IT

How Businesses can Get Faster?

calculator and penToday’s businesses know that faster is better: It means happier customers, faster production, more efficient workflow, and better damage mitigation. It is no surprise that a notable chunk of modern innovations and technologies work to speed up the average business. The following tech trick and services are hard at work evolving companies into even faster, sleeker organizations.

1. Autofill Tools: Autofill may seem like a small feature for most software, but it is a major boon to data-oriented companies that have to fill out lots of paperwork. Today’s data systems, customer profiles, and order processing are so interconnected that entering data once is the same as entering data a dozen times: The forms are smart enough to populate all those fields with the right information pulled from directories. As a result, workflow processes have grown much quicker for healthcare companies, insurance agencies, legal offices, and many other related industries.

2. BYOD: The BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend allows employees to bring in their own tablets and smartphones to work and use them to complete work tasks. Of course, businesses mandate specific apps and documents that have to be used, but people still get to pull out their own devices when accomplishing tasks. Not only does this save companies a lot of money when it comes to hardware and service plans, but it also tends to speed work processes up. Employees often prove more adept at finding information and solutions on the devices they use constantly every day.

3. Cloud Everything: Cloudsourcing and cloud technology offer plenty of opportunities for new vendor relationships for the modern business, and all that online software also creates plenty of ways to speed up companies. Cloud software tends to be faster and less error-prone than desktop-based programs (particularly with quality vendors that specialize in no downtime). Also, most cloud applications offer some type of efficiency bonus, from aggregating content to collecting and propagating data to save employees work.

4. Crowdsourcing: Crowdsourcing is not for every business, but those who use it can certainly reap some time-oriented benefits. The basics behind crowdsourcing are simple: Get a large group to help produce content or make decisions for you. Brands can recruit vast numbers of customers or fans to help influence product design, create marketing ideas, or accomplish simple work tasks at record speeds.

5. Mobile POS: Mobile naturally speeds up workflow, since employees can access apps on the move to make quicker decisions. But one of the most affected areas has been POS. Ways for customers to instantly pay through their phones? Check. Order processing that immediately transfers restaurant data from tables to the kitchen? Check. Tablet ordering and invoicing for clients in the field? Also check.

6. Agile Development: Agile development refers to new methods of developing software that help get ideas from the brainstorming session into usable solutions at top speed. This includes a variety of tricks, from new design methods to customer feedback and swift alterations. If it works, the result is a bug-free software product ready to hit the market at record time.

7. Automated Inventory: Automated inventory removes several steps from the inventory management process. Instead of having to create and sign off on all inventory orders, inventory managers can set up several controls that allow the system to respond automatically. If inventory on a particularly successful item falls below a certain number, the system can create and process a new order on its own.

8. More Tailored Outsourcing: Outsourcing lets businesses focus on what they do best. Today’s outsourcing is more specialized than ever before, allowing even small companies to pick certain payroll, accounting and billing functions to outsource while leaving other processes intact. Playing to efficiencies has never been easier.

Cassie Lummus is an independent writer for Answering Service United. She specializes in helping small and medium sized businesses grow.

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