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The wide-ranging benefits of digitalisation to business has never been more obvious.  Recent McKinsey & Company research demonstrates the pandemic has had such a profound effect on digital transformation that seven years of progress was made in a matter of months.  No wonder this has thrust digital transformation to the forefront of business goals.  According to a survey by HCL Technologies, 80% of organisations now see it as a priority.

However, despite the obvious benefits, data also indicates that SME’s lag behind big business in the adoption of nearly all technologies.  The largest gaps are in the digitalisation of internal organisation processes where automation can save time and money. Why is this the case? Are SME’s unsure how to proceed to best benefit their business? What are the barriers to digital transformation? How can SME’s also ride the wave of this technology revolution?

Process automation and digitalisation could be the answer. Using simple, cost-efficient technologies, SME’s can transform manual operations into digital ones.  For SME’s, the benefits of embracing automation are huge:

• Save time to focus on what matters
• Reduce costs
• Boost sales
• Reduce human error

We acknowledge SME’s are a diverse group but some processes are common to us all.  Think how long the sales process can be. Quotes, approvals and sales contracts going back and forth in countless emails and phone calls.  Routine documents such as NDA’s, onboarding new clients (and staff), invoices and reports are also extremely time-consuming.  Overcomplicated communication, slow approvals, rerouting of documents, fixing errors and digging through piles of paperwork and emails.  Automation is the answer – it simplifies the systems, eliminates the tedious tasks and replaces staff time with tech, freeing up more time for them to do what they do best (which let’s face it, is what you employed them for).

So, what is holding SME’s back?  Why is there this digital divide? Is the perception that the cost of automation is too high for a small business?  Automation doesn’t have to be expensive just strategic.  Simple tools can be used to do repetitive tasks for you, saving time and money for the business.  But implementing automation must require specialist skills by IT programmers that we simply don’t have, right? Wrong! New low or no-code platforms like AUTTO puts the technology directly into the hands of people who run the everyday business without the need for specialist programming skills.  Valued staff are empowered to identify their own pain points and easily automate their day-to-day tasks with no-code automation.

The McKinsey research concludes that although small business is less likely to automate than large corporates it is more likely to succeed.  We at AUTTO want to help you realise this. Get in touch today to book your free demo:  https://www.autto.io/book-a-demo

Business automation has become a key part of driving success forwards and is no longer the preserve of big corporations.   With platforms such as AUTTO, small businesses can now afford to easily incorporate automation in every aspect of their business, leading to huge time and cost savings.   It can be quite confusing for small business owners to identify exactly which daily tasks should be automated. So, in this post, we explore our recommended top 5…

1. Sales Completion 

Salespeople hate paperwork but heaps of forms are inherent when closing a deal. Documents such as:

• Sales Agreements
• Invoices
• Client information gathering
• Updating CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems can all be automated.

It transforms the sales process into a highly time-saving, more accurate and less laborious one for the team responsible.  This frees up their time and energy to do what they do best – sell more and grow your business.

2. Managing Approvals

Automation cuts down on time spent seeking complicated approvals across the business. Getting approval for example for a PO over a certain amount or for a discount being offered to a client would usually require manual input from multiple people.  Each of these can hold up the time taken and make the process open to human error.  Automating this process makes it seamless, accurate and cuts time dramatically.

3. Employee Onboarding

Taking on new staff is a time-intensive process for all and for the new employee, there is nothing worse than arriving for a new job, full of excitement than spending the first day filling out forms! Let automation handle the lot.

• Employee contracts are created and signed digitally,
• Processes are created to ensure all new hires have access to the passwords,
• Keys and important files they need from day one
• Automatic background checks, verifications and screenings.  This last one provides an important audit trail, vital particularly for those companies that have regulations. This leads us neatly onto…

4. Audit Trail for Compliance

Many industries have regulations specific to them and must demonstrate compliance with certain processes – a lengthy and painful process. Automation takes the headache away by automatically providing an audit trail to prove compliance. At AUTTO, for example, we use our own software in-house to ensure and prove all new employees have had the information security training required to honour our ISO 27001 status.

5. Information Gathering and Creating Reports

For organisations that need to gather and compound large amounts of data to produce bespoke reports for clients, automation will transform their business.  The time it would usually take to collect and collate info and create a relevant client document can be shortened dramatically with automation.  That frees up time to grow your business.  Small business consultancies, balance scorecards in the construction industry and talent management can for example all benefit from this.

So there it is – our top 5 automation suggestions.  If you’re interested in automating your business, talk to us now. We’d love to hear from you CONTACT US or sign up for our FREE TRIAL!

“Technology is no longer just one vehicle for success – it’s the vehicle all possible success depends on.”

Strong words for business leaders. So why are so many still not championing the use of technology in their business?

Why is it too often seen as the job of the ‘IT manager’ or the ‘Operations person’? The disruptors of the past year have brutally exposed to small start-ups and big business alike the limitations of the longstanding norms of doing business. The “if it ain’t broke why fix it?” attitude has to change.

Every leader should now be aiming to be a technology pioneer and show a hands-on approach to adopting new technology to fill these limitations. Clearly if technology innovation is not on the priority agenda of the CEO there’s a low chance it will succeed – the new times we operate in now call for leaders to upend convention and take a more proactive approach to tech.

However, understandably many business leaders struggle to see where to begin – research suggests 45% do not even know where to start with digital transformation[i]. But the good news is with the tools that are available today, leaders don’t need the knowledge of an IT consultant.

New low or no-code platforms like AUTTO puts the technology directly into the hands of people who run the everyday business without the need for specialist programming skills. Leaders win on all fronts – technology transforms business efficiency whilst valued staff are empowered to identify their own pain points to fix.

Powerful automation platforms like AUTTO allow employees to:

1. Think for themselves on the best way to streamline their key business processes, documents, and everyday tasks.
2. No-code automation means they can then easily, without any programming skills, develop their own applications in response.
3. Important but laborious daily tasks, such as cutting and pasting into a spreadsheet or sending out endless emails are automated freeing up valuable time.

Our customers tell us they save about 75% of their time using AUTTO. Staff hours are redirected to doing far more valuable and creative tasks.

This “democratisation” of technology creates an enormous opportunity to drive businesses forward but whether it succeeds or not is up to the leaders– they must take an active role to embrace and champion tech to thrive in the new tech World.