Business software is a set of computer programs that are designed to help with the management and performance of a business, allowing for increased efficiency and accuracy. They can be used to perform a variety of functions, such as customer relationship management (CRM) and project management, sales force automating, and financial accounting. Many different types of business applications are available and each one is adapted to the specific requirements of the particular industry in which it is intended to be used.
For instance, a business that sells products online may benefit from features such as customer relationship management software, which permits greater transparency and trust to be built with customers. This kind of software may also provide valuable insights into the company’s performance for example, how well its marketing is working, or how effective its website is at making potential customers.
The business software used by businesses is widespread and has been a key factor in the expansion of companies across the globe. The first software for business applications was created for jobs in the white collar and large mainframe computers being used to automate jobs like bank cheque processing and factory accounting. Word Perfect and Microsoft Word resulted in the demise the IBM typewriter as mathematical spreadsheet applications such as Lotus 1-2-3 or Excel became extremely popular with corporate users.
Certain business application software is interactive, which means that it can be employed by business people to manipulate data and create results immediately. Other business software runs in batch mode, meaning that it is able to be programmed to run on a scheduled basis and produce reports without the involvement of users. If a software issue occurs an entire team is charged with resolving the problem to allow users to return to their tasks. This is called business application support.