Our business management services will help you with improving processes and implementing suitable management tools which are aligned with the company’s development strategy and objectives. As a result, we will help you achieve the goals, support your development, prepare and forecast IT related risks in a timely manner, as well as contribute in continuity of your company’s operation.

Management of costs is an important business process which is used for planning and controlling direct and indirect costs of the company by subjecting them to the processes, end products and strategy of the company. The method of calculation of Activity Based Costing (ABC) creates understanding of the real structure of the costs in your company and provides possibilities to compare the costs. It also assists in improving business profitability, fostering the efficiency of processes and making right strategic decisions. It analyses costs and divides them in product groups, clients, employees or suppliers on the basis of activities performed. It is a very efficient tool to make decisions regarding the optimization of the costs of company.

Advantages from the use of ABC analysis:

• more precise division of indirect costs and calculation of the product or service cost structure;
• a wider possibility to analyze the efficiency of services and products;
• a possibility to analyze not only the costs of products and services but also the costs of other objects;
• assists in making decisions regarding pricing policy, business directions and optimization of processes, or their replacement with outsourcing;
• complete information about costs ensures the control over income.

CostPerform is a specialized tool for cost management – for the development and control of ABC models. ABC methodology offers more efficient approach the aim of which is to provide managers with simply understandable and meaningful information for decision making. It provides a possibility to model improved main business and supporting processes.

Choosing CostPerform for the management of your costs, you will be provided with a tool which:

• is the smartest and functionally richest from the tools available in the market as it has been developed on the basis of theory and praxis;
• is open for various data sources, it ensures convenient export and import of data;
• is user-friendly;
• has built-in data validation which helps preventing errors;
• is affordable even by a medium-size manufacturer as introducing of the tool is always profitable;
• has been cross-checked as it has been used on daily basis in the areas of medicine, manufacturing, banking, wholesale, logistics, insurance, education as well as in other areas throughout the world.

It can be used for:

the development of standard ABC models	strategic budget planning	modelling of overload and insufficient load	risk modelling and management	planning of production and accruals	management of changes	ABC modelling which is based on sale in time

Development of ABC models

Unlimited number of object levels ensures fast and precise modelling of business conduct and various processes - direct, supporting and sustaining business processes in line with the needs of the company.

Precise division of costs

It is simple and transparent. Various adjustable data views ensure a possibility to trace the flow of costs in all levels of company models and to obtain a visual representation and clear understanding on how the resources are actually being spent and how the costs occur. It supports also the application of time-driven ABC calculation methods and ensures a possibility for the user to develop their own specific cost calculation method.

Budget planning

It ensures more precise strategic budget planning which is based on the processes taking place in the company as well as on the resources and results.

Modelling of development scenario

It provides a possibility to develop unlimited number of scenarios by using various models and to assess how the introduced changes influence various indicators; it also provides support in decision making regarding necessary improvements or when planning the development in the future.

Report preparation

Convenient and extensive possibilities to prepare automatic reports ensure easy filtering of necessary data and their analysis by periods or units as well as the use of the results jointly with other users.

Graphical analysis of data and resources

Previews that can be easily developed ensure a possibility to review, control and analyze on regular basis how the changes in costs and other indicators influence resources, processes and capacity of the company. It is important to have a clear understanding about various processes taking place in the organization and the costs of these processes for making efficient changes.

Improvement of business processes provides considerable support for enhancing competitiveness. Taking into account the needs and aims of business, we assess what is available in the market and choose the most suitable solution.

During the analysis, we take into account the following:

• base system functionality requirements;
• customer functionality and the necessity for it;
• the price of the solution and the developer pricing policy;
• necessity for additional works at the implementation, their costs;
• maintenance and user support policy, its costs;
• compatibility with existing systems;
• references and experience regarding the use of the product from the existing clients.

Taking into account the strategic goals, we offer complex solutions in the following areas:

• client management (CRM);
• resource management in the organization (ERP);
• warehouse management;
• production planning;
• etc.

Implementation of the process management system grants the following benefits to the company: higher added value, increased work efficiency with lower costs, better control over the processes, unified and coordinated information,etc. In order to improve the efficiency of business processes, it is necessary to obtain clear understanding about current processes and the results of their operation. Understanding of “as-is” is the beginning for the direction towards “to-be”; having understood the current status of processes, you will be able to determine faster the areas requiring improvements and how they can serve for the aims of the company up to a maximum extent.

Our services in the implementation process management solution

We introduce process management solutions by using globally recognized tools and, when necessary, we assist also in the development of standards of processes and the model:

• we assist in defining the standard and basic structure of processes;
• we perform discovery and modelling of processes;
• we conduct training of employees in the process modelling;
• we make adjustments in the management tool;
• we provide consultations in the process management matters;
• we ensure necessary infrastructure support (installation, maintenance of the server).

We develop various suitable solutions for cases of non-standard problems and for improvement of business processes. If the existing business management systems do not provide the necessary functionality, we can help by implementing:

• internal and external web applications;
• automated procedures for data reading, transforming and transferring;
• integration of the existing systems, including, processing and integration of the contents of files;
• the use of API, EDI and Web services (for example, Edisoft, Telema, Box API, Dropbox API, Google Drive API).

Examples for the solutions implemented by us:

• internal web application of the organization for the preparation of reports and depicting standard information from ERP system in the form of dashboards;
• integration between two or more systems for receiving and sending data with data converting solution;
• interface for barcode scanners in the warehouse for receiving, moving and packing of products, integration with ERP system;
• transformation of various text files and automated importing of data in BI (Business Intelligence) application;
• automation of various sales, service, warehouse, financial and other processes and work assignments, web interface, integration with ERP;
• Time tracking and work time recording system, integration with the existing access control system, data export for salary software;
• web catalogue of goods and services for storing, arranging and transforming inventory data;
• public webpage for social project Enģeļa pasts (Angel’s Mail) of charity association "NSUS". 

We provide application implementation project management services and ensure supervision over system implementation or the development of custom applications.

If the implementation of a system or the development of a project is facing difficulties, deadlines are not met and the terms agreed are not fulfilled, we connect to the project which has already been started and provide assistance to finalize this project. After that, in the stage of maintenance, we can ensure further cooperation by performing the management of the developer’s tasks and the control of fulfillment in order to ensure maintenance in accordance with a certain schedule of work and time.

We are also competent in taking over the development and maintenance of several applications of the company as well as to make their improvement:

• to introduce the control over the versions of applications and the process of version renewal;
• to perform the standardization and arrangement of the application code or its rewriting;
• to make integration between several systems and to develop other additional functionalities;
• to perform system check and bug prevention.

QPR ProcessAnalyzer is a tool for mining and analysis of business processes in existing information systems. It is smart, it can be installed quickly and it is convenient to use. The tool studies operative data of the company and immediately finds specific ways for the improvement of business operation.

The use of the data collected from information systems about the activities performed by an employee, equipment or a client, provides a possibility within a short period of time to obtain the following:

• process flow visualization;
• activities in time;
• costs of process activities;
• variations of the process;
• cases of non-compliance of the process;
• analysis of the cause and effect;
• grouping, filtering of the data.

It is necessary to devote time for studying the processes of business operation disregarding the success of your company. If your company operates successfully, it is possible that you will find the ways how to make the processes even more efficient. If the operation is not as successful as it should be, you will find out which activities are to be changed.

By the use of methods and suitable tools of Balanced Scorecard, support is provided for making necessary decisions regarding the matters of finances, clients, internal business processes, and learning and growth. It is used as a strategic instrument to analyse the compliance of the company’s operation to its goals. One of the most difficult tasks is to make the strategy of the company be