Category: Custom software

In Field Service industry, where the technicians are face to face with customers everyday, good operational efficiency, productive staff, and effective resource management are all interconnected and are important aspects of the business. Businesses should carefully measure all these areas that indicate the health of their field service. Data and analytics thus recorded, needs to be evaluated to drive more informed business decisions. So, how do you measure these to drive more insights from it?

This photo-blog lists five unique field service power metrics to identify and monitor your company’s performance.

Field service businesses are trying to capitalize on the advantages offered by today’s technologies. Mobile technology, being the most significant among them, has taken the industry by storm, offering increased productivity gains, streamlines work processes, improved field agent communications, increased first-time fix rate, shortened billing cycles, reduced overhead of paper-based field service management and so on. The infographic puts together some recent trends, impacts and state of mobile technology in Field Service Businesses.

Interested in learning more on enabling your field team with mobile technologies? We’d love to know your business requirements and help accordingly, contact our specialist team now.

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</p> <p><strong>Please include attribution to www.fingent.com with this graphic.</strong></p> <p><a href="https://www.fingent.com/ae/blog/infograhic-mobile-technology-trends-field-service-2016-beyond" data-wpel-link="internal"><img src='https://www.fingent.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/06/FIELD-SERVICE-MOBILITY-TRENDS-FOR-2016-BEYOND-aaa-01.png' alt='MOBILE TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN FIELD SERVICE FOR 2016 & BEYOND' width='815' height='6567' border='0' /></a></p> <p>

The adoption of web and mobile based field service software is on the rise now, mainly because of organizations’ need to keep their field services streamlined and organized, and also to provide better services to customers with a proactive approach. Clubbed with the need to provide customers with necessary insights and information, in an effective manner, it becomes almost inevitable for companies to use field service automation software, more specifically mobile-based.

Success comes with the ‘right’ field service automation software

With the number of field service solutions available in the market, it is often difficult to choose the right one for your business. Here are some pointers for you to make a more informed decision:

1. Understand your business model, know what your needs are – It is very important that you clearly understand your business model, your needs and the improvements you expect from the new system, before you approach the vendor. You need to be able to document your case as well, as a good field service vendor will ask you about your model and work towards understanding it better, in order to provide the best solution. By effectively communicating your objectives to the vendors, they will be able to explain how best their solution can help you. This lets you measure different vendor systems better and make a better-informed decision before finalizing.
2. Understand the differences – As you get into the search for the right field service solution, it is very likely that you might get confused by the number of choices available through their marketing brochures and websites. The trick is to find the one that is closest to meeting your business requirements. How?
   You will have to get up and close with all those solutions you have narrowed down on, after initial evaluation through the websites. As you spend some more time with them, ask questions and study them, the little weaknesses or issues with each system that may not be as apparent will be uncovered. For this purpose you may set out as a project team with several people, as other members of your team could come up with questions and findings that don’t occur to you. You also get to try out the systems, free of cost as well as paid. This way you will be able to learn more and see the different functionalities, helping you make a well-informed decision.
3. Learn the latest trends in field service technology – As you speak with your vendors for their solutions, you will most definitely come across a lot of new buzzwords and technical jargon that you may not be familiar with. When you do, do not ignore them or assume them to be things that are not important or things that might already be included in the system. The latest technology is what you want, and you don’t want to be using a system which is very likely to get obsolete soon. You need to be well aware of all the latest trends in field service software and make sure that the system you are looking to adopt, has them. You need to do sufficient research for this, and acquaint yourself with all the new trends. Software-as-a-Service models, web and mobile-based interfaces and the like, are some trends for you to start with.
   

   “The latest technology is what you want, and you don’t want to be using a system which is very likely to get obsolete soon.”

    

4. Involve your field agents – Your field agents are the ones who are going to be spending the most time with the software you choose, so involving them in the buying process is not only fair, but also necessary. Ask them about their needs and difficulties, and also their expectations from the new system. Such engagement, will not only reduce the resistance to the new system, but it will also make them more excited about using it. Get their feedback on the system, provide them with the time and training required for them to get used to the new system. Their opinions and ideas are very likely to be right and good, as they are the ones who are going to be using it.
   

   “Ask your field agents about their needs and difficulties, and also their expectations from the new system.”

    

5. Make sure there is prompt customer support – You are very likely to face issues with your solution or get stuck with it, a few years into using it. While there may be field agents who may know how to work around minor glitches, there also may be some who need extra help. Either way, you want to make sure that when they do need help, the field service management customer support, is easily available and affordable as well. Whatever mode it may be in, tech support is a must. You need to ask questions and analyze support details like is it a call centre? Do you get to talk to experts? Do you pay extra for support or is it included in the initial price?

The right field service automation solution will last a long time and will be totally worth the initial investment, if is properly implemented and maintained. Hence, a thorough and effective software selection and implementation process is required, if you want to realize all these business benefits and improve the efficiency of your field service. Talk to our field service automation software experts to know more about them and help you choose the perfect one for your business.

In the race towards winning the hearts of customers and gaining maximum profits, business enterprises all over the world are struggling and trying all the latest technology to improve their performance. Business owners are facing many challenges, in terms of production, marketing, transportation and the like, along with the technological improvements.

Apart from these, they also need to deal with issues related to employees, like workload, physical space concerns, customers with specific and unique purchase requirements, logistics issues and the like.

All these adds to the complications that they are facing on a daily basis.

For companies in the field service industry specifically, there may be a lot more issues faced by the owners, as they need to address the concerns of their field staff as well.

You can imagine the level of frustration!

It has been this way for quite some time now. So what have the field service companies resorted to, so as to overcome their challenges and still manage to stay ahead in the competition?

The answer is custom field service software.

