Waterstons helps point you in the right direction to make the most of digital solutions.
The majority reading this will know you need to make the most of technology and take advantage of the plethora of information.
The only snag is that you are either swamped by it, or you don’t really understand what’s available.
You’ve probably bought a suite of software, or it’s been inherited from years of updates, staffing changes and internal development.
Do you understand the technology you have? Is it reaching potential or leading to inefficiency? Or is it completely irrelevant to the needs of your business?
Questions…questions….
Thankfully, experts like Daniel Halliday, an Associate Director at Waterstons can sort things for you.
“I’ve been with Waterstons for 17 years in various roles, now heading-up the Digital and Data division and I have to say that the changes during that period have been truly enormous,” says Daniel. “Working with technology is what we do 24 hours a day, so we fully understand how people who are trying to run their own company can’t be expected to keep fully up to speed with what’s available.
“We frequently discover that a client isn’t aware of some software that would be much more suitable for their business than whatever they’re using at the moment. We also find clients are often completely swamped by data; they have so much that they don’t know what to do with it.
“In short; they’re not sure what technology is right for them, they can’t identify the most useful data, and they don’t have the skills, time or knowledge to marry the two.
“People are much more technology savvy but the biggest problem we see is that firms and individuals don’t realise the value they can get from having the right tech and using it the right way.”
“Whenever we speak to a client we find out what they are trying to do and work collaboratively with them to find solutions. Are they making a product, are they selling something, are they providing information or a service, and is their sole aim to make money? We can make technology make all of this easier for them; we make it possible.
“As a consultancy, we provide advice and deliver things for people too. Technology is hugely complex and it’s very easy to get swept away by products and kit, so we cut through that by providing the expertise to find what’s right for an organisations’ individual circumstances. Sometimes that’s building custom software and systems, or frequently finding off-the-shelf solutions deployed with skill, that will save money, capitalise on opportunity and enable them to make decisions.
“By identifying the right tool, we can speed up whatever they do and often remove a laborious, mundane, time consuming task and let them get on with important aspects of their business which are invariably more profitable and interesting. They have more time to explore other opportunities and improve services and revenue streams.”
Most of us have a love-hate relationship with data; too little of it can leave you exposed, too much and you can’t see the wood for the trees, easily missing something. Or you simply can’t be bothered to go through it. Businesses invariably generate lots of data but do they struggle to gather, understand or use it?
“We need to build a data-aware culture which is part of core values and business focus as making full use of data can improve every aspect of a business. But it’s important to develop a strategy and approach which provides real value and aids people in making key decisions and not waste valuable effort on wrangling with data which no one will look at.
For example, universities have lots of staff and lots of students, huge physical and tech estates with dozens of buildings and equipment, and undertake a vast amount of research. Data has become a central part of what enables those institutions to become effective. The same applies to architects, engineers, construction firms etc. The right data and the right software and systems, allows them to concentrate on what they’re good at – so it’s vital to start with thinking about strategy, then how your data can help measure progress towards it.
“Keep it simple and iterate and improve rather than trying to get it perfect straight away.”
So, need some help? Find your way through the technology maze with Waterstons.