Improving Productivity & Increasing Profit Through Business Automation
Business automation is a key factor in achieving digital transformation. Automation can help to increase productivity and efficiency, lower operational costs, and improve customer service. By automating processes, companies can focus on higher-value tasks such as innovation and increased revenue generation.
Automation involves the use of technology to decrease human intervention in repetitive tasks. Automated processes can save time and money, improve accuracy, reduce duplicate data entry, and free up resources for use in other areas. Automation also helps to streamline processes to make them leaner and more efficient.
Reaching a digital transformation requires combining technology, processes, and people. Automation requires an in-depth knowledge of the business process and how to best use the available technology. A successful automation strategy must be tailored to meet specific business goals such as cost reduction or increased efficiency. This article will cover how automation can translate to your business to increase accuracy, improve efficiency, and reduce your overall operating costs.
What Is Digital Transformation & Why Is It Vital To Your Business?
In the next year, global spending on digital transformation is estimated to reach $6.8 trillion, with 56% of companies worldwide prioritizing it as of 2021. Moreover, 87% of business leaders think that digital transformation will have a significant impact on their industry.
Digital transformation is the process of using digital technologies to create new—or modify existing—business processes, culture, and customer experiences. It’s a journey of continual improvement that leverages technology to meet customer needs in more meaningful ways.
Digital transformation is essential for businesses today as it helps them stay ahead of the competition and remain relevant in an ever-evolving digital world. It is also key to staying agile and ensuring that companies can quickly respond to changes in the market. Failing to keep pace with digital transformation can significantly impact profits and market share, and it can also leave your business:
- Exposed to Risk – Companies that don’t update their technology and processes to keep pace with the latest digital trends may be vulnerable regarding security, intrusion detection, compliance, and more.
- With High Operating Cost – Sticking with outdated processes and technology can also result in higher costs due to inefficient operations. Managed IT service providers with automation solutions can increase employee output and reduce operational costs.
- Outpaced By Competitors – Companies that don’t embrace digital transformation and automate their processes risk being overtaken by competitors who do.
- With Lost Productivity – Companies that don’t utilize automation will suffer from process inefficiencies, resulting in lower productivity and missed opportunities. Digital transformation helps companies identify new opportunities, such as tapping into global markets or increasing market share in existing ones. Companies that don’t leverage digital transformation may struggle to remain competitive in a changing market.
By leveraging digital transformation and business automation, companies can stay competitive in a rapidly changing market.
At ProStratus, we tailor our automation solutions to your business’s specific needs. We’ll analyze your current process and workflows before implementing any changes and always have a solution that fits – we have a library of over 40 automation solutions waiting to be implemented.
Why Your Competitors Could Be Pulling Ahead In Terms of Automation
Your competitors may already be leveraging IT automation to their advantage, and that’s why they could be ahead of the game. Automation can help them streamline processes, reduce costs and increase efficiency – all of which can lead to a more successful business. Some common barriers to automation implementation can include the following:
- Lack of Expertise – Companies might not have the technical know-how or dedicated resources to implement automation. Outsourcing to a specialized IT provider can help companies overcome this barrier.
- Time and Cost – Companies may need help finding the time or resources to implement automation solutions. Again, an experienced IT provider can help companies quickly and efficiently implement automated processes with minimal disruption.
- Inadequate Infrastructure – Automation requires the right infrastructure and systems to be in place for it to be successful. Companies may need to upgrade or replace existing infrastructure to implement automation processes.
- Difficulty Integrating with Existing Systems – Many companies need help to integrate new technologies with their existing systems, which can be challenging.
By embracing digital transformation and even small business automation, businesses of all sizes can eliminate manual tasks, automate processes, improve productivity, and increase profits. Taking advantage of an experienced IT provider, like ProStratus, can help companies quickly and efficiently implement automated processes with minimal disruption, like:
- Cloud Solutions – Cloud solutions like secure data storage, backups, applications, and file management services allow businesses to securely access and store documents, emails, and other data.
- Smart Workflows – Automating manual processes can save time, and resources, increase accuracy and efficiency, and reduce errors, improving employee productivity and satisfaction.
- Vulnerability Management – Vulnerability management is identifying security risks, quantifying the potential damage, and developing strategies to reduce the chance of an attack that could exploit those vulnerabilities. The goal is to protect your data by ensuring known vulnerabilities are dealt with before anyone can take advantage of them.
How Do Employees Feel About Business Automation?
When it comes to automation in the workplace, employees often have mixed reviews. While some employees may see automation as a way to streamline processes, reduce costs, and increase efficiency – others might feel threatened.
Employee intimidation to business automation is natural as many view automation as a way to replace human labor and reduce jobs. Commonly, automation is seen as a negative entity that could take away their job security.
A study conducted by Harvard Business found that 42% of warehouse workers who were asked how they felt about automation responded with negative sentiment due to fears of losing their jobs.
However, embracing digital transformation and automation doesn’t necessarily mean replacing employees. In fact, automation can help employees focus on more meaningful tasks and provide them with better career development opportunities.
Employee responses to questions about business automation are often a concern for companies. To ease any worries or hesitations, it is important to be transparent and open with employees about the changes that will take place. It is also important to properly train them on the different automated processes and tools they may need.
What About Remote Work?
The percentage of people working from home tripled from 5.7% to 17.9% between 2019 and 2021, adding nearly 18 million more people who primarily work remotely. Due to the events of 2020, more businesses turned to remote work options for their employees, but those without automation solutions in place often faced challenges.
Digital transformation and automation can help businesses shift to remote work more easily. Automation tools, such as cloud-based software, allow employees to collaborate, communicate, and access information and documents securely from remote locations.