Custom Field Service Software To Improve Internal Operations

That’s right. Business owners are now using field service software so as to distribute their operational functions and thereby improve their performances. As is it designed to specifically meet the unique requirements of a business, it could be the perfect way to optimize internal operations.

However, an important thing to note is that, not all solutions are made equal and hence may not do the trick.

So how exactly is field service software helpful in improving internal operations?

The logic is clear

Any custom software is developed uniquely for a business. Which means there is a lot of thought and understanding about the different functions and activities of the business going into it.
The solution thus developed, is aligned with the business processes and tasks in such a way that it helps in performing the assigned jobs well within the constraints of the overall goals and policies of the company. It also becomes a treasure trove of comprehensive information about the different products, services and even employees of the company, including how each of these elements interact with each other.

Field service software customized for a business, in the same way, has all of these benefits along with its ability to offer better flexibility and productivity. It makes work easier for everyone and thus improves effectiveness as well.

Now, with field service software, companies are starting to realize that the only way to stand ahead in the competition is to do or have something that their rivals don’t, or have not done yet.

It’s a pretty simple logic, and an evergreen business tactic that is being widely used by field service companies these days. For this reason, companies are now banking on need-driven applications for their organization, and are also hiring highly skilled and reputable developers to create custom field service software that suits their requirements.

Professional software developers can build even the most complex of applications, in a cost effective and scalable manner, to solve business challenges.

With the help of advanced and trending new technologies, guaranteed successful methods and the immense level of broad industry expertise that is worth its value in gold, developers are now equipping business enterprises with just what they need – advanced applications that give them the leading edge, that too, pretty fast and within the budget.

The one concern though, that companies have, about adopting such custom field service software is regarding its initial deployment cost. It may vary according to the different features of each custom application. But due to the advanced capabilities and the level of ubiquity that they provide through web and mobile devices, both of which lead to increased efficiency, the costs can be justified and even brought down.

Hence custom field service software are a worthy investment, that can help simplify processes as well as improve the efficiency of internal operations. All these ultimately lead to improved profits and performance of the entire organization.

Let’s think for a moment, of the technology driven world that we live in now and how much the all pervasive technology has changed the way that we all live our daily lives. From our personal spaces to the biggest businesses and industries, we have come a long way from brick sized cell phones and DVDs to sleek touchscreens and microchips to name a few of the smallest changes. With the advent of the “Internet of Things” and “Industry 4.0” or the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we have been introduced to and have infact been living with a concept called Ubiquitous computing or pervasive computing.

According to Wikipedia, ubiquitous computing in contrast to desktop computing, involves the usage of any device in any location and in any format. It basically enables a user to interact with a computer which may exist in a number of different forms such as the regular laptops, desktop computers and notebooks to sensors and terminals in our everyday objects like the refrigerator, a pair of glasses, the TV and the like. We have all come to embrace these concepts, getting used to the “things that think” around us, and having the ability to get things at our fingertips.

Such ubiquity of software has touched almost all aspects of our lives and all industries in the business landscape as well, including the manufacturing sector and the audit and compliance sector, leaving no stones untouched.

Software in manufacturing and audits

The first ever industrial robot was used in the production line in 1954, and since then, software has always played a huge role in manufacturing and production, not as a core function though, but as a supporting function. But with increasing moves towards digitization and automation of processes and procedures, especially under the Industry 4.0 umbrella, software started to assume bigger, more comprehensive roles and now we find software everywhere, from production lines to control systems. Literally every device or equipment involved in the processes are connected among each other as well as to a central unit, and are also programmable, thus making the already thin line between physical and digital even more blurred.

Considering the industry’s general shift towards a more consumer-driven approach, it is indeed necessary to incorporate more flexibility, agility and control across all processes, as the pressure to deliver high quality, configurable products and services is only going to increase down the lane. All this increases the need for manufacturing companies to invest in technology, especially software based technology, so as to generate more speed and flexibility, both of which are critical to be profitable in this environment.

Business Intelligence and Performance management are two other areas in manufacturing which make use of software and data gathering on a large scale according to Gartner. Hence, the manufacturing industry assumes one of the top three positions in the list of industries looking to hire technology and software experts.

Just like manufacturing, the concept of software everywhere also redefines the scope for audits, inspections and compliance, and there are many newer challenges to face. One point of concern though, is that there may be a thousand risks and consequences associated with certain kinds of technologies and their deployments, but only little thought is put into understanding them, and even the manufacturers, lawmakers and compliance bodies know very little about many of these risks. For example, the risk of manipulation is something that most people have often overlooked and the recent scandal of the German automobile giant, Volkswagen proves this point.

The Volkswagen scandal

In September 2015, Volkswagen was issued an EPA notice after it was found by independent NGOs that they had been cheating in emission tests. It was discovered that Volkswagen cars were emitting up to 40 times more toxic fumes than permitted, which included particulates that are really harmful to the lungs especially for those with breathing related issues. They had since then admitted that they sold about 11 million cars over the last 4 years, which implies that this practice or this cheat has been going on for a quite a while.

The British newspaper “The Guardian” estimates an average of 1 million tonnes of air pollution from the Volkswagen cars every year, which is roughly the same as the emissions from all of United Kingdom, from power stations, vehicles and the like. It only means that the pollution caused by this cheat is as bad as the pollution from an entire country.

Now how did Volkswagen manage to get past all the rigorous, stringent and detailed tests conducted by the EPA, that too for a long time?

It was in the tests

All the tests of the EPA, like a cold start test, a hot start test and many others along with a 30 minute rigorous test by the Federal procedure as well, are usually specified in great detail, as are the steps in order to prep the cars for them. And unlike any other compliance tests which may have many grey areas, these tests of the EPA contain specifications, which are very thorough, detailed and extremely clear – everything that you can expect from a good quality specification.

