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“Every business is a software business.” “Data is the new oil.” You’ve heard the quotes. You already know enterprise applications are vital to the success of a business. That’s why you’re here.
That's also why Sketch, a go-to software development partner for the Fortune 500, compiled a thorough guide to all things related to enterprise apps. After establishing some ground rules for what counts as an enterprise application, we’ll get into a detailed list of examples (including user-submitted analysis of what separates the winners from the losers).
There’s a lot of information here, but you can always use the TOC to skip around.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
But First… What Is an Enterprise App?
Types of Enterprise Applications
What We Can Learn From the Best and Worst Enterprise App Examples
Importance of Building the Best Enterprise Applications Possible
But First… What Is an Enterprise App?
If you’re looking for a specific, rigid definition, keep looking. An enterprise application is any piece of software designed for use by businesses. The term covers everything from enormous platforms like Netsuite to simpler tools like Slack.
They can be complex and customizable (like WooCommerce), or optimized for simple use right out of the box (like Shopify). An enterprise application can even be an internal tool.
For the sake of this guide, you can expect to find public-facing software that was produced by enterprises and is intended (at least partially) for use by other businesses.
Types of Enterprise Applications
Because the definition of an enterprise application is so broad, it’s not limited to specific types. There are a few enterprise app categories you’ll see over and over, including these:
- Accounting Software
- Content Management Systems (CMS)
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
- Human Resource Management (HRM)
- Point of Sale (POS) Software
- Project Management
The nature of enterprise apps is such that there’s one to satisfy just about any business goal. If your enterprise needs something software can’t do (yet), we know who you should talk to.
What We Can Learn From the Best and Worst Enterprise App Examples
With that, it’s time to get to the point and take an in-depth look at the best enterprise application examples (as well as a few of the worst enterprise app examples). This isn’t just another listicle. Below, you’ll find specific feedback from real users. Then you can use it to make your own enterprise software more successful.
Best Enterprise App Examples
We like to think we're good judges for something like this. After all, we've worked as software consultants for the Fortune 50. But this isn't just our opinion. We interviewed hundreds of real users (because that's who ultimately decides which enterprise applications are the best). Here are some of the most-mentioned enterprise app examples, as well as context around what makes them so great.
Notion – Top Vote Getter for “Best Enterprise Application”
You might be able to find a list of top enterprise apps that doesn’t include Notion, but it would be surprising. The web-based productivity tool spans multiple categories: note taking, knowledge organization, project management, and more. It became a unicorn in only four years, and the high valuation has helped it get the funds to keep rolling out new features for individuals and enterprises alike.
Adam Yong, founder of Agility Writer says its integration and customizability help him stay organized. “What makes Notion stand out is how flexible it is. You can customize it to fit whatever you need such as creating a task list, storing detailed research or building a project tracker.”
Alina Samchenko, COO at Hire Developers Biz, also sings this web app’s praises. “If Notion suddenly disappeared, we’d have a hard time replacing it with something that offers the same mix of simplicity and customization.” She ads that she’s also unlikely to stop using this software because, “they continuously roll out meaningful updates, it’s clear they actually listen to users.”
People love that Notion keeps everything connected, but that can become a lot to organize. Fortunately, to Alina’s point, the software developers and product team have a solution. The adopted AI to help with search, among other things. Instead of simply finding exact keyword matches, Notion can now understand context to find buried information, with or without the user entering an exact phrase.
We had so many people recommend Notion that we couldn’t possibly list all of the responses here. As far as our first survey is concerned, Notion is the #1 best enterprise application by a fair margin.
Canva
This SaaS product is beloved by marketers, designers, and anyone who needs to church up a document. Canva is a tremendous example of something that started as consumer software and grew into an enterprise application. It started back in 2012, launched in 2013, and didn’t unveil Canva Enterprise until 2024.
