We’ve previously discussed the details of operating models, providing examples and a thorough understanding of their structure and significance. We also covered the step-by-step process of creating your own operating model, ensuring it aligns with your strategic objectives and operational needs. Additionally, we discussed the importance of incorporating Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure and track the effectiveness of your operating model, providing a clear picture of your organisation's performance and areas for improvement.
With a solid foundation in place, it’s now time to shift our focus to the practical side of managing your operating model. In this section, we will explore the best operating model software to help streamline your operations, enhance decision-making, and drive continuous improvement. This software is designed to support various aspects of your operating model, from strategic planning and process management to data analysis and performance tracking. By leveraging this software, you can ensure that your operating model is not only well-defined but also effectively managed and continuously optimised for success.
Benefits of managing an operating model effectively
1. Improved efficiency
By streamlining processes and eliminating redundancies, your organisation can operate more efficiently, saving time and resources.
2. Better decision-making
A clear understanding of the operating model enables leaders to make informed decisions that are aligned with your organisation's objectives.
3. Enhanced agility
An effective operating model allows your organisation to adapt quickly to changing market conditions and customer needs.
4. Increased customer satisfaction
By delivering value consistently and efficiently, your organisation can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
You need the right tools to manage your operating model effectively and reap its benefits. In the following sections, we will explore some of the top tools available.
Strategy execution software
Strategy execution software can help organisations align their actions with their strategic goals. These platforms serve as a centralised hub for managing and monitoring the execution of strategic initiatives. They ensure that everyone in the organisation is working towards the same objectives.
Benefits of using strategy execution software
1. Alignment
Strategy execution software helps ensure that all departments and individuals are aligned with your organisation's overall strategy, reducing the risk of misalignment and wasted efforts.
2. Transparency
These platforms provide a clear overview of your organisation's progress toward its strategic objectives, enabling leaders to identify areas of success and areas that require improvement.
3. Accountability
Strategy execution platforms foster a culture of accountability and responsibility by assigning ownership of specific initiatives and goals to individuals or teams.
4. Data-driven decision-making
With built-in analytics and reporting features, strategy execution software enables leaders to make informed decisions based on real-time data and insights.
5. Collaboration
These platforms facilitate collaboration and communication across departments, ensuring everyone works together towards common goals.
Top strategy execution software
1. Tability
Tability is a user-friendly strategy execution platform that helps organisations simplify the execution of their strategic plans. It offers features such as AI-powered goal setting, progress tracking, customisable dashboards, and advanced reporting, making it easy for teams to stay aligned and focused on their objectives.
2. Cascade
Cascade is a strategy execution platform designed to centralise strategic plans, align daily work to strategic priorities, and track real-time progress through integrations with work management tools.
![Cascade](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5f7cf835bc0fc5eb13e5c57d/6668f29688e476e18ce6efb0_AD_4nXescnvyuSDksGO_O6UC-9MnYXTR7UtV41_UreovHt5pEIM8UrxK7BFSscQjdAI4bXVeh9Z61u0cL-BWaGgzxThs_sM2r-DICYwniCqZRsTPlhhvWO6XHM6_DKTCsthcgD_ygOtapILmXDvqMjF-43-XpZiv.png)
3. ClearPoint Strategy
ClearPoint Strategy is a cloud-based platform for strategic planning, goal management, and performance tracking. Key capabilities include data integration from multiple sources, organisation-wide alignment on objectives, and automated strategy reporting.
![ClearPoint Strategy](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5f7cf835bc0fc5eb13e5c57d/6668f296fddd8f77c2015d03_AD_4nXeGONHCNlLYaefQ-qmPRRFYJl4UAh_T04vmXDUYI5ILkz9keigNs-csYlerhEQnVSGhosrv_qckBDmcpyjrRLqNxs2TNfw7GVzmaFafV4VyQa6D0yUAhYsSJOwZoaYPpF5iASCx7PmiwlwM1yPQxdhWHWM.png)
Business process management (BPM) software
BPM software helps organisations optimise, automate, and manage their business processes. It enables companies to streamline workflows, reduce inefficiencies, and improve overall productivity.
Benefits of using BPM software
1. Improved efficiency
BPM tools help identify and eliminate bottlenecks, redundancies, and inefficiencies in business processes, resulting in faster and more streamlined operations.
2. Enhanced visibility
With BPM tools, your organisation can gain a clear overview of its processes, enabling you to identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions.
3. Enhanced collaboration
BPM tools foster collaboration among teams by providing a centralised platform for communication, task assignment, and progress tracking.
4. Increased agility
By automating processes and reducing manual intervention, BPM tools can help organisations adapt quickly to changing market conditions and customer demands.
5. Better compliance
BPM tools help ensure that processes adhere to industry regulations and internal policies, reducing the risk of non-compliance and associated penalties.
Top BPM software
1. Appian
Appian is a low-code BPM platform that enables organisations to build, automate, and optimise processes. It includes features like process modelling, case management, robotic process automation (RPA), and AI-powered decision-making.