It was this very attention to detail that enabled Volkswagen to cheat. Most mechanical parts of a car these days are managed and controlled by computers and electronic control units. These units have information about almost every single part of the car such as the speed, the angle of steering, the fuel intake etc. and such information is generated almost every instant that the car is switched on. The extremely detailed test specification and the availability of such specific information about the car enabled Volkswagen engineers to program the computers to use this information to recognize when the car was being tested. They were able to program the software to switch the car from a road mode to a calibration mode, when it recognized that the car was being prepared for a test.

Now the one thing that is crystal clear from this whole issue is the fact that it impacts all of us in the business of quality assurance and inspections. Just like cars, almost all equipment used in manufacturing and production rely on some kind of software, and software, as we know it, is a very different beast, considering the traditional equipment that we are used to, when it comes to production, manufacturing, control systems and the like.

This shows that advancements in technology only mean more vulnerabilities and challenges for compliance auditors and inspectors and more alertness from their end. So what exactly are the points that we, as auditors need to keep in mind when it comes to compliance inspections and what are the challenges that we face? Read more on our blog, Challenges For Auditors And Inspectors In The World Of Connected Devices.

Here’s a webinar on the ubiquity of software in the compliance industry, by Deepu Prakash, Head of Process and Technology Innovation at Fingent Corp:

Software Everywhere- Webinar

The day when you’ll see the everyday things- from phones, cars and doors, to lights, refrigerators and washing machines, connected to the internet is not very far. In fact there are over 13.4 billion connected devices already and it is expected that the number of internet-connected devices will reach 50 billion by 2020.

In spite of becoming an integral part of personal lives, the IoT will also bring major paradigm shifts at every phase of businesses. Many companies have already started adopting IoT and to plan their business around it. There are only two options- either get ready to embrace this revolution and stay on top, or face the consequences.

The manufacturing business will have to bring major changes to be in the game, around software, data and connectivity mainly.  According to Gartner’s 2015 overview of manufacturing industries, business intelligence and performance management are the top priorities of manufacturing sector and both these areas are heavily dependent on software and data gathering. Hence, Manufacturing is in the top list of industries looking to hire data and software experts.

The software everywhere helps make all devices programmable and narrows the gap between digital and physical.  While software everywhere redefines the manufacturing industry, it also redefines the scope for audits, inspections and compliance because it brings with it new challenges. Let us see some of the challenges the Internet of Things will pose to audit, inspection or compliance sector in detail.

Challenges for auditors dealing with software everywhere

Auditing is not a walk in the park when it comes to organizations adopting new technologies and automating tasks with software everywhere. While the Internet of Things brings many rewards, it also poses serious risks, which if not carefully dealt with, can lead to organizational disasters.

Technologies move very fast and manufacturers are under pressure to keep pace. Each passing day there arise new laws to which the businesses, organizations, industries and agencies should conform. Most often, there might be less thought devoted to the risks associated with certain deployments of technologies in businesses, and the manufacturer, law bodies and compliance bodies may not be aware of all the risks. The IT departments are generally the ones bearing the brunt of the storm, with a variety of auditing issues, which if not managed properly can spoil the compliance and security of even the most ambitious organizations. One of the biggest challenges for them is to make sure that all the technology and software deployed adhere to multiple compliance standards. The internal auditors should stay abreast of the new IoT developments to foresee these risks and controls in their business.

While software everywhere will ensure quick, flexible, easy and smart business processes, such flexibility can also be a loophole to circumvent compliance requirements. For instance, a machine or a device can be programmed to identify that it is being inspected or audited, the software can recognize the test pattern and it can then generate results, which appear to be compliant to the audit. One way to overcome this problem is to adapt smart auditing strategies like those used by quality assurance professionals, who constantly deal with such issues. For instance, auditors could use heuristic based techniques, where audit design and execution are combined and the auditor explores the system to identify non-conformance to high-level heuristics.

Another key aspect to consider in the area of software, is regarding ownership. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) makes it unlawful for independent auditors to look at the code that runs on a machine, thus making it easier to conceal intentional wrongdoings. Unfortunately, this law can punish users and auditors who try to understand whether their software or system are compliant, or can be manipulated in a manner that it will endanger the consumers of the product manufactured by these systems.  Another important challenge for audit regulators is the need for effective reporting to their stakeholders regarding audit performance, and the efficient conduct of audit inspections, which requires coordination among varied regulators and compliance with differing laws and regulations.

However, the good news is that, changes shall happen over the year 2016 that will make it possible for such business to conduct audits much efficiently, to check if they are compliant to legal norms like FDA or EPA norms and other good manufacturing practices.

Challenges for auditors dealing with large amounts of data

Increased use of computerized systems, smart manufacturing and decreased storage costs have led to generation of large amounts of data that are aggregated, coded and classified to enable good decision making. Auditors can derive value from this data and ensure that decisions made are based on solid, quality information that is trustworthy and relevant. This big data enables root cause analysis in cases where noncompliance or failure is detected, and can be used to provide a near complete picture of the system state at the point of failure. The availability of such valuable data can enable quicker corrective actions. Non-compliance issues detected years after the production can be safely traced back with retrospective auditions.

However, the unstructured nature of big data poses big challenge for the auditors. There need to be a good standard of managing the generation, classification and storage of data, for it to prove useful in auditing or inspecting activities. Data processing standards today do not cover the governance processes for management, storage and expiration of data. However, changes are expected in 2016 that will address the present state of big data with respect to the audit environments.