^Guess where this infographic template came from…
When Canva started, it was comparable to a user-friendly, web-based version of Microsoft Paint. Now it includes a massive library of customizable templates, intuitive design features, artificial intelligence, and enterprise-ready features like these:
- Approval workflows
- Automated license provisioning
- Custom integrations
- SSO
Heat Print Hub's owner, Reginald Youngblood, says, “The seamless integration of templates and customization features empowers users to produce stunning visual content efficiently. As a business, having an application like Canva at our disposal has improved our workflows and enabled us to respond more agilely to client demands.”
He adds that it’s easy to see how Canva helps his own business operate at a higher level. As a result, he’s not even thinking about switching to a competitor. Simply put, clients and customers don’t churn when the value they receive is greater than the software’s cost.
Slack
What started as an internal tool at a game development company has since become one of the fastest-growing enterprise applications of all time. The name comes from an acronym that hints at why the company is so successful: “Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge.”
The team wasn’t out to build a product for the sake of it – they needed to solve a problem (first for themselves, then for the public). The focus on providing searchability and a source of truth is still apparent today. It’s part of the reason Slack integrates so well with just about everything.
Slack features terrific UX/UI design.
“I'm consistently impressed by the seamless experience provided by Slack. This app stands out not only for its usability but also for its ability to integrate with various tools, making team communication incredibly efficient,” says Justin Herring, Founder and CEO of YEAH! Local. He says it helps keep his remote team engaged, connected, and productive. “It's the kind of application that provides such value and convenience that discontinuing its use becomes almost unthinkable.”
Slack’s great user experience isn’t limited to the desktop, either. Aaron Wertheimer of Marketing Reel loves how well the UI translates to the small screen. “One of my favorite apps that I use as a remote worker is Slack's mobile application. What I like about it most is that it operates just like the desktop version of Slack: the user interface is smooth, nearly identical to the desktop version, and easy to view on both Android and iPhone cell phones,” he says.
Slack intgrates with the entire enterprise tech stack.
Interestingly enough, Slack is still perfect for the fast-paced gaming industry, according to Marin Cristian-Ovidiu, CEO at OnlineGames.io:
“What makes Slack so valuable is how it balances functionality with simplicity. The channels keep conversations organized, while features like file sharing, search, and custom notifications help us stay focused. The app’s reliability and user-friendly design make it hard to imagine running our business without it. Honestly, Slack’s impact on our workflow and team coordination has strengthened our loyalty to the platform—it’s not just a tool, it’s part of how we operate.”
Between the great UX/UI design and integrations with the rest of the entire enterprise tech stack, Slack lives up to its acronym and more. It’s easy to see why Slack was recommended more than every other software besides Notion in our survey about the best enterprise applications.
Grammarly
This web-based application started by raising the bar for spellcheck, then quickly evolved into a full English language writing assistant. Grammarly has continued to evolve ever since. For example, it was an early adopter of AI.
“Grammarly stands out. Its intuitive interface and sophisticated grammar-check capabilities improve written communication, which is invaluable for professionals,” says Daniel Trogger, co-founder of PPC Geeks. He adds that the software enterprise continues to release new features that help him with, “producing high-quality content effortlessly. This dedication to crafting powerful tools has made me a loyal user of Grammarly.”
Netsuite
There’s no denying the value of this cloud-based enterprise software. Netsuite was acquired by Oracle for $9.3 billion dollars back in November 2016. Even with such an eye-popping price tag, most seem to agree acquiring Netsuite was a great move for Oracle. So, what makes this SaaS product so great?
When Netsuite got its start in 1998 (under the name NetLedger), it was a web-based accounting software product. At the time, just delivering software over the internet was a big deal. But the leadership at Netsuite didn’t congratulate themselves on a job well done and kick their feet up. Instead, they grew their accounting product into an all-in-one platform for managing an enterprise.
