Laura Kessler

Business Tech

Laura Kessler has spent most of her career on the unglamorous side of business software: the months after the contract is signed. As an operations consultant she helps companies work out what they actually need, pick a tool that fits, and get people to use it on a Monday morning.

She has worked with the sector long enough to distrust feature lists and to ask who will own the system once the consultants leave. At The Next Digit she covers Business Tech, from CRMs and ERPs to the quieter tools that keep invoices and payroll moving. Her rule of thumb: if a vendor can't explain it in plain English, neither can your team.