Nicole and Ben discuss the software category of Business Applications and ways this software can make the work of your business more functional.
Mayhem and MISfits Episode 7 - Business Apps
Transcript
Nicole Grimm
Hello and welcome. My name is Nicole Grimm.
Ben Rockey
And I'm Ben Rockey.
Nicole Grimm
And this is mayhem and misfits where we take a fun look at business gone awry. And the systems that save them. Today we're going to talk about. Business apps.
Ben Rockey
It's a good topic.
Nicole Grimm
Or business applications if you want to say the full word. I always say business apps.
Speaker
So why should?
Nicole Grimm
We care. What's the point of business apps or what do we? Even mean about. Them specifically, we're talking about building a gap really, or going beyond the Excel spreadsheet system. We might say post it notes and Excel spreadsheets, but in this case we're going to say beyond Excel spreadsheets. One of the. Points of mayhem that you might have to identify. If you could be a. Beneficiary of business apps would be if you are using. A heavy, let's say, Excel spreadsheet. We've seen many examples of this before.
Ben Rockey
Yeah, I don't. I don't think there's a single business. That doesn't use Excel for something. To run their business.
Nicole Grimm
And to run your business means that you're using Excel to track something that's critical to your business. So if you lost that spreadsheet, someone accidentally deleted it. Cells were changed or deleted or typed over. Maybe the file got? Corrupt anything like that gives you a. Might just heart attack.
Ben Rockey
Ohh absolutely.
Nicole Grimm
Then you qualify in this category.
Ben Rockey
Nothing like that phone call asking. Is there any chance you can get back that spreadsheet from last week?
Nicole Grimm
Exactly that tells me everything I've done for the whole year in this one particular category. The other thing that business apps does is. It fills the gap between a larger application system that runs your business like an enterprise level application or a store bought application. Something like that.
Ben Rockey
Yeah, like a NetSuite or a dynamics.
Nicole Grimm
Exactly SAP enterprise system like an ERP and we'll we. Can talk about that and. Episodes in this specific case, this business app is filling that gap between how you work and the larger system that tracks the majority of your business. It might also. Facilitate some manual processes or many of our customers may use e-mail really to manage their business in many cases so it hasn't quite made it to an Excel spreadsheet, but without this. Smaller or without this communication? And at some point triggering some mental note in their head or subsequent manual processes or events afterwards, they may also manage their business through e-mail.
Ben Rockey
Yeah, it's an ad hoc process, so when you're using Excel and e-mail to manage or track. Something and its assignments done through passing an e-mail of that document back and forth or an e-mail is sent to say hey, can you update this with this information you have this ad hoc process that's 100% dependent on people. To do something that's clearly important to your business, especially if you're doing it everyday.
Nicole Grimm
Right, a lot of. Times those business apps will facilitate these smaller niched processes that happen in your business that aren't necessarily tied to the larger scale strategy. If you will, so there's tons of opportunities. I'm sure everyone could think of as they go through this in their situation that could use a business app. That may be able to help facilitate.
Ben Rockey
It, I think there's a mayhem that we've seen before where this kind of tells the story of when you need to start thinking about stepping up your business application game.
Nicole Grimm
There's tons of examples. We had to just narrow down to 1 ish. All right, there are a few actually that we've chosen, but I think I have one that's come to mind just now, and it's a manual process, but does facilitate an important part of business. So as an example, we would pull from this lab and. A winery. And they are constantly taking samples of the wine and running it through the lab. They have a lab machine that sits in there that they are running the samples through and then results will be forthcoming if you will, and that will be given to the wine makers to tell them what the status of their wine is. This boiled down version. In this ability for them to get that information, the the lab machine itself is capturing that information and printing it out. If you will, or giving the lab technician a result that lab technician needs to somehow communicate it back to the wine makers and they have to tie it to a specific. Blend or a specific tank or a specific program that they're trying to manage. That was all a manual process, or they had to take these results. And retype them into the system that they were using as a business to track their wine quality and readiness for their programs that they were running. A business app in this example could solve that problem by just getting the results from that lab machine and translating it over to the business application. System without that manual intervention, we'll get that into that kind of example as we get into the misfit portion, but that would be a good example of something that is critical to your business, but is outside of the realm of functionality that the core enterprise application would handle. It's beyond the reaches of your standard. Microsoft NetSuite right tracking widgets and what you're selling space and it just gets to that other bleeding edge of what your business needs to run and be successful.
