While modernization of your business may seem like a want - something tucked in your five or ten-year plan, it actually needs to be moved up in your timeline and reprioritized as a need. When business leaders discuss modernization and automation, the dialogue typically revolves around the idea that everything is fine how it is working now and we can better our processes and products when we get the time. This is the wrong way of thinking, however; modernization of your business will result in improved efficiencies, the ability to capture new opportunities with scalability, and refined workflows for your employees.
Automation will allow your employees to focus on less mundane tasks and will allow your business to better pool its resources to focus on mission-critical projects. Learn how modernizing your workflows will have immediate ROI below!
WHY IS 2021 THE TIME TO MODERNIZE AND AUTOMATE?
We keep hinting that 2021 is the best time to undertake modernization and automation and the reasoning is simple: COVID-19. Companies have moved to fully remote team structures, the needs of individuals and businesses have changed, and when we come out from the pandemic your business needs to be able to compete.
Capitalizing on automation and modernization in 2021 will give your business the momentum needed to improve your fully remote workflows - centralizing essential functions throughout your company. It will improve the lives of your employees, giving them more time to spend navigating personal decisions and creating a better work-life balance. For the business unit itself, investing in modernization and automation will bring you up-to-speed or surpass your competitors - giving you the competitive advantage needed to survive this pandemic. And when we start to return to normalcy, your business will have the edge needed to thrive in this changing world.
It’s important to start planning now to be prepared for 2021. Use the rest of 2020 to sow the seeds of automation in your budget for system assessments and plan for change throughout 2021.
WHAT SHOULD I MODERNIZE AND AUTOMATE?
While the needs of every business are different, there are several universal parts of a modern business that could almost always use improvement.
CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE
When was the last time you analyzed your current infrastructure? Have you moved to the cloud or are you still trying to update outdated hardware? can seem daunting, but once complete, your entire business unit and customers will notice the improved efficiencies. Even if you’ve already migrated to the cloud, you may be a victim of cloud waste and might be paying for more resources than you actually need.
Undergoing a thorough infrastructure analysis will open opportunities to modernize your systems and automate functions - like on-site hardware and software updates - leaving your employees room to focus on more business-critical tasks. Your customers are sure to notice improved speeds and any new features or functionalities your team releases with their newfound extra time.
WEBSITES
When was the last time you really updated your website? It’s time to stop applying bandaid fixes and make large-scale changes that will positively impact your business for years to come. Besides updating your website’s functionality and updating the UX to a more modern design, consider moving to a new CMS that will save your developers time in the future.
Many legacy websites don’t take advantage of templatized pages or blocks, meaning they have to create pages from scratch - every time a new page is needed. With modern CMS and smart building strategies, your developers will be able to create and update pages in a fraction of the time. This sort of automation will give them the breathing room needed to focus on creating features or new products that will better serve your business. You cannot compete in today’s market with a legacy website - your site needs to be innovative and resourceful - both on the front and backend.
DIGITAL MIGRATIONS
Are you still using paper-based systems for your billing or files? Or manually moving information from one system to another? Convert to automated processes and save hours of time! No matter what industry you’re in, or what work you do on a daily basis, there are likely dozens of manual actions you do every day that could be automated. Whether it’s inputting accounting information, double-checking your figures, or submitting reports, automating your time-consuming and manual procedures will have an immediate ROI.
One of our clients in the telecommunications sector recently came to us for automation assistance with their payment collection processes. They had tried to hire additional staff to scale with the amount of business they were gaining, but it still wasn’t enough to offset the additional work.
The client was manually adding payment information to accounts from a file of bank payments and manually keying in credit card information on monthly anniversary dates for customers. With the implementation of the custom automation application we created for them the employees’ workload was greatly reduced. Since then, the client has doubled in size while staffing levels have stayed the same - all thanks to automation.
No automation and modernization project is the same! There are thousands of customizations our team can make to bring your business processes up to date. Contact Inventive today and learn how we can save you time and money!
