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It’s no secret that automation is one of the major trends that most businesses have tried to incorporate into their business plans, most with some middling success. The problem becomes that many businesses don’t really have a strategy for building out automated tools for their business, so they may not be able to take advantage of the benefits automation can bring.
Most businesses operate in a fashion where they assign people to do tasks and expect that they accomplish them for the betterment of the company. For businesses that embrace automation, however, many tasks that would have to be scheduled and carried out by humans, can now be done in a fraction of the time by a computer. The more a business can automate those tasks, the more they can spend their time and money on focusing their workforce on revenue generating tasks and providing clients with better experiences.
These days, there are more options to automate business processes than ever before. Let’s go through the functions your business can address through automation:
Today’s business has to have a plan to get their brand out in front of prospective customers. Here are three ways you can automate some of your marketing tasks:
Obviously, the financial aspect of any business is crucial to its health. Here are two ways you can set up automations to help with your organization’s finances:
Finally, automation makes it simpler and more efficient to run a business by doing the things that need to be done regularly to effectively run a business. These include:
Automation is helping small businesses grow. If you would like to talk about how to get the automated tools you should be using to make your business more effective, give the IT professionals at MSPNetworks a call today at (516) 403-9001.
The way you invest your business’ IT budget will have a considerable impact on how it performs. If your technology dollars are well spent you should see improvement year-over-year. Technology improves time management and allows for more automation than ever, not to mention the cost savings you see as a result. Let’s briefly discuss the IT budgeting process and how to build budgeting priorities that work.
When determining an IT budget, how your business is doing and where it is on your timelines dictates how aggressive you can be. It can be tempting to view your IT as just another cost of doing business, but it really is more than that. Your technology (and the state it is in) has an effect on your whole business. If it is lacking to address the operational (and technological) issues that your business has, little good can come of it. Employee morale will suffer, your productivity will slow, and over time, the degraded IT that your company uses may just become a metaphor for your business.
There are the costs associated with acquiring and subsequently upgrading your information technology, as well as training your staff to properly leverage these solutions. However, a good IT budget will also account for the odd inconveniences that will require some financial spending to resolve. Your IT budget is an investment. While some of it will be classified as a business expense, much of your spending will be into endeavors that help your business, either by increasing efficiency or reducing waste. Either way, your IT can be used to put your company in a better financial situation.
If you’re unsure of how to proceed with budgeting your IT, we’ve compiled a short list of things you should (and should not) do during the process.
The technicians at MSPNetworks can help you figure out how to best spend your allocated technology funds. We can help you target operational pain points and keep you on a reliable refresh schedule so that your business always has the IT it needs to succeed. Give us a call today at (516) 403-9001 to learn more.
We’re always talking about boosting productivity and the role your technology has in that quest. What we don’t always talk about is how boosting innovation can help free up your employees to produce better results. It’s the same technology, and it can have multiple benefits. In this week’s blog, we’ll discuss how focusing on how these two thoughts can be one and the same.
Managing a staff today is harder than ever. Not only do employees have more say over where they work and what they do than ever before, they also can do more work from more places today and expect their employer to understand this fact. This has led to some pretty tense moments over the past year as the world tries to find some semblance of “normal” after the COVID-19 pandemic changed business.
Productivity has long been the measure used to define workers, departments, businesses, and industry as a whole. The more productive people are the better everything is, at least that is what we are all told. There is some truth in this. Don’t you feel better when you get more done? Doesn’t sustained productivity make you “good” at something?
When individuals inside your organization are more productive, it stands to reason that your whole organization will be more productive. Technology has been a large facilitator in increased productivity, of course, and it can help in many ways.
First, getting the right tools for the jobs that need to get done is a priority consideration. This starts on the administrative side of your business. Standardizing management tools can not only go a long way toward getting a more efficient business, it can do wonders for your organization’s productivity. One tool, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can bring a great deal of automation to your operations, your sales and marketing, and your overall relationship with your customers (it’s in the name). The CRM works to automate a lot of the communication, time tracking, and customer interaction that you will have, making collaboration easier to muster and successful customer experiences much more likely.
The less time your employees spend on the management of these relationships, the more they can focus on doing more revenue-generating activities; in essence, boosting productivity. In fact, the CRM, while probably the best tool a business can use to automate a lot of the back-and-forth that can bog down their workdays, is just one of many tools that are pushing business productivity forward. Today, there are productivity suites (again, in the name) that are cloud-based platforms that provide workers with the tools they need to be productive and the capabilities needed to collaborate in real time,
Speaking of the cloud, many businesses—especially those that moved their operations offsite due to the pandemic—are now using cloud-based resources more than ever. Not only do cloud tools allow for anytime, anywhere access, they also allow businesses to cut their upfront capital computing costs (since they don’t have to buy the server and software licenses) and their maintenance costs (since the provider handles those). All-in-all the cloud is a great technology for smaller businesses that want to compete with enterprise businesses that have been leveraging the technology for over a decade.
