Category: business transformation

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Competitive and Profitable Construction: What’s it take to get there and stay there?

The short answer is… update your operations and transform the business. It’s time to modernize and embrace the cloud.

Construction firms need to be more data-driven, analyzing and responding to conditions revealed by the various systems supporting the business operation. Turning a profit on complex projects means applying automation to manual processes and workflows, introducing more collaborative tools, and delivering real-time data to gain greater insight into the operation’s performance and profitability. The foundation for all of this is the cloud platform, extending connectedness beyond traditional boundaries.

Digital transformation and the adoption of agile and connected cloud platforms can result in productivity gains of 14 to 15 percent and reduce costs from 4 to 6 percent. These improvements are the way to address fading profits even as the pace of business increases. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/decoding-digital-transformation-in-construction

There are several factors that typically weigh down the operation and cause profits to fade. Strained IT resources is a big item for most construction companies, where technical people spend far too much time building and maintaining on-premises servers and networks. Maintaining on-premises servers adds up fast. A single IT manager can easily cost around $150,000 per year, and the “cost of cybersecurity compliance raises the price by an additional $200,000.” (5 Reasons Contractors Need to Modernize Their Operations to Stay Competitive and Profitable by Trimble Viewpoint)

Even when you factor in the costs of hardware, software and IT personnel, those costs don’t include the hidden expenses that come with the use of on-premises servers, like disconnected and siloed data that requires manual processes to use, duplicated data entry requirements (increasing the potential for human error) and more costs for labor. When you figure in all the capital costs and expenditures, on-premises solutions can cost up to four times as much as their original purchase price. On the other hand, NOOBEH cloud servers, deployed on the Microsoft Azure platform, offer reliable, cost-effective solutions to support the variety of important business applications and integrations that high-performance operations require.

NOOBEH cloud services focuses on addressing the pain points businesses have with their IT. We help businesses implement services that promote real collaboration for real use-cases, and we look for ways to connect projects and operational data so it can be analyzed to unlock greater value across the entire enterprise.

Disconnects cause inefficiency, delays, errors, and reduced productivity. Lack of insight on the labor and equipment side leads to uncontrolled resource utilization and a lack of predictability. Jobs get delayed and profits fade. Lost productivity due to duplicate entry of information is leveled at 10%-30% (or more), and these rates are not uncommon. https://www.eckerson.com/articles/hidden-costs-of-duplicate-data.

Clearly, automation, connected workflows, cloud platforms and real-time data are essentials in the transformation and improvement effort. Let in-house IT focus on activities that bring value to the business, finding ways to innovate and improve how things get done. Replace cumbersome, manual processes with software and systems that facilitate greater automation and integration, eliminating redundant data entry and improving the quality of information.

Construction projects are becoming larger and more complex, and project owners want the latest technologies, real-time reporting, and comprehensive approaches to compliance. Today, industry-leading contractors are embracing connected cloud technologies so they can scale and future-proof their businesses.

The modern contractor takes advantage of connected platforms, automation and real-time data that feeds data analysis and business intelligence… innovations only available with the cloud. That’s what NOOBEH delivers.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J

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Building Smarter Businesses

Achieving Growth, Efficiency and Sustainability Through Greater Business Intelligence

Every business needs to know how they’re doing so they can find ways to do better. This is what business intelligence is, and it’s the key to taking advantage of new opportunities and building success.

Consider the IBM commercials that were aired, about developing models for the prediction of traffic conditions in Singapore and “infusing intelligence into the systems and processes that make the world work”.   What they’re saying makes sense, but most business owners would likely say that it addresses bigger issues and doesn’t really speak to them. Yet those messages are for even the smallest of enterprises because you must really understand what’s happening in a business – and how it’s happening – to improve and excel.

The ability to leverage technology to collect data and analyze it in real time can make a huge difference, whether it is in a small business or a global system. With an intelligent approach to enabling the enterprise, we can build smarter and stronger businesses.

“Together, we have to consciously infuse intelligence into our decision-making and management systems, not just infuse our processes with more speed and capacity . . . We are moving into the age of the globally integrated and intelligent economy, society and planet. The question is, what will we do with that?”

former IBM chief executive Sam Palmisano

Business software and systems have reached the point where data collection and raw business intelligence is being gathered in real time by businesses small and large. This is where businesses must transform, replacing paper-based systems with digital workflows and enabling the collection of real-time information as data for analysis.

Forward-thinking accounting and finance professionals realize that accounting is not simply the final resting place for after-the-fact financial data. The finance department is where collected data is turned into actionable information, and information is power.

The competitive landscape for businesses of all kinds is changing along with the progress and adoption of technology.  Business owners and accountants should learn to use the tools which will help them find the patterns and trends in the system that help to forecast more accurately.

