First published as a white paper “How the Hidden Costs of Inefficient Workflows Drain SME Profits — and How to Fix Them” on the 2nd of November 2025 “Octane’s approach” is the sixth and final chapter.
Octane’s long been an advocate of digital transformation — not the fragmented spreadsheet here and an email there approach, but a coherent and comprehensive whole that unifies processes into a cohesive precision workflow.
Our approach has three distinct phases:
First, we discuss with the directors and managers what it is the business does, and examine the existing workflow.
Second, we speak with the team to establish what the ideal workflow should look like.
Third, we build a workflow that’s as near a fit as is practical.
At this point the relationship is nascent and the burden of proof rests with Octane. Having identified the core parts, we take a MVP approach. MVP? We build a minimal viable product — a working prototype to demonstrate our understanding of the job.
Our approach is modular, in that we don’t build one big thing but a group of little things, charging for each stage of the build as we go along.
Having arrived at this point, it’s possible you’re thinking at least one of the following…
Common Objections & Misconceptions
“We already use Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace.” → Tools are great for documents, but they’re not workflows.
“We have a CRM already.” → CRMs track customers, but they don’t manage operational workflow.
“Off-the-shelf is cheaper.” → True upfront, but inefficiencies and costs compound over time, multiplied by n number of services used by the business.
“We don’t want disruption.” → Who does? Our MVP approach involves incremental and low-risk improvements, with a good ROI over time.
“We’re good as we are, thanks!” → So much as one instance of “Task X” could cost upwards of £4k per year.
“How much would something like this cost?” → A typical spend would be between £4k-20k depending on the specific requirements.
The average SME is already spending somewhere between ~£800-£16k per month on cloud services.
Octane stems the cost bleed by replacing and retiring some services, while reducing the time spent on existing tasks.
You take control of the workflow.
Building tools to fit the hands that wield them
Walk into a workshop and pick up a hammer, a screwdriver, a spoke shave and the ergonomics of their design speaks to their purpose.
Our expectation is that the tool should fit the hand that wields it, but that’s not always the case with software.
Workflows often become a fragile and tangled composite of tools that don’t seem to fit the business: a bit of learning curve; required features cost extra; difficulties sharing critical data; US-centric; questions regarding data governance…
What begins as a cost saving and a convenience becomes an expensive burden.
Does a business need umpteen cloud services when one could do the same job?
Imagine a workflow that’s an exact fit for the business: no feature bloat; no unexpected price hikes; no vendor lock-in.
✓ Time reclaimed: less steps, faster decisions, greater focus.
✓ Costs reduced: fewer subscriptions and a reduction in errors.
✓ Control regained: confidence in the data, compliance, and the workflow.
Octane creates precision workflows for the SME.
Visit: octane.uk.net/contact and let’s begin shaping a workflow that works for you.