Big or small, Concrete suppliers have relied on specialized software applications to provide critical business services over the past few decades. Everything from customer relationship management (CRM) and business intelligence (BI) to managing supply chains has been leveraged using complex software solutions. Enterprise applications including ERP (Enterprise Resource Management Platforms), data visualization tools, central batch/dispatch systems, quality control software, GPS truck tracking programs, and other acronym-monikered software programs yield terrific results.
They help streamline most business processes, enable more robust data collection and analysis, and help people communicate better with colleagues, customers, and suppliers. Unfortunately, enterprise applications don’t always play nicely together. As a result, information that really should be shared across applications and departments often gets stored in silos. Therefore, data needs to be tediously ported over to other applications to extract its true value. This is the kind of inefficiency technology is supposed to drive out of business operations.
Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) bridges the gap between different software programs and platforms. EAI enables data to flow from one program to another and provides interfaces to manage the data flow. EAI, when correctly done, is really what allows companies to realize the full benefit of their software investments including information sharing, process automation, reduced IT complexity, and increased agility. It also gives users and management alike the ability to fully benefit from their data investments.
While evaluating enterprise application providers, it’s important to consider:
Does the software use OpenAPI?
API is an acronym for Application Programming Interface, which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other. It’s a standard if the solution is “integration-ready”. For example, if the software has an open and user-friendly API, it will provide easier data exchanges between different applications and help build a more robust and integrated software ecosystem.
What is the track record of software integrations?
It’s good to check some references in this regard – It is best to know if the company has experience integrating with third-party software in the past, and the depth of each integration.
Are they just a software vendor or a partner?
The importance of finding a partner can’t be overstated. The right software partner will work with their customers as an extension of their own team to accomplish the integration project so that customers will realize the full benefit. A software vendor is more transactional, they will sell a software product and move on without attention paid to a customer’s future.
Consider finding a true partner to realize the full benefit of software investment. Sysdyne is dedicated to serving concrete producers with cohesive, end-to-end 100% cloud-native software solutions for their core business processes. The fully integrated ConcreteGO cloud dispatch, iStrada cloud delivery management platform, and Pioneer Cloud Batch, help concrete producers automate their core business processes so they can focus on what they do best. It sets the foundation to improve operational efficiency and drive higher profits.