Ben Rockey
Yeah, there's always going to be. Processes in your business that. Either if you're doing it through Excel because you have to do it somewhere, or you're trying to figure out a way to get to fit into the bigger system you have like. An ERP so you keep doing it in Excel. But is this trackable, needed immediately information that I may also need to keep some type of historical reference on? And there's more than one person? Using it. Man, you have just highlighted why you need to start thinking about these low code. No code solutions that can help you. Get control of that data.
Nicole Grimm
Yeah, the the list is unlimited, especially if you're aware that there's business apps and these tools out in the marketplace that can solve this problem. You'll probably start seeing them pop up everywhere, right? It's kind of like when you realize you need a new car all of a sudden you see a bunch. Of new cars all. Over the place, so it's whatever you're looking for it. It'll come and jump out at you, so we're hoping that this episode will help our dear listeners figure out that they have these kind of situations brewing everywhere. For the Excel topic that we were mentioning just a minute ago, we have seen plenty of examples about Excel being used as a pseudo app. However, Excel is a good space. We would say for proofing a concept or even spreadsheets from Google or any of these spreadsheets.
Ben Rockey
Yeah, it's. Any spreadsheet tool? You're really prototyping what you care about. Excel spreadsheets are the the very perfect first step of what data do I care about. You don't put columns into an Excel spreadsheet unless you care about what you're tracking, and then as you track it, you start to realize the kind of data you're capturing. That is, step one in the process of figuring out what you. Need to focus on.
Nicole Grimm
Right and a lot of our our leaders in our audience, if you will, will have different areas of the business that have those system minded thinkers that are tinkering with Excel spreadsheets or maybe. Saw a problem and created a solution inside of an Excel spreadsheet and wireframing in that scenario and proof casing and prototyping in that space is an important part of outlining how we think this might work, what our requirements might be and so forth and so on that can generate into an eventual. Business application.
Ben Rockey
Nothing makes a accountant drop to the ground faster than saying you're gonna take away excel from them. So the last thing we're gonna do is we're gonna take it. We're not never would suggest taking away Excel. Excel is a very integrated part of every process that's in business. What we want you to do is recognize that if they're Excel spreadsheets you're creating, and then. Turning into systems, that's when you need to realize. OK, I probably need to go one step up with with what I'm using next next level with this.
Nicole Grimm
Graduate to the. Level as well.
Ben Rockey
Whatever this, whatever I'm trying to do to solve with this spreadsheet, it's really common in Google. Using the spreadsheet features of Google, people will build elaborate tracking tools in those systems, and that's great. They work, you can track, but maybe you need to go one step up and develop something with one of these local low code. No code tools to make it more substantial.
