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Today, every company is trying to go green. Not only does it protect the environment by reducing an organization's carbon footprint, it can yield a number of financial benefits. Companies that invest in renewable energy solutions such as solar and wind can receive tax credits and decrease operational spending, but changes don't have to be as extensive as that.

According to an article in the Louisville Biz Journal, the Christian Care Community's downtown campus in Louisville, Kentucky, is making a number of major changes to its facilities and operations, all in the name of going green.

"The changes are a part of a $2.6 million energy-efficiency project for the Louisville-based nonprofit organization," the article says. "The campus, at 960 S. Fourth street, is home to about 500 seniors. It comprises three buildings, totaling 250,000 square feet, with 122 skilled-nursing units, 386 independent-care and assisted-living units and 30 tradition-care units.

In facilities this large with this many people living and working in it, energy efficiency can be an issue simply because there isn't enough collaboration between departments and employees and numerous machines are being used at the same time, often that doesn't need to happen. Oftentimes, companies can increase their energy efficiency by changing simple daily processes.

Adopting modern technologies such as mobile devices can allow organizations to reduce energy usage, as long as custom application development yeilds a quality system that allows users to access applications and share information. A FileMaker-based system can add an additional layer of efficiency into daily operations at any company, thus improving green standards compliance. Doing so can help organizations receive valuable benefits, in addition to better serving the community and environment.

In the old days of doing business, certain executives had specific goals. The CFO worried about finances, the COO managed the day-to-day operations and the CIO handled technology and data management. That’s starting to change as new technology has promoted collaboration and more executives are inheriting additional roles and conducting more tasks.

An article in Computerworld suggests that chief information officers are becoming increasingly involved in standard business decision-making processes. As technology becomes a more important component of daily operations, it’s up to those in charge of managing technology and technology workers to find a common ground between IT and standard business processes.

Brent Gregory, the IT Director at timber and wood products provider Potlatch, spoke with the news source about the tactics he implements with his employees. He indicated that he encourages his IT workers to become better informed about the ins and outs of wood and timber so they know exactly how their technological prowess is helping the company.

“The goal is to have these IT people take ownership of the applications that most matter to these groups,” Gregory said. “I’m really trying to push them to do the same work I’m doing for their particular specialties. I’m trying to focus more on getting with the moneymakers of the company.”

Getting everyone on the same page may be a strong idea in theory, but it requires a tremendous amount of collaboration, which much be handled with the utmost efficiency. FileMaker-based custom software to promote data sharing is an ideal solution because custom application development in this environment can create flexible and scalable solutions. This would let businesses give valid users a proper level of access and allow for fast and easy communication.

As we begin a new year, now is as good a time as ever to strategically plan operational improvements and procedural changes. Chances are, there are at least some business processes that can be quicker or handled with greater efficiency. This is particularly true with startups and small and midsize businesses (SMBs.)

SMB owners tend to wear many hats. Oftentimes, they are the head of sales, the marketing coordinator, the accountant and they work in the field, all while maintaining themselves as the face of the company. Owning such an organization can be daunting. If daily tasks aren’t performed with the utmost efficiency, it will be difficult for the company to succeed.

An article in The Next Web stresses the importance of operational efficiency in SMBs and startups.

“When you’re running a startup, there never seems to be enough hours in the day to get stuff done,” the article says. “Between meetings, executive decisions, handling personnel and balancing a budget, it’s next to impossible to feel like you’ve hit your maximum efficiency and actually made process.”

Fortunately, technological advancements have made our lives easier and improved daily efficiency in and outside of the office. However, businesses need to capitalize on these tools to experience any true benefit. For example, using mobile technology can help professionals stay organized and get things done while on the go, but a system must be in place to properly store and share information between devices, particularly in instances where collaboration is required.

Working with a Filemaker developer to build custom software can help small businesses gain the solutions they need to build efficiency and streamline processes. This will ultimately lead to increased productivity and improved profitability, so any investments made into new business software should deliver a strong return.

One of the most challenging aspects of new software implementation is user adoption. Many employees, especially those who have worked with the company for many years and have extensive experience with legacy systems, are often hesitant to adopt new software into their daily operations.

However, as technology advances, it becomes increasingly important for companies to keep up with changes so they can stay competitive in their industry. Eventually, businesses will have to get their employees – even the more stubborn veterans – to learn and use new systems as they are deployed to them.

