02 May 2018
Don't Let Syncing Delays Slow Down Your Business
Every company is shifting from physical hardware to a cloud-based infrastructure. But if you're electronic files are scattered on different third-party platforms, they're just as unwieldy as paper copies. But if you operate in a unified suite of tools like Microsoft, going virtual doesn't just keep your business secure in the event of a data emergency or a hardware failure. It can radically alter your business procedures and how documents that require multiple rounds of approvals go through their workflows. If you're using different interfaces, you might be losing details. Check your system for these key problems:
Do all of your business devices sync simultaneously?
Routing ongoing lead conversion and document edits through Microsoft Dynamics and Office 365 means anyone authorized can access and work on records or documents. This can radically speed up how business is done. It also implicitly helps with version control: people don't have to email each other different in-progress versions of the document and try to ensure the latest version is the one being pushed forward. Instead, there's one document with a detailed history of edits. But if your company's devices aren't all syncing to that central interface, that version control won't work. If a coworker sends you a message that their part of a document is done, then you need to be sure the document you see is really the latest version. Checking the time stamp or glancing through the other's changes isn't a solution; it's too manual and open to human error.
Are shared documents showing everyone's changes?
Several years ago, updates to Microsoft Office made it possible for coworkers to work on the same document simultaneously. The color-coded cursors showed everyone's progress and highlighted new changes so work wouldn't be overridden. New leads can appear on everyone's workflow as needed, and everyone gets live updates without getting overrun by email alerts.
But some of those advantages disappear if not all work is done in a Microsoft program. Lots of work isn't even done in a separate document but is instead in an internal database or a backend program. If your central interface isn't updating frequently, work is eventually going to start disappearing without a trace.
Contact our team for tips on double-checking your systems' syncing. If the problems start piling up, we can help you migrate to Dynamics 365 to ensure all of your employees' work is saved and shared immediately.