Challenges for auditors dealing with storage and ownership of data

                                                                                     Image courtesy: Cloud Lounge

In production environments, the data produced by the equipment and system used in production line are mostly stored in clouds. In the cloud, these data may be stored on storage devices that may not even be owned by the manufacturers who generate data, but will be owned by third party service providers, like analytic provider or storage service provider (like amazon). In such cases, it is not the manufacturer but the third party, who gets the ownership of these data. In fact, data may not be even stored in the same country.  Such a 3rd party doctrine complicates the issue when confidential transitional data is stored by cloud server providers and this raises more issues like confidentiality and contract, availability of data for audits, and liability issues.

Challenges for auditors dealing with Connectivity

The Internet of Things (IoT) as we have all heard of has been around for quite a while and this year we saw a large number of connected devices flood the market. This is only going to increase and by 2020, we are expected to have over 50 billion connected devices. The Internet of Things is not just connected cars, cameras, and doors. IoT also extends to heavy machinery, to jet engines, oil drills and to connected devices and equipment in manufacturing and production, as well. As smart manufacturing gains momentum, more and more machines on the production lines are connected and online. Machines are connected to each other to exchange data, and to servers in the cloud to enable machine learning, monitoring, forecasting preventive maintenance, etc. This ensures cycle time reductions for corrective and preventive actions post audits. Remote monitoring and diagnostics can ensure that the product complies with the legal requirements. Connectivity can help conduct remote inspections eliminating the need for people to travel to the locations to get the audits done.

While connectivity brings the above advantages, it brings with it, its share of challenges as well. Poor security, for example on connected equipments can make systems vulnerable to hacking and systems can be compromised without the hackers having direct access to the systems. As a matter of fact, vulnerabilities in any connected device can compromise an entire system. The security of connected equipment will soon be an area of compliance for audits and inspections across industry segments. With time, it can even enable production to happen at the supplier’s end or the consumer’s end, rather than at the factory, which can further increase the risks for auditors and inspectors. They will have to take into consideration the entire chain of equipment that communicate with each other, and modify their audit strategies accordingly.

Everyone, who are in the business of audit and compliance are impacted by the IoT and by the fact that all the equipment we use are connected online, is programmable and is generating enormous amount of data. The auditors, inspectors and all of us in the audit and compliance field need to learn about the new skills and competencies pertaining to the software deployment, vulnerability detection and software compliance. The good news is that there are established practices in the software QA (quality assurance) industry, which can provide good reference points for those who wants to upgrade their skills. However, the hardest part is to change the mindset and culture among auditors and inspectors to adapt to this new paradigm of Software Everywhere. We need to move faster to adopt practices, processes, and new mindset and to learn new skills that will enable us to do a better job in auditing, compliance and inspections for devices that are connected, generate lots of data and are managed by software!

View this webinar on the ubiquity of software in the compliance industry, by Deepu Prakash, Head of Process and Technology Innovation at Fingent Corp:

Software Everywhere- Webinar

Mobile applications have been fueling the growth of the retail industry for quite some time. Retail giants like Walmart and Target have developed custom mobile applications to enable business growth.

So the new buzz for retail companies is around mobile applications these days! You can practically use mobile applications for almost all aspects in the retail industry, like customer service, payments, inventory management and the like. Technology itself has been improving the industry as a whole for quite some time now. Mobile applications are taking their turn now. Take a look at our article “How important is technology in retail: 4 focus areas”, to know how technology can be leveraged in different areas of a retail business.

Such being the level at which technology is used these days by retail companies, the benefits that accrue from it also have to be quite significant. And yes, there are massive improvements.

So what is all the hype about!?

Here we look at how mobile applications have benefited various retail companies in improving their business.

Target – Target’s mobile application enables customers to find products on their own, making their shopping much easier and quicker. It has a “My List” feature which allows customers to create their own shopping lists. You can make a list before you start shopping and also manage your lists and registries or even find your friend’s lists. It also allows you to search the store to find out if a particular item is available and get the exact aisle location of it. It has several other features as well, like a store locator, a barcode scanner to add products to a list or to get product details, and coupons for weekly deals. In addition, there is also a video online that explains how the app works. With this app, Target was able to increase their sales as well as customer base, as more people became convenient with their app. In a mobile-first era, they really understood the importance of an easy to use and powerful mobile app, and used it to gain competitive advantage. They ranked fifth in Comscore’s list of best mobile retailers this year.

Walmart – The world’s largest public corporation, Walmart, had their Savings Catcher Program as part of their mobile app for iOS and Android. The greatest value of Savings Catcher is its ability to link shopper data to personal accounts of customers. Along with that there are a number of features, like the ability to create smart lists and facility to navigate through aisles to find the exact location of a product, that make their app truly worth their efforts and expenses. What’s more, it allows customers to find in-store prices of products at their local Walmart stores ahead of time , without having to search for it. With all these features, the Walmart app is a total time saver and with its integration with their online store as well, they were able to increase sales both online and offline by a large margin. They came third in Comscore’s list of best mobile retailers.

Another example is the Best Buy App. It lets users scan QR codes in the store to access product reviews and compare product specs. And just like the other apps, it also lets you create a wishlist and find in-store availability of products, track past purchases, get reward points and also use special offers.

Some retailers also provide catalogs through their mobile apps. For example, Hollister provides a jeans fit guide in its mobile app, which displays the perfect fit for each style of jeans so as to assist customers in finding their perfect pair of jeans. It allows you to get front and back views of the jeans as well to make a more informed judgement.

Just like Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and Hollister, there are a number of retailers who have leveraged such mobile apps to serve their customers better and improve their business. These retailers have literally proved that mobile applications can do wonders for your business by being proactive in assisting customers.