An article in the online publication Customer Think examines the struggle between businesses and their employees as it pertains to the implementation of new systems and solutions. Jacob Morgan, the author of the article, said that it’s up to companies to educate their employees on the value of new business systems.

“Education can play a crucial role in showing employees that using these tools isn’t going to take more time but will help them save time by making their jobs easier,” Morgan writes. “Understand where your users are spending their time and show them how using the new tools will cause them to spend less time doing the tasks they are doing now.”

Training complacent users will be difficult, so it’s important to keep all information regarding the process organized. Database software can help companies create real-time reports that track the training process. As users reach new checkpoints in the adoption process, automated data entry will give companies the ability to closely monitor all pertinent bits of information.

Working with a custom applications provider can allow companies to customize a system to properly manage any business solution adoption process.

As the year winds down and businesses start planning for 2013, one of the chief concerns most companies have is how they will manage their growing volume of information. Big data is growing at breakneck speed and won’t be slowing down as we enter a new year.

The digital revolution has dramatically changed the way companies manage information. Today, data comes from all angles and, with the level of online activity growing by the day, most of it is digital. What were terabytes of information in 2011 became petabytes in 2012. As there is no end in sight, it’s important to implement solutions designed to manage growing data volumes.

Doing so cannot only prevent major challenges in the workplace, it can also be beneficial. The more information a company has to work with, the better it can modify its product offerings and customer engagement methods. An article in the online publication Business 2 Community examines the advantages increased data can bring to a company.

“Big Data technology is generally applied in all sectors of society, but especially in critical areas that benefit from this technology in a number of aspects, such as: loyalty and customer retention because they can create behavior patterns, promotion of new products and services since they can anticipate the needs of their clients, forecasts and projections because commercial transactions have also been digitized and optimizing production and distribution methods, which is where logistics systems come into play,” writes Andre Klein, the author of the article.

Database software can help businesses tackle big data challenges in 2013 and implement information into new-year strategies. By giving decision makers a real-time view of all pertinent data, they can make smarter businesses decisions for the company.

 

As advanced technologies become more affordable and easier to implement, an increasing number of industries are finding ways to incorporate them into their daily operations. The healthcare industry is one that, in recent years, has seen a large spike in the use of electronic medical record (EMR) software.

According to the Commonwealth Fund, nearly 70 percent of primary care physicians in the United States reported that they were using EMRs in 2012, which is up from 46 percent in 2009. But, these figure are mild compared to the Netherlands and Norway, which boasted a 99 and 98 percent user rate respectively. New Zealand and the United Kingdom followed, tied at 97 percent of physicians.

While the United States may be still adopting newer technology into healthcare facilities, many biomedical manufacturers are beginning to see increased sales with international clients. For example, Integrity, a Florida-based medical device manufacturer, has recently announced additional contracts with Ecuadorian hospitals.

“Continued expansion in Ecuador, coupled with the incredible response we are receiving from our other South and Central American partners, represents significant demand for alternative and non-surgical solutions for tens of thousands [of] people negatively impacted by chronic lumbar and cervical pain,” Enzo Pardo, an international sales representative at Integrity, said in a press release.

For medical companies similar to Integrity that are either globalizing or expanding into new markets, both sales forces and marketing departments may need to invest in more dynamic software to maintain the increase in production in foreign territories.

By consulting FileMaker developers, these businesses can create the custom database software that may be needed to ensure that product and brand integration into these markets goes smoothly. Sales representatives can use this technology to separate statistics and figures from domestic and international sales and clients. Marketing departments can keep advertising analytics from South America separate from Europe and North America, while also being able to synthesize them all into a holistic, global view.

Customer service is a major issue for any company. But, as online retailers begin to increase in popularity, these strictly digital businesses have found that not having a tangible presence for consumers to go to with problems and questions can exacerbate the standard customer service challenges.

For example, Inc. Magazine recently spoke with Audrey Griffith, the owner of online vintage-clothing retailer Modcloth about how it was able to solve critical customer service issues. The company was experiencing an ever-increasing backlog of complaints and customer service requests without enough information.

“Our biggest issue was that we lacked reliable statistics about our performance, ticket first-response rate, first resolution rate, satisfaction ratings and industry benchmarks,” Audrey Griffith, customer-care manager at Modcloth, told the source.

In addition, Griffith also stated that they need to be able to comprehensively understand why customers came to their brand and be able to turn that data into information that will allow them to create better business decisions.