Today, Oracle Netsuite lists all of the following among their products:
- ERP Software
- Accounting Software
- Global Business Management
- CRM Software
- Human Capital Management
- Professional Services Automation Software
- Omnichannel Commerce
- Analytics and Reporting
On top of this massive suite of products, Netsuite is highly customizable. “Implementing personalized workflow automation is crucial, as it allows SaaS companies to adapt our solutions to their unique needs,” says Karl Threadgold of Threadgold Consulting, an Oracle NetSuite partner. Every client has the ability to make this software their own, which is why it scales so well from small enterprises all the way to the Fortune 500.
Shopify
As of April 2025, Shopify has a market cap of $102 billion, making it the 150th most valuable company in the world. This software enterprise became so valuable by focusing on delivering powerful features and a superior user experience. Shopify extends its software with an enterprise mobile app to keep e-commerce business owners in control when they’re on the go.
The app allows merchants to manage orders and product listings from their phone. It also integrates with payment gateways, shipping carriers, and marketing tools like Instagram Shop to create a one-stop dashboard and save users from switching back and forth between apps. It’s even possible to set up an entire Shopify store through the mobile app.
Brandon Hartman, founder of BeyWarehouse and a 15-year eCommerce veteran, commented on how the mobile app helps him run his business successfully without being tethered to a computer:
“The Shopify mobile app is perhaps one of the most helpful of all the applications I've used. I have processed over half a million transactions and having this tool that allows me to monitor my operations on the go is so invaluable. What I love most about it is how it seamlessly integrates real-time analytics, order processing, and customer communications all in one place.”
The mobile-first approach extends to the public-facing parts of Shopify stores, too. Shopify merchants generate hundreds of billions of dollars worth of revenue every year, and more than half of the traffic comes from mobile devices.
This is a shining example of what happens when a software enterprise considers both its customers and its users. Better experiences for shoppers mean more sales for Shopify clients. Continuing to launch user-delighting, sales-driving features like Shopify AR make this a top choice for businesses ranging from solo entrepreneurs to e-commerce enterprises like Allbirds.
WooCommerce
One interviewee did not share Brandon’s enthusiasm for Shopify. Offering an opposing viewpoint about the popular e-commerce software, Vukasin Ilic of Digital Media Lab says he abandoned Shopify for WooCommerce and never looked back:
“Despite higher initial development costs, the switch [to WooCommerce] paid for itself quickly by eliminating those hours of manual data entry and reducing the constant overselling issues that were damaging our customer relationships.”
Vukasin adds that Shopify’s inventory management system for multi-location businesses stands out as the most frustrating enterprise software he’s encountered in 14 years of building and selling businesses online:
“Updating inventory across multiple warehouses requires clicking through individual screens for each location with zero batch editing capabilities. With our five warehouses, my team wasted nearly half their day on mind-numbing manual updates.
One staff member described it as ‘death by a thousand clicks.’
A simple fix would be a spreadsheet-style interface where you could view and edit inventory across all locations simultaneously. Other platforms we've used have this feature, cutting inventory management time dramatically.”
Vukasin Ilic
We’re familiar with e-commerce platforms and can certainly see the appeal of the more customizable options like WooCommerce or even the especially enterprise-ready Adobe Commerce (formerly known as Magento). For larger or more complex operations, Shopify isn’t always the best fit.
This is the perfect example of why you should choose your business software based on your specific requirements, not someone else’s opinion. Do you need something simple and affordable, or does your business require especially flexible and scalable enterprise software?
Commercetools
On the topic of highly customizable online selling solutions, we’d be remiss not to mention Commercetools. It bills itself as the “most versatile commerce platform for enterprise businesses.” Indeed, the cloud-based, headless e-commerce platform is fine-tuned for massive brands.
Whether or not you know it, Commercetools APIs are behind some of your favorite shopping platforms. It’s the go-to platform for Sephora, for example, and enables advanced features that keep customers loyal (and buying more).
"Sephora's mobile app nails the online beauty shopping experience. The virtual try-on feature, powered by AR, lets users test products in real time before buying. No guessing if a foundation shade will match or if a lipstick color will work,” says Natalia Lavrenenko, UGC manager/Marketing manager at Rathly.
