We all know what we need to do to live a healthy life. Good nutrition, sufficient rest and some exercise from time to time. But did you know that this is hardly any different for the software solutions that are used in your organization? Don’t just install the software and wake up whenever a problem arises, but be aware of how your business software functions and ensure that it remains in top condition.
1. Healthy food (garbage in, garbage out)
When business software does not deliver the output you had expected as a user, you are quickly inclined to blame the system. But you also play a big part in this. Make sure that the data in your system is clean and of high quality. No double, missing or polluted data. If your data is a mess, you will first need to tackle that. Deduplicating, enriching and cleaning data may not be the most fun job to do, but it is very important if you want to work successfully and with pleasure with your system. Also make sure to set up a strict internal policy regarding entering new data and changing existing data.
2. Sufficient rest (do not overload the system)
Make sure you use the system correctly. It happens quite often that systems let you down because they got overloaded. When you ask too much of the system it will stagnate or even crash. Where we people need to be careful that we do not get overloaded, this also applies to many applications in your organization. Check for example when you run an update or upgrade of the software whether the system requirements have changed and if you still meet up.
3. Training (performance check)
Nowadays there are great opportunities to monitor and improve the performance of your system. You can periodically carry out a check and based on the results take the right measures to get the system performance back on track. But you can also, by installing a performance tool on your system, continuously monitor what is happening and take preventive action if required. As if you use a heart rate monitor for your software.
Go see the doctor (system breakdown)
When things go really bad with the system, there is always the technical specialist who can help you. As if you visit your doctor, or worse: end up in the hospital. It is very likely that problems, such as a breakdown of the system, annoying blocks or a very slow system, can be resolved relatively easily with the right measures. Yet it is annoying, stressful and can cost you money. For example due to downtime of the company or data loss. But, as mentioned, you can help to prevent this by keeping your business software in top condition.
Philip van Kemenade is marketing manager at Dysel and is in contact with software end users every day.