Such being the level of benefits that accrue from using mobile applications, it is actually becoming mainstream these days. As the world moves to more mobile oriented shopping experiences, it would become a necessity for retailers to switch to mobile apps. It already has become old school to visit the regular brick and mortar stores, and pick stuff after long hours of search and enquiries. In the end, if an item is out of stock, then that’s it. Customers just have to live with it until they find it in some other store. This scenario is soon becoming a thing of the past. Retailers need to inevitably use mobile applications from now on, as otherwise, they stand the risk of losing their customers to other retailers that do.
Mentioned above are just a few retailers making big money through mobile apps. With time, these numbers are definitely going to grow and soon the entire retail world will be in the people’s hands, literally and figuratively.

Are you looking to build a mobile application for your retail business as well to stay in the game? Talk to our custom software experts and our mobile application experts for the perfect website and mobile app mix for your business.

Last spring, we found ourselves working with a global media giant,  to understand why their new high tech enterprise information sharing IT system was not being used by employees. As we plowed through the usual rigors of analyzing feedback from front-line staff, department managers and BU heads, we discovered something puzzling. While the new state-of-the-art system was hardly being used by anybody, few departments and teams used alternate custom-built IT systems to automate their processes. Most of these custom-built systems were rudimentary and offered poor user experience, and yet, every team member had adopted and used their system every day! Digging deeper, we discovered something even more surprising – The development and deployment of these systems were managed by the Line Manager (s) of these departments, who had little to no knowledge of IT or Software Development!

Why did an expensive, cutting-edge digital information system fail miserably, where a less sophisticated, custom built software succeeded with aplomb? How did non-technical line managers succeed in deploying technology effectively, where senior IT specialists failed?

Sure, deploying a new, large, complex, and organization-wide system across different locations is fraught with enormous technical challenges, but the real answer to these questions lies elsewhere.

The IT department, was attempting to solve a technology problem. However, none of the users had a technology problem. They had business problems.

Problems about information availability, sharing and communication in the context of how they got work done. Divisional, middle and operational managers, i.e. the Line Manager was in a much better position to understand these problems, since he knows the people in his teams and how they get work done. Direct involvement of the Line Manager enabled the building of IT tools which solved business problems that his/her teams faced.

In hindsight, the centralized top-down approach of IT system deployment was a mistake. The IT department never stood a chance.

Understanding the processes, practices, people and nuances of every team in a 6000 person global organization was an unrealistic expectation, especially under a tight budget and timeline. A decentralized approach to technology development and deployment, where the Line Manager was empowered to take technology decisions for his or her team, would have yielded better results.

Decentralization, as a management concept, has been around for a while. William B. Given Jr.’s book Bottom-Up Management, 1949 was probably the first to talk about Decentralization, while Drucker’s works over the last 50 years have often made the case for giving front-line managers greater control. However, it is only in the last decade that we saw an increased devolution of formerly centralized responsibilities (like human resource management, risk management, and strategic planning) to the Line Manager.
In this context, the decentralization of IT decisions is a natural step forward. Looking at our own portfolio of projects at Fingent, we see a steady increase in Line Managers successfully creating, customizing and deploying technology solutions for their departments. I believe that there are three key reasons why the Line Manager is successful in independently managing core information technology needs of his/her teams:

• Line Managers, especially those who are hands-on, are able to derive a good understanding of information architecture requirements
• A Line Manager understands of how the team gets work done, and
• A Line Manager’s ability to lead and manage changes to the ways of working.

The right information, at the right time

In relatively flat, multi-functional organizations, workers at every level have decision-making responsibilities. For such a knowledge worker, the ability to assimilate, interpret, arrange, sift and process relevant information is critical for the successful execution of day to day tasks.
Take the case of the failed digital-information IT system; asked to identify the single most important cause of failure, users across departments answered that the information necessary for work was either unavailable in the system, or was not available at the right time or in the right format. Each of the smaller systems that they were using daily was tailored to meet the specific needs of the team, providing different roles in these teams with the information they required to operate efficiently and effectively. Information was shared in the context of the tasks and stage of work, ensuring that it was available to the right person at the right time. These systems thus organized and structured information in a manner best suited to the team’s objectives. Or in other words, they had good information architectures.
Different departments/teams adding value to the organization in different ways need radically different information architectures. Information required for software developers to execute their day to day tasks is usually different from information necessary for a hardware engineer, HR personnel or Sales personnel. The IT department, which led the deployment of the failed solution, tried to create a system of compromises, and in doing so, compromised the critical needs of almost every department. This flawed approach resulted in a significant wastage of money and time.

A good information architecture secures that the right information is available to users; enabling a good technology system to use this information architecture for delivering the right information to the employee at the right time.Creating a good information architecture requires: the allocation of the right resources, interfacing with supplier and customer teams ( internal or external), a good understanding of current and desired processes, and a good understanding of the strategic and tactical objectives of the department. The Line Manager for the team/department is in the best position to take ownership of this activity and to use his resources to drive the creation of a good information architecture for his team or department.

There is one specific aspect of the information architecture where the Manager must be hands-on; performance measurement. Early measurement systems were top down, with KPIs being set by Senior Executives cascading down to the teams. However, with the greater empowerment of teams, we now see teams, designing their own measurement systems, in line with corporate strategy and measurement systems, to gauge own progress. The manager of a team is often responsible for the KPIs, its methodology and also the measurement. He should determine the level of access that different roles in his team, have to these measures.
Providing the right information, to the right person at the right time often provides the base for realizing the value added by technology. This “right information” is realized using the Information Architecture used by a team. Technology can then be deployed to use this Information Architecture to deliver information to employees in the context of their day to day work. The Line manager is in the best position to drive the creation of the information architecture for his team, while securing that it is aligned with organizational strategic goals and the team’s tactical objectives.