Nicole Grimm
Right? Yeah, so that just will jump right into the misfit portion, then from there so there are plenty of solutions out there we're familiar with and see the most in the Microsoft space. We're just going to kind of float around in that. Area they have a suite of solutions or a. Platform that they have called power apps. There's many other solutions out there. All these low code no code quote UN quote systems. Now. I would always preface this with you should be a systems thinker or have this concept around. How computers think logical in order this kind of thing? So starting with that Excel spreadsheet as your wireframe and and a basic fundamental for how you're going to get started and translating that into this low code space, we'll give you the first pieces to get started and take off with it and start running. So it a sample of what a business app would look like. On a large scale. We've had experience where we've built it for the agricultural industry and I would say that there's probably a. A large swath of opportunity, let's say in the ag space because. Much of the marketplace hasn't necessarily responded to the niche way that agriculture functions processes produces. All these kinds of things and tracks their products. One example of a large scale how big a business app can get from from a small scale, like trying to translate your Excel idea into a small scale response to a business up until larger scale, tracking your inventory or your product at A at a scale that's beyond definitely beyond. Yourself, we've already. Known that you can't stay within that space and you have to have enough controls around it. Where an app makes sense. I've seen and personally built in my history of barrel tracking applications that tracks what wine is and what barrels and when they need to be produced and and which items needed to have processing attached to them. Right added ingredients and. What have you? And how they can scan it in and out so it had a scanning capability built into it and it was tracking what kind of processing they were doing to it. It was feeding the barrel staff. The work orders that they needed to perform on these specific barrels and where they were in a warehouse. So where to find them, where to put them back and the life cycle of that barrel as well, and then giving all those. Histories and examples and reports and analytics. If you will, up to management in order to manage all those moving parts as well.
Ben Rockey
So in that scenario, you've built this low code. No code solution for tracking barrels. What's in the barrels? The management of of the barrels? The work order system of the barrels. All through this, this one system, and then I'm assuming you had some. Reporting that came off of it.
Nicole Grimm
Yeah, we had reporting off of it and this application in itself was a business app. I would say it was not low code. It was definitely a developer in my day then, but the concept of you know we were running an enterprise application system or. They're huge volumes, right? There's all these moving parts and we have very sophisticated IT. Department and developers will have you, but there's always these kind of niches of your business that perhaps the marketplace isn't quite ready for or doesn't meet the demands of exactly what you need or the scale that you need. Or how you're operating, so there is always this space where you can fill that gap in with these business apps. In the time where I was developing this kind of thing, the low code was starting to get traction, but not really there yet. The point where where it fast forwarding to today is that there are way more opportunities for everyone to take advantage of these kinds of tools and solutions that already has a lot of this weight carried for you in terms of this low code, no code. Solution so you can just drag and drop. Squares and objects and you know features and functions from a menu screen and drag and drop it onto the actual screen that you're building in order for your. User base, whomever that is in your business to use these tools way faster than it was building it from scratch and doing code line by line back in the day. So it's come way further along. That gives you opportunities to let your system users in your business. Really start. This all beyond the Excel spreadsheet, so if you have that one user in your team. Who's constantly building really cool spreadsheets with macros and all kinds of bells and whistles going off? That's the person you want to get power apps on their hands as quickly as possible, and they should be able to take off with that and start letting these business apps kind of. Solve all those little nitty gritty problems. All over the place. Of course, always watching the other end to make sure you're not, you know, taking over the world of business apps and replacing. That probably makes more sense at a higher scale in a ERP or an enterprise system, but that's for another topic or another discussion.
Ben Rockey
I don't you shouldn't be. Programming a whole business. Per say, you could. You could make that choice. But focusing on the parts of your business that need some specialization because of the product you make or the service you provide, or something that may be a little unique to your industry, that's not going to be. Easily found in a larger system, that's what we're. Talking about here.
Nicole Grimm
Right, perhaps your organization isn't quite ready for this sophistication of that, or your proof casing as well. Many of our customers might have, let's say hodgepodge, ad hoc or siloed ways. They may do things from one coast to the other, or from one location to another. Maybe we'll have someone in one city over here and another city over there and they both kind. Of almost open. Like individual business units and they have to just eventually feedback the corporate data to the main house if you will.
Ben Rockey
So the. The work can be very regionalized.
Nicole Grimm
Right, they're each doing their thing in their own little way. You could use the business app to test case the best case scenario at location one and then pilot it if you will. Or try to see if you can get it to stick at location 2 and that will create some sort of. Logical rhythm or consistency between the two locations. That'd be a good example of trying out a business app as well.