Natalia adds that this particular Commercetools-powered mobile app makes her life more convenient (which secures repeat business for Sephora in the process). “The app also remembers past purchases, making reordering easy. Personalized recommendations based on browsing history and quizzes keep the experience smooth.”
For enterprises that do billions of dollars of business every year, it makes sense to invest in e-commerce solutions that can increase sales by even a fraction of a percent. While this wasn’t a Commercetools-specific project, consider how a Fortune 100 company revolutionized its approach to e-commerce.
Redfin
You might only think of Redfin in the context of browsing homes that are way outside your budget (or maybe I’m projecting here). Behind the scenes, though, this is also great software for businesses. Mark Sanchez, founder of Tropic Residential, says he relies heavily on Redfin’s Market Insight’s feature for his real estate firm:
“It offers localized data on real-time market trends, detailing which neighborhoods are gaining or losing value. What makes this app unique is its integration with community reviews, where buyers can leave feedback about specific areas, amenities, and schools. This firsthand knowledge gives me a deep understanding of market sentiment, something we don’t get with most listings.”
Redfin thought about what home buyers really need to know, and made it available with crowd-sourced data. That is, their product team seems to understand the importance of focusing on why they’re building software, not just what gets done. As a result, realtors like Mark can offer more informed perspectives on areas and neighborhoods.
Mark Sanchez
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Sometimes you can make your users a lot happier just by extending your normal software with a mobile app. Screaming Frog has long been known to SEO experts, but some have knocked this desktop app for having a less convenient UX than web-based options like Ahrefs and Semrush.
It seems Screaming Frog is listening to and acting upon customer feedback, which is the hallmark of a successful enterprise application. Sean Clancy, Managing Director at SEO Gold Coast, says the new mobile app helps him find out immediately whenever his clients have issues.
“Using this app has changed how quickly I can respond to client needs. Rather than waiting until I’m back in the office, I can quickly assess the status of a site from anywhere. It ensures we stay on top of issues immediately, preventing small problems from becoming big ones,” he says, adding that his clients appreciate the proactive service.
Delta Airlines
This is one example of an enterprise that differentiates itself by offering a superior app to many of its competitors. Don’t take our word for it. Andrew Lokenauth, founder of TheFinanceNewsletter.com, gives a thorough explanation of why he consistently finds himself raving about the Delta Airlines mobile app:
“From my 10+ years of frequent business travel, I've seen the evolution of airline apps, and Delta's stands out for 3 key reasons:
- Real-time Intelligence - The app sends instant alerts about gate changes, delays, and baggage tracking. But what's really genius is how it proactively suggests alternate flights when there's a disruption. I've avoided countless headaches because of this! And lets be honest... nothing's worse than running to the wrong gate.
- Personalized Experience - It remembers my preferences (window seat, preferred airports, favorite drinks) and customizes everything accordingly. The app even tells flight attendents about my allergies without me having to mention it each time. Pretty neat, right?
- Seamless Integration - Everything just... works. From Apple Wallet boarding passes to in-app messaging with customer service, to real-time bag tracking. No more juggling multiple apps or websites. Its all right there at my fingertips.
The app's quality definitely keeps me loyal to Delta. Why switch airlines when this makes travel so effortless? I actually find myself booking more flights through Delta (probably 75% more than before) specifically because the app makes everything so convenient. When you're spending $1000s on travel, that kind of reliability matters.
And here's a telling detail - I've actually recommended Delta to colleagues solely based on their app experience. That's how much of a difference great technology makes in customer loyalty these days!
What sets this apart isnt just the features - its how thoughtfully they're implemented. Every screen anticipates what you might need next. Its like having a really efficient personal travel assistant in your pocket.”
Andrew Lokenauth
There you have it, straight from a frequent user. On the flip side of this same coin, a different airline has lost Andrew’s business because of its inferior app. You can read about it in the examples of the worst enterprise applications below.
