Bye-bye Isolated Solutions! That's why
the Future belongs
to the Platform Approach

Past: many isolated Solutions with Time-consuming Interface Programming

What do you do with torn trousers? In principle, you have two options. Either you sew the trousers (or have them sewn) or you buy new ones. Which is the cheaper option? You would probably tend towards the first option, which may be true at first. But how many times can you mend a pair of trousers before it’s worth investing in a new pair? After all, there’s no guarantee that they won’t tear again once they’ve been repaired, is there?

The situation is similar when deciding for or against a new software solution for your company. In the past, companies usually looked for a very specific solution to solve a current problem in the short term. As a result, over time there were many isolated solutions existing side by side that did not interact with each other. As new problems gradually emerged, this patchwork became larger and larger.

Many companies then tried to resolve this dilemma by connecting their isolated solutions with elaborately programmed interfaces. However, this was not particularly efficient:

• Implementation was very expensive
• The patchwork required a lot of maintenance
• In most cases, there were no updates to the systems because there was a fear that the interfaces would no longer work. According to the motto: “Never change a running system” - alternatively, employees sometimes simply documented information by hand
• No integration: one system did not know what the other was doing
• There was often double data maintenance - which of course was not efficient at all and resulted in different answers to the same questions

Present: Centralized Data with a single (ERP) System - still Potential for Optimization

To avoid these problems, many companies currently use one single software system - usually an ERP system. This includes all departments of the company. Another big advantage: you only have to maintain one system and save time and costs. Regular updates ensure that all departments always work with the current version and can benefit from the advantages of new features. Support, for example in troubleshooting and ensuring compliance with laws and regulations, is an important precondition.

If you work with an ERP system, this is already a big step forward compared to a patchwork of isolated solutions. However, there are still problems here too: Companies have often simply transferred all data into the ERP system by hook or crook. This can definitely be done better and more efficiently with a future-oriented approach!

Future: Platform Approach - Seamless Integration in a SaaS Environment

In the software landscape of the future, everything revolves around the platform approach. You can think of a software platform as a bridge between individual solutions. The solutions are linked with each other, which is comparable to an ecosystem. This means that all departments - e.g. marketing, sales and customer service - work on a common basis.

Microsoft’s Technology Platform

Microsoft provides you with a cloud-capable technology platform that includes the ERP solution Business Central and a variety of other business applications and tools. These include Office 365, CRM solutions for sales and marketing, business intelligence applications such as Power BI, the email solution Outlook, the communication tool Teams and IoT solutions (“Internet of Things”). This has significant advantages:

• Increase Efficiency through Seamless Integration

  One example that illustrates the advantages of seamless integration very well is the integration of e-mail accounts in Business Central. Let’s be honest: what could be more complicated than having to constantly switch back and forth between different applications? With the Microsoft platform, this is not necessary in many cases - for example, you can send an offer to your customers directly from Business Central because the Outlook e-mail accounts can be easily integrated there. This saves you a lot of time and also reduces the number of errors caused by copying and pasting information.

  Another interesting feature is the integration of Business Central and Teams. Using an app you can connect Teams with your business data from Business Central, for example, you can display details of a data record from Business Central during a conversation in Teams or query information on customers, vendors, suppliers and contacts - without having to close Teams. Also a helpful time saver!

• Automated Workflows: reduce Errors and save Time

  With Microsoft Power Automate you have the option of creating automated workflows between individual applications on your platform. Certain actions are then triggered on the basis of triggers. A major advantage: Power Automate does not require extensive programming knowledge, so users can create the workflows themselves. Above all, automation relieves your employees, who make fewer mistakes and have more time for other tasks.

  

  Automation with Power Automate: Less Potential for Error
  and more Time for
  exciting Tasks

• Informed Business Decisions based on bundled Information

  Seamless integration with the business intelligence solution Power BI gives you real-time access to [interactive dashboards and reports] with up-to-date key figures. This gives you much better insights and allows you to make more informed decisions considering all relevant aspects. Of course, this also saves you time.

• Support through IoT and AI

  And there’s more: with the help of IoT and AI, you can connect your ERP software via sensors to a machine in production, for example. In this way, relevant information such as production and set-up times, quantities or capacity utilization can be transferred directly. Invoices are created automatically and orders - for example for reordering raw materials - are also processed automatically.

• Simple, centralized Administration of all your Microsoft Solutions

  Microsoft actually launched many solutions on the market decades ago - e.g. Exchange or SharePoint. In Dynamics 365, they are now brought together in an easy-to-administer SaaS platform.

Overview: that’s how Software Systems of the Past, Present and Future differ

The Human Factor

With all the benefits of the platform approach - don’t forget that it is up to the people (i.e. your employees) to understand, accept and establish these structures and processes. When switching from individual isolated solutions to a platform system, there may be resistance from employees. This is because they have often become accustomed to the status quo and may be afraid of change. “We’ve always done it this way” is a phrase that is often used in this context.

This is why good change management is important here. Managers should support employees and guide them the way through the change.

Leave the Island - heading towards long-term Efficiency with a Platform Approach

Isolated solutions are still relatively common in very small companies today. However, most companies will currently be in the present - in other words: they work with one single ERP system for all departments. This is a significant step forward compared to working with many isolated solutions. However, this only applies to the here and now - the future belongs to the platform approach.

Our recommendation: even if you are currently satisfied with your ERP system - think in the long term today and dare to make a major change. We will be happy to support you in your next step towards the platform approach, with which you can ensure seamless integration and take your work to a new level of efficiency. Bye-bye isolated solution!