Business software is a set of computer programs designed to assist with the management and performance of a company that can improve efficiency and accuracy. They can be used to carry out various functions, such as customer relationship management (CRM), project management, sales force automating and financial accounting. There are a variety of business applications are in existence and each one is tailored to the specific needs of the particular industry in which it is intended to be used.
A company that sells online products can benefit from advanced features, such as customer relationship management software. This will allow for more trust and transparency to be established with customers. This software can give valuable insights into the performance of a company like how well its marketing functions or how effective its website is in converting customers.
Business software is widely used and has played a key contribution to the growth of numerous companies across the world. The first software for business applications was designed for white-collar work using large mainframe computers being employed to automate processes like processing bank cheques and factory accounting. Word Perfect and Microsoft Word led to the end of the IBM typewriter and mathematical spreadsheet programs such as Lotus 1-2-3 or Excel became very popular with corporate consumers.
Certain business application software is interactive, meaning that it can be used by business users to alter data and produce results immediately. Other business software runs in batch mode, meaning that it is able to be programmed to run according to a schedule and produce reports without the involvement of users. A team is assigned to address the issue when a software glitch is discovered, so that users are able to return to work. This is known as business application support.