Working with NOOBEH cloud services and Mendelson Consulting, accounting professionals and business owners can implement the agile platforms and connected technologies to help achieve the benefits of growth, efficiency and sustainability envisioned by the Smarter Planet initiative.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J

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Is Your Business IT Ready for Industry 4.0?

Over the past several hundred years there have been trends which revolutionized industry and manufacturing around the world… steps taken in an industrial revolution which advanced the evolution of civilization and life as we know it. The first revolutionary phase was combining mechanization with steam and waterpower, and the second was the combination of mass production with electricity. The third was the rise of electronics, IT systems and automation. We are now at the start of the fourth phase of industrial revolution.

PwC’s Insights suggests that Industry 4.0 “refers to the fourth industrial revolution, which connections machines, people and physical assets into an integrated digital ecosystem that seamlessly generates, analyzes and communicates data, and sometimes takes action on that data without the need for human intervention.”

This next phase advances on concepts introduced through digitization and connected frameworks, tying in the industrial IoT (Internet of Things) and smart manufacturing. This meshed model relies on interconnectivity of systems, lots of automation at high levels, machine learning and AI… all collecting and generating data in real-time.

Where physical operations and production join with smart digital technologies, big data, and machine learning, businesses can forge systems which focus directly on manufacturing and supply chain management, gaining new insights and getting actionable data at all levels.

Virtualizing physical resources and digitization of analog data is now coupled with improved access to and management of the platforms. Rather than building out on-prem physical servers and systems, businesses are finding that the agility, scalability, and fault-tolerance of the cloud is necessary when designing an operation that connects, communicates and collects data, performs intelligent analyses, and potentially acts without people getting directly involved.

Every company is different, but all face a common challenge — the need for connection and access to real-time insights across processes, products, and people.

The consulting team at Mendelson Consulting and our NOOBEH cloud services group know how to get businesses in the best position to implement the tools and services that will propel the operation forward. From the most popular and powerful small business financial software to cloud platforms which enable connectivity in applications and workflows, we understand what it takes to help small businesses transform.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J

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Better Platform, Better Data, Better Performance

Information management paradigms are rapidly changing, so businesses seeking to achieve maximum performance and profitability must look at increased efficiency and innovation in their IT platforms. Cloud platforms help business operations to be more effective and agile, supporting the various processes and workflows which make up the operation. From finance to order processing, shipping and customer service, the platform needs to be flexible enough to handle the wide variety of needs of the company.

Today’s technology-enabled flow of business opportunity requires modern infrastructure and IT services. Where many would believe that web-based applications and “cloud” versions of software solve the problem, more often the business finds the solution lacking features and usefulness. Tried and failed plug-ins and extensions may leave the system attached to a spiderweb of connections and services behind the scenes, reducing or eliminating the ability to fully control the flow of data to or from the system.

The real issue to address is the infrastructure and IT foundation, not just the applications. Certainly, the software matters greatly, but too often businesses believe they must migrate to new applications and adopt new processes simply because they wish to have remote access and more flexibility in how and where users and information connect.

Cloud platforms and services enable many things for a business, not the least of which is collaboration and co-working. With centralized access to applications and data, workers can get the information they need regardless of where they are, and the workflows and processes may be improved and expanded because all users can participate as required.

Enabling connectivity for the platform is as essential as for the applications. When applications and processes can connect seamlessly, the data flows through the business better and there’s less chance of it getting damaged or lost. Re-keying data increases the opportunity for errors, and manual import/export processes can fail due to simple mistakes. With the right integration and sync tools and an IT platform that fully supports them, the business can improve the speed and accuracy of data moving throughout the system.

There is a growing need for accounting and business professionals who understand how these data connections can work and assisting businesses with selecting and implementing the right ones. This used to be more in the domain of the CIO, information systems guys and data analysts, but it is falling more to the accounting and finance teams these days.

For many years, accounting and finance were just the final dumping ground for after-the-fact financial data. Operationally, things could be humming along in the business and looking just fine, but the business was losing money, and nobody knew it before it was too late. Now, business owners and managers have come to understand that virtually EVERYTHING in business has a financial impact and leaves an imprint on the business: every action and activity, every relationship and interaction.

When cloud platforms, applications and integrations are in place for the business, business intelligence comes not just from after-the-fact silos of historical data, but from current and real-time information that is the key to unlocking a deeper understanding of business performance.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J

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Migrating Your Processes and Knowledge to the Cloud

Adopting cloud platforms can bring great business benefit without forcing dramatic change.

Many business owners believe they must dramatically change their software and business processes just to embrace cloud working models. Too often they are left believing that any business use of cloud technologies requires changing software and systems over to subscription web-based solutions which enable the much-desired anytime/anywhere working model.  What too many businesses aren’t being told is that there are ways to move to cloud platforms without losing their investments in people, processes and business knowledge.

