The Complete Guide to Choosing Commercial Software: Everything to Know

It’s hard to deny the impact technology plays in business these days. New tools give companies a way to do more in less time. That’s why the software market has a value of $411.11 billion.

However, you need to do some research to find your best options when choosing commercial software. Follow the short guide below to find every commercial software provider that can provide your business with the tools it needs to succeed.

Understand Your Object

The first step to finding commercial software for your business is understanding what you need it for. Software is excellent for automating tasks, reducing the time it takes to accomplish work, and gathering data to make better business decisions.

The question is, which of those things is most important to you? Consider how your organization currently runs and think about how you can use software to help. Your goal is to develop a few primary areas to work on and find software solutions for.

If you need help figuring this out, reach out to team members who currently handle some of your company’s most important roles. They’ll have more insight into how you can improve things. In some cases, they may even know of software that perfectly fits what you need.

Create a List of Must-Have Apps

Now that you know your business goals, you’re ready to create a list of must-have applications.

Of course, you may not have the resources to start with every app available. Because of that, you’ll need to start small and grow your application usage.

Here are a few standard software programs businesses invest in early:

• Customer relationship management
• Computer infrastructure monitoring
• Email list management
• Accounting services
• Customer service
• Answering services

Of course, there may also be unique software available for your company, depending on your industry. Take an occupational therapist, for instance. OT management software is available that helps therapists manage their patients and their therapy businesses.

Understand Your Technical Requirements

Once you have a list of apps useful for your company, you’ll need to figure out if you can run them. Many apps require you to install software at the office. If you go this route, you’ll need to have the resources available to host the software yourself.

In most cases, this means having a server at the office. Your server will house your application and provide access to all your employees. You’ll need to have a networked office with the rest of your computers having access to your server.

Of course, you can also go the cloud route and use internet applications. You’ll have fewer technical requirements to use your software when you go this route. In most cases, all you’ll need is an internet connection to get work done.

You can work from anywhere in the world when you use cloud apps.

Build a Software Budget

Once you figure out your tech capabilities, you have everything you need to know to choose your business software. However, there’s one more important consideration before you start looking at your choices.

What’s your current budget for software?

There are many free business apps, but many of those apps lack features. If you don’t have many needs for those apps, a free option may work well. However, you’ll need to go the paid route for more advanced functionality.

There is a mix of low-cost and expensive software out there. You’ll need to look at your app list to figure out which apps are worth more to invest in. Try to spend money on your most important business tasks in the beginning.

You can always increase your budget later when you start growing your company.

Start Reading Reviews

Now that you have a budget, you’re ready to start looking for actual applications to use. However, there are many choices, and it can sometimes be challenging for companies to narrow their choices to the best ones.

User reviews are a great way to narrow down your choices. Software is regularly reviewed on the internet, so there should be plenty of places to read about other customers’ experiences with apps.

Try to get your reviews from several sources and from the BBB website. Getting reviews from multiple sources will help you get a balanced viewpoint of an app and determine if it’s a solid program.

Sign Up for Free Trials

Once you go through user reviews and find the software you want to try, there’s one more step to the process. You need to go through your list and try the programs you’re considering.

The good news is that you usually don’t have to spend money to do this. Most software companies provide free trials for people interested in buying their products. The free trial is a great way to onboard people to their software ecosystem without needing to do as much selling.

Try to get trials that last for at least a week when you’re testing commercial software. This amount of time is great for fully exploring what an app offers and figuring out if it can meet your business needs.

Of course, don’t go into free trials without a plan. Create a list of test cases to execute for your trials. These test cases will ensure you test all the commercial software features you need to figure out if an app can handle everything.

Choosing Commercial Software Takes Time and Effort

There are a lot of options for software out there, and not all of them will be the first fit for your company. You’ll need to do some work yourself when choosing commercial software to find the right ones for your company. The more you do to figure out what you need and find the right solutions, the better off your company will be after you make your choices.

Of course, the software isn’t the only benefit you’ll see when using tech in your company. Check out the blog to learn more about how you can use tech to improve how your business works.