By consulting FileMaker developers, businesses can create the custom database software they will need to properly store critical data points, such as who is complaining about what, when they issued the complaint and even how high of a priority this industry may be.

While having the ability to acquire this customer service information is the first step in improving customer relations, it’s not the end of the story. In order to properly analyze this data and turn this information into actionable decisions, business owners will need to store and organize it in a database that is customized to their specific needs and can help them make the decisions they need to improve their company.

As 2012 comes to an end, many business owners may be trying to find out what they can do to enhance their success going into the new year. By taking a look at what techniques may have found success this past year, a company can use these tactics to keep the momentum going into 2013.

According to Harvard Business Review, the number one trend for sales teams in the upcoming year is “sales force behavior modeling.” This technique is when companies study the patterns and behaviors of their top-performing sales representatives and try to figure the common denominators and differentiators between them and their co-workers.

Furthermore, “sales force verticalization” is on the rise and will continue its upward trend into 2013. This tactic allows representatives to specialize in particular types of clients the company may be looking for and create a more effective team as these employees can create more personal relationships with leads. Furthermore, this can help a business’s conversion rate shoot up as employees are more likely to convert leads into clients if they can specialize in their industry or market.

And, in 2013, territory management will begin to incorporate the use of big data in a more effective way, predicts the source. By doing this, regional managers will be able to create a more efficient way to approach and pitch to potential clients based on data specialized for that region and its markets.

Regardless of which trend a business adopts into the way its sales representatives work, having the proper technology to support the team is critical to a company’s success.

By consulting FileMaker developers, businesses can create custom database software that aids sales representatives by aggregating and sharing critical information they may need to perform at their best.

For example, businesses can effectively curate leads based on their likelihood to become conversions, creating a more efficient sales force. In addition, representatives can use the database to log calls, and track the lead’s progress through the pipeline.

Also, FileMaker Go is a great mobile app for sales representatives as it can allow them to prepare for meetings and pitches via their smartphones should they be on the road or presenting to clients abroad.

This blog has discussed the advantages that big data can give to companies that are able to harness it properly. But, in order for this to be true, businesses must be able to do just that – have control over it.

Jer Throp, data artist in residence at the New York Times, recently wrote a Harvard Business Review article about how many managers and business owners are proclaiming big data as "the new oil." But while big data has the capability to give companies the necessary information for them to go from good to great, they still need engine to make the company move.

"When people are given the tools to store, visualize and explore their own data, they gain an understanding of the worth and utility of this information," writes Thorp.

By consulting FileMaker developers, a company can create the custom database software it may need to effectively understand big data and what it can do for the business.

While Thorp goes on to explain how American companies can more effectively handle the ethics that come with big data, and use it as a way to avoid the problems that may have occurred with the previous technology boom, the first step is to be able to acquire the software that's needed for a business to understand its power.

With custom database software, a company can effectively collect and manage large sets of information in a way that can create a more knowledgeable management team. This, in turn, can help create better business decisions, which can create a more profitable company, increasing the value of the data and the software that helps manage it.

Many CEOs will credit the company's success on their workforce, stating that if it weren't for the hardworking individuals that make up the corporation, the business would have never made it that far. But, in order for this to become a reality, a company must first manage its talent in the most efficient way, taking advantage of the strengths of every employee on payroll and creating the leaders the company needs.

But, according to a recent survey by ManpowerGroup, that's not exactly the easiest thing.

"Leadership development seems to be central to everyone's idea of a talent management strategy," Owen Sullivan, CEO of ManpowerGroup Specialty Brands, said in a press release. "Clearly this is the key pressure point for most organizations. Most seem to agree about the goals … to retain high-value talent, to ensure future leadership and to plan and manage succession."

Talent management can be a tricky task for human resource managers as there are many aspects to consider. For example, the source states that leadership development should be the number one priority for managers, which can take an increasing amount of time away from necessary, daily tasks.

In addition, individual and team development ranks high on the list, along with organizational effectiveness and workforce transition. All of these responsibilities will be sure to tax an already busy human resources department dealing with talent acquisition and the necessary paperwork that comes with expanding companies.

But, by consulting FileMaker developers, businesses can create custom database software that will allow them to enhance productivity. For example, a company can use this software to implement its leadership development program and distribute it to the proper employees. Or it can be used to help the HR department retain digital copies of necessary employee paperwork. Whichever aspect the business is considered weak, technology can be used to turn it into a strength.