General Tech Archives - Page 2 of 43

Technology in accounting: humans are here to stay
By Rashied Small on 23 May, 2016
As technology gets smarter and takes over more and more of the work we typically deem “skilled”, are professionals like accountants at risk of being replaced? The short answer is “No”. The long answer is “It all depends on the professional accountant’s attitude”. Let’s begin by taking a step back to understand the nature of this trend. The author Martin Ford has written extensively on this subject, and his recent book, The Rise of the Robots, contains a lot of food for thought. The main point that should concern professional accountants is that the ongoing drive towards automation is no...
Here are the business benefits of an efficient CRM system
By Viesturs Zalaiskalns on 20 May, 2016
CRM (customer relationship management) has evolved to encompass more than the traditional customer. In fact, this discipline should be seen as ‘contact relationship management’ rather than ‘customer relationship management’, and critical in any industry where relationships with customers, employees, suppliers and industry partners must be managed effectively. It’s time organisations took a fresh look at the potential for advanced and efficient CRM systems, particularly when integrated with ERP, to improve their business relationships across the board. Here’s five ways how businesses can benefit from an efficient CRM system: Support for growth As soon as a small business passes the three employee mark,...
Smart manufacturing is all about an intelligent, connected supply chain
By Lars Mohr Jensen on 20 May, 2016
As it stands, factories are dumb -- or at least far less intelligent than current technology could actually make them. The current industrial production is inflexible and too expensive and a root cause is supply chain invisibility. But that’s about to change thanks to Industry 4.0 -- an initiative with its roots in Germany that aims to bring about the fourth industrial revolution. It heralds the era where manufacturing becomes intelligent and every link in the supply chain talks to each other and is connected. The smart factory concept means industrial or manufacturing processes will be organized in a smart way...
3 ways that companies can unlearn the traditional workplace
By Brendan Mc Aravey on 19 May, 2016
The notion of what defines a workplace is evolving with the new millennium. For example, on any given day, a company can have less than 50% office utilisation, as employees may be offsite attending a client meeting, travelling, on holiday, or simply working from home. It makes sense, therefore, that creating an office space based on actual needs can drive efficiency and significant cost savings. This can be achieved by redesigning the workplace to offer a more inspiring and engaging environment that improves employee productivity. To do this however, a company needs to get out of old habits and unlearn what...
The state of IT: third-party apps, BYOD and cyber security
By Kayla Matthews on 17 May, 2016
In the past, the way in which organizations handled technology was simple. An IT department would drive all the technology a company used, including computers and servers, software, security protocols and mobile devices. More importantly, the IT department would decide what employees were allowed to use for their daily business duties. Of course, all of that has changed in recent years. A majority of organizations have embraced the BYOD — or bring your own device — culture. All levels of management, employees and associated members of an organization are allowed to choose what device they want to use regularly, and they...
Generation Z goals: prepare for a job that doesn’t exist yet and meet a machine
By Angelique Robbertse on 13 May, 2016
With the rise of robots, artificial intelligence and automation, today’s comfortable careers are no longer an option for jobseekers from Generation Z. The majority of learners attending school right now will one day work in jobs that do not currently exist. Members of this generation, born from the mid 1990s through to the 2010s have to develop new skills and need to be flexible to compete against robots and automated systems that are threatening traditional jobs. However, the future isn’t all that bleak for this generation. In fact, they can look forward to excelling in fields such as technology, science and...
Engaging with the quitting generation — retaining Millennials in the workplace
By Wynand Smit on 10 May, 2016
Twenty-somethings are notoriously hard to retain as employees. They can become disengaged and disaffected, waiting for their next performance bonus so that they can quit and do something – anything – else. The workplace challenge is for managers to retain skilled teams and provide the opportunity for professional development. One effective way to do this is to speak to them in their own language. The message they carry with them is one that can sabotage their own success story. They’ve been told “you can be anything you want to”, and while a few make it through the minefield of business...
How safe is your data in the age of data leaks?
