According to Stanley Zarowin’s article in the Journal of Accountancy 1 the new millennium signalled that workplace technology was to become a pre-requisite to doing business rather than just a priority. Almost ten years after this article was written, it is even more imperative for organisations to accept that message.

As businesses grow – efficiencies can be made by automating the office. It is expected these days that the basic activities of collecting, storing, manipulating and relaying digital information are efficient in organisations - large and small alike. 

Ten years ago, the backbone of office automation was the local area network. These days some organisations are using the internet as their backbone. These networks are making it possible to run an efficient office and customers, supplier and stakeholders alike are all expecting just that; an efficient smooth operation. 

Even the tiniest companies commonly utilise email, word processing, spreadsheets and accounts packages. These applications work well in isolation, but lead to a lot of duplicated effort – staff in the business sending the same letter or email, raising the same invoice and carrying out the same activity.

Word processing templates, spreadsheet automation, databases and websites can all be a part of the solution. But in today’s environment these technologies as the very basic building blocks. Electronic meetings over the web, social networking sites, blogging and twittering are all examples of how the web is revolutionising how businesses operate today. Teams can operate in virtual environments without the need to share the same physical space. New groupware products like Microsoft Sharepoint allow the blurring of traditional boundaries between your organisation and your customers and suppliers.

The time to act is now, as Zarowin 1 points out “the longer one delays, the larger the gap and the harder it is to catch up.”

Put quite simply – the effective use of information technology has the means to make or break an organisation.

Small businesses need a solution that can grow with them. Our philosophy is to deliver you just what you need, right when you need it and to retain the relationship with your business as it grows.

To discuss how Exogistic can help you automate your business please contact Graham Parker on 07973 254003.

1 Technology for the new Millenium by Stanley Zarowin (Journal of Accountancy April 2000) http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2000/Apr/TechnologyForTheNewMillennium

Maximising Return on Investment from your IT.

According to an article in the Harvard Business Review in 2003   businesses worldwide pump $2 trillion into IT and IT has become a commodity that no longer offers any strategic advantage.  Because of its ubiquity we must focus on the risks of IT more than the strategic importance of it.  The biggest risk overall in IT is overspending.

Exogistic offers a solution to fit the needs of all companies that rely on IT investment for any part of their business.  Our focus is simple and has a proven track record.  We reduce your costs and improve the efficiency of your IT by following our unique methodology.

The process starts by appointing an Exogistic consultant to manage it on a fixed rate basis.  Typically this follows with a cost-cutting exercise carried out in a sensitive way.  We ensure that you retain the essential services that you need and that we fully understand your business use of IT during the process.

Once the costs are under control we review the process and prepare a strategy for your future use of IT.  The strategy takes into account the future directions of the IT industry and is aligned with your overall business strategy.

Once the whole process is complete we can, if you are happy with the service, move on to a maintenance phase.  During the maintenance phase we ensure that the return on your IT investment is monitored and that you continue to reap the rewards of your strategy which will be reviewed on an annual basis.

To discuss how Exogistic can help you maximise the return on investment from your IT please contact Graham Parker on 07973 254003.