Processes and Practice: A Line Manager knows the difference between theory and application

In addition to a good information architecture, technology must also be aligned to systems used by the department, to add value to the organization. These systems are deployed via processes, and these days almost all self-respecting departments and teams of knowledge workers have documented processes. Whether the documented process meets practice is another story entirely. In the case of knowledge work, especially work that requires moderate to high degree of autonomous and creative thinking, tacit knowledge and improvisation trumps documented processes in practice.

When automating the change management system for the pharma enterprise, we discovered that different project coordinators had different approaches, planning, reporting, risk management and interdepartmental cooperation, which often resulted in significant deviations from the documented processes. For such a department to realize the benefits of automation, documented processes alone are insufficient. It is vital to consider the entire system as practiced and applied by the users, and in doing so, prioritizing the creation of tools to automate the desirable aspects of the system. It is the promise of predictability and stability in the way things get done using a system that often determines the effectiveness of deploying the software application. The Line Manager of the Department has a good view of the overall picture, people and the operational details; all of which are critical inputs to good decisions about balancing process and practice to achieve a stable system.

In the case of the pharma company, the Line/Department Manager was able to obtain the necessary strategic, operational and tactical perspective to determine specific processes and practices which were important to automate. Only he had sufficient authority and responsibility to ratify and take responsibility for these decisions. The IT department, or a 3rd party consultant, or even most people in his team would not be able to provide the unique perspective necessary to take these decisions.

The software solution we deployed for this department not only provides the benefits of automation, but also helps the team identify process deviations, enabling good decisions about the acceptance and mitigation of these deviations in day to day operations.

Often, the development of new tools and technologies is a trigger for teams to introspect and overhaul their existing systems. One of our clients, a property acquisition department at a national property management firm, re-architected their processes to take advantage of the benefits that a custom-built software application could provide. Their old system was built around the tools of pen-paper and a commodity desktop solution available then. During our early stages of pre-development analysis discussions, they realized that a custom software application, could free the department from the constraints of the commodity software, and open the doors to add value in new and innovative ways. Through mobile devices, real-time updates, and improved reporting, they could realize benefits that were not accessible to them before. They reinvented their property acquisition processes, providing significantly greater value and increasing the department’s strategic value to the organization. Such successful change was possible because the Line Manager was able to allocate a good team to work with the core process changes and technology upgrade, while he also worked with his peers and governance board, to plan and manage the delivery of business benefits.

 Providing change leadership: Who better than the Line Manager?

Like any other change program, the deployment of new software technology invariably runs into resistance from employees; often the biggest challenge to software deployment.

IT deployment often makes some previously subjective measures objective and visible to all. Employees may be nervous to reveal more information than they used to do before. Then there is inertia, the reluctance to shift from comfortable routines and practices to a different way of working.

Supporting the team to see the change brought about by technology deployment is a leadership challenge. The Line Manager is in the best position to take up this challenge.

Leading such a change requires the active, consistent and continuous engagement of all employees who will ultimately be impacted by the change. It requires the creation of trust, so issues and concerns can be discussed and evaluated freely, together with the perceptions of value and benefits of the new system. This is an undertaking that requires significant effort, often at an interpersonal level. The Line Manager is the ideal candidate to lead such an effort. As organizations become flatter, the manager is a coach and a mentor to the individuals in his/her team. Alongside tactical directives, a Line Manager can use one-to-one meetings, coffee machine conversations and other informal discussions to evangelize the need for the new system and reinforce the benefits: a better work profile, reduced workload, skill upgrades and much more.

Leading such an effort also means assembling the right people, from the very start of the technology development initiative. These are people with the right skill set, organizational credibility and influence. Assembling such a team, and providing them with purpose, while leveraging their strengths and abilities at the right time can make a big difference to the progress and the success of a technology deployment project. Some team members may be good with early phase visioning, while others may be simulated by the challenges of training and change management. Choosing the right people for the right task, and giving them the ownership of creating and deploying the new system can increase interest levels in the entire team. This also leads to  greater participation, and mitigating resistance during deployment. The Line Manager knows the strengths and weaknesses, the goals and aspirations of the individuals in his team. This enables him or her to make good decisions about mobilizing the right people for the project.

Leading this change, requires the management of day to day operations, while resources are devoted to the deployment of the new system, and while the department migrates from the old way of working to the new system. The Line Manager can secure minimal impact on ongoing operations, by allocating the necessary time (and backups) for those involved. And also providing the necessary time and support for the entire team to learn and use the new system. He can use his resources and forums to identify potential deployment blockers and mitigate such risks early. For example, staff meetings provide good opportunities to build cohesion and agreement about the new system and the deployment plan. It is also an effective way to source ideas and motivate volunteers for beta testing.

Conclusion

The choice of tools to execute a task requires combination of strategic, operational and tactical knowledge to make informed choices. The IT department in an organization, which services many lines, sections and departments, cannot be expected to have such an in-depth understanding.

The Line Manager is best positioned to have such an intimate understanding of the business and its operations. The Line Manager understands the formal and the informal processes, which gets the work done within his team. He/She knows the measures and indicators on his department’s scorecard, the data required for these and the processes which define these. He/She knows and often owns the processes that detail how his team interacts with other teams, within and outside the organization. The Line Manager understands a team’s suppliers and customers. And most importantly, the Line Manager understands the team today – the people who work for him today, their capability, their skillset and he/she understands the team required for business tomorrow – the capabilities and skill set required to keep up with a changing business environment. From an organizational perspective, giving ownership of technology to the people who will use it, empowers them with greater control and responsibility towards the outcomes expected from them.