![Appian](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5f7cf835bc0fc5eb13e5c57d/6668f29673c9e7022523ae8f_AD_4nXeR9fbbjGSs1x6SeUmbOKUpLwE72D-fJcp8mX1MZfJY_TeJiked0ITuWNcnCDzpjOX-XealuEq10JASoZs6c6MpRBMt8KeNkqLvDFYO9kmsmpS29LdG5JXfdKKcs0XkxwaJjZC-xKR-NFnNU-GN_BVln5I.png)
2. Workato
Workato is an integration-centric BPM tool that focuses on automating processes across different applications and systems. It provides a low-code platform for building integrations and automating workflows.
![Workato](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5f7cf835bc0fc5eb13e5c57d/6668f296598e834eabf59a7c_AD_4nXcE7OOKE16KZr58u4xgtcvrKHKn9FQCHujJdbRT2GPeOmtwDospT3CsTCFqZd93q1xvZrE14exVVuwY24ofZW8YdU-B85p0p188t93s2Jc2r4YnskqIRAie3kI_INr2rPM2mycfkdg1yjEcH3vC8kTF2njE.png)
3. Kissflow
Kissflow is a cloud-based BPM tool that allows users to design, automate, and optimise business processes. It provides features like drag-and-drop process modelling, workflow automation, real-time tracking, and reporting.
![Kissflow](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5f7cf835bc0fc5eb13e5c57d/6668f2967da8b5cedf0cca78_AD_4nXdUMNnSiP6QNdM8IL-8rYuwh54Cs1UwDa3SW0maRNDBbeYZyOstf6LI8zFoEoZqBqtXJ-osdI4fcqzlRAiequCg_jIMDL1wkfDHMAlDEkcsTrXfFfPNuME3TmzD-SD1o28er9clD118s0f_LRSw7fVQnwKQ.png)
Data visualisation and analytics software
Data visualisation and analytics tools provide insights into your organisation's performance, identify trends, and enable data-driven decision-making. These tools help transform raw data into visually compelling and easy-to-understand formats, such as dashboards, charts, and graphs.
Benefits of using data visualisation and analytics software
1. Monitoring KPIs in real-time
Data visualisation and analytics tools enable leaders to track critical metrics and KPIs in real-time through interactive dashboards. This allows them to quickly identify areas of the business that are performing well and those that need improvement.
2. Identifying patterns and trends
These tools can analyse historical data to identify seasonality, correlations, and other insights that may not be immediately apparent.
3. Communicating complex information effectively
Data visualisation tools transform complex data into visually appealing and easy-to-understand formats, such as charts, graphs, and infographics. This enables organisations to communicate insights effectively to stakeholders with varying levels of technical expertise.
4. Measuring the impact of strategic initiatives
Data visualisation and analytics tools help organisations measure the impact of their strategic initiatives and operational changes by tracking relevant metrics and comparing performance over time.
Top data visualisation and analytics tools
1. Tableau
Tableau is a powerful data visualisation tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards, charts, and reports. It supports a wide range of data sources and offers advanced analytics capabilities.
![Tableau](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5f7cf835bc0fc5eb13e5c57d/6668f296f45527e80b3818aa_AD_4nXeYIlndZVE0xwkM4J0skLJrRXcHiwwOv123a4DNyykCYnpBGYSOIG3SvJIJAEetFog-JLrLGspxwHPJtAvKaLmAGE6qqnyKAlsQ4ubuUmG96QRSHOrje4PXEKJwD5_QqvElbZCJMf6OWEz1f_1W_4O_LIA.png)
2. Microsoft Power BI
Power BI is a business intelligence and data visualisation tool from Microsoft. It provides a user-friendly interface for creating interactive reports and dashboards, with built-in data modelling and analysis features.
![Microsoft Power BI](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5f7cf835bc0fc5eb13e5c57d/6668f296d0e5cb974f04b17c_AD_4nXdDsgHpPPlG83JSUO6p7-haXgRTIVHPtEqjNeocVk56ghVTf5GbGM-zngBMNE9d4KkWsq-7QPR0DKaUkk-pOIqTErheM9Rc_2nmEVpeY9bduiUzmBrxEgwF8mSnr-Ejake3vKV09E9atLG23qiQtSDfHVQ.png)
3. Qlik Sense
Qlik Sense is a modern data analytics platform that provides a comprehensive set of capabilities for data integration, visualisation, exploration, reporting, and embedding analytics.
![Qlik Sense](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5f7cf835bc0fc5eb13e5c57d/6668f296598e834eabf59a89_AD_4nXeYZL6U7wUYnl77s4QFH5Id_u34EjW7UkLN2vU_CPeJjd7C1BfIM4nRz7B0uttGepG9JsREyryqMSEXXG1PvecAMmFZ2KD63xVfzv_4WU_qt8xtIVxuY2SQ6GTYzmJXoeDHNHmQRR5xYm8gu026w-3xWSh1.png)
The wrap
Investing in the right software for managing your operating model is not just a short-term fix; it is a strategic decision that can have a lasting impact on your organisation's success and sustainability. By empowering your teams with the right software and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, you can position your organisation to thrive in the face of challenges and seize new opportunities for growth.