The days of paper-based work order processes and cumbersome systems are passé. Even traditional ERP solutions come with certain limitations and challenges of flexibility and customization if you are not careful about choosing the right vendor. This is where cloud-based solutions are proving to be profoundly transformative not just for enterprise clients, but also for SMBs since they meet two core present-day business technology needs of easy customization and remote accessibility. Why Any Business Needs an Office On-the-Go? Business growth and productivity today is increasingly begin defined by the “on-the-go” system of which could ERP is a major component. The cloud ERP software market is set to hit $32.86 billion by 2025. Reason being – businesses today regardless of their scale and size are increasingly focusing on boosting productivity, driving operational efficiency, and increasing accuracy and transparency in business processes. Each of these parameters can be effectively addressed by adopting tech solutions which are cost-effective and secure. Moreover, they offer easy scalability, anytime support, and anywhere accessibility, in addition to ensuring business continuity. The Big Question: Does YOUR Construction Business Need to be Available On the Go? If you are still mulling over sufficient reasons to make the switch to the cloud, you are not alone. The construction industry has its own set of unique challenges. The construction business is becoming increasingly litigious which means there is a greater need for accuracy and transparency in record keeping. Moreover, as companies expand and diversify, remote access to business tools, resources, client data, and records becomes crucial to business continuity and critical time-based decision making. So while technology change is never an easy decision for any business, operating a collaborative process in an increasingly digitized space can only happen via a technology solution which meets the demands of the business effectively. 5 Reasons Why You Need an Office ‘On the Go’ TodayGiven the volatile nature and competitiveness of existing markets, having an office could give you a strategic business advantage against your competitors, help you increase your operational efficiency, and provide cost benefits.
Reason # 1 - Time and Cost Benefits for the Business Two areas that matter the most when it comes to technology adoptions are time and costs involved in switching and maintaining the required infrastructure. Onsite infrastructure as mentioned earlier can present critical challenges of flexibility and customization in addition to incurring heavy maintenance costs if you choose the wrong vendor. In contrast, a cloud-based ERP solution such as Sage 300 Construction Hosting, reduces both the time and costs involved in infrastructure maintenance since the application is hosted over remote servers. This effectively eliminates the need for a local dedicated server in addition to providing your business with following benefits;
Reason # 2 – Allows for Easy and Continuous Upgrades Cloud infrastructure is designed to facilitate a continuous stream of enhancements which effectively reduces the steep learning curve that exists between different versions of a system. What this means is that – the automated updates with cloud-based applications and you don't have to worry about new updates creating device limitations. You can focus on keeping up with the updates so that performance and security are not impacted in any way. Reason # 3 – Anytime, Anywhere Access The construction industry can be diverse depending on the project portfolios. If you want to stay ahead of your competition, you need a solution which allows anytime, anywhere access to information about your distributed assets and projects without diluting or impacting records and data accuracy. A mobile office that is accessible from anywhere will facilitate this kind of easy access to relevant information for employees and project heads regardless of their location. The added benefit here is that the solution allows real-time collaborations between vendors, contractors, staff (whether onsite or offsite), and other stakeholders. Without an on-the-go office, even envisaging this kind of a collaborative working environment is impossible. Reason # 4 – Business Continuity and Security Record-keeping and data entry are critical aspects of any construction business. Both of these factors can take a big hit when computing service is disrupted. There could be various reasons including your local dedicated server crashing or issues with your software. Even if data backup is a relatively robust buffer to the problem, the risk here is that any data which is backed up is on the same device. Which means if your device fails, that data may be lost forever. A cloud-based solution maintains backup on multiple remote servers. Moreover, the data is almost instantly and automatically backed up which makes service disruptions and its associated risks a thing of the past. Data security is a major area of focus for all businesses including the construction industry. Constructions businesses are required to store extensive amounts of data which means you have to be serious about data protection. Moreover, the only way to secure this data is by deploying a solution which offers robust security. Most reputable and credible hosting providers will ensure that your application is protected against any attack by deploying safeguards, such as 256-bit encryption, firewalls, and enterprise-standard antivirus. Also, the application is made accessible only to designated users thereby limiting the scope for any security breach. Reason # 5 – Competitive Edge without the Complexities of a Technology Solution One of the advantages of remote office for your construction business is that you stand to gain a competitive edge over other market players. Cost-benefits of a hosted solution are numerous as mentioned above. However, your business can benefit from higher productivity, accuracy, and efficiency - all of which add immensely to your bottom line. By enabling secure, anytime, and anywhere access to the business data, critical business decisions will not get delayed since everyone involved in the decision-making process has access to and is privy to the same data. Furthermore, given that the entire cloud market is expected to touch $411 billion by 2020, the writing on the wall is clear – businesses are going to increasingly adopt hosted solutions in a bid to not only hold on to their market positions but more importantly to expand the scale and scope of their business operations. As an increasing number of construction businesses make to move to on an on-the-go office, the focus will be on seamless integration. Construction businesses will need to partner with cloud hosting providers who can deliver a seamless user experience. To Sum It All Up The path forward for construction businesses will include integration with cloud or on-the-go solutions that are designed for business agility, accuracy, and security. As the competition heats up, the demand for personalized solutions will rise on a parallel trajectory which means businesses will need to be more proactive about researching and implementing cloud solutions. |
Neha SrivastavaLove to learn and share new technology, a good player and foodie. Categories |