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You Can’t Plan for a Disaster, but You Can Have a Disaster Plan

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You Can’t Plan for a Disaster, but You Can Have a Disaster Plan

Disaster PlanA disaster can happen at any time and, for businesses, they usually happen when it’s least expected. Natural disasters, fires, or data breaches can wreak havoc for a busy business and the disruption can cause a ripple effect, impacting production, customers, vendors and other operations. Having a disaster plan is critical for maintaining an appropriate level of business continuity and successfully making it through the disaster.

Businesses grow and change and the disaster plans of yesterday may not adequately protect a business during a disaster today. According to “How Small Businesses Are Taking Advantage of the Latest Trends in Disaster Recovery,” posted by Roy Castleman on TheVarGuy.com, there are several new ways  businesses are protecting operations during crisis situations and the latest trends in disaster recovery may strengthen your own disaster plans. Here are several factors to consider when putting your disaster recovery plan together or updating an existing plan.

  1. Know what to focus on first: In the event of a disaster, it will be nearly impossible to get business back up to 100% all at once. Determine what operations should stay running or which data you need to protect or recover from backups first. Estimate the amount of time you need to perform these tasks and how you’ll go about it.
  2. Consider the cloud: The use of cloud technology for disaster recovery is increasing amongst businesses for a number of different reasons. A hybrid cloud can quickly replicate data from either on-premise or offsite data centers. In addition, upon disaster, the cloud can be used to run operations until production services become functional and synchronized with data in the cloud.
  3. Social media: Popular social networks, like Facebook or Twitter, can be used to share information with employees, stockholders and other business partners during a disaster.
  4. Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS): There are businesses that can provide disaster recovery services, supporting small and mid-sized businesses with plans and guiding them through a disaster.
    The businesses that prepare recovery plans are more likely to come out of a disaster faster and intact. Position your business to weather a potential disaster by having a plan and knowing how to execute that plan. Contact AppSolute Consulting Group to learn more about preparing for disaster by having the right tools and technology in place.By AppSolute Consulting Group, LLC, Microsoft, Acumatica, and Sage Partner based in New York

ERP is About to Get Friendlier and Smarter

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ERP is About to Get Friendlier…and Smarter

erp get friendlier smarterEnterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are known for providing good information to key business units. However, it’s not often known for being user-friendly, especially in comparison to modern cloud-based apps. As ERP moves toward mobile devices, it’s important that the user interface not only accommodate popular smartphone platforms, but also be more user-friendly and smarter.

As suggested in “ERP software gets a makeover,” posted by Bruce Harpham on CIO.com, modern ERP solutions support the operations essential to a business’s success. For example, the accounting team can manage financial operations and the supply chain team can manage inventory and vendor information needed to fulfill customer needs. While most ERP systems have been able to keep up with industry trends, offering features aligned with new business practices, they haven’t kept up with the ease of use that many consumer apps have mastered. As many business leaders have experienced, cumbersome systems can frustrate users and lead to poor user adoption. Without consistent and proper use, businesses then lose out on much of the value that ERP brings to the table.

Improve User Adoption and Optimize ERP with Smarter User Interface
In recent years, ERP vendors have been making efforts to update the user interface. Cloud ERP and mobile ERP are trending, offering a next generation ERP that can be used on mobile devices, like smartphones and wearables. Improving the user interface doesn’t necessarily mean an entire IT system overhaul. On the contrary, Sage Software offers a variety of dashboards, workflows and other integrations that can streamline the ERP system you have in place. Sage is also partnering with other technology enterprises, like Salesforce, and adding specialized capabilities within their ERP products. Less switching between applications and more efficient workflows can improve the productivity of your employees and provide more value from your ERP system.

Businesses can take steps to improve the user interface within an existing ERP system by outlining how certain tasks are completed, in what order, and by using the employees that complete those tasks. Insight from the front line can lead to the most efficient workflows or forms and eliminate wasteful practices. Then, you can work with a vendor to customize the dashboards, features or functions that further optimize your ERP system.

Contact AppSolute Consulting Group for guidance with making your ERP solution friendlier and smarter to improve productivity and get the most out of your investment. By AppSolute Consulting Group, LLC, Microsoft, Acumatica, and Sage Partner based in New York