The benefits of a cloud computing model are many, with mobility and managed service being the most obvious.  Less evident are the potential cost savings, because the subscription approach to paying for IT services may, on the surface, look like an equivalent or even higher cost over time. 

What isn’t being considered is the potential to improve processes and increase productivity.  These benefits are often achieved simply due to a centralized management and access approach, and are not necessarily attributable to the adoption of new software tools.

The cloud is the right answer for deploying and managing IT for many businesses, and delivers more value than on-premises systems can for the same price.

Eliminating the on-premises server and network with a cloud server implementation should be considered first, before changing out the software and tools in use throughout the organization. Hosting the existing applications means users can access their regular desktop software via the cloud, allowing the organization to fully retain their investments in people, processes and knowledge, and to build on that foundation with centralized service and improved collaboration..

Businesses of all sizes and types are are finding that the cloud, hosted applications and remote access provide the answers to a variety of business IT problems.  Even more, those answers are being provided affordably, with a simplicity of setup and with higher levels of service than is usually provided for with localized IT.

Small businesses and enterprise organizations alike can experience many benefits with a cloud hosted and managed IT approach.  It doesn’t take a comprehensive application or process overhaul to begin improving internal IT operations for the business, and it makes no sense for a business to give up investments in training, process development, and people knowledge in exchange for a centrally managed and remotely accessible system. 

Rather, the smart business takes the steps to solve the real issues of IT management and mobility while allowing users to continue performing their tasks and doing business as usual – only better now because the platform is working for them.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J

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Integrated is Better: Connecting Your Systems and Workflows

Small businesses need software and systems to help them get business done efficiently. The global pandemic has been fuel for recent growth in the small business software market where companies of all types are adopting more applications and services to better support operations.  Especially when users are no longer able to work in the office and consumers are demanding increasingly more personalized services, businesses need to find ways to get more business done in less time and with fewer resources.

According to Intuit® research “small businesses, on the average, use four or more apps to run their business”. You could consider it that business owners and managers buy software apps to get jobs done. Software can help structure the work and the information, creating workflows that improve efficiency and accuracy.

The key to getting the full benefit from any application or service is to have it connected to or integrated with your other solutions. There is almost never a completely disconnected process in a business; everything flows from and to something else. It should be the same with software and data. Saving time and improving accuracy of information means that data should only be entered once, and key data should sync between systems to remain up to date.

QuickBooks Desktop (Pro, Premier, Accountant and Enterprise), as well as other desktop accounting or ERP solutions like Sage100, AccountEdge and more, have a variety of 3rd party applications and integrations offering additional functionality or services. Just because the main solution is a desktop application does not mean that all integrated applications must also be desktop products.

To extend functionality of desktop products, developers often create web-based applications and services that sync or integrate data with the desktop product. In fact, many of the services inside of QuickBooks desktop are web-based application services which sync data to and from QuickBooks. Payroll, payments, and more are subscription-based services connected in QuickBooks but look like they are just part of the installed program.

When QuickBooks and other desktop applications are hosted with NOOBEH’s QuickBooks on Azure service, the system is running entirely on the Microsoft Cloud. This improves system flexibility, resiliency, and security, as well as providing the optimum platform for desktop applications and web-based services to connect – the bandwidth they use is cloud to cloud instead of cloud to your PC.

Even if the average small business uses four or more apps in the business, it doesn’t necessarily mean that all those apps are talking. Often, a business will implement a new application to handle a particular job but won’t consider the additional benefits to be gained by connecting the new app to the accounting system. Yes, the new app may make getting data from the field easier, as with a timesheet or field service management solution. Maybe it makes doing payroll easier because the calculation, reporting and delivery of paychecks is automated. Perhaps it is a website that takes customer orders and manages their payments.

All are cases where a business benefits a great deal from increased efficiency in data capture, reporting and more, but if all the information from the app needs to be re-entered into the accounting system, then a great deal of additional benefit is simply not there.  Data entry takes time away from other work and introduces the potential for errors that can take hours to track down (if they are even noticed).

When connecting any 3rd party solution with your accounting or ERP system, it’s important to make sure that the company fully supports the integration. Whether it is a direct connection to your QB or other software or is a “brokered” connection (as with an Integration-as-a-service connector), just make sure that the integration has the features and functionality you need and that the data will flow as you want.

We know that businesses need more than a single solution to address the variety of business problems that arise. We also know that sub-standard or improperly configured integrations risk doing more damage than good to the business data. That’s why we offer consulting and deployment services for a wide range of add-ons and integrated products. Even if it is a solution we haven’t worked with yet, our consultants know how to validate and test the integration within QuickBooks to ensure that the data flows properly and gets the right treatment in the financial system.

Get your software connected and working better for your business. Mendelson Consulting and NOOBEH Cloud Services help you focus on your business and not the IT that supports it, so that you can get more done with the resources you have. We help you work smarter, not harder.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J