Best Enterprise Software and Applications

With so many options on the market, how do you become more familiar with the best enterprise software and applications?

In this blog, we define enterprise software and applications and give you details on the best ERP, CRM, CMS and business intelligence tools available today.

 

 

What is enterprise software?

Enterprise software and applications are tools used by modern businesses. Enterprise software, also commonly known as enterprise application software (EAS), describes any application that helps manage multiple components of business operation. Each enterprise application has a different function and objective.

 

Data from 2022 found that international spending on enterprise applications software was $241 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, predicted to be $334 billion U.S. dollars in 2025. The technology behind enterprise applications is advancing rapidly.

 

Enterprise software (EAS) can include components for:

• Financial management
• Accounting
• Sales
• Marketing
• Content creation and communication
• Portfolio management
• Human resource
• Reporting
• Data analysis
• Payment processing
• Project management
• Customer record management (CRM)

 

Some enterprise application tools are designed and used to meet the requirements of specific industries or for more specialised business functions. Other tools, often known as universal software, can be deployed in almost any organisation regardless of type or size, and span many operational areas.

 

Enterprise Resource Planning

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tools might be the most familiar type of enterprise software. ERPs are expansive software applications that gather data and records from other applications and data repositories.

 

ERPs enable you to assess information from multiple sources, making identifying the relationship between different data sets easier. For example, rostering and payroll information can be compared with sales output data to better understand the relationship between staff working hours and sales income.

 

ERPs can give you insight into the many factors influencing business activity and growth. Some of the systems and records ERPs commonly access include:

• Production data
• Logistics
• Supply chain
• Income
• Revenue and sales
• Project management
• Finance and accounting
• Human resources

 

Examples of the best ERP tools include: NetSuite, SAP S, Sage Intacct, Acumatica, Oracle, TallyPrime, Odoo, Orion, BrightPearl, Infor XA, Striven, Multiview, Workday and Kinetic.

 

Customer Relationship Management

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) enterprise tools rely less on internal process records and focus more on providing a holistic view of the customer. CRM tools manage information and exchanges with customers, helping you improve customer service and gain insight into customer behaviours and attitudes.

CRM solutions gather, store and report on customer data, generating reports covering customer contacts, sales, webpage views and retention, preferences and insights. This information benefits the whole organisation, but particularly your customer service and marketing teams.

 

Your customer service team can access previous contacts, social media interactions, order details and survey responses. If a complaint is made, your staff member has ready access to all points of contact, making it quick and easy for them to understand the complaint and find a resolution.

 

With CRM, your marketing team gains valuable insights into customer preferences and opinions. CRM makes it easy to customise and personalise offers and content online and by email. This benefits the individual customer and improves your capacity to identify trends and opportunities.

 

Examples of the best CRM systems include: Salesforce, HubSpot, ClickUp, Pimcore, Close, Monday, Thryv, Nutshell, Freshsales, Capsule, Active Campaign, Pipedrive, Salesflair, Creatio, Honeybook, Streak and Nimble.

 

Content Management Systems

Content Management Systems (CMS) are enterprise tools designed to create and manage websites. While this may sound like quite a singular focus, CMS tools have continued to evolve, and their capabilities continue to grow. Basic CMS systems enable multiple users to create and publish web content.

 

CMS tools can handle two-way data – the information published for the customer and incoming data submitted by the customer. CMS systems can be used to create forms, surveys, and other feedback tools. CMS systems also contain workflows so that content can be added and checked by other users. Content can be created with metadata that publishes or removes it at a certain time, for example, if you want to promote a special offer for a limited time.

 

CMS tools often have inbuilt data analytics and visit tracking tools, but can also be integrated with other solutions that assess website traffic, performance, optimisation and marketing automation.

 

CMS solutions are typically created for general users without coding experience. A basic level of technical understanding is often all that is required. CMS tools can also use API to import data from other sources and integrate the information so that it is available to the public.

 

Examples of the best CMS solutions include: HubSpot, Pimcore, Wordpress, Butter, Squiz, Agility, Concrete, Mura, Plone, Titan, Django, Cockpit, Backdrop, GetSimple, October and Blox.

