One of the points mentioned in this recent article on buying software you won’t later regret was, “Look for adaptability.” Any software you purchase must be flexible, scalable, and easily adapt to future technology.

That being said, “flexible software” is still a rather vague term. What does it mean? What does it look like in real life? Today, I’d like to dive into this topic a little more, and explain what it means, how it helps your business, and even give you a real-life example of flexible software in action. Sound good? Let’s get started:

What does it mean?

Flexible software is built on open standards and frameworks. As a result:

• It runs anywhere: Because it’s built on open web standards, flexible software works on any platform or device. It spans operating systems and databases. It works on all smartphones, tablets, PCs, and whatever devices come out in the next few years. It runs anywhere.
• It works well with others: Flexible software integrates easily with other open applications or software–even software from other companies. It can be added to existing systems or software, and ultimately improve that software with new features and capabilities.

How does it help?

As a result of the two points above, flexible software is so important because:

• It doesn’t hold you back: Flexible software won’t hold your company back. Want to switch databases, devices, platforms, etc…? Your software won’t stop you. It will work with whatever new systems or devices fit best with your business.
• It creates new opportunities: Flexible software frees businesses from hardware and software restrictions of the past. For instance, suppose a business needs an industrial scanner to scan new inventory into their system. Older software might limit that company’s options to one or two expensive, industrial scanners. Flexible software creates a whole new world of possibilities, as you’ll find in the example below.

A real-life example

Here’s a real-life example of just one possibility created by flexible software. Rather than purchasing expensive, industrial scanners, this distributor used a basic smartphone and bluetooth scanner to automate their receiving process. How was this possible? They used flexible software. To find out how, you can read the whole story right here.