Businesses are finding it difficult to innovate. With margins striking because of rising costs, smaller businesses need to get the most out of their staff. The best way to do this is through the use of technology. We established how businesses are able to use automated tools to be more productive, but it can also have a massive benefit on the quality of your offering.
Consider how much time and effort your staff has to put into just adhering to the strict guidelines imposed on them on a day-to-day basis. Now consider if they were less inundated with minutiae and procedure and were able to communicate with a click of a button, manage their schedules and their client responsibilities in minutes and do all of that with more effectiveness. This seems like a win-win situation for your business, right? Here are three innovations to your business’ technology that you can use to free up your people:
At MSPNetworks, we pride ourselves on helping New York businesses become the most profitable organizations they can be through the integration of technology and best practices. If you would like to learn more about how to utilize automation and more innovative technologies to cut costs, be more efficient, and improve your bottom line, give us a call today at (516) 403-9001.
For years, we’ve heard about how machines are coming for our jobs. We may even know some people who have been replaced by machines of some sort. This has given workers an overarching fear that once the machines are smart and capable enough to do what they do, that they will be out on their cans with few real options. This is mostly a fallacy. Today, we will explore the notion that machines are out for our jobs and how they may actually work to make our jobs better.
There is no secret that in order to run a business effectively you have to spend less than you take in. It seems like pretty simple math, but unless you’ve worked in management, you’d be surprised how little shifts in business make this possible sometimes. One regrettable way a company cuts their costs is to let their workers go. After all, payroll is still one of (if not the) largest expenses many businesses have. With new technologies being introduced that make it possible to replace the work of certain employees, it can cause some consternation and fear among the workforce.
Some workers are going to lose their jobs due to automation, that much is true. Some people--mostly those who had jobs that computer-based machines can do much faster and much better--will be casualties of their business’ shift in strategy. A good manager will find the resource that does the job that’s needed more effectively, and in today’s business environment, many times these are AI-driven smart technologies. That’s not to say that smart technologies don’t offer other opportunities for some workers, however.
Let’s take a brief look at one industry that is primed to be overtaken by automation: truck drivers. Today, several manufacturers are creating technologies designed to ship goods from one place to another using autonomous vehicles. This has been in the works for a while now, and it looks as if the technology is going to be a major disruptor in that industry. For decades, truckers were protected by unions, but as the unions started to lose their power, many became independent contractors. This leaves them no hope if the businesses they currently drive truck for start purchasing and using automated vehicles to move goods.
Furthermore, the aging truck driver may not have the skills necessary to compete for a similarly-paying job. The fear is that as technology becomes a disruptor in industries like this that the people that are cast out won’t have the resources to educate themselves for a new job; leaving those people to work lower-wage jobs, or worse yet, become dependent on the government. The business, which always wants to do more with less, can, but workers that are cast aside by this newfound efficiency become a cautionary tale. This is not ideal for anyone.
This us vs. them story is the way of business. Competition is said to make the market economy possible. What isn’t often mentioned is that automated systems don’t have to replace workers. They will to some degree, of course, but the lion’s share of workers can thrive with the use of automated systems; especially the ones that learn as they go. Why is this narrative not observed more? It’s simple, the story of a person whose job responsibilities change with the deployment of AI isn’t as interesting as a story about swaths of workers that are displaced by corporate greed.
The truth is that many businesses will be using automation to make their employees’ work experiences better. There are a lot of procedural tasks that need to be completed, there are emails to be written and sent out, there are reports to be run. This is true whether you are a Fortune 500 company or a mom-and-pop pizzeria. The truth is that as it stands today there are a minimal amount of tasks that can (or should) be completed by smart tech. Automation can actually have an extremely positive impact on people’s ability to do work. It can allow businesses to cut costs while also providing a pathway to get their workers to focus completely on revenue-growing tasks. So the dichotomy between automation and the modern workforce doesn’t necessarily have to be disruptive, it can also be good for both the business and the worker.
For the company that is making the choice about increasing the prevalence of automation over the next few years, their workforce will be at the forefront of this shift, not left behind like many have projected. Let’s go back to the automated trucks. Every automated truck so far has required there be a passenger (driver) in the truck at all times to ensure things go smoothly. These shipping professionals may not be driving the truck as they did in the past, but they are still employed and with the benefits that automation brings to the industry, they will still be paid in line with what they were making when they were the operator of the vehicle. Companies will save money on logistics, fuel costs, and more, but as of this writing there aren’t many plans to cut out these professionals, just alter the job a bit.
