Adding new technology into your advisory firm can be a huge step, whether you’re installing or upgrading a portfolio management system, CRM, planning tool, rebalancing software, client portal or any other application.
Yet for all the bells and whistles, the applications themselves are not the guarantors of success. Rather, it’s the smooth, seamless flow of data through your organization—from system to system—that makes for an effective and well-oiled operation.
How does the data move from app to app? Is the flow integrated? To put it simply, does your workflow work?
As an example, visualize, for a moment, installing a feature-rich application to aid your staff and serve your clients.
Suppose it’s a portfolio management system that’s designed for maximum functionality. But…to feed data into the app, your staff needs to intervene manually. They need to “touch the data” and spend valuable time inputting the necessary information.
What’s the point of that? In a case like this, buying the expensive app is like buying new tires for a car in which the engine doesn’t work. Technology without integration is no solution at all.