Do your clients, customers, and users gush about your app like this? If so, congratulations, you’ve activated an evangelist who is marketing your product for free. If not, they’re likely to leave you for a competitor as soon as they find out there’s a better software experience to be had.
Toast
Few enterprises are too big too niche down, and Toast proves it. This software company became a unicorn by targeting clients in a single industry. It’s not just any POS system or e-commerce app – it’s a software application specifically for the restaurant business. Instead of expanding to other industries, Toast focused on becoming more useful for its niche.
It’s not just mobile ordering. It’s also a POS app. And it does payroll. That’s why it can bill itself as the all-in-one restaurant management app. It’s also why Wes Wakefield, founder of Pro Coffee Gear (who also happens to be a consultant and somewhat of a digital product expert), calls it this favorite enterprise application:
“I’ve seen how this app turns chaos into calm. What makes it brilliant is that it’s insanely tailored to the grind of food service: you can manage orders, track staff tips, and even tweak your menu on the fly all from your tablet. For me, the value is in how it streamlines the madness; I’ve watched clients use it to sync their espresso machine maintenance schedules with sales spikes, which keeps their gear humming and their customers happy.
Does it lock me into Toast? You bet because once you’ve got that kind of control, you’re not jumping ship. The app’s polish and reliability actually make me more likely to recommend Toast to my café network or even invest in their hardware for our own testing lab. It’s not just an app; it’s like having a co-founder who never sleeps, and that’s the kind of edge I respect as someone who’s always prototyping the next big thing.”
HubSpot
This blog is hosted on HubSpot, so it only seems fair to mention it. Even when it started back in 2006, HubSpot boasted a fairly comprehensive suite of tools for inbound marketing: blogging, social media management, email lead nurturing. In the course of growing to more than 8,000 employees, 15 global offices, and roughly 250,000 customers, the platform haas continued to expand.
It’s not just adding to a suite of products for marketers – it’s adding whole new suites of products, which it calls hubs:
- Marketing Hub
- Sales Hub
- Service Hub
- Content Hub
- Operations Hub
- Commerce Hub
Aaron Whittaker, VP of Demand Generation and Marketing at Thrive Internet Marketing Agency (in other words, a marketing expert) calls HubSpot his favorite enterprise app, largely because of the interconnectivity of different hubs. “The platform's primary value comes from its comprehensive data visibility. Customer interactions across all touchpoints appear in a single timeline, providing complete context for every interaction. This unified view helped us identify engagement patterns we previously missed when using separate tools for different channels,” he says.
Consolidating all kinds of marketing, sales, and operations functions on one platform makes it easier to keep everything consistent and organized. It helps that HubSpot is adding AI capabilities to make its CRM (and every other part of the platform) even smarter.
Asana
A lot of times, people only think about their project management software when something goes wrong. When everything is going perfectly, it’s like the tool is invisible, and your work just… works. Asana makes that happen, which is why 85% of Fortune 100 use Asana.
What specifically makes Asana one of the most-used enterprise applications among the world’s most successful companies? For starters, Asana connects work to goals, so people don’t lose sight of the big picture as easily. From there, businesses can automate rote tasks with AI workflows that save everyone time.
Barbara Robinson, Marketing Manager at WeatherSolve Structures Inc, says it helps keep teams connected, even when they’re spread all over the globe. “When you are managing large-scale projects that span across continents, from the Andes to the South Pacific, having a tool to keep everything organized is essential. With Asana, I can break projects into individual tasks, assign them to the right people, and track deadlines. What’s even better is that everyone can update their progress in real-time, so I don’t have to chase anyone down for updates.”
She says the level of visibility saves everyone a lot of stress as projects become bigger and more complex. At this point, it’s hard for her to imagine choosing anything else for enterprise project management.
FreshBooks
This business is squarely in the enterprise category itself, with hundreds of employees and a valuation of more than $1 billion. Its clients, on the other hand, are small businesses, and FreshBooks is laser focused on its ideal customers.