What are your thoughts about automation and smart technology’s effect on the modern worker? Do you think that these smart systems will eventually replace the skilled labor fields, or do you think that people and machines can work in concert to provide better work environments and stabilize rising costs? Leave your thoughts about this issue in the comments section below.
In modern businesses, automation can be implemented in a lot of ways, but for small businesses, it may be more difficult to find ways to incorporate time-saving automation. In this week’s blog we’ve decided to point out a few ways even the smallest business can use automation to their advantage and give their employees the freedom to focus on revenue creating processes.
The efficiency of creating and sustaining leads can be troublesome for any business, but by utilizing the automated tools presented by a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system your business can improve your sales and marketing efforts quickly by automating some of the minutiae that comes with those efforts. By using a CRM you can improve customer satisfaction and completely manage your sales process. Most CRMs have the capability to handle the process of getting your business the right customers for the right products/services and then building that relationship without having to spend a lot of time and effort to do so.
Social media is likely a big part of your business’ ability to attract new customers and interact with your current clientele. By using automated tools to schedule out your social media efforts, you can not only engage more people over more platforms, you can stay organized. Getting your message out over social media can be a fairly easy and repeatable process, a perfect environment for automation to help your business’ efforts in that arena.
The biggest problem for small businesses is typically that the amount of resources they can spend on support is lacking due to budgetary constraints. If the people that are responsible for the production of a business’ products/services are also given the responsibility of being the support system of those products/services, it can significantly reduce the advancement of those products/services. Today, there are many automated tools outfitted with artificial intelligence that can effectively handle a lion’s share of the customer support. Specifically, chatbots are a tool that can allow you to handle a series of customer problems without the need for workers constantly being available to provide support.
Having to constantly schedule meetings can be a time-intensive task as people have variable schedules that don’t always line up. This typically means meetings are held without people or serially rescheduled, reducing productivity and grinding workflows to a halt. Automating the scheduling of meetings and appointments normalizes scheduling and avoids conflicts while bringing enhanced efficiency to your business.
With supply chains a mess, it can often be hard to get the components or products you need quickly. Today, businesses can use inventory management applications to automate the ordering of certain goods to ensure that goods are there when your business needs them. This can be something as simple as paper goods, but can also work on mission critical components as well.
Automation is giving small businesses the ability to compete with larger businesses in their markets through end-to-end advanced efficiency. If you would like to talk to one of our IT specialists about the integration of tools that allow you to save time and money, give us a call at (516) 403-9001 today.
If you ask a person that has been using the same technology for years what they would like to see in new technology, you’ll often get the answer, “for it to do the work for me.” This is a popular response that is almost always delivered as a joke. With technology going the way it is, it’s not as funny as it once was. Today, automated tools are being developed that work to actually do a lot of that work for you. This can be both a detriment and a benefit for your staff. Today, we’ll take a look at both.
Businesses have been committed to automation to both keep costs down and to keep their staff from having to deal with elements of the business that may not suit them. Many businesses not only try to add technology-driven automation to their production processes, they routinely use them in their administrative processes. The most frequent parts of a business that gets automated today are:
Two of the most crucial parts to running a successful business are selling your products and services and finding new customers, and since sales is a competitive and costly side of your business, using automation only makes sense. Today, businesses automate all types of sales and lead acquisition activities, including:
Businesses may not be able to completely automate their marketing, but automating some of their marketing processes can keep costs down and allow a business to do more. Here are some places automation works for marketing:
Cultivating positive customer relationships is much harder than it seems. Many different parts of your business need to work together to make it happen. Many businesses utilize Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software that brings a lot of solid automation with it. These include:
Finally, automating aspects of your administrative tasks can save a lot of headaches for the people that work in human resources and make it possible to streamline your business. Here are two ways automation fuels efficient administrative management:
With all the good things automation can do for a business, there is one major negative aspect. For the more jobs that computers and software can handle, people are going to be doing those jobs less and less. This has many people thinking that if they aren’t needed to do the job, they are expendable.
This theory is more of a bound than a step.
You see it’s true that with the rise of automation, less human resources are going to be needed to do the job. Machines are more efficient, more productive, and return a lot more than a human worker. This fact makes workers nervous. The truth is, however, that what is happening is more of a shift than a complete assault on the worker. Workers are still needed, they are just needed to have different skills. For centuries physical and manual labor was in high demand, but with increases in automation social and technological skills will be in higher demand.
Make no mistake about it, it’s a big deal as many older workers will find themselves being replaced with machines and with less time available to learn new skills, it could create problems for society. For younger workers, this shift won’t be as dire.
You know that companies will almost always make the decision to benefit their stakeholders. In the small business sector, this isn’t as evident as it is with enterprises, but it will still be an issue. Businesses have some responsibility when figuring out what to do with their workers. Here are two ways the modern business will deal with the rampant escalation in their automated efforts:
Automation is here to stay, and with innovations happening in quick succession, you need to be ready. If you would like to talk to one of our IT professionals about getting new automated tools or how to fit them into your business, give MSPNetworks a call today at (516) 403-9001.
