From Chaos to Cohesion: Building an Effective Software Stack

Creating an effective software stack is not as simple as just selecting and deploying the software of your choice. First, you must figure out which type of software tools your business needs, which processes will benefit from automation, whether the tools will be right for you in the long run, and whether the tools will work well together.

Not taking the time to anticipate your business needs as you build your software stack can cost you time, resources, and money. To put you on the right path, we’ll explain what a software stack is, their importance, and how to build one that meets your business needs. Along the way, we’ll weave in insights from GetApp survey data, so you can implement our guidance with confidence.

A software stack is a collection of cloud-based software that work together to achieve a common business goal. These tools may be directly integrated with each other or they may work well together without any integration.

Your business may use multiple software stacks, such as a marketing stack for your marketing process and an app development stack for your app development process. A marketing stack may include email management, social media management, and survey solutions. Similarly, other teams like HR and IT may use other sets of tools to automate and streamline workflows.

Small businesses typically have smaller software stacks than enterprises. The human resources (HR) team of a small firm, for instance, can use a single integrated human resources solution to handle all HR workflows. A large business, on the other hand, may need dedicated tools for performance management, attendance tracking, benefits administration, and other processes. 

In sum, the size of your software stack depends on the complexity of your business workflows. As your company grows, you may have to add more tools to manage different workflows. Therefore, you should select solutions that are easily scalable and can integrate with your existing tools.

A software stack is a subset of a technology or tech stack and includes only the software components used to build an application. Programming languages, coding frameworks, operating systems, middleware, web servers, and installable files form the software stack. A tech stack includes all of these components as well as hardware.

When you use cloud-based services to meet your application’s infrastructure needs, they also become a part of the software stack. In such cases, there is hardly any distinction between a software and tech stack.

It’s important to put time and consideration into deciding which tools are best suited for your business’s needs and daily workflows, otherwise you risk an issue known as app sprawl. App sprawl occurs when a company continuously adopts new tools without getting rid of old ones. See below for a few examples of how app sprawl impacts different types of businesses:

• Roughly 36% of software used by small to midsize retailers is redundant, and only 28% of retailers formally cancel service with a vendor when they decide an app is no longer useful to them.*

• Despite only using five software systems for their HR needs, on average, HR employees say 50% of their HR software systems perform overlapping functions.**

• Thirty-nine percent of small to midsize marketers find that having redundant apps increases the time they spend on day-to-day tasks. They also estimate that their company is spending approximately $43,500 annually on software apps it does not use regularly.***

As you can see, app sprawl costs businesses of all kinds time and money, and it can impact productivity as well. With these risks in mind, we’ll walk you through how to build a software stack your business can maintain as it grows.

Investing in software alone isn’t enough to build an effective software stack. You have to organize the tools within the stack as well as understand how each one supports your workflows. Let’s look at some ways to do that. 

1. Identify workflows that can be automated

Look for processes or workflows that software can help automate. For example, if you send promotional emails manually to customers, consider an email marketing platform to automate the process and save time. List all workflows that can be automated to improve efficiency.

2. List workflows that can be managed using the same software

Certain workflows are similar in nature and can be served better by a common tech solution. For example, you can use the same chat tool for team communication and collaboration between different departments. Identifying such similar business processes will not only lower your tech investment but also optimize the use of software tools across your organization.

3. Find the right software to automate your workflows

Shortlist software tools that offer the functionality you need within your budget. Our software comparison tool can help you assess which solutions best fit your software stack. We also recommend browsing our software reviews to see what real buyers like you have to say about product features, integration capabilities, scalability, cost, vendor support, etc.

4. Review the performance of your stack regularly

The technology landscape changes frequently, with new tools and features entering the market every day. Thus, you should monitor your software stack regularly to track current usage rates, identify bottlenecks, measure the return on investment (ROI), and foresee any tech gaps. Add new tools or features based on how well—or poorly—your stack is performing.

To get the most out of your software stack, ensure its components can communicate with each other. In other words, the apps and tools in a stack should be able to integrate and share data between them. 

Let’s say your marketing stack consists of an email marketing tool and a marketing automation tool. Both should integrate well so you can easily share customer details and campaign metrics from one system to another.

The tools you select should also support interstack integration—i.e., integration between different software stacks. For example, your project management stack, which includes project planning and resource management software, should be able to interact with your HR stack, which consists of workforce management and HR analytics software, for better utilization and tracking of resources across projects.

See below for software stacks commonly used by businesses across a variety of industries. We’ve included the common tools of each stack, but you may not need all of them. 

Marketing stack

A marketing software stack includes the digital tools your marketing team uses to complete everyday tasks such as creating ad campaigns, sending campaign emails, and tracking leads. It helps automate end-to-end marketing workflows and improve productivity.

Here are some tools to include in your marketing stack:

• Email marketing software: Plan, execute, and monitor your email marketing campaigns. Automate communication, and track campaign performance. 

• Social media marketing software: Manage social media activities such as scheduling online posts and replying to comments.

• Marketing automation software: Automate marketing workflows, and measure the performance of campaigns across channels, including email, social media, and website.

• Content marketing software: Manage, track, and share digital content and assets on websites, third-party blogs, etc. 

• Customer experience software: Manage customer interactions, collect client feedback, and track customer sentiments.

HR stack

An HR software stack is a set of integrated digital tools supporting your HR department. It can include some or all of the following tools:

• Payroll software: Automate payroll calculations, ensure regulatory compliance, and manage employee overtime and absence tracking.

• Applicant tracking and recruitment software: Post job profiles, check resumes, shortlist candidates, schedule interviews, and onboard new hires.

• Performance management software: Create employee goals that are aligned with company objectives, and track employee progress over time to identify top performers. 

• Workforce management software: Optimize workforce productivity by matching the right candidate to the right job, scheduling resources, tracking time and attendance, monitoring compliance, and more.

• HR analytics software: Analyze employee data (payroll, attendance, etc.) to generate insights for decision-making.

Project management software stack

A project management stack refers to the various tools you use to effectively manage business projects. Common components of a project management software stack are:

• Project planning software: Break down large projects into small tasks, and estimate the time required to complete them.

• Project tracking software: Track different project parameters such as budget, schedule, and resource productivity.

• Resource management software: Plan, assign, and track which employee is working on which project and for how long.

• Time and expense software: Track the time and money spent on different projects to calculate profitability and track operational efficiency.

• Collaboration software: Share project documents with team members, and collaborate in real time via voice and video calls, live chat, and screen sharing. 

Security software stack

A security stack includes the various security technologies protecting your IT systems and data. Common elements of a security software stack are:

• Endpoint protection and antivirus software: Secure all the devices such as mobile phones, laptops, and servers connected to your enterprise network. 

• Email security software: Scan incoming and outgoing emails and attachments for viruses. Automatically categorize emails by sender, priority, or risk level.

• Authentication software: Verify the identity of users by checking the credentials submitted by them against a database of user information.

• Network security software: Use network safety measures such as firewalls and VPNs to monitor network traffic and prevent attacks or unauthorized access.

• Encryption software: Protect sensitive data using common encryption methods such as RSA, AES, and DES.

Head over to our business software page that lists a variety of tools, grouped by the business function they support. Then, filter products by your business size, budget, or integration requirements; read what others have to say about the products; and opt for demos or free trials to make the right buying decision.