Agency Framework to Evade Application Clutter

It seems that for today’s agencies there are more requirements than ever—especially in the technical department. How is it that there seems to be a separate application for virtually every task an agency does on a daily basis? Why have our agency offices become so cluttered with technologies? And how can your agency declutter this application expanse?

This is where application retirement and consolidation come into the picture. Here we’ll explore five steps toward integrating and consolidating your IT environment through smart solutions.

1. Integrated ERP : An effective Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution is able to combine a number of features into a central location. This includes project and resource management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, metrics and analytics, revenue recognition, expense management, billing, and Work-in-Progress (WiP) management. Such integration saves countless work hours and revenue because it streamlines and consolidates processes that would otherwise require two or more applications while relying on imprecise human intervention.
2. Application retirement : After your agency decides to go with an integrated ERP solution, it may also be the occasion to retire some of the obsolesced applications that are no longer used in light of the ERP acquisition. In such a scenario it is important to track the functionality that is being replaced and just how it is accessed in the ERP solution. Keep a running log of all crucial functionality in a central document.
3. Archiving : Structured archiving allows storage and cataloging of application data in secondary databases for long-term retention.^[1] These enterprise archival processes account for some of the various reasons for the increased import structured archiving has had for businesses across the board. A little over a year ago the structured archival industry stood at $287 million.^[2] But more than an IT trend, structured archiving is crucial for decluttering your agency’s IT environment.
4. Eliminate redundancies : Agencies should be on the lookout for any redundant processes in their technological pipelines, and strive to eliminate such wasteful expenditures. Are there two departments, for example, that oversee payment confirmation? Can this process be consolidated into a single function that is available in an integrated ERP solution? These are the kinds of questions that can indeed save valuable time and revenue.
5. Automation : Similar to #4, agencies should be on the lookout for processes that can be automated. Often such automated processes can be deployed through an integrated ERP solution. Rather than having a human staff member use several applications, see if you can automate the task in quest and eliminate inessential labor and time—which also removing the uncertainties of human error.