Most of us use databases on a daily basis — at their most basic level, they are simply software solutions that create somewhere for us to store, search, modify and extract our data. Sounds simple, but what happens when you need it to work a little harder? Read on to find out how to choose the right database solution for your business.
Finding an efficient way of storing and manipulating data is a primary consideration for your business; without the correct management tools, you could find yourself in a situation in which you are using software that is frustratingly incompatible with your data and your business. Drilling down the type of data you wish to store, for example, inventories or cash-flow, will help you decide the type of database solution you require. By determining what you want to store, and the value you need a database to bring to your business, you will be able to move on to choosing the best program specific to your needs.
Perhaps accounting software will help you keep track of both stock and cashflow, saving you time with spreadsheets or paper records. Or, a broader stroke database solution could be the right option for you; something like Oracle, which automates all customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management (SCM) processes within businesses. For every process your business undertakes, you can be sure there is a database solution that will help you to streamline. However, it isn’t always the wisest move to use separate programs for each set of data — this can quickly become confusing, particularly if you also need to train staff up to use them — imagine the frustration of ten different databases to run reports from! If this is the case, a customised database may be the right option for you — speak to our experts, who can build a solution that works seamlessly within your business.