Ben Rockey
You know one of the the as we're saying, talking. About it to help. Add illumination to what a power app is in previous iterations. Power app is actually just from a Microsoft perspective, an extension of Microsoft Access. So if you use Microsoft Access back in the day to create a custom database that. Had some tracking and. Did these things and and it's still available today. Microsoft Access hasn't gone anywhere, and in fact has been integrated a lot of ways into the Microsoft ecosystem. Power apps is the next generation of that. So when you want to, if you're trying to give yourself a context of what we're talking about, we're talking about these things in the context of a platform that you're genuinely building something to run. A portion of your business. It's it's tangible. It's real. It's going to be a website. You're going to go to or an application you can easily deploy it to a phone. That's what or and integrated across both.
Nicole Grimm
And it it doesn't necessarily fall into the mainstream. Like we've mentioned that the other applications do, so it's you know, kind of too small and a waste of our time would say the enterprise versions. Right, you should just figure out how you're going to get this content and just give it to us and get it in the system. These power apps can share their data and integrate with other systems. They're built that way. They're built also to be mobile, so it has a lot of these. Today, expectations built into it right where you would build something and it would be available on a mobile device or mobile app. It would use utilize your camera, maybe even utilize GPS or these kinds of things are almost baked into it. Assumed that you were going to use them, and it's a drag and the drop away. Adding it to that portfolio, which you can't say for Excel today.
Ben Rockey
Right, you going even further. You know back in the day, if you used access, you had to create your own user accounts inside that little app you built. Things like power, automate and the other automation tools and power apps and other low code application tools are out there. They're going to leverage. The identity system you already have, so if if you're using Microsoft 365 if. You for say. You already have accounts in there, so the system will already be aware. Of Judy and Bob and and Kyle, and be able to. You'll be able to assign those. Responsibilities in the system. You won't have to create a whole identification system and a whole authorization system.
Speaker
Right?
Ben Rockey
You'll already be built in.
Nicole Grimm
Has security built in and you know you can't do all the accidental things you would do with Excel. Deleting a form or a tab or A1 column of a.
Ben Rockey
Right?
Nicole Grimm
Function or formula right? And it the whole thing comes unraveling and falls apart. So I think this space can only just bring upswings to it and elevate that experience that you are having within the business, either manually or with Excel or what have you. This is that next generation to make a real. Impact and also feed any of. The other larger initiatives or larger. Strategic initiatives that you may have going on in the organization. It can also help to prove out how you can do reporting and that kind of thing that you alluded to was. How can I do analytics and other stories we've shared in other? Episodes as an example, anytime you're kind of tracking and capturing this repetitive logical process. Then you can just start doing reporting off of that and analytics off that and start watching it from a whole nother perspective than you can many times in Excel.
Ben Rockey
Well, I think more to the point. What we're really saying here is Excel is tables. You know that you have or I shouldn't say tables, they're they're sheets in a in a, in a book, right? You have sheets, and those are your tabs, and you have them in an Excel workbook. Power automate other automation tools. They're going to be reliant on an actual database in the background, and once you have a database in the background, you can build more with it because that data is available for all sorts of purposes, both flushing out more application abilities in the front end and then automation and. Easy data. Connectors to other systems so you know in the barrel system. Once you got it down to, this is the inventory and this is where it's at. You could generate a report that could be imported into your inventory management tool if you need, if so needed.
Nicole Grimm
Or shared if even if that, even if not a manual import, if you will. The other opportunities you have here too is, as we've discussed in other shows, right? If you're internalizing those improvements, you can also externalize those improvements and maybe provide more seamless information to your customers or your vendors or or different partners that you might have as well. With these low code. Solutions that might be something you graduate to.
Ben Rockey
Yeah, you know, if you're if if you're using excel to. Track inventory coming in from suppliers or growers you work with and you need to keep an inventory that you report back to them. And you're doing that through e-mail today. If you do it through a power app, you could generate a simple portal or a simple routine that emails that information weekly, or as the status changes on your behalf.