By Doros Hadjizenonos on 9 May, 2016
On April 3rd 2016 a collective of international newspapers and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) dropped a bombshell – they had millions of documents showing the private business dealings of thousands of people, many of whom were famous or politically powerful, and many of which revealed hard evidence of tax evasion. The law firm that helped these people hide their money, Mossack Fonesca, had suffered a data leak like never before seen. In the weeks since, revelations continue to pour out, ruining reputations, sparking political resignations, and prompting further legal and regulatory investigations. While exposing corruption and...
Is your contact centre a brand building or grudge centre?
By Jed Hewson on 9 May, 2016
Streamlined systems, self-service options, real-time communication and measured results define the contact centre of the future. We all know the theory: consumers are changing the way they interact with each other and businesses. But how many contact centres have taken full advantage of this? If businesses are willing to embrace the ubiquitous technology solutions available, the once-dreaded call centre (typically synonymous with long queues, bad hold music and a rising temper) can be turned into a positive, brand-building, revenue generating department, aligned with business goals and strategies. There are a number of trends that have emerged that can support the transformation of...
The power of document filters inside enterprise search
By Nathan Nayagar on 5 May, 2016
Imagine if the South African Police Service performed a simple enterprise search, looking for material related to a burglary case. The search returns a connection between this active case and an archived case. Case documents and a quick scan of recent internet sales postings confirmed a link between the two burglaries, which helped identify a key suspect. With a bit more investigative work, family heirlooms are returned to their rightful owners. Just the facts, ma'am Let’s take a moment to stop and think about how old-fashioned police work can be supplemented with the latest technology to help investigators collect information to...
4 new workplace technology ideas to uplift your team’s efficiency
By John Reiley on 4 May, 2016
Most all business owners would likely agree that business efficiency can be traced back to a firm’s ability to successfully execute a given strategy in a productive manner that produces satisfactory results for the organization. Business success is defined by an organization’s ability to be both efficient and productive, both of which are a result of engaged employees that are capable of executing on specific goals that have been strategically aligned with the firm’s objectives. Since we know that execution is the key to success, then, do we know what steps can be taken in order to increase your...
3 things you should look at when hiring big data team members
By Marie Klok Crump on 26 April, 2016
You can’t rely entirely on a predetermined set of criteria when hiring members of your data team. That’s what makes it so difficult. On the other hand, you have a much wider group of potential candidates. The options are limitless. Of course, that in and of itself represents a challenge. So how can managers find the right people for their data teams when potential candidates can rise from anywhere? The Diversity Dilemma On our data team, we have data management industry veterans of all levels. Our team consists of highly experienced business and data management consultants, as well as early frontier data management...
5 steps to creating the customer data platform your business needs
By Peter Reinhardt on 22 April, 2016
For most companies, storing, accessing, and using customer data is a massive headache. Duplication of efforts is almost inevitable, and people rarely feel confident that their data is accurate. Even worse, when one department creates a new source for customer data, other departments often aren’t aware or may be unable to rely on it because it lacks critical data. To combat these challenges, many companies are turning to a customer data platform. A customer data platform is a single repository that houses information about customer identity, behavior, purchase history, and more. Just storing logfiles of this data has limited utility,...
10 great pieces of business intelligence software
By Oscar Waterworth on 20 April, 2016
Business intelligence is based on understanding, visualizing and acting based on the data that you already have in your possession. So a good BI software should be able to provide you with the most relevant insights in the simplest and quickest way possible. The most relevant factor in choosing the right BI tool is your organization. You need to take into consideration your company, the number of employees, departments and teams. The best way to determine the quality of the BI software is still customer satisfaction and scale of the product which is based on market share, vendor...
Visual IVR — Creating a more engaging customer service environment
By Bruce von Malitz on 15 April, 2016
Anybody who has ever had to phone a call centre knows the frustration of listening to numerous menu options before eventually being able to speak to an agent. But thanks to the emergence of visual interactive response technology, this no longer needs to be the case. Whether it is an insurer, a bank, or even a pay TV provider, consumers can easily get lost in the complicated hierarchical menu structure of a traditional interactive voice response (IVR) system. These are often poorly designed and can be incredibly frustrating to customers. Just think of how many times you have to enter...