NOTE: The sponsor of this content may contact you with more information on this topic. Click here to opt out from sharing your email address with this sponsor. (This link will not unsubscribe you from any other BIC email list).
In Episode 4 of our podcast, we discussed how Capsher leads clients from identifying a gap in their software solutions to finding a solution to bridge that gap.
We frequently encounter clients who are already aware of inefficiencies in their businesses and have created spreadsheets in an attempt to solve them. When they join us in our discovery process, we often watch these clients realize that their spreadsheet has become a critical linchpin or perhaps a single point of failure in their production process. They may have special engineering calculations embedded within the spreadsheet or business rules within it that route specific information to certain departments. As a result, they become intimidated by the idea of shifting to custom software and away from the spreadsheet they’ve come to depend on. When a single sheet has smoothed out the bumps in their process for a long time, it can be difficult to picture a world without it.
Why do clients use spreadsheets in the first place?
The motivation to use spreadsheets for core processes comes from a good place. Authors of spreadsheets are creators and innovators. They want to do their job and do it well, but critical inefficiencies often get in the way of the smooth flow of business. Some common inefficiencies we see include things like the use of a mobile site that requires users to input information that isn't relevant to the task at hand or is inaccessible to them, the inability to use a mobile app while wearing gloves, being required to use a mobile site that doesn’t work without bandwidth available, or having to re-enter the same information an excessive amount of times.
When your employees try to use their existing software to do their jobs but the tech falls short, they get creative (as good employees should). That’s where spreadsheets come in. Spreadsheets often serve as accessible and effective tools that allow your team to remove obstacles and get their job done well.
So, are spreadsheets bad? Both yes and not necessarily…
Capsher edited
Spreadsheets are typically created to fill a necessary void within organizations caused by an insufficient software solution or procedures that are out of step with business goals. To that end, they can be useful to keep processes moving. However, spreadsheets can pose a threat when they operate outside of an organization’s policy or put the organization at risk of data loss, data theft, or the access of critical spreadsheets by outside users with no audit trail. Businesses could also find themselves in a crisis when the creator of the spreadsheet leaves the company and doesn’t pass on ownership or maintenance of the spreadsheet to another team member.
Over time, the spreadsheets continue to grow as new knowledge, new products, and new calculations are determined. Working quietly behind the scenes, they are modified year after year and eventually evolve into amazing tools used by multiple departments to keep the production line moving. Then, like a key employee, they can become a linchpin in the day-to-day operations of your business. If that spreadsheet suddenly becomes unavailable, it will have serious implications for your operations.
What are the benefits of switching from a spreadsheet to software?
Spreadsheets exist solely because someone had an issue that needed to be solved to ensure business processes continued flowing uninterrupted. Spreadsheets are purpose-built, and so only a purpose-built solution can hope to compete. That’s why our software solutions are crafted intentionally and specifically to solve real business problems. Created with your business’s problems and processes in mind, custom software solutions can solve issues that spreadsheets only temporarily alleviate.
Enterprise software can only succeed and survive when it strikes a balance between the three core pillars of an organization: people, policies, and processes. It should work the same way in the hands of a master as well as a novice. Real-world processes and procedures should be reflected and they should be built for purpose. Ultimately, enterprise software should reinforce policies that keep people and the organization safe and secure. At Capsher, we constantly push to produce software that provides a good user experience and enables people to get their job done. We have created custom software solutions for clients who were frustrated that it was taking longer to put data and information in their enterprise system than it took to perform the actual work. When managers track equipment, people, and maintenance in their own spreadsheet to avoid a cumbersome enterprise tool, custom software can come in and ease that frustration. Also, if the “field version” of your application is a bunch of tables from a database and not built for the field, custom software can change that, too.
Oftentimes, clients who use spreadsheets are unaware of the actual gaps their spreadsheets are filling. Through Capsher’s consultation process, we walk clients through discussions to identify the real business problems and gaps that their spreadsheets are temporarily filling. We bring the authors of those spreadsheets and their intimate knowledge of their workflows to the table to discuss the business issues they are currently facing. Once the real problem or gap has been identified, Capsher works closely with the client’s team to create a more impactful long-term solution that will set the business up for success; not only for today but for the future as well.
For more information about Capsher’s custom software for O&G industry, visit capsher.com.
