For the third year, System Surveyor has sponsored the Business Resources Deep Dive (aka Software Deep Dive) survey and report. We think it is important for the industry to benchmark where we’ve been and where the industry is going in terms of software usage and investments. As with many other industries, a service company’s “tech stack” can end up being the primary differentiator and has become table-stakes to scale and serve customers.
At the highest level, a business uses software to streamline and connect their operations. By making customer information into data at every point in the process, everyone wins. What we see in this report is continued maturation of software adoption and as expected, an increase in demand for software applications to integrate and become more seamless to use.
Let’s take a look at the key takeaways from the 2023 Deep Dive Report:
Investment in business software boosts profits by up to 20%
About 25% of the respondents agreed that their software investment has boosted company profits by 16% to 20%. This is in line with last years report, which also stated that investing in business software led to a 16% profitability growth; and another 18% said it boosted by 11-15%.
Step back and think about that potential. If profitability is one of the primary goals of the company, taking time and budget to address software needs is significant. The key takeaway is that business resource software is essential, no one is doubting that – but there are some different approaches to it’s adoption. While 48% would like for it to be an all in one solution, there is also acknowledgement that one vendor likely can’t do it all. There is a movement away from custom-building software, while 37% have tried (not necessarily succeeded), the overwhelming 62.5% have not tried to create their own and likely would not – with the cloud based software, it no longer makes sense when it is available and ready for implementation.
APIs are a winning formula for efficiency and competitiveness
APIs are key to the success of software applications and one integrator opined that “software integration through APIs should be a top priority for any forward-thinking organization.” APIs help increase the efficiency of single-purpose software allowing data and functionality to flow seamlessly between applications. (At System Surveyor, we couldn’t agree more! We launched our API integration in Spring 2023. Click here for details.) Ideally, there is a relatively small tech stack that works together using APIs. The key is to determine where you need best in class and how the software can interoperate.
AI: The Buzzword of 2023
Artificial Intelligence is the main buzzword of 2023, across numerous industries. The report dives into this topic at a high-level, and admits that the responses were a mix of apprehension and anticipation. It’s agreed, though, that AI will help to increase efficiencies in the industry, thereby resulting in an increase in profitability. We’ll be interested to see how that benchmark and conversation evolve.
Please take a read on this important report. To download the full report, visit the Security Sales & Integration website.
Watch Maureen Carlson, System Surveyor VP of Growth, in an interview with Amala Reddie, editor of Commercial Integrator. Amala and Maureen discuss how to streamline processes to be more efficient leveraging software.
