Doing more with less: a necessary ingredient in a tough economy

By NetSimplicity

The reality of an uncertain economy has convinced many companies to re-evaluate operations – starting with ways to be more productive.

From re-evaluating technology to streamlining operations across organizations, companies today understand all too well that doing more with less isn't just wishful thinking - it's the harsh reality of a new economy.

The worldwide economy has shifted on multiple fronts - and current economic conditions have forced businesses to re-evaluate operations at every level in the company.

 

 

A report from the International Labour Office (ILO), an organization that tracks global labor statistics and economic trends, entitled Key Indicators of the Labour Market, Fifth Edition, found that while "productivity levels have increased worldwide over the past decade, gaps remain wide between the industrialized region and most others," and that a "major cause of world poverty is waste of workers' productive potential."

Technology that increases efficiency

Companies are feeling the urgency to increase efficiency as soon as possible and organizations worldwide - particularly in the Middle East - are relying on innovative technology to help.

According to a new IDC report, total spending on information technology (IT) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is expected to rise nearly 50 percent to $45 billion by 2010, up from $30 billion in 2006.

Specifically, six Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, will account for nearly 23 percent of the total IT spending of the entire Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. Saudi Arabia is the largest market in the region, comprising 43 percent of overall IT spending, followed by the UAE with 36 percent, Kuwait with 9 percent, Qatar with 5 percent, Bahrain with 4 percent and Oman with 3 percent.

The growing hardware market, at just over 62 percent, has driven IT spending in the Middle East, but services (24.3 percent) and packaged software (13.6 percent) are also big growth areas.

In-demand IT: Productivity and business management software

Not surprisingly, the IT solutions most in demand for 2009 and beyond revolve around productivity, streamlined services and reliability - especially managed services and business management/productivity software, according to the results of the Channel Insider 2009 Market Pulse Survey.

Companies may still be spending on IT, but they are much more particular about the money they are investing and the technologies they are choosing. And more often than not, the technologies they want are those that help them cut costs and increase productivity.

In fact, company feedback on the hottest technologies of 2009 included managed services (more than 39 percent), and business management and productivity software (more than 17 percent).

Time wasted means millions lost

The fact is that lost productivity and inefficiency are the huge time wasters for businesses - and end up costing companies millions each year. Simple, yet powerful, gains in productivity can drive big cost savings for businesses, but especially in challenging economic times. And they're technologies that employees are also embracing.

According to the Channel Insider survey, the technologies in highest demand by end-users - not companies - included cell phones/smart phones (30.7 percent); handhelds/PDAs/wireless devices (22.9 percent); and business management/productivity software (14.5 percent).

For example, Cisco experimented with using dual-mode wireless phones for employees, which ended up saving about five minutes of time each week. In the grand scheme of things, five minutes is a blink of an eye in today's 24/7, always-on business climate, but the company ended up saving about $12 million a year by making the switch (SOURCE: Channel Insider) - and employees were more productive.

Recovering wasted time

Productivity at every level is vital for business success - and companies are searching for ways to recover wasted time in all facets of a company, including the time spent planning and organizing meetings.

According to Meetings in America: A study of trends, costs and attitudes toward business travel, teleconferencing, and their impact on productivity, a whitepaper from MCI Conferencing, there's a direct correlation between preparation time and meeting productivity.

And, according to the International Software and Productivity Engineering Institute (ISPEI), it's the global demand for increased productivity that is having a huge impact on overall business strategy. Ideally, the organization says, companies should focus on three key areas: making decisions; innovating; and expressing themselves artistically and creatively (i.e. focusing on the company's expertise or value proposition). All the rest should be outsourced via technology.

NetSimplicity's Meeting Room Manager software gives companies the ability to organize people across multiple locations and multiple time zones, quickly and efficiently. The bottom line is that today's multinational companies simply cannot afford to waste time at any level - and they don't have to with powerful productivity tools that are designed to save valuable time and streamline operations.

"Focus is saying no"

Steve Jobs, the charismatic leader of Apple Computer, once said that "focus is saying no to everything else," - and the same is true when it comes to organizational productivity.

By saying "no" to time spent scheduling and managing meeting rooms and resources, and management and employee frustration with double-booked rooms that don't fit their needs, companies can focus on saying "yes" to increased overall productivity across the organization.

Scheduling systems like Meeting Room Manager can dramatically increase the efficiency of meeting room and resource management. As a result, administrative teams are more productive because they spend less time organizing and planning meetings.

A dynamic software solution that can be easily deployed across multiple locations and time zones, Meeting Room Manager automates the entire process of managing meeting rooms and resources.

Even disparate departments are on the same page, because this kind of scheduling system can book everything for a meeting or event at the same time, including transportation, information systems, audio/video, catering and facilities.

Transparency across an organization

Management and employees can immediately identify available resources - whether it's rooms, computer, audio or video equipment, catering or other resources - make the requests they need, and track usage by client, office location, business sector or a host of other options.

Today's productivity software must also do more with less; Meeting Room Manager integrates easily with Microsoft Outlook®, taking scheduling to the next level with features that transcend simple Outlook capabilities.

The challenge of scheduling conflicts, miscommunication, double-booked rooms and wasted time is eliminated with one powerful and flexible software system.

An easy installation process and an intuitive interface are just a few of the reasons why businesses of all sizes are using scheduling software to streamline operations and cut costs. Companies today don't have time for long implementation processes - they want to start seeing results immediately. For example, Meeting Room Manager software takes about 20 minutes to install, eliminating unnecessary work time for a company's IT department.

A necessity, not an option

Gone are the days when business management and productivity software that streamlined an organization was seen as a "nice-to-have" option. In today's economic climate, it's a necessity - and successful businesses worldwide have been quick to embrace this new reality.

According to a survey by Express Computer, India's weekly business publication for technology professionals, more than 76 percent of respondents have deployed productivity, operating systems, database and related applications because "as businesses are experiencing increased growth and need to meet new business dynamics, they need software that can keep pace with their growth, as well as provide greater levels of automation to streamline business processes."

Beyond sheer economic reasons, flexibility with the delivery method for such software also appeals to companies trying to save money. For example, NetSimplicity offers Meeting Room Manager as either an on-demand (hosted) solution or as an in-house installed option - both of which offer considerable benefits.

With an on-demand - or software as a service - option, companies enjoy instant start-up (and no demand on an already strapped IT team), lower up-front costs, and no capital investment (such as hardware acquisition). Low monthly or annual payments align with an organization's operating expense budget, and companies have the ability to scale usage up or down based on demand, economic considerations and other business factors.

Meeting Room Manager's in-house option gives businesses increased in-house IT control and oversight (including seamless integration with internal databases), a solid long-term investment with a reasonable total cost of ownership, and a rapid in-house deployment.

In a challenging business climate, it's crucial that companies look at every facet of their business now for success in the future. Saving time by using software to increase productivity is a valuable - and necessary - strategy that can ensure companies weather the economic storm.

About NetSimplicity
NetSimplicity is an office administration software company with a large roster of domestic and international customers, including many Fortune and Global 1000 firms. Founded in 1994 and originally known as Network Simplicity, the company is a recognized leader in easy-to-use and easy-to-buy software that solves office administration problems for small, medium and large-sized organizations in a broad range of industries. NetSimplicity is a division of Asure Software (NASDAQ: ASUR).

For more information on streamlining overall business operations and saving both time and money, visit www.netsimplicity.com.

Contact details:
NetSimplicity
108 Wild Basin Rd.
Austin, TX 78746
T: 866-248-0480, E: sales@netsimplicity.com