Our entire world is surrounded by smart technology. Everywhere, from smart cars to smart home assistants, we have no shortage of intelligent devices. In fact, as I’m writing this, Alexa is giving me a rundown of the week’s weather in addition to my fitness wristband telling me I need more sleep and less caffeine.
We’re always in a constant change of motion, and as a means of keeping up, smart technologies have been introduced to deliver convenience and comfort into our everyday lives. In 2020 however, the same technological principles aren’t always being applied and practiced by businesses in the workplace, begging the question – why not? And if not now during a pandemic, then when?
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Digital transformation has been a hot topic recently; more than ever before. However, the concept has been around and thoroughly talked about since the 1990s. The phenomenon at the time, called the World Wide Web, kickstarted this “transformation” and opened the door for businesses to start incorporating technology into their processes. By doing so, this created the foundation for what we now refer to as the digital and network economy, which continues to reshape how modern business is done and will be done in the future.
CLOUD AND CLOUD ADOPTION
Similar to digital transformation, the cloud and cloud computing have been around for a long time as well, and can certainly attribute its proven success to the internet’s popularity. The internet provided a new channel for vendors to deliver their software programs and provide access to end users; thus, provided businesses a more convenient way to operate their organizations and scale for growth in an expanding digital world. And the advancement of technologies has led to the modern cloud computing infrastructure that 91% of enterprises have used since 2019, allowing for easier business operations even with changing variables in the work environment. So to work remotely or not to work remotely is not really an issue – with the cloud, it doesn’t matter where you work; and the outcomes may be better.
THE INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISE
“Intelligent Enterprise” is a term coined by SAP – the world’s largest provider of enterprise application software – defined as a strategy for enabling the rapid transformation of data into insight through process automation, innovation and optimal experiences. Data is the most valuable asset that any business has; therefore, an intelligent enterprise leverages modern business technology to empower their workforce to achieve higher-value outcomes faster and with less risk.
The key to achieving this is simplicity. Yes, becoming an intelligent enterprise and using sophisticated, innovative technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and the internet of things by way of simplicity sounds quite ironic, but hear me out.
Simplifying your business toward an intelligent enterprise will lead to improved visibility over operations, greater focus on areas that need more attention as well as enhanced agility to become adaptive when the time calls for it, and here’s how it’s done:
1 – IMPROVED VISIBILITY
Improved visibility is one of the benefits of simplifying an IT landscape with a centralized enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform. Businesses that consolidate multiple systems into a centralized ERP platform unify fragmented workflows, allowing all departments to work with the same data. This integration, in turn, reduces manual processes and increases the quality and consistency of their data. And because the data resides in one spot, there’s better visibility over all operations.
2 – GREATER FOCUS
Greater focus for the workforce on higher-value tasks is attributed to the ability for ERP to streamline cumbersome and oftentimes complex processes through automation. This simplification enables businesses to utilize their assets more effectively in areas where they can gain from maximum impact; therefore, boosting the efficiency and productivity of the organization can lead to substantial decreases in cost and increases in profit.
3 – ENHANCED AGILITY
Enhanced agility that comes from modern ERP and its intelligence to forecast empowers businesses to react much quicker to ongoing changes and behaviors in the marketplace as well as enable businesses to pivot when external circumstances dictate them. By coupling modern ERP to the cloud, navigating successfully through unforeseen disruptions becomes much easier because it allows businesses to stay focused on their core deliverables and come out on the other end prepared.
If you’ve ever wondered how some businesses thrive compared to others, during times of unexpected challenges, it’s because they were prepared. They were digitally resilient.
While there are a plethora of additional advantages that come with being an intelligent enterprise, one of the biggest would be its inclusivity– meaning any organization, regardless of size, can transform itself into an intelligent enterprise. The digital era has brought forth modern business technologies and methods that help small-to-midsize businesses not only bridge the gap between their larger competitors but, in some instances, gain a competitive edge through quicker, easier adoption of these technologies like ERP. It’s no longer a matter of bigger players beating the smaller, but the faster beating the slower.
At All Covered Business Consulting Services, our group helps many dealers – of all sizes – specializing in the field services industry, streamline workflows, optimize operational performance and increase productivity with our unique ERP software, FORZA.
FORZA is an all-inclusive, single sign-on ERP designed on the SAP Business One digital core that streamlines an organization’s entire operations into a single platform delivered in the cloud.
The future of work just got simpler with FORZA and SAP Business One. Find out how FORZA can simplify your organization’s new digital strategy by reviewing our FORZA ERP page.
