<s>
Business	B-Application
software	I-Application
(	O
or	O
a	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
)	O
is	O
any	O
software	O
or	O
set	O
of	O
computer	O
programs	O
used	O
by	O
business	O
users	O
to	O
perform	O
various	O
business	O
functions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
business	B-Application
applications	I-Application
are	O
used	O
to	O
increase	O
productivity	O
,	O
measure	O
productivity	O
,	O
and	O
perform	O
other	O
business	O
functions	O
accurately	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Much	O
business	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
developed	O
to	O
meet	O
the	O
needs	O
of	O
a	O
specific	O
business	O
,	O
and	O
therefore	O
is	O
not	O
easily	O
transferable	O
to	O
a	O
different	O
business	O
environment	O
,	O
unless	O
its	O
nature	O
and	O
operation	O
are	O
identical	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
business	B-Application
applications	I-Application
are	O
interactive	O
,	O
i.e.	O
,	O
they	O
have	O
a	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
or	O
user	O
interface	O
and	O
users	O
can	O
query/modify/input	O
data	O
and	O
view	O
results	O
instantaneously	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
business	B-Application
applications	I-Application
run	O
in	O
batch	O
mode	O
:	O
they	O
are	O
set	O
up	O
to	O
run	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
predetermined	O
event/time	O
and	O
a	O
business	O
user	O
does	O
not	O
need	O
to	O
initiate	O
them	O
or	O
monitor	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
business	B-Application
applications	I-Application
are	O
built	O
in-house	O
and	O
some	O
are	O
bought	O
from	O
vendors	O
(	O
off-the-shelf	O
software	O
products	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
business	B-Application
applications	I-Application
are	O
installed	O
on	O
either	O
desktops	O
or	O
big	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
RCA	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
was	O
implemented	O
in	O
1962	O
on	O
a	O
4k	O
RCA	O
301	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
small	O
business	O
market	O
generally	O
consists	O
of	O
home	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
and	O
office	O
suites	O
such	O
as	O
LibreOffice	B-Application
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Office	I-Application
or	O
Google	B-Application
Workspace	I-Application
(	O
formerly	O
G	B-Application
Suite	I-Application
and	O
Google	B-Application
Apps	I-Application
for	I-Application
Work	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
medium	O
size	O
,	O
or	O
small	O
and	O
medium-sized	O
enterprise	O
(	O
SME	O
)	O
,	O
has	O
a	O
broader	O
range	O
of	O
software	O
applications	O
,	O
ranging	O
from	O
accounting	O
,	O
groupware	B-Application
,	O
customer	O
relationship	O
management	O
,	O
human	O
resource	O
management	O
systems	O
,	O
outsourcing	O
relationship	O
management	O
,	O
loan	O
origination	O
software	O
,	O
shopping	B-Application
cart	I-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
field	O
service	O
software	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
productivity-enhancing	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
last	O
segment	O
covers	O
enterprise	O
level	O
software	O
applications	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
those	O
in	O
the	O
fields	O
of	O
enterprise	O
resource	O
planning	O
,	O
enterprise	B-Application
content	I-Application
management	I-Application
(	O
ECM	O
)	O
,	O
business	O
process	O
management	O
(	O
BPM	O
)	O
and	O
product	O
lifecycle	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Technologies	O
that	O
previously	O
only	O
existed	O
in	O
peer-to-peer	O
software	O
applications	O
,	O
like	O
Kazaa	B-Protocol
and	O
Napster	B-Application
,	O
are	O
starting	O
to	O
appear	O
within	O
business	B-Application
applications	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digital	B-Protocol
dashboards	I-Protocol
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
business	B-General_Concept
intelligence	I-General_Concept
dashboards	B-Protocol
,	O
enterprise	B-Protocol
dashboards	I-Protocol
,	O
or	O
executive	B-Protocol
dashboards	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dashboards	B-Protocol
are	O
very	O
popular	O
tools	O
that	O
have	O
arisen	O
in	O
the	O
last	O
few	O
years	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Online	B-Application
analytical	I-Application
processing	I-Application
(	O
OLAP	B-Application
)	O
,	O
(	O
which	O
includes	O
HOLAP	O
,	O
ROLAP	O
and	O
MOLAP	O
)	O
-	O
are	O
a	O
capability	O
of	O
some	O
management	O
,	O
decision	O
support	O
,	O
and	O
executive	O
information	O
systems	O
that	O
support	O
interactive	O
examination	O
of	O
large	O
amounts	O
of	O
data	O
from	O
many	O
perspectives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reporting	B-Application
software	I-Application
generates	O
aggregated	O
views	O
of	O
data	O
to	O
keep	O
the	O
management	O
informed	O
about	O
the	O
state	O
of	O
their	O
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Procurement	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
business	B-Application
software	I-Application
that	O
helps	O
to	O
automate	O
the	O
purchasing	O
function	O
of	O
organizations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	B-Application
mining	I-Application
is	O
the	O
extraction	O
of	O
consumer	O
information	O
from	O
a	O
database	O
by	O
utilizing	O
software	O
that	O
can	O
isolate	O
and	O
identify	O
previously	O
unknown	O
patterns	O
or	O
trends	O
in	O
large	O
amounts	O
of	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
data	B-Application
mining	I-Application
techniques	O
that	O
reveal	O
different	O
types	O
of	O
patterns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
techniques	O
that	O
belong	O
here	O
are	O
statistical	O
methods	O
(	O
particularly	O
business	O
statistics	O
)	O
and	O
neural	B-Architecture
networks	I-Architecture
,	O
as	O
very	O
advanced	O
means	O
of	O
analyzing	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Document	O
management	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
made	O
for	O
organizing	O
and	O
managing	O
multiple	O
documents	O
of	O
various	O
types	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
them	O
have	O
storage	O
functions	O
for	O
security	O
and	O
backup	O
of	O
valuable	O
business	B-General_Concept
information	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Employee	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
software	I-Application
-	O
used	O
for	O
creating	O
and	O
distributing	O
employee	O
schedules	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
for	O
tracking	O
employee	O
hours	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
designed	O
to	O
increase	O
profits	O
by	O
cutting	O
costs	O
or	O
speeding	O
the	O
productive	O
cycle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
early	O
days	O
of	O
white-collar	O
business	O
automation	B-Application
,	O
large	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
were	O
used	O
to	O
tackle	O
the	O
most	O
tedious	O
jobs	O
,	O
like	O
bank	O
cheque	O
clearing	O
and	O
factory	O
accounting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Factory	O
accounting	B-Application
software	I-Application
was	O
among	O
the	O
most	O
widely-used	O
early	O
business	B-Application
software	I-Application
tools	O
and	O
included	O
the	O
automation	B-Application
of	O
general	O
ledgers	O
,	O
fixed	O
assets	O
inventory	O
ledgers	O
,	O
cost	O
accounting	O
ledgers	O
,	O
accounts	O
receivable	O
ledgers	O
,	O
and	O
accounts	O
payable	O
ledgers	O
(	O
including	O
payroll	O
,	O
life	O
insurance	O
,	O
health	O
insurance	O
,	O
federal	O
and	O
state	O
insurance	O
and	O
retirement	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Building	O
on	O
this	O
success	O
,	O
corporate	O
consumers	O
demanded	O
from	O
IBM	O
,	O
Hewlett-Packard	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
early	O
suppliers	O
,	O
of	O
business	B-Application
software	I-Application
to	O
replace	O
the	O
old-fashioned	O
drafting	O
board	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer-aided	B-Application
drafting	I-Application
for	O
computer-aided	O
manufacturing	O
(	O
CAD-CAM	O
)	O
arrived	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Project	B-Application
management	I-Application
software	I-Application
was	O
also	O
so	O
valued	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
that	O
it	O
could	O
cost	O
up	O
to	O
$	O
500,000	O
per	O
copy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
noticeable	O
,	O
widespread	O
changes	O
in	O
business	B-Application
software	I-Application
was	O
the	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
,	O
whose	O
rapid	O
rise	O
caused	O
the	O
decline	O
of	O
the	O
ubiquitous	O
IBM	O
typewriter	O
in	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
as	O
millions	O
of	O
companies	O
switched	O
to	O
using	O
Word	B-Application
Perfect	I-Application
,	O
and	O
later	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Word	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
popular	O
computer	O
programs	O
for	O
business	O
were	O
mathematical	O
spreadsheet	O
programs	O
such	O
as	O
Lotus	B-Application
1-2-3	I-Application
,	O
and	O
later	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Excel	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
1990s	O
business	O
shifted	O
towards	O
globalism	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
appearance	O
of	O
SAP	B-Application
software	O
,	O
which	O
coordinates	O
a	O
supply-chain	O
of	O
vendors	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
streamline	O
the	O
operation	O
of	O
factory	O
manufacturing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
next	O
phase	O
in	O
the	O
evolution	O
of	O
business	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
being	O
driven	O
by	O
the	O
emergence	O
of	O
robotic	B-Application
process	I-Application
automation	I-Application
(	O
RPA	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
involves	O
identifying	O
and	O
automating	O
highly	O
repetitive	O
tasks	O
and	O
processes	O
,	O
with	O
an	O
aim	O
to	O
drive	O
operational	O
efficiency	O
,	O
reduce	O
costs	O
and	O
limit	O
human	O
error	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	B-Application
applications	I-Application
are	O
built	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
requirements	O
of	O
business	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
these	O
business	B-Application
applications	I-Application
are	O
built	O
to	O
use	O
certain	O
kinds	O
of	O
Business	O
transactions	O
or	O
data	O
items	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
business	B-Application
applications	I-Application
run	O
flawlessly	O
until	O
there	O
are	O
no	O
new	O
business	O
requirements	O
or	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
change	O
in	O
underlying	O
Business	O
transactions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
the	O
business	B-Application
applications	I-Application
run	O
flawlessly	O
if	O
there	O
are	O
no	O
issues	O
with	O
computer	O
hardware	O
,	O
computer	O
networks	O
(	O
Internet/intranet	O
)	O
,	O
computer	O
disks	O
,	O
power	O
supplies	O
,	O
and	O
various	O
software	O
components	O
(	O
middleware	O
,	O
database	O
,	O
computer	O
programs	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Business	B-Application
applications	I-Application
can	O
fail	O
when	O
an	O
unexpected	O
error	O
occurs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
a	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
fails	O
one	O
needs	O
to	O
fix	O
the	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
error	O
as	O
soon	O
as	O
possible	O
so	O
that	O
the	O
business	O
users	O
can	O
resume	O
their	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
work	O
of	O
resolving	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
errors	O
is	O
known	O
as	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
support	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Business	O
User	O
calls	O
the	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
support	O
team	O
phone	O
number	O
or	O
sends	O
an	O
e-mail	O
to	O
the	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
support	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
support	O
team	O
gets	O
all	O
the	O
details	O
of	O
the	O
error	O
from	O
the	O
business	O
user	O
on	O
the	O
phone	O
or	O
from	O
the	O
e-mail	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
critical	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
errors	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
an	O
application	O
not	O
available	O
or	O
an	O
application	O
not	O
working	O
correctly	O
)	O
,	O
an	O
e-mail	O
is	O
sent	O
to	O
the	O
entire	O
organization	O
or	O
impacted	O
teams	O
so	O
that	O
they	O
are	O
aware	O
of	O
the	O
issue	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
support	O
team	O
member	O
collects	O
all	O
the	O
necessary	O
information	O
about	O
the	O
business	B-Application
software	I-Application
error	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
any	O
similar	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
errors	O
occurred	O
in	O
the	O
past	O
then	O
the	O
issue	O
resolution	O
steps	O
are	O
retrieved	O
from	O
the	O
support	O
knowledge	O
base	O
and	O
the	O
error	O
is	O
resolved	O
using	O
those	O
steps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
major	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
errors	O
(	O
critical	O
infrastructure	O
or	O
application	O
failures	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
phone	O
conference	O
call	O
is	O
initiated	O
and	O
all	O
required	O
support	O
persons/teams	O
join	O
the	O
call	O
and	O
they	O
all	O
work	O
together	O
to	O
resolve	O
the	O
error	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
error	O
occurred	O
due	O
to	O
programming	O
errors	O
,	O
then	O
a	O
request	O
is	O
created	O
for	O
the	O
application	O
development	O
team	O
to	O
correct	O
programming	O
errors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
business	O
user	O
needs	O
new	O
features	O
or	O
functions	O
in	O
the	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
,	O
then	O
the	O
required	O
analysis/design/programming/testing/release	O
is	O
planned	O
and	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
business	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
deployed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
error	O
occurred	O
due	O
to	O
a	O
workflow	O
issue	O
or	O
human	O
errors	O
during	O
data	O
input	O
,	O
then	O
the	O
business	O
users	O
are	O
notified	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
error	O
occurred	O
due	O
to	O
infrastructure	O
issues	O
,	O
then	O
the	O
specific	O
infrastructure	O
team	O
is	O
notified	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
business	B-Application
application	I-Application
error	O
tracking	O
system	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
review	O
all	O
issues	O
periodically	O
(	O
daily	O
,	O
weekly	O
,	O
and	O
monthly	O
)	O
and	O
reports	O
are	O
generated	O
to	O
monitor	O
the	O
resolved	O
issues	O
,	O
repeating	O
issues	O
,	O
and	O
pending	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reports	O
are	O
also	O
generated	O
for	O
the	O
IT/IS	O
management	O
for	O
the	O
improvement	O
and	O
management	O
of	O
business	B-Application
applications	I-Application
.	O
</s>