FreshBooks users like Odelle Joubert, the Chief Operating Officer at Dentaly Go, says the beauty of this app is in its simplicity. “As someone who manages various aspects of business operations, the app makes it incredibly easy to stay on top of billing, track expenses, and even manage client communications—all in one place. The interface is clean, intuitive, and simple to navigate, which means I can focus on my work instead of getting bogged down in technical details. What I love most is how easily I can create and send invoices on the go, and the ability to track payments in real-time gives me peace of mind.”
FreshBooks might not have the power of something like Netsuite. It doesn’t need it – a company with about 10 employees has no use for a massive ERP solution. Understanding its market and focusing on the right client base helps FreshBooks deliver the appropriate user experience for an executive with a lot of different responsibilities.
Odelle Joubert
Xero
Here’s an example of a software company that became a publicly traded enterprise by focusing on clients that are anything but. Xero, by its own description, is accounting software for SMBs. Like FreshBooks, this company knows that by refusing to address part of the market (enterprises), they can serve their target customers better.
This isn’t an accounting software product for enterprises with huge teams of accountants. On the contrary, it’s a cloud-based application for people who are primarly focused on other business functions. For example, Oliver Morrisey, founder of Empower Wills and Estate Lawyers, uses Xero to streamline operations at his legal firm.
Choosing the right software produces measurable financial benefit for Oliver’s team because it saves them a lot of time. In his words, “What makes Xero so effective is its user-friendly interface and powerful integrations. It lets us track client payments, expenses, and invoices with ease. Plus, its automated reporting has saved our admin team about 15 hours a week. That’s time we now spend on more valuable tasks, like client strategy or case management.”
Oliver Morrisey
ServiceTitan
This cloud-based software enterprise is valued at about $9 billion after revolutionizing the way home and commercial services businesses operate. Jason Rowe, founder of Hello Electrical, says, “it makes positive contributions throughout the trades industry. The all-encompassing application establishes itself as a fundamental tool for our business operations.”
It offers a powerful web app for dispatchers, business owners, and other office-based professionals. ServiceTitan helps its customers with just about every aspect of business management, from route planning and customer communication to inventory management and cash flow reporting.
Then ServiceTitan takes more of a mobile-first approach when optimizing the user experience for professionals in the field. “Our smartphones and tablets contain everything needed to perform tasks such as work delegation or live invoice sending,” Rowe says.
As a result, the whole team is more efficient and organized. They’re not juggling paperwork or other systems, which makes for reduced errors and better customer interactions. Hello Electrical has achieved a 14.1% increase in repeat business in the last year after adopting ServiceTitan. After seeing a measurable impact on revenue, Rowe has been recommending this business application to other construction professionals in his network.
Worst Enterprise App Examples
Having looked at the best enterprise apps, it can be helpful to juxtapose them with some of the worst. This is what separates winners from losers in the business software world.
Adobe Premiere Pro
The Adobe Creative Crowd is a ubiquitous technology platform for those in creative industries. Like HubSpot did for marketers and Netsuite did for enterprise operators, Adobe has achieved success by expanding its suite of product offerings for a specific professional demographic. Unfortunately, sometimes companies can get away with bad behavior after getting the market in a stranglehold.
Adobe has a burgeoning reputation for frustrating their Creative Cloud customers. Common complaints include predatory licensing deals, inconsistent UX/UI design, and a halt to innovation after capturing a big chunk of the market. As one Reddit user eloquently puts it, “I feel like I'm paying Adobe $55 a month to kick me in the nuts on a daily basis.”
DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve is picking up steam as an enterprise video editing application, perhaps because people are souring on legacy options like Adobe Premiere Pro and Avid Media Composer. DaVinci Resolve has higher reviews than both of those competitors on G2 as of April of 2025. Still, however, one of the people we surveyed says this otherwise well-reviewed software might be the most frustrating he’s ever used.
