Let’s face it. Business operations are complex and multifaceted. Your marketing team extends your brand to meet your potential customers. The sales reps engage with the consumer and present products to quote pricing. The procurement department sources the product and communicates requirements to suppliers. The finance department invoices the client, pays the supplier, and provides mission-critical info to management.
Every operational area has its own unique requirements as well as its own data silos. Each department needs software to efficiently manage information and automate processes. However, it is not efficient and cost-effective to manage all these separate software solutions independently. This is where an integrated business management software (IBMS) helps, as it exists to meet the unique needs for all areas, some of which are:
- Marketing
- Finance and accounting
- Asset tracking and auditing
- File and data sharing
- HR management
Another major area where an IBMS software can help your company is business continuity. Whilst the world is transiting into a post - COVID-19 business environment, where everyone is trying to adjust to the new normal, organisations across the globe are looking for ways to mitigate the disruption and keep things as operational as possible. Let us look at some of the ways how an IBMS software can help you maintain business continuity.
Benefits of IBMS Software for Business Continuity Management
Every day, your workers throughout your business are making decisions that can make or break your brand, so it is important to have an efficient integrated business management system to maintain all the data and applications in a centralised location.
- Business teams decide how to use client data
- Human resources decide whom to hire, fire, and promote
- The procurement team decides who to purchase from
- The technical department chooses what data to secure
Each of these decisions is layered with intricacy: ethics, corporate social responsibility, in-house standards and protocols... the list goes on.
With all this in mind, how can you guarantee your processes are robust enough to keep your business on track, with integrity woven into the DNA of your worker's decision-making process? Many companies leverage IBMS systems to ensure business continuity along with best practices in governance, risk, and compliance management.
According to TechTarget, business continuity is your organisation’s capability to maintain essential functions during and after a disaster has happened. The most elementary business continuity requirement is to keep essential functions up and running during a disaster and to recover with as little downtime as possible. This is where an IBMS software comes in handy as it provides you with benefits such as:
1. Data security
Data is everywhere in your business. By centrally managing data security, you can control policies, procedures, and information flow to ensure that the confidentiality, integrity, and accessibility of data are always considered. This is a key component in maintaining business continuity while complying with international security standards.
2. Compliance
Business continuity is often also a requirement for legal or compliance reasons. An IBMS system provides all the compliance controls in the background. There are audit trails for everything: electronic signatures, customised to-do lists, documentation version control, competency management, and many more features that give you peace of mind knowing that you are compliant with the appropriate standards.
3. Efficiency
How often do your quality control, HR, HSE, IT, or other managers get asked:
- Where’s that policy?
- Where can I see my forthcoming training?
- Where do I find that file?
By having an integrated business management system for all workers, you can enable them to check the centralised system without having to unproductively hunt through the business for the latest information. When everybody has access to the right data at the right time, they are less frustrated, there is less confusion, and fewer ambiguities. This results in employees becoming happier and more productive in their daily roles and routines.
4. Scalability & Decision-Making
An IBMS software helps you to clearly identify roles and responsibilities, manage employee onboarding processes, and view risks and opportunities. This provides budding companies with an indispensable cloud-based tool to scale. It also enables you to ensure a balanced approach to making strategic business decisions. You can use data to inform complex problem-solving.
5. Alignment & Strategy
When you have one system to update individuals, groups, or the entire business on changes to documents, training requirements, new clients, new compliance requirements, risks, or opportunities, it is much easier to keep everyone aligned and focused on the same goals. An IBMS software also improves organisational strategy planning by bringing risk, vulnerability, and opportunity data into a central view.
6. Workflow Automation
An IBMS software manages all the information of all departments and automates the workflow of every area. It offers the desired functionality and automation that every related department needs. This ensures seamless sharing of information throughout the company as needed, creating a better responsive service and better relationships with consumers and suppliers.
Ensure Your Business Continuity with ContinuSys
In today’s competitive business environment, your company can no longer tolerate manual mistakes. There is no excuse for a lost document or any other human error that could cost a company thousands of dollars. Plus, the cost of duplicate effort can also affect your bottom line.
Today, businesses need to operate like well-oiled machines to survive. An IBMS software is a great way to effectively ensure successful communication and workflow while removing errors, decreasing costs, and maximising profits. From centralising your business processes and data management to maximising information security and compliance, an integrated business management system offers an array of advantages.
The ContinuSys IBMS provides you with a collection of integrated cloud-based business tools that help ensure business continuity by breaking down data silos, improving organisational resilience, and enhancing business decision-making. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial to see if ContinuSys IBMS fits your requirements.