 

Enterprise Asset Management Systems

Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) systems primarily record data related to assets and infrastructure. For example, a local council manages millions of dollars’ worth of assets - vehicles, plant equipment, buildings, roads, playgrounds, drainage, signage and even trees. An enterprise asset management system enables an organisation to monitor and manage many varied assets.

 

By tracking the acquisition date, condition and forecast for assets, organisations can increase asset lifespan and coordinate the management of assets more effectively. Each asset is created as an entry in the systems, and these records are used to generate reports related to usage, cost, performance, effectiveness and failure rate. Improvements to maintenance schedules, predictions and planning can be made. This leads to greater coordination, which results in cost savings. Based on actual asset data and forecasts, strategic planning is made more accessible and more accurate.

 

Examples of the best EAMs include: Enterprise Asset Management, Paradigm, 4Site, IFS, Upkeep, Limble, Sapphire and the Asset Guardian.

 

BI enterprise software tools

Business Intelligence (BI) tools help a business collect and assess business data in a user-friendly and transparent way. Like ERPs, BI tools enable the processing of big data and complex, large data sets and records held in data warehouses. The most common types of BI tools are specialist business intelligence applications. Typically, these solutions require technical expertise.

 

BI tools monitor the effectiveness of business processes and departments. They can identify and implement efficiency improvements in specific methods. A more efficient business leads to improved financial performance and an enhanced bottom line.

 

BI tools can also display specific reports or information to the public. For example, the Department of Education displays data related to International Student numbers on its website. The data can be manipulated to show enrolments by state, region, provider type, nationality, and more. Selecting specific fields also allows you to see trends across several years.

 

Examples of the best Business intelligence solutions include: Tableau, Sisense, Domo, Looker, GoodData and MicroStrategy.

 

Supply chain management enterprise tools

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a niche area for enterprise solutions. Supply Chain Management tools are focused on the multiple steps and functions associated with the supply chain. This includes:

• Procurement
• Manufacturing
• Logistics
• Warehousing
• Distribution

 

Records related to individual stock items and components can be collated and assessed. A SCM application enables in-depth analysis of information related to production and sales. SCM tools can help identify problematic or expensive attributes in the product-to-market process. Some SCM platforms focus on supplier relationship management (SRM) and supply chain cost analysis to serve analytics.

 

Examples of the best SCM enterprise applications include: Anvyl, Coupa, Specright, SAP Ariba, SourceDay Platform, Sollvoyo and Thomas Network.

 

Enterprise software and AI capabilities

Most enterprise software solutions will use AI during data processing, handling, integration or storage. AI in enterprise tools can:

• Handle complex data processing
• Make accurate data predictions
• Generate data modelling reports
• Automate tasks that humans typically do
• Analyse language and behaviours to assess sentiment
• Conduct image recognition
• Provide language translations
• Monitor interactions on social media
• Offer personalised recommendations

 

 

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Related Questions

Is Pimcore an enterprise software tool?

With its expansive and sophisticated capabilities, Pimcore gets our vote as the best enterprise solution on the market. The Pimcore Enterprise edition can help you resolve multiple business challenges and supports various configuration options. It is flexible enough to enable customisation that you need.

 

The Pimcore Enterprise Edition features:

• A commercial licensing scheme to protect your unique source code
• Access to extensions like data syndication tools and the Pimcore Experience portal
• Robust security with pre-configured patching, fortified data entry mechanisms and cyber security management tools
• An intuitive user interface boasting easy navigation and access to crucial menus and tasks

 

Contact us if you would like to learn more about how Pimcore can transform your product handling and management, and distribute your products through Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, and many more niche, local and global marketplaces.

Stimulus Development and Consulting are experienced Pimcore developers and consultants offer award-winning, open-source solutions for managing digital experiences. With our Pimcore development and consulting services, we help businesses harness the full potential of Pimcore's data management, content management, asset management and e-commerce capabilities to deliver engaging digital experiences across multiple channels.

 

Who should use enterprise software?

Effective and compliant data management is a concern for every business out there today. While some small businesses may be able to get by using spreadsheets and manual records, most companies, especially those with a presence across many communication channels, need to have a data strategy in place.

 

Enterprise software requirements will vary depending on identified data needs and where there might be opportunities for business growth and scale. Any business seeking to gain insights into business operations with a view to improvement will need one or more enterprise solutions.