About

Information systems are a necessary business challenge

Regardless of size or industry, every modern enterprise needs effective software and digital tools to deliver amazing customer experience, stay organized, coordinate in-office and distributed teams, and make data-driven decisions. Almost all modern business workflows have a software or digital tool touchpoint.

However, while the digital future is often straightforward to envision, it is much more challenging to realize the benefits. This is especially difficult in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with fewer resources to allocate to implementations and disruptions. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that technology innovations disproportionately benefit the very largest firms [1]. As part of a study at MIT, we discovered that many organizations in industry overestimate their technical capabilities [2]. Therefore, information systems are a world of both opportunity and complexity for SMEs.

In other words, surviving isn’t the same as thriving. If you’re a leader, or even if you’ve worked at all, then you already know the usual advice. Everyone has already been told to establish trust, set expectations, and create guidelines. However, business owners, executives, and leaders in SMEs face challenges such as:

  • Overwhelm from too many potential software options
  • Lack of internal skills or knowledge to move further ahead with more sophisticated systems
  • Software packages that aren’t well integrated and confusing options to connect everything together
  • Uncertainty about whether current systems are being used in effective or efficient ways
  • Data scattered across different platforms, databases, and worksheets
  • Salespeople hawking the software flavor of the week
  • Human workforces that are resistant to change or need to adapt

Despite the obstacles, our approach is different

Of course, there is a dizzying amount of content about business information systems. At Mergence Systems, we bring sanity to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a marketplace where there’s always someone to sell you another app or software tool.

We believe that leaders of SMEs in this future-forward time need specific, straightforward, practical and unbiased solutions that make sense of the technology noise and enable them to focus on their own business and customers. The strategies that will carry you forward are different than what got you to where you are today. There comes a time when do-it-yourself and “let’s throw something together” approaches aren’t enough anymore.

Our strategies and tactics are applicable regardless of your company’s current software, stage of implementation, and challenges from the past. Mergence Systems is well-positioned to help because:

  • We are solution neutral: If you’re tired of sitting through endless demos, then we aren’t trying to sell you any specific tool. We help clients to make the most of their existing systems and navigate marketplace solutions.
  • We understand the technology: Today’s environment is more complicated than it used to be because there are more solution options, the options are increasingly complex, and the landscape is constantly shifting. We bring the skills and knowledge to guide you through business information systems and practical technologies of the future, such as AI and IoT.
  • We adapt solutions to your unique needs: We don’t push cookie-cutter solutions or all-in-one software platforms that you don’t need. We examine your situation, make recommendations about workflows, and help you to make enhancements that will deliver the most benefit in your specific situation.

About Mergence Systems

Daniel Mark Adsit, Principal at Mergence Systems, has completed information systems projects in almost every functional domain at organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to startups, including Intel, Eaton Corporation, Altera, and Hubspot agencies, and top-tier universities such as MIT.

Enterprises were on the edge of the information industrial revolution when Daniel started working at a global industrial manufacturing company over fifteen years ago. Order processing moved from desktops to the cloud. Teleconferences connected people all around the world. Barcoding transformed manual warehouse processes. He was immersed in the front line chaos of this business information revolution by designing the data, workflows, interfaces, and automations that became the foundation for the modern enterprise of the future.

During this experience, Daniel discovered that while business leaders want to benefit from new technologies, they need to preserve business continuity and avoid drowning in technical complexity. In other words, while business leaders and users engage with information systems every day, not everyone in the company should be a programmer.

Daniel Mark Adsit has earned engineering and management degrees, in information science and systems disciplines, from both MIT and Cornell. Daniel is publicly recommended by CEOs, general managers, distinguished educators, founders of boutique consulting agencies, retired military officers, and senior leaders at global organizations and is a published author in the domain of systems by the IEEE.

Most people understand either the technology or the business. Mergence Systems understands the dynamic interactions between technology and business and helps create the glue that connects everything together.

References

  1. The Problem With Innovation: The Biggest Companies Are Hogging All the Gains, The Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-problem-with-innovation-the-biggest-companies-are-hogging-all-the-gains-1531680310)
  2. Model-Based Systems Engineering Uptake in Engineering Practice, IEEE (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8465998)