Getting the most out of your Apps

There's going to be a point in your transition to the cloud when the light bulb is going to go off in your head and you are going to have that thought: 'What else can I do?'

This is a good point... however, before you go out and start buying apps like crazy to (like that time you realized you can get McDonalds delivered and no matter how much you buy it is the same delivery fee) your tech stack there are a couple items to keep in mind.

Take Inventory

Not literally, I mean look at your current app line-up. How well do you know your current app line-up? More than likely your current line-up has capabilities that you aren't even using... maybe you didn't even know it could do that but it has been there all along.

Pain Points

The next place to think about your business as a whole. The big picture. Where are the pain points; you know, those disgusting manual processes that no one likes. This is a good place to start for oh so many reasons. Unfortunately, these may not be soo easy to solve, so make a comprehensive list.

Natural Fit?

With your current tech stack now fully understood, you should be able to match up some of the unused app capabilities in your current tech stack with some of your pain points. There is a good chance if you aren't using your apps to their full capability, there are some natural fits like steak in my belly that could be easily implemented to help alleviate some of your pain points. If not, good job, you are probably getting good value out of your tech stack and owe me dinner.

More Value?

The other point to keep in mind is that I like my steaks med-rare... And by that of course I mean when you know what your apps can do there might be other functionality that you can use. It may not be something that solves a tedious internal problem, but it might help you add additional value to your customers. Again, this is a natural fit that you can easily take advantage of.

MOAR!

Once you have a good handle on your current apps, it's time to ratchet it up and tackle those major pain points with some possible new additions to the tech stack.

When looking at your tech stack, there is a happy medium in terms of moving too slowly vs too fast. There are probably efficiencies there in your current tech stack that you aren't using. By taking advantage of the elements you are already paying for and not using, you will get the biggest bang for your buck.