If your business is one that depends on transportation, you know that coordination is extremely important. With consumers’ reliance on a company’s distribution arm, today’s companies are turning old practices on their heads and utilizing a more technology-driven approach to effectively manage their company’s transportation initiatives. This technology is innovating quickly and could mean a major transformation for businesses before too long. Today, we’ll go through three innovations that are working to change how transportation-dependent companies do things.
The first technology that we want to talk about is fleet management. Fleet management is actually a makeup of several different types of software that has been combined to create a comprehensive fleet management platform. The fleet management software includes an easy-to-use centralized dashboard. In this dashboard you can find all the information that needs to be known about your fleet, including:
Since fleet management software is designed to manage large numbers of vehicles, drivers, and combinations of the two, having one outfitting your distribution or transportation section of your business is a complete game changer. Not only can you tell who is driving what vehicle, you can see what it will ultimately cost to run the routes, providing actionable information in which to make decisions.
An ever-growing part of modern-day technology, the Internet of Things, is beginning to revolutionize the way companies are able to track their assets. Since any manufacturing company relies on its procurement processes and its distribution, the IoT is a major benefit to manufacturers. With IoT-enabled asset tracking solutions integrated, you can remotely track your equipment, vehicles, and inventory on both ends to more effectively manage your assets.
IoT-enabled asset tracking provides the following features:
If your business has problems with route inefficiency, costs of doing business, or any other logistics-based aspect of your business, utilizing asset management software powered by the Internet of Things can be a good solution for your company.
Finally, we get to the creme de la creme of transportation innovation: the driverless vehicle. It’s been years since the first driverless car was tested and today there are working trucks shipping products on southwest U.S. highways. While today’s driverless trucks aren’t advanced enough to make dock-to-dock runs, navigating the open road is no problem. Uber subsidiary Otto completed the first-ever autonomous delivery, delivering beer from Fort Collins, CO to Colorado Springs, CO. In the next few years it will be a viable alternative to hiring shipping companies; and, beyond may just make the truck driver an endangered species. Some of the main benefits of driverless trucks include:
Since there is a long way to go until autonomous vehicles will be the predominant form of shipping used by most businesses, finding out what solutions can work today to help you benefit your company is important. Call MSPNetworks today at (516) 403-9001 for more.
In order to build a profitable business, productivity has to remain consistent. If your business offers a service, and you are having a hard time managing all its moving parts, professional services automation (PSA) software may be right for you. Today, we will give a quick overview of what exactly a PSA is, and how it can serve as an extremely useful tool for businesses who operate in the professional services space.
What are Professional Services?
Does your company offer customized, knowledge-based services? Typically, vocations such as lawyer, accountant, auditor, as well as consultants of all types would be labeled professional services. Professional services, up until recently, have been invoiced on a billable hours basis, but more and more vendors, like MSPNetworks, have moved to a fixed price model to provide more value.
What is Professional Services Automation?
Being able to successfully automate tasks has become a major point of emphasis for nearly every business over the past few years. After all, the faster and more reliably you can do the important, but tedious tasks that every professional services company has to do, the more effective the service is to clients. Professional services automation software allows companies to oversee and manage projects, schedule and manage resources, handle expenses and invoicing. Most importantly the PSA will track time. Since time will either be used to bill your customers, or be used to create products that will drive operational effectiveness, tracking time is essential.
The PSA
There are different types of PSA tools. Some are hosted on your company’s in-house infrastructure, while some are made available through a hosted cloud server. Typically, SaaS is the way most companies use it to give their resources remote capabilities (since most professional services firms don’t necessarily have the technology resources that other organizations might have).
The three main functions of any PSA are:
Tracking time efficiently is an important part of the PSA’s job, so being able to know that resources are providing reliable time figures provides a company to set its service rates.
Automation
You may be wondering what exactly the PSA automates? Traditionally, project management, managing resources, and tracking time and expenses are detailed processes with a lot of moving parts. By simplifying these tasks though the automation of some of their most tedious parts, projects move forward seamlessly by tracking time and expenses, rather than tracking variables separately.
The main benefit of the PSA is that it gives project managers a comprehensive tool for auditing ongoing or completed projects. They can quickly ascertain what went right, what went wrong, and where their company can improve to be as effective and efficient as possible.
To run the best version of your business, you’ll want to know how to improve it. At MSPNetworks, we can help any professional services firm find the software it needs to be the best version of itself. Call us today at (516) 403-9001 to learn how our IT professionals can help you build your best business.
Learn more about what MSPNetworks can do for your business.
MSPNetworks
1111 Broadhollow Rd Suite 202
Farmingdale, New York 11735