There are many tools which are used in an office which become part of the underlying work flow without anyone really being aware. In many cases these are software tools which have become inherently integrated into the daily work of many employees. 
If you think of the basic categories of software tools there are some which can be kind of generic, like your office suite for example, and some which become very industry and company specific.
These highly specific tools become the basis for much of the workflow of the business and making changes in them can be very hard. Because of this tendency it is easy for upgrades, new releases or just simple new procedures to be ignored or delayed since making a change in a widely used, integrated work procedure can be very challenging to the users. If left to the extreme it is possible for a business to become resistant to changing anything of a computer or IT nature simply to avoid the user interruptions and the training time needed to implement something new.
Categories which resist change:
Business process systems
Probably the biggest change of system for any organization is the ERP (Enterprise Resource Program) which usually includes the accounting functions, inventory management, ordering procedures, scheduling, shipping and perhaps employment planning related tasks. Because of the all encompassing nature of these tools it is obviously only infrequent that a complete system change may be undertaken, however most third party packages of this type of software will have regular upgrades available, some which are highly recommended and some which are optional. Each business has to take the time (often a challenge as changes can affect many departments) to evaluate the potential of upgrades bringing new functionality, better workflows, or other enhancements to decide whether the time and effort of deploying the upgrade is warranted. When things become really challenging is if upgrades are deferred and then in the future a new release offers a significant new benefit than can only be deployed if all preceding upgrades are deployed first. This can be an extremely challenging situation.
Document Management Systems or Information Management Systems
Businesses that have deployed document management systems find that users quickly become dependent upon them to be able to access historic and even regularly used documentation and information tools. Early document management systems were stand alone in nature and often were used primarily in a storage mode. In this use records are created and stored electronically in batches at period ends based upon the completion of the work. Think of shipping documentation finalized weekly or monthly as an example.
As electronic records have become more mainstream many organizations have integrated them into the daily workflow which means records become instantly available to users as the work is carried out. As the underlying packages change and upgrade then the workflow has to adjust to use new capabilities or accommodate changes which affect the previously deployed methods.
Doing this kind of upgrade or repair on a continuing basis as it is made available is much easier in the long run than holding off and trying to catch up on a long term periodic basis.
Communications systems and technology
Since our tools for communications are on a rapid change schedule keeping up to date with the current trends and systems can be real challenge. Hardware seems to have a shortened life cycle simply because speeds and storage change so quickly. Methods of communication especially in mobile modes seem to be constantly in flux. This can really affect the way you interact with customers and suppliers as they change their preference for different tools.
Telephone goes down in use. Fax is almost gone except in very specific industries. Email gets supplanted by chatting tools, especially between locations in widely diversified companies. Messenging platforms evolve as new favourites are adopted. Social media changes and the profile or platform which was strong last year is no longer being used as much and some new one has entered the popular stream.
Repair, upgrade and replace
Take time regularly to determine whether your systems are really working as well as you need them to be doing. The failure to put the effort into these kinds of systems reviews and implementations can see you fall behind competitors or lose opportunities which come your way. Constant vigilance can pay rewards.
Lee K
