If you’re wondering whether technology can increase productivity, trade your computers for typewriters. Trade your email for telegrams, or your mobiles for cup-and-string phones, and watch your operational efficiency tumble.
Granted, not all new technologies will improve your efficiency and productivity, but it’s critical to keep your attention turned outward to ensure you don’t miss anything your competitors are capitalising on.
According to the Managing Director of R & G Technologies, Gordon Tan, “Competitive advantage goes to organisations leveraging the latest technology, because they’re able to streamline business processes and increase productivity without increasing headcount.”
Although there are an increasing number of trends toward improving the technology we use, three are worth mentioning here:
- The National Broadband Network (NBN) services
- Unified communication tools
- Cloud computing
All three technologies have the capability to improve your operations and increase productivity.
1. National Broadband Network (NBN)
In the past, high-speed Internet was a luxury that only companies situated in metropolitan areas had access to. However, the Australian government is currently rolling out a high speed broadband network with plans to cover 93% of the country. You need to be aware of the potential impacts this could have on your organisation, as well as how you can leverage it.
The NBN’s high speed connection is the equivalent of plugging a blue cable directly into the Internet. Because it has speeds up to 100mb/s, it has the potential to increase the uptake of cloud services and enable better mobility for your staff.
As most organisations have geographically dispersed operations, your remote workers stand to benefit the most. Remote workers across Australia will be able to access information stored on the corporate network and enter information in real time without worrying about poor connectivity.
Embrace the new technology as it becomes available so you can streamline your operations from home and remote locations, and increase the reliability of cloud services. Take advantage of what a high speed Internet connection has to offer, and make sure you don’t miss out on a chance to improve productivity.
2. Unified Communications
This relatively new technology integrates communications so you don’t have to worry about shuffling through multiple applications on several devices just to ‘check your messages’ in the morning.
“It’s about centralising all your communication channels into one place and increasing the speed of information transfers. This makes your organisation’s communication more efficient, reduces time-wasting actions, and brings a geographically disparate organisation together.” - Tan
Unified communication tools reduce miscommunications, accelerate decision making and help organisations grow. They make it easy to leverage the experience and expertise of individual staff members across different departments, facilitating collaboration and driving innovation.
Some of the features responsible for streamlining your communications processes include video conferencing, the ability to set presence, call control, messaging and more. For example, high definition video conferencing enhances the ability to work from home and hold virtual meetings from remote locations. Lync allows you to set a presence, like ‘In a meeting’ or ‘Busy’, so staff can view your location and see if you’re available.
These tools perform a myriad of other functions, but their purpose is the same. They exist to make communication seamless and efficient, thereby increasing an organisation’s productivity. If you feel like you’re losing precious minutes of your day to miscommunications, delayed responses and poor business processes, consider a unified communications solution.
3. Cloud Computing
No doubt you’ve heard of cloud computing before, so I’ll keep this brief. There are many ways that cloud computing can increase your organisation’s productivity, although you should also be aware of some of the challenges.
Cloud computing involves accessing your IT systems over the Internet, while all your information is stored securely in a datacentre that someone else manages and maintains. It has the potential to give your organisation increased scalability, mobility, reduced costs and access to systems you normally couldn’t afford.
The scalability means you eliminate productivity losses during staff acquisition. When you’re using the Software as a Service (SaaS) model, you’re accessing applications through a web browser, so you don’t need to worry about purchasing licenses and lengthy software configurations.
You gain a global workforce through increased mobility, or the ability to work off any device, in any location. This increases the productivity of your workers even when they are travelling.
A cloud migration can also have significant cost savings. Less money spent on infrastructure, routine maintenance and technical staff translates to more leftover money in the IT budget, which can be spent on more productive activities.
Bear in mind, you must have a high speed Internet connection for your systems to perform as expected, and you should always research where your data is kept. For example, data housed in the United States can be accessed by the government. If your client data is confidential, it’s important to find out where your cloud provider’s datacentre is located.
Despite this, there are great productivity gains from moving your systems partially or fully to the cloud. However, before you purchase any products, make sure to talk to your internal IT or external consultant, as your organisation’s needs and requirements will shape the ideal solution.
Should Organisations Adopt New Technologies?
By its very definition, technology isadvancement in science for practical purposes. So why not leverage these useful progressions to build up your organisation’s productivity? Talk to your internal IT or external specialist to determine what NBN, unified communications tools and cloud computing products are compatible with your IT environment, and what products would suit you best.
Follow this up with your own research, and choose established vendors to assist you in cementing your usefulness in the NFP sector. Leveraging the latest technology can give you that productivity boost, which puts you in the public eye and increases your government funding prospects. Don’t get left behind, start looking for technologies that can increase productivity today.