Can you imagine a day in your life without using any software applications? Yes, that would mean the apps in your phone too, like the calling, messaging, gaming or calendar apps! It will be tough, particularly in this era of technological advancement, when we talk of securely using devices in the Internet of Things, right?! Does it end there? Definitely no, because apart from individual needs, a lot of business-to-business interaction today happens via software applications. A few minutes of downtime in these web applications would bring the global businesses to a halt.
Those myriad overseas businesses, companies outsourcing projects, business partners around the globe, everyone use software applications to communicate, interact, exchange data and accomplish tasks. From simple transferring of funds into bank accounts to deploying global websites updating live pricing information (like e-commerce sites), the adoption of web applications in businesses is very huge. The advent of faster internet, new technologies, connected devices and powerful browsers, have made people depend on web applications and software more than ever.
Ever wondered what are the processes behind developing such smart web applications, which make our day-to-day tasks simply a piece of cake? What ‘behind the screen’ efforts make a perfect Application? Let’s go through these essential phases in the lifecycle of web application development.

The Web Application Architecture
This is the skeleton/ blueprint of your application, giving the overview of what it does, how it does it, who it is for, and the relation between its entities. The most widely used application architecture is three-tier architecture and has 3 tiers, viz., Presentation (User Services), Domain Logic (Business Services) and Data Storage (Data Services).

• Presentation tier: the gateway through which customers interact with the application.
• Domain Logic tier: The tier ranges from web scripting to server side programming, allowing users to do complex actions via a web interface.
• Data Storage tier: Stores, retrieves and updates information at a high level. Few data storage and retrieval devices are file systems, databases and writeable media.

Keeping these tiers in mind, following are the guidelines developers should follow to create a website application:

The feasible project: Choose the right project with respect to the resources, skill-set, publishing capabilities, and budget available.
Planning: Make a wireframe to plan the design of the application you are going to create. The key to a good application is, 50% planning and 50% coding. A properly planned wireframe helps you to envision the app before it’s being built and helps to avoid potential roadblocks. That said, wireframes are just a general structure and layout, and not detailed masterpiece works of art. Use the wireframes to further plan your page layouts and core components in it. But don’t waste time redrawing the components; after all it’s just a depiction of what you are going to create.
Draw out the planned design: Using the good old pen and paper, as opposed to software tools to draw out the ideas in your head actually help put in your raw creative input. It enables you to arrive at better designs in much less time. And you can perfectly translate it into designs.
Forecasting the goals, nature and the direction in which the app development should progress: This is the phase where teams associated with the project, developers, testers, BAs and management get together to discuss the goals that must be achieved through the application. There shall be a clear documentation of what the Application will achieve.
Devising the Plan: How will the application be built? What scripting language should be used, what all features to be included and how long should the development of decided features take? The focus here will be on the Project plan, wherein the timeframe for different tasks and the functional specification which depicts the functionality and flow of the app in detail will be decided.
Development: Once the foundation (project plan and functional specs) are set, the developers can then start coding, testing and publishing. There shall be proper documentation of how the development will progress, and what entities, data variables, and coding procedures will be used throughout the project.
Testing for stability: The phase will test the application for bugs, errors, stability, quality and purpose. There are different approaches for testing, for instance, testing side-by-side with the development is called Test-driven Development.
Staging: is the phase where the release candidate is assembled, tested and reviewed in a website environment similar to the production environment (actual hardware and software in which the application will be used), before moving it to production. This is where the final testing will be performed, adding no new features.
Production: This is the final version of the application presented to the end users. This version of the website application won’t change until its next update is ready after proving to be stable in the staging environment.
Security: Know, design, develop and deploy software with secure features. Many software security vulnerabilities are not coding issues, but are design issues- “Lessons Learned from Five Years of Building More Secure Software”. Security is as crucial as the usability, performance, reliability, or scalability of the application.
Support scheme: Providing support for your application is equally important. Give your clients the ability to contact you, for instance, define procedure call in case of emergencies like application failures, mishaps, or downtime. Ticket tracking system, where requests are identified by unique codes, is a good example of support scheme.

A plenty of smart tools available today help by automating several aspects of website application development mentioned above, making the job much easier than it was before. So, there you have the tools and the wireframe to plan, design and develop your next web application. If you need further help in planning or developing your next software application, be it a website or mobile app, our software experts can help!

The retail industry is one that constantly strives to stick to margins. It’s a live or die scenario for most retail companies these days, with their managers struggling to maintain their costs low and revenues high. That’s a pretty hard thing to maintain, considering the level of competition in the industry. Every retailer is always on the lookout for ways to lure more customers into their nets while at the same time keep their costs in check. And technology has always been a means for them to achieve both these goals.

Technology spending in the global retail sector is predicted to reach $203.6 billion in 2019. Ever-changing customer expectations are forcing retailers to digitally transform their businesses. Customer experience, inventory management, supply chain management and the like are some areas where technology is being used and improvements are being made. For example, wireless technology is something that has played a huge role in transforming the retail industry, by allowing devices and people to communicate with one another from anywhere in the world. Although, its adoption has been limited by a number of factors like security concerns, deployment costs etc.

Considering the race for retail companies to bag the most number of consumers, it is almost inevitable that they make use of technology if they have to stay ahead. It is indeed important to adopt new technologies in retail business, as customers always go for maximum ease and efficiency when it comes to shopping, and if you fall short, you are just going to get phased out.

Just like customer experience and supply chain management, there are various aspects in retail where you can leverage technology to increase productivity and profits. Here we discuss few such areas, where you can make use of technology and streamline your business.

Related Read: Top Tech Trends Every Retailer Must Implement NOW

Point of Sale (POS) AND Payments

The physical location where goods are sold to customers – the point of sale – was traditionally the place where customers used to stand in line for hours to make a purchase. But studies have shown that in long lines, one out of ten customers would leave without making a purchase. Long lines may also cause resentment among customers which makes them less likely to visit the store again.

Using technology can help prevent these issues in several ways. For example, with the help of handheld computers, scanners and printers with integrated credit card readers, the point of sale can be made to be fully mobile and hence a lot faster. During times of high sales, these mobile POS terminals can be used throughout the store at several places so that customers can get their stuff billed at any of those counters quickly.