Ionut-Alexandru Popa, Editor in Chief and CEO at BinaryFork, says he had a much higher opinion until the application let him down. “DaVinci Resolve was a revelation for me. It was a much better and intuitive video editor than Adobe Premiere Pro. It supported GPU acceleration when rendering and, most importantly, also in the timeline. It was just great, except one small thing: it was crashing a lot while rendering. I've tried several export settings, tested on two different computers, but no luck. It was just bad software.”
He adds that he’s thought about giving it a second chance, but he hesitates because he can’t afford to slow his business down with bad enterprise software. “That was a few years ago, so maybe it's gotten better, but that's the thing: when you're using software for your business, there's not time for testing different software providers. You just stick with what works because delays are costs that add up quickly. I would love to go back to DaVinci Resolve at some point, but I don't want to deal with the frustration ever again, so this proves to me that bad software can have a long term impact, and trust is hard to get back after spectacular failures."
There’s an interesting lesson here, especially as software development companies collectively realize the benefits of agile product delivery. It’s good to launch quickly and get market feedback to hone your ideas. However, this is not a free pass to provide horrible user experiences or let your customers down when they need you. If you cross the line and lose your users’ trust, you might never get it back.
QuickBooks
The way QuickBooks rolls out changes can be extremely frustrating – even disruptive to vital business processes, explains Calvin Horrell, General Manager at Sketch Development Services. “It’s not just changes to the UI, it’s actual functionality. They’ll change a workflow from being automatic to being opt-in with no warning. At one point, one of our partners suddenly had payment issues with six or seven vendors at once because QuickBooks rolled out the same problem to all of them.”
Based on forums ranging from Reddit to QuickBooks’ own community, a lot of users are extremely frustrated by a wide range of things, including the product, the billing practices, and the customer service. Still, this accounting software from Intuit dominates the SMB market. As of April of 2025, 6Sense estimates that QuickBooks has a market share in excess of 85%. If so many people hate QuickBooks so much, why don’t they switch?
It’s easy to draw parallels between Intuit’s accounting software and Adobe’s creative applications:
- Both companies have a wide variety of integrated products. In Intuit’s case, it’s a collection of accounting, payroll, payment, and tax software. Offering a complete suite of products makes it costly and difficult for competitors to catch up.
- Both Intuit and Adobe satisfied their early customers to capture a lot of market share. It’s easier to keep a user than to get a new one. Quickbooks has been around and growing its user base since 1983. Many individuals and accounting firms stay on the platform because of inertia.
- Both companies have captured a lot of historical data. Just as all past designs are easy to find or edit with Adobe Creative Cloud, Intuit users have past tax returns and accounting data at their fingertips. Now it’s hard for customers to switch to another software without risking business continuity with a potentially painful migration.
For now, QuickBooks seems to get away with being one of those enterprise applications people hate, but use anyway. It will be interesting to see if companies like Xero and FreshBooks can unseat the legacy market champion by providing better customer experiences.
Source: G2
ServiceM8
You almost have to pity any software enterprise trying to compete with ServiceTitan right now. Daniel Vasilevski, Director and Owner of Bright Force Electrical, says some of the less-known alternatives are better than others.”I was trying to streamline job scheduling and team communication, so I tried a software called ServiceM8. It seemed like a good fit for managing job assignments, but the issue was the constant syncing problems.”
“Jobs would be assigned to electricians, but updates did not always sync in real time. This caused a lot of confusion when team members thought they were heading to a scheduled job, only to find out details had changed or the booking was no longer valid,” he adds. “It became a mess when urgent jobs came through, and we needed immediate updates. The delays created unnecessary phone calls and extra admin work, which defeated the purpose of having an automated scheduling system.”
That experience was enough for ServiceM8 to lose Bright Force Electrical’s business. Miscommunications and scheduling mishaps were causing more problems than the home services business software solved, completely defeating the purpose. The company has since switched to SimPRO, which Daniel says is better with real-time updates.
