Is it taking you too long to gather accurate information about your clients’ tech stacks, usage, and software spend?
If you’re making assumptions or miss critical information due to time pressures, you can run into issues when scoping solutions and quoting for work. Manual processes make tech advisory discovery a time-consuming chore for accounting firms and system integrators, which leads to:
- poor visibility,
- project misalignment, and
- missed opportunities.
But with the right tools, you can reduce time-consuming tasks and get a comprehensive view of your clients’ setup and app usage.
We outline how to cut your tech discovery process from days to minutes, using automation to streamline data collection and analysis, increasing your advisory service profitability.
The importance of the discovery phase in tech advisory
A smooth, data-driven discovery process is crucial for tech advisors, as the information gathered steers implementation project scope and helps ensure accurate quoting and successful project outcomes.
If your process is inefficient or incomplete, it can lead to costly errors, manual processes slow you down, preventing you from scaling your advisory services effectively.
What is the tech advisory discovery phase?
The discovery phase is when you collect detailed information about your client’s existing software solutions, usage and performance, and manager and user pain points they’re experiencing.
The purpose is to get a clear picture of the state of play to help you plan a new tech stack and define the integrations required to deliver desired results.
The key steps in the tech advisory discovery phase are:
- Client consultations to define their challenges, needs, and goals
- Identifying the apps and integrations within the client’s tech environment
- Gathering key insights relating to software use, expenditure, and performance
- Detecting inefficiencies and risks, user frustrations, and missed opportunities
A thorough discovery process helps advisors conduct fast, accurate problem identification and strategic solution design.
Common discovery phase challenges
Unfortunately, most firms don’t have the right automated tools to carry out an efficient, scalable tech advisory discovery process. Advisors face the following challenges:
- Manual data collection – too much time spent sourcing information around client software, integrations, app subscriptions, and usage
- Inefficient employee feedback gathering – getting insights from end-users about the company’s software solutions is slow and unstructured
- Incomplete/inaccurate information – if you don’t have all the required data, you can overlook critical client system details, leading to missed deadlines or unforeseen project costs
- Poor visibility over client tech stacks – without clear, real-time visibility, you risk project misalignment
Legacy systems and fragmented data are key reasons many digital transformation projects run into trouble. Forrester revealed that just 0.5% of data is harnessed for analysis, costing companies millions in untapped potential.
Streamlining tech advisory discovery with automation
So, how can you reduce inefficiencies and improve tech advisory discovery?
Automation can streamline discovery process steps, helping advisors quickly and easily identify the apps being used and collect all the data for an accurate systems audit and solution design quote.
The role of automation in the discovery process
By automating previously manual tech discovery processes, advisors will only need to intervene to drill down into the data and use the insights for strategic purposes.
Automation tools can replace manual data collection with real-time, accurate insights which fuel future tech advisory steps and underpin your project.
Key benefits of using automation in tech advisory discovery:
- Significantly reduce time/resources required during app discovery
- Minimize human error when gathering information or exporting data
- Gain a comprehensive view of your clients’ tech environment
- Simplify audit, solution design, and implementation project scoping
Introducing AppVentory: The automation-powered solution for tech advisors
At AppVentory, we understand the challenges accounting firms and system integrators face with tech advisory discovery. We’ve seen the problems that arise from inefficient processes and inaccurate data.
That’s why we created a solution to empower advisors to streamline discovery process work with automation.
AppVentory, by Coachbar, is an app audit and diagnostic tool which uses automation and cloud integrations to transform tech advisory processes. We help firms to:
- Save hours (or even days) on data collection and app usage analysis
- Easily identify missing or underutilized apps to recommend new tools and opportunities
- Gather feedback from team members on software performance and pain points via automated pulse surveys
- Gain comprehensive visibility over tech stack details in a unified dashboard
The automated discovery phase solution collects and analyzes app usage and spending data, providing a holistic, centralized view of your client’s software setup.
How to effectively identify business software and detect areas for improvement
Let’s explore how an automation tool like AppVentory can help you quickly and accurately identify tech stack information, analyze app usage and performance data, and gain key insights to create suitable quotes and implementation plans.
1. Gathering comprehensive tech stack data
In the discovery phase, collecting comprehensive tech stack details can be a pain and a series of interviews and emails. This makes it tedious to identify business software gaps and inefficiencies that don’t align with your client’s business goals.
Where AppVentory can help:
AppVentory’s automated data collection dramatically reduces time spent on data collection, gathering information directly from the source using integrations with Xero and QuickBooks, plus Google and Microsoft Workspaces. Get a unified view of client app usage.
2. Analyzing software usage and performance
Knowing what apps your clients are using is just one piece of the puzzle.
You should gather data across key software performance metrics, such as app adoption/usage rates, software expenditure, employee satisfaction, and operational efficiency.
Where AppVentory can help:
AppVentory automates app usage/performance analysis to benchmark existing data for key metrics, helping advisors quickly detect underutilized or problematic apps, and identify process bottlenecks. Real-time analytical capabilities let you monitor the data over time to demonstrate performance improvement post-implementation.
3. Conducting employee surveys
Gathering feedback from employees who use the software daily offers contextual information that can reveal issues you might not discover from the core app usage/performance data, arming you with greater insights.
Where AppVentory can help:
AppVentory’s automated pulse survey feature helps advisors gather actionable insights directly from end users. You can identify gaps in software training or issues experienced when using certain apps to scope adjustments, subscription changes or new software solutions to meet user needs and address their issues.
Overcoming key discovery challenges with AppVentory
AppVentory was designed to automate manual app discovery and identification processes and help tech advisory become a highly profitable service offering.
Here is an overview of how AppVentory’s discovery phase solutions can help you overcome key tech advisory pain points:
Simplify the data-gathering process
Collecting data takes a lot of time because different software and systems are often disconnected and involve complex integrations. AppVentory automates this process, giving you a quick and accurate view of your client’s tech setup. This cuts down on time and reduces the chances of errors or missing important details.
Centralize and standardize data management
Fragmented data across systems and departments makes gaining the full picture of client tech stacks difficult. AppVentory tackles the issue by centralizing data into a single platform with user-friendly dashboards, which make the data easy to understand, manage, and analyze.
Improve the speed and accuracy of project scoping and quoting
Inaccurate or missing data can cause various issues, including incorrect quotes, scope creep, and project misalignment, which impact your profitability and reputation.
AppVentory’s comprehensive data coverage ensures no details are overlooked, leading to more accurate and profitable quotes.
Also, it simplifies project scoping, helping your firm take on more clients.
Elevate your services with efficient discovery
Simplifying and streamlining the discovery process makes it easier to see what’s happening in client tech stacks, improves how you analyze data, and speeds up tasks like collecting information, scoping solutions, and creating quotes.
Learn more about the exciting app audit and health check tool and apply for early access to see how we can transform your tech advisory discovery.
