According to market research, the digital transformation market is expected to grow to $3.3 trillion by 2025. Every enterprise will likely experience a push to adopt more digital business tools in that time, and replace the outdated tools that are in place today.
When multiple departments deploy different tools without coordination, there is a high chance of the organization facing tool sprawl. Tool sprawl is when company information is spread across too many tools, some of which have the same basic features. This results in confusion and lost productivity, and can be a huge expense for collaborative operations.
The IT department can struggle to manage all of these tools. This means that departments will find themselves using outdated systems for their daily needs, so everyone loses out on the advanced capabilities that a more modern toolset would offer. Legacy systems and tool sprawl bring down the success quotient of the entire organization. Outdated systems are hurting big companies, and this article will explore some of their effects.
5 Ways Outdated Tools Hurt Large Companies:
#1: Inefficient Communication
When multiple departments use legacy platforms for their own internal management, there is no unified communication strategy. For large companies with a distributed workforce, this means important announcements may have to be repeated across multiple communication channels. In many cases, it can mean that these updates simply don’t make it to certain sectors of the workforce.
For these reasons and more, lacking a unified communication strategy can hamper growth and/or contribute to corporate bloat and inefficiency.
#2: Poor Collaboration
In a modern workforce environment, collaboration plays a key role in helping teams work together to solve problems. However, many organizations rely mostly on face-to-face discussions and manual information capture.
Remote work is only growing more common, and will continue to do so. This was as true a few years ago as it is today, though the pandemic certainly acted as a catalyst. Therefore, enterprises need to be thinking about and implementing better mechanisms for digital collaboration.
Workers with access to a platform like MangoApps can communicate with colleagues and track projects in the same workspace. This makes geographical constraints and lack of meaningful information—both clear signs that your outdated tools need to be replaced—problems of the past.
#3: Security Threats
When legacy systems or department-specific products are accessing critical data, enterprise security can be threatened. These sorts of solutions often live outside the purview of modern security monitoring systems.
For example, tool sprawl generally means that different systems are accessing and sharing data in multiple formats so that cross-functional teams can access this data at any time. This will inevitably result in problems unless there is a clear security roadmap in place for mitigating challenges like cyberattacks.
Without a proper code or discipline for enterprise security as a whole, there are serious threats to customer data. There could be severe repercussions if that data falls into the wrong hands.
#4: Limited Mobile Access
At many enterprises, the tools they use internally either predate smartphones or come from the era when we were still figuring out how to use them.
This is a major problem for any organization, but is especially relevant for distributed teams or those with deskless employees. Traveling salespeople, for example, or frontline workers, benefit greatly from modern mobile-friendly tools that allow them to access all the information that they need from wherever they are.
With outdated tools still in use, companies often leave these people in the dark about important updates. Even worse, they may lose out on business or make a costly mistake due to the inability to access a particular tool or piece of data in a time-sensitive situation.
#5: Dissatisfied Onboarding
Disjointed operations will turn off newer employees who are anxious about learning how to navigate your tools and processes, which starts their relationship with the company off on the wrong foot.
Onboarding is a make-or-break moment in the employee lifecycle—the way you present your inner workings at this critical juncture sets the tone for everything that follows. A new employee should immediately gain access to a clear set of policies and procedures, a logical repository of information, and all the information and tools they need to do their job.
If you don’t have these things housed in a modern workspace, new employees are likely to lose enthusiasm for their new job right out of the gate. This impacts their productivity and engagement through their whole tenure.
Replace Your Outdated Tools With MangoApps
Digital transformation is an evident phenomenon. 89% of all organizations are adopting a digital-first strategy, and a unified employee experience will be key to their success. Engage your employees with modern productivity tools, and you empower them to do their best work as this trend continues into the future.
MangoApps can prove to be the perfect solution for enterprises looking to replace or augment their legacy systems. To learn more about how MangoApps can help your organization, contact us or schedule a demo today.
