Tailor-made processes thanks to the integration of standard software

Difficulty in selecting suitable software

Even before the advent of digitalization, entrepreneurs and managers had to grapple with selecting suitable and supportive software. Often, the decision boils down to a classic "make or buy" situation: Should expensive software be developed that is perfectly tailored to individual needs and processes, or should one purchase a cheaper, off-the-shelf, standard software solution that isn't customized to their specific workflows? There are valid reasons for both options, and the choice depends on various factors.

Problem of media breaks

Fully integrated ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software such as SAP or Abacus is very comprehensive and powerful. They offer the advantage of integrating various standard processes (time tracking, HR, purchasing, invoicing, etc.) and thus providing a complete overview of the company. However, these applications often do not represent an efficient solution for SMEs due to their high costs and overly broad range of functions. As a consequence, isolated solutions sometimes emerge that can only be synchronized with tedious manual work. market survey A study conducted in collaboration with the University of Applied Sciences St. Gallen, involving approximately 100 Swiss SMEs, revealed that so-called media breaks pose a significant or very significant problem for roughly half of them. The study also identified a lack of time and insufficient expertise as major obstacles to successfully resolving these issues.

Creating interfaces as an important success factor

Smaller and more affordable business software solutions can provide a remedy. However, this often requires adapting existing processes to the software, which is also not an ideal solution. This is all the more evident with increasing digitalization and the resulting rising demands on the "user experience"—that is, how customers and employees perceive the system and its processes. Many experts are convinced that customized, more efficient information systems will be precisely what differentiates companies from the competition in the future. This focus is increasingly being exemplified by large corporations, but expectations are rising across the board, putting many smaller businesses under pressure. Smaller companies struggle to keep pace with this change and seemingly have no way of competing with the large corporations.

Comitas can provide a remedy through a hybrid approach.

To address this challenge, Comitas successfully employs a hybrid approach. A comprehensive analysis of the existing system landscape identifies optimization potential and thus determines integration and enhancement options within existing systems. Processes that cannot be adequately mapped by the business software are then either covered using a "best of breed" approach with additional standard software or supplemented by a custom application.

More scope for replicating the individual service delivery process through the integration of standard software

Since standard software is used for the "commodity" processes, more resources remain to differentiate the company in its value creation and customer processes by precisely replicating its own specific processes. These processes also offer the greatest leverage for (business) benefits and differentiation potential. Custom development ensures flexibility should requirements change in the future – agility is crucial in the ongoing digital transformation phase when it comes to responding quickly to customer needs. Furthermore, this approach allows the solution to grow with the company.

Preservation of independence

To reduce dependency on custom development and guarantee maintainability, we at Comitas rely on Microsoft .NET technology, which is widely used and can be maintained both internally and externally. Our numerous Project references We demonstrate that we can successfully combine integrations into existing system landscapes with new application developments and implement them profitably for our customers. We would be happy to explain our detailed approach to you in a personal meeting. Contact with us.