Your business is scaling up so is the workload. But somehow your business productivity is not catching up. As a business owner, what is the one thing to be done? Technology could be a way out. With so many cost-effective solutions you can easily amp up your business productivity, keeping your outputs more than inputs.
Ways to improve business productivity
Following are 15 ways you can introduce technology into your business and increase productivity.
1. Digital tools for time and project management
We all agree that it’s important to manage time and reach project deadlines efficiently, but how do you control something uncontrollable? The reality is you can’t control time but you can control how you use it. Similarly, when a team is given a project its manager can set up a task list and deadlines to ensure that the team is on track. Such a management platform will also keep the higher-ups informed of how far the project has gone and see if the project is facing any hurdles and delays. This is something that digital management tools can do for you. They are meant to increase business productivity. These tools help make a to-do list, set priorities, and set time limits.
2. Cloud-based phone systems and work tools
Cloud-based phone systems and work tools have become increasingly popular in recent years. These phone systems operate over the internet and have a cloud for storage where all the notes, and attachments, are available on the cloud and can be accessed anytime they want. This makes it easy to access any information when required. Cloud-based solutions like storage databases, give the ability to teams to work together on projects and share and view them anywhere, anytime. This can greatly improve productivity and efficiency by eliminating the need for physical storage solutions enabling remote work.
3. CRMs for equipping customer response teams
These are customer Relationship Management software that helps the marketing, sales, and customer service teams manage customer relationships efficiently and effectively. They aid in productivity as they offer a centralized view of customer data and business analytics. One such CRM is Salesforce CRM. It is equally beneficial for both big and small enterprises. They offer various cloud-based CRM solutions that increase business productivity by giving you customer and business insights. Additionally, they offer integrations and automating workflows.
4. Employee collaboration
There are various platforms created by companies that boost employee productivity by giving way to collaboration on work. These platforms can be used but are not limited to, file sharing, work collaboration, communication in real-time, and working on various projects remotely. This can be achieved by integrating third-party software or a company can build customized software given their unique needs. This will increase productivity as employees won’t waste their time communicating with each other over desk visits and meetings. With a centralized view, everything will be right in front of them.
5. Hardware and software
When you have an IT infrastructure in place you will need to have access to the necessary hardware and software to ensure you run your business smoothly. Consider contacting a software company for assistance.
6. Automation
Automation saves time and money as it removes human intervention. With automation redundant tasks can be taken care of. Such as whenever a customer buys your product online, you can send them an email confirming their order placement. This can be automated, instead of a person writing the same email again, an automated email can be sent. Automation can also be integrated with CRM software like Salesforce, which allows you to automate workflows.
7. Data Analysis
Gathering data from various touchpoints is critical for making informed business decisions. Data analysis helps you compare and contrast information and make sense of the raw data. This is also called business intelligence and there are various technology solutions available for it. Salesforce also offers a feature for analysis providing various insights into your business and helping you identify areas to improve it. Additionally, it has a data visualization feature that can help you create reports and visualize data making it easier to understand your business.
8. AWS (Amazon Web Services)
Amazon Web Services gives you a cloud-based solution that helps enterprises manage their resources better. The platform offers a range of services to manage an enterprise’s resources including accounting, vendors, and customer relationships. It provides computing, database, storage, analytics, and application services. With AWS businesses can scale up and down your service to meet their requirements helping them control costs and increase productivity. It comes with collaborative tools and analytics tools to help your employees do their work better. For instance, you can make a fraud detection app in AWS to help you protect your customers from fraud and losses.
9. Planning IT infrastructure
This involves planning how you will build the IT infrastructure of the company. Which hardware, software, and technologies will be used to build the company’s IT infrastructure? When planning one can also take employee input on what software will boost their productivity and thus should be added to the company software suit.
10.AI and chatbots
AI has proven its capability to enhance business productivity. When you introduce AI to your business IT architecture, you are saving time and increasing the quality of your work. You can train chatbots on frequently asked questions (FAQs) and basic information about your company. You can make them your full-time customer support where they can answer customer queries related to product information or order shipment status. The best part is that chatbots will be available 24/7 and can answer customers timely, reducing their frustration.
11. Online Payment Systems
When you can do so much with technology you can also introduce payment systems integration. For example in Salesforce CRM, with customizations and with the help of a Salesforce developer, you can also integrate payment options. This integration can also happen in e-commerce making online payments easy and processes more efficient and secure.
12. Benefits of Outsourcing
Outsourcing software development services is a cost-effective solution. These IT professionals are experts in their areas and hold a wealth of knowledge. They can provide the best solutions for all your technology needs. They are available online which means they offer a certain level of work flexibility with time.
13. Internal Communication Channel
When employees collaborate on various projects internally, within the team, or inter-department, communication is essential. To avoid desk visits to seek and give information, a communication channel is a good solution. The employees sitting on different floors or across the floor can easily drop messages, share files, and assign tasks. You can even make groups for different projects to keep everyone in the loop. For this, you can use Microsoft Teams or Slack or even make your customized app to your industry and work-specific needs.
14. Self-service apps or portals
These are the platforms specifically generated by the company management to ensure that employees work smoothly. There are often two types of portals, HR and IT. Employees can check on their available annual leaves, and this month’s commissions or simply check their attendance and apply for leaves via the HR portal. IT portals allow employees to generate a ticket, report their issue, and fix a slot to get their system fixed. For this, a self-service portal will be beneficial as they can directly log into the account and check their status. This will save time and enhance productivity as it removes the need to talk to a representative. It speeds up the process of finding the required information.
Role of Outsourcing an Offshore Software Development Company
Outsourcing a software development company can play a crucial part in implementing various technologies. To achieve this, you require an expert team of software developers who are well-versed in software development. OCloud Solutions is one such team, consisting of a talented remote team of software developers that offer cost-effective solutions while maintaining clients’ privacy and confidentiality. They offer services in AWS, Salesforce, Mobile app development, Software development, Website development, AI services, and UI/UX design.
Conclusion
Technology can significantly enhance business efficiency with a one-time investment. Employees’ productivity can be easily boosted by introducing tools like automation, collaboration, and digital communication channels. To enhance business productivity, you can use CRM and ERP solutions like AWS and Salesforce. You can also get customized solutions like software development and mobile app development specifically developed for your business.
To hire a dedicated remote software development team from OCloud Solutions, please fill in the form below and our team will get in touch with you.