Speaker
Right?
Nicole Grimm
I think another. Little thing that business apps offer. Your business as a whole would also just enhance the experience of your employees, their activities, their experience, this kind of thing. It gets them thinking about things in a systematic way, which only reproduces more of the systematic thinking and and gives them a place to. Play if you have those system thinkers in your business and they should find enjoyment in this kind of activity versus doing something repetitive every time. All the time that might actually drive a systems thinker or someone who's constantly looking to. Build those really cool spreads. Needs to. Perhaps look elsewhere for other opportunities, so I would say that it it does kind of offer some difference in the momentum or the activities of the day to create these really cool tools that give them this hero. I guess the feeling if you will to help the business and really build. Vision C and the whole thing.
Ben Rockey
Yeah, well, I think what we're describing is kind of continuous improvement that lean mentality where when you can get people together in a room and talk about a process to improve it. Power tool power automate tools automation tools. Lightweight, no code application tools. Empower your staff to talk through and solve a process problem which in in turn makes work easier. More joinable, they feel like they contributed and hopefully, as is the goal with all continuous improvement processes, reduces costs which in turn increases profit.
Nicole Grimm
Right exactly so there's a few benefits that we can say that we have seen with business apps. Not only does it increase your productivity and improve your efficiency, as we've mentioned, they can also empower all those field workers and everyone who actually knows how the day today works so we can get into the hands of those that you are empowering. Like we said that person who keeps making the spreadsheet to solve a problem. They're the ones who actually see the problem and not may not necessarily translate to what leadership is seeing as a problem. So, for example, if you have a manual process. They're going to know what that's like at the desk, but you aren't going to necessarily see that every day when you're looking at your overall reports that are looking at the larger business process itself, so it may not necessarily solve a huge win or huge swing, but at the same time, these apps are really accessible. And inexpensive to gain access to so at the same time, your ROI is much lower and quicker to resolve. If you're getting that power in those, those hands that can see it day in. Day out you'll. Have a quick. Win for a low investment in that opportunity. The other thing it can do is increase customer engagement, loyalty and sales. Perhaps if you end up. Getting to that point where we mentioned, you know, internalizing those efficiencies. If eventually you end up or you start with, depending on your perspective, building out power apps for customers needs or the demands that they might have.
Ben Rockey
We saw a lot of this during during the shutdown during the COVID shutdown. A lot of businesses were having to come up with process processes to connect with customers because they didn't have anything in place to do it in the 1st place and so power apps power automate was immediate. Too, for a lot of people since it was already part of the. Microsoft suite it was an easy tool to get to. To to create intake forms from customers because they have any other way to do it at that moment.
Nicole Grimm
Right and as soon as you start this ball rolling, you'll start with that additional reporting like you mentioned before. Did this these power apps or these apps or these business apps or what have? You have any kind of reporting that. Comes with it. Not only that, you can create that momentum of continuous improvement by allowing those users to do self-service on reporting and that kind of thing, and we've probably seen many examples where people try to get to reporting so they can see exactly what's going on in order to create those efficiencies internally. If you're giving that. Access to the hands that are actually building it and you're closing that gap between the work and the build. And the experience of it. Then it just starts spinning faster and faster like wildfire, I'd say. Then after that it's, it's just the ease of getting access to it. So with that, spreading it like wildfire will often say in large enterprise. Applications and rollouts and implementations in these huge investments that we will help customers with as well. That is a huge turning huge ship in this case. If you have these low. Load quick win applications if you will. You can create these champions within the business that are all solving their own problems. Creating multiple wins within their own space, and since it's low code and kind of easy to use those individuals in the field and how you can start training each other and sharing their wins, and creating that and championship role if you will, that would create more.