Microsoft Teams
Even the most successful software enterprises of all time can produce occasional clunkers. Microsoft is ranked 26th on the Fortune Global 500 list, and Demandsage estimates that Teams alone brings in more than $8 billion per year, but that doesn’t stop people from hating this product.
Samuel Huang, CEO of TeleAdsAgency.com, says the Microsoft’s enterprise chat application gave him the worst software experience he’s ever had. “It constantly seemed to work against us. Notifications wouldn’t sync across devices, file sharing was hit-or-miss, and half the time, someone on the team couldn’t join a call because of random connection issues.”
He indicates that Teams might get a long leash because it’s part of Microsoft’s broader suite of enterprise software. Sound familiar?
Eventually, though, the negative experience became too much to bear. “We stuck with it longer than we should have because it was bundled with our Office subscription, but after one too many missed messages and failed calls, we switched to Slack,” Huang says. “Honestly, the switch felt like a breath of fresh air — smoother communication, better integrations, and way fewer headaches.”
American Airlines
There’s not much we can say that will top this candid feedback from frequent flyer and subject matter expert Andrew Lokenauth:
Sketch: Which business has the worst software application you've encountered?
Lokenauth: I gotta say, American Airlines' mobile app is a total disaster. Like, not even close. I've used dozens of airline apps (I travel a lot for work), and honestly, AA's app stands alone in its ability to make everything harder than it needs to be. You know how some apps just work? This isn't one of them.
Sketch: What was so bad about it? Do you have ideas for how to correct the problem?
Lokenauth: Where do I even start... The AA app has this weird habit of crashing right when you're trying to check in (happened to me 3 times last month), and the loading times are so slow I sometimes wonder if my phone died. The interface looks like it was designed in 2010 and never updated.
The biggest issues that drive me nuts are (1) the boarding pass regularly disappears from the wallet after you add it, (2) the seat selection map freezes constantly, requiring a full app restart, (3) the flight status updates come way later than other sites like FlightAware, and (4) basic functions like changing flights are buried under countless menu layers.
To fix it? They need to start fresh. I mean, completely rebuild it from the ground up. Focus on the core stuff travelers actually need: (1) fast check-in process, (2) reliable mobile boarding passes, (3) real-time flight updates that actually work, (4) intuitive seat selection, (5) clear upgrade lists.
Sketch: Has the poor quality of this software caused you to look elsewhere for alternatives? Has this company lost your business?
Lokenauth: 100% yes. I've literally changed my flying habits because of this app - and I was an Executive Platinum member! Started booking more United and Delta flights whenever possible (their apps actually work like they're from this decade).
Last year, I had this nightmare situation where the app crashed during check-in for an important client meeting in Chicago. Had to run to one of those airport kiosks, which had a huge line. Nearly missed my flight. After that, I was done. Changed my company's corporate travel policy to prefer other carriers.
I've probably shifted about $15k in annual flight spending away from AA. The funny thing is - the AA planes are fine, the staff is usually great, but this app... it's just such a basic fail. Makes me wonder if they've ever actually watched real people try to use it.
Lost me as a customer. And I know I'm not alone - my LinkedIn feed regularly fills up with people complaining about the same issues. Basic tech problems shouldn't cost airlines millions in lost revenue, but here we are.
Especially when paired with Andrew’s favorite business application (Delta), this is the perfect enterprise app example to end with. As Watts S. Humphrey said nearly two decades ago, “Every business is a software business.” The famous quote has only become more true since then, and it’s apparent in the way American loses business to a competitor with superior software.
Importance of Building the Best Enterprise Applications Possible
You’ve heard from more than 20 professionals in this article, and we received responses from hundreds more. There’s a clear trend in all of this:
- Businesses gain and retain more customers when they build apps that focus on their users and customers (and know the difference between those two groups).
- Enterprises that launch mediocre products or quit innovating to meet business needs will have their buyers looking for the first opportunity to jump ship.
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Software Development