The importance of employees’ ability to work remotely is increasingly important, and automation helps streamline tasks like managing customer data securely in the cloud, website development and maintenance, and more. Automated processes also provide employers with more control over project management, budgeting, and scheduling remotely.
The need for flexibility to keep employees productive and engaged is growing, and automation is the best way to achieve that goal. It can streamline processes, improve productivity, enhance team communication, and help businesses manage remote employees better.
The Benefits of Business Automation
Automating your operational processes can have many benefits, including reducing costs and improving employee productivity. Business Process Automation, or BPA, can also help increase revenue through faster time-to-market, improved customer service, and enhanced data analysis capabilities.
Business automation eliminates manual tasks that require a lot of time and energy. It helps streamline repetitive tasks and provides employees with more freedom to focus on value-added parts of their job.
Automation also allows businesses to respond quickly and consistently in real-time, resulting in improved customer service and quality assurance. The most significant employer benefits of automation include:
Improve Employee Workflow
Automation helps to streamline processes and automate them as much as possible, reducing the time it takes to complete repetitive tasks. Automated workflows help ensure that the right task is assigned to the right person at the right time, improving overall efficiency. Automating manual or repetitive tasks allows for more time to focus on strategic and value-added tasks.
Reduce Common Errors
Automation eliminates human error, which can be incredibly costly for businesses. Automated processes rely on data entry and algorithms that are more accurate than manual processes, resulting in fewer mistakes or omissions. This helps to ensure the accuracy of customer information, inventory levels, and financial records.
Boost Employee Productivity Rates
Automation helps to reduce the amount of time required for tedious tasks, freeing up employees to focus on more important activities. Automation also reduces the burden of mundane or repetitive tasks, allowing employees to be more productive and engaged in their work. It encourages collaboration between teams, improving communication and increasing productivity.
Improve Customer Experiences
Automation helps businesses to provide better customer service by allowing them to respond quickly and consistently in real-time. Automated systems can also help analyze customer data, providing personalized experiences that improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Reduce Overall Operating Costs
Automation can reduce overhead costs by eliminating manual labor and streamlining processes. Automation also helps companies save on operational expenses such as travel, supplies, and administrative costs.
Enhance Regulatory Compliance
Automation also helps ensure that businesses are compliant with laws and industry regulations. Automated systems can detect errors and alert management to potential compliance issues, helping businesses stay updated on regulatory changes. HIPAA and NIST compliance is especially important for companies in the healthcare field.
Cloud Solutions Benefits
Moving to the cloud is one of the most important steps you can take for digital transformation. By making use of cloud services, businesses can quickly and easily access data from anywhere in the world.
The cloud offers a range of benefits, including scalability, cost savings, improved security, and easier access to data and resources. Cloud computing can also help businesses save time and money by automating tasks such as software, support, and maintenance.
By taking advantage of the cloud to improve productivity and increase profits, companies can focus on their core competencies and move towards a digital transformation strategy.
Increased Company Agility and Flexibility
Automation is also a great way to increase agility and flexibility, allowing businesses to respond quickly to changes in the marketplace. Automated processes are designed to be scalable, making it easier for organizations to adapt as their business needs evolve.
Implementing automation that supports flexible processes and enhances collaboration between teams is key to successful digital transformation. Automation can help businesses improve productivity, reduce costs, and increase profit.
How ProStratus Can Improve Your Business Automation Processes
Understanding the concept and acknowledging its benefits is the first step, but it’s only half the battle. Most companies need to learn where to begin with automation or how to manage it effectively.
At ProStratus, we provide a complete suite of automation solutions for business processes. We will analyze your current workflow and suggest the best automated solution that can be implemented quickly and cost-effectively to increase accuracy, reduce operational costs, improve efficiency, and boost productivity. The steps for improving your business automation processes include:
1. Assess your current situation
Your current business processes will determine the best automation solutions for your organization. We’ll analyze your current workflow and make recommendations for improved workflows based on our findings.
2. Determine your end goal for your transformation
We’ll work with you to define a clear and achievable end goal for automation. This will help ensure that the right solutions are implemented and that the goals of your digital transformation are met.
3. Get your team on board
To successfully implement automation, your team must understand and support the change. We’ll provide training and guidance to ensure that everyone is on board with the transformation.
4. Create your roadmap to follow
Based on your end goal, we’ll develop an actionable plan to implement automation into your business processes. Our business automation solutions are designed to make your life easier by automating tasks and sharing information between different applications.
We specialize in integrating your different applications so they share information and work together. Customer or production data in one application can easily be transferred to another database, accounting system, or CRM platform, making data flow more efficient.
5. Determine your resources
We’ll help you determine the resources needed to get the job done. We can provide consulting services, software applications, hardware components, and other solutions to make your transition to automation seamless.
6. Choose the best upgrade or digitalization based on your processes, team, and resources available
Once you have identified your goals and resources, we recommend the best upgrade or digitalization strategy for your business. We’ll present several options and walk you through each one in detail so that you can make an informed decision.
The Investment In Your Digital Transformation
Investing in digital transformation can have a significant return on investment. It can help you save money and improve efficiency while also providing opportunities to increase profits. Automation solutions can be tailored to the needs of your business, allowing you to take full advantage of the technology available.
At ProStratus, we understand that each business is unique, and our automation solutions are designed to be flexible and scalable. We can help you improve your business processes by streamlining workflow and making it easier for teams to collaborate. Digital transformation isn’t just about getting the technology; it’s about leveraging it to create a more efficient and profitable business.
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Sources
- Zippia.com – Digital Transformation
- HRB.org – Warehouse Workers Feelings On Automation
- Business Insider.com – Enterprise Cloud Tech Trends Of 2021