Moreover, the sales personnel with these handheld POS terminals can also process transactions while moving through checkout lines in order to accelerate the checkout process as well. For customers with lesser products, their transactions can be completed while they are still in their lines. For other customers, their products can be scanned with a barcode scanner while they are in their line and tickets can be printed with prices along with a master barcode for the entire merchandise.

On reaching the counter, only the master bar code needs to be scanned for the total price. This eliminates the need for the checkout clerk to process each item individually, thereby hastening the entire process.

Contactless Payments

Contactless payments are one of the most beneficial technological advancements in the world of payments. These help in making check out processes faster in retail stores as well. Contact payment systems are basically credit cards, debit cards, smart cards or even devices like smartphones and tablets that make use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Near Field Communication (NFC) technologies to make secure payments. They have an embedded chip and an antenna that allows users to simply wave their card over a reader at the POS terminal, and make their payment.

They don’t even have to sign a receipt or enter passwords or PINs (Personal Identification Numbers) as is the case with normal debit or credit card payments. This eliminates the need for customers to deal with the problems of handling cash or remembering their PINs. Also, speeds up transactions, which makes it one of the most preferred means of making payments for customers.

According to several pieces of market research, it has been found that sales volumes have increased as a result of fast transactions in a number of retail stores. A report by Chase shows that the time spent by customers at the POS is reduced by 30% to 40% and according to an American Express study, contactless transactions have been found to be 63% faster than cash and 53% faster than a traditional credit card transaction.
Hence, it is needless to say, how much of an impact contactless payments can have on improving business.

Customer Service

When it comes to customer service, one of the areas where the most number of issues arise, besides long lines in checkout is regarding the lack of store associates to direct customers or give more information about their product or store. This is where technology comes in handy. Self-help kiosks can be placed in stores, where the customers themselves can access product information, store information, inventory information (both for that particular store as well as other nearby stores in their chain), store directory (so as to locate what product is placed where) and the like.

Many retailers are already using such self-help kiosks instead of additional sales associates, which have helped them save a lot on costs. Some of these also have “get help” buttons, which alert nearby store assistants when pressed, and enable customers to talk to them through their voice-enabled Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). Such kiosks allow customers to find answers to their questions on their own without having to look around for store assistants, thereby improving customer service.

E-commerce sites

Another area where technology can be leveraged to improve customer service is online shopping sites. Various improvements such as rotating and interactive product displays and other kinds of personalization are already helping retailers deliver a more delightful shopping experience online. Such personalized online experiences put together with in-store personalization provides customers with the most satisfying experience.

Augmented Reality

Some companies like IKEA, are also providing added services through their catalog, by making use of augmented reality to give customers a virtual view of products such as furniture in a living room and the like, so that they can make better decisions when choosing a product. Augmented reality is one of the best ways to improve customer experience and increase sales.

Customer Feedback

In-store feedback – one of the most effective ways to measure customer satisfaction can be made more effective with technology. Retailers can have wireless tablets and notes placed in their stores that offer easy-to-fill feedback forms for customers. Customers would always be happy to fill feedback forms if offered incentives for it, like gift coupons and discounts.

Related Read: Ways to Leverage Smart IT Solutions for your Retail Business

These are just some of the ways in which technology can be used in the retail business to improve profits. Even though a lot of these technologies are not being adopted by a number of companies due to various reasons, it is pretty clear now how important they are. As a matter of fact, with time a lot of the traditional methods in retail are sure to get phased and you will be left with no option but unfamiliar technology.

Relying on a proficient technology solutions provider like Fingent can help grow your retail business by integrating technology. Get in touch with our consultants today to map out the right technology solutions that provide your retail business a competitive edge.

Inventory Management

Management of inventory, both in-store as well in the warehouse has always been a major area of expense for retailers. Merchandise must be entered into inventory, tracked on movements and removed from inventory, on being sold. Also, real-time inventory information needs to be available in stores so as to plan the purchase of products, as and when they go out of stock. A total inventory management system that is integrated with the POS can put things in order to a large extent.

As the products are sold through the POS, they also get removed from the inventory and are updated across all systems that use such inventory information. A large clothing retailer makes use of hand-held computers or kiosks integrated with the central inventory system, which can be used to place orders to the warehouse. This is to directly deliver a product to a customer’s house because it was not available in-store when the customer asked for it.

In shipping, wireless barcode scanners can be used at the receiving place to enter stock directly into the inventory, as they get delivered, with the warehouse location of the items also being able to be tracked instantly. Many retailers are already using DEX/UCS (Direct Exchange/Uniform Communication Standard) to allow the delivery people to directly enter invoices into a store’s accounting system, thereby simplifying billing as well as accounting.

Price Auditing

Price auditing has always been a time-consuming process for retail companies. Looking up price labels on products and verifying them with the prices charged to the customers is definitely a hard thing to do. With wireless devices like a tablet or a notebook, the store associate can check the price labels of all the products by scanning the shelf labels using a barcode scanner. These devices can be linked to the store’s central database of products which are also linked to the POS terminals in order to track the prices of products being sold. If there are any differences between the POS prices and the database prices or the shelf prices, corrective action can be taken immediately. Hence, accurate pricing can be achieved and a lot of time can be saved, plus it adds to the trust factor for customers as well.

These are just some of the ways in which technology can be used in the retail business to improve profits. Even though a lot of these technologies are not being adopted by a number of companies due to various reasons, it is pretty clear now how important they are. As a matter of fact, with time a lot of the traditional methods in retail are sure to get phased and you will be left with no option but unfamiliar technology. 

Here is a video of the smart malls of the Future: