourced both from inside and outside the organisation, and working with colleagues, suppliers and sub-contractors around the world who work in the office, on the road and from home, is the increasing business reality we all face. Employees need and deserve a modern business system that they can individualise to enable them to work smarter and meet the demands their company places on them -- especially in an increasingly volatile world.
Giving the user the ability to individualise their working environment to fit with their role, how they work, where they work, how they like to communicate along with the integration of multimedia web content, improves productivity and aids collaboration in the workplace. A software application with these capabilities will deliver a unique working environment for each member of staff. It will improve their productivity and their relationship with the system, bringing about a sea change in application design and delivering the vision of the 'individualised' business system.
(The writer is Managing Director, IFS, Middle East, Africa and South Asia)
By Ian Fleming
© Oman Daily Observer 2009