Ben Rockey
Yeah, we should. Let's talk about. That just a little bit. It is fairly common. For companies who have an IT or an IT department. Those departments tend to want to really have a lot of control over all tools that collect data, and there's there's good reasons for that. Generally those departments are looking out for you and your business needs. And gosh, we got to make sure that we're, you know, backing things up and that data that's being collected is real and we need to ensure that. If we're building processes around it, it's documented so that when so and so leaves. We know what to do with it, and those are those are good points and so if you have an IT department you want to, you want to keep them involved and have. Some say in the situation that being said, I think we're here to tell you. In large applications like net suites and dynamics and saps, yes that requires a lot of control, but in these power application spaces where they're succinct and self-contained. Let your general staff have access, just like you let them have access to excel. Let them have access to these systems. That they can create. When they do, it just like Excel, kind of like how we started this conversation with Excel, you're you're capturing the data you care about, so your staff is capturing for you the data you care about every time they make a column and fill it in. With the power automate tools, they're capturing the processes you care about with that data. How you're capturing it where you're capturing it, who needs to have access to it, and tracking it out at the end of the day, that actually helps your IT department, because now they have something to build against when they go look for tools or help you look for tools like. Gosh, if we're really using this power at all. Tool every day that we've created to track barrels or intake requests from customers or report to growers or working with. Maybe that now becomes the foundation of the next tool. We go look for. That might be a little more full-fledged and directly integrates with our accounting system or financing whatever. Whatever the step may be, when you let your staff have access to those tools to participate in the continuous improvement process of developing out these. Solutions that solve the problem they're having every day you have a place to actually you have a cattle to talk about. So although your IS department has reasons for wanting to have a lot of control, we would encourage you to take the safeties off this one.
Nicole Grimm
Right? Even if you don't have an IS department, if you will or you have different partners or vendors or these kinds of things. You'll need to consider this. I was just having a conversation with someone else the other day that had a Excel process for a large ERP implementation that we're up to and they had. This jump into a system to track a lot of the content and they had the same kind of Security question concern. What if the users do this? What if the users do that? What if they do what they shouldn't do? These kinds of things? In boiling down to, the real concern is. They can do that today. But you can't actually track. It control it, see it manage it. Any of these things in the Excel process you have today only because you know when you're comfortable with Excel. Have you never questioned the other side of the coin, right? So you may end up having this, but what if and what if it gets too big and now it is too big, but I suppose this conversation is about let's get to a space where we have those questions and concerns or let's get to a space where you can actually prove that this business app has now taken over the world. That would be your case where you'd say. That's how important this process that's been ignored is. And that's how much this needs attention, and we can prove based on how active these application is, how important. This should be for business strategy or even opportunities to disrupt the status quo. Offer new ideas to customers. Maybe you even had a prototype and you templated it in a certain niche if you will and it took off or people really responded to it. Now you have proof reports activity log. All that stuff. Kind of thing in a controlled environment that can let you take it to that next level and have that conversation.
Ben Rockey
Taking the stopgap measure to a prototyping step.
Nicole Grimm
Right outside of excelling it. So I think. There is tons to consider and think about through this space. Once you even just dive into the business application area, whether it be small business apps that you build yourself or even small business apps that you find in the marketplace that can answer to a small niche question. And answer a solution that you have. Either way, there's tons of small wins to be had in this area, and tons of power that you can harness within the field management and the active user based community that you have within your business. Look for those champions. Look for those system mind thinkers. Prove case it out and give them a. Space to explore this area. Add it to your strategic oversight for your overall business in each business area and maybe even create some. Some accolades if you will, to to get people to start. Creating these business apps and solving solutions and and giving them a space to highlight their wins. To create this momentum in your business. So I think that's all that we have for today. I hope that it sparked tons of ideas for everyone. We'd love to hear more. If you have some wins as well. I love hearing about. Really cool with this and apps that people make. So by all. Means reach out if you guys have anything you'd like to share on that mend for sure, I'll nerd. Out on that all day. So alright everyone. Thanks for listening. We hope you found some value in this conversation. Please join us next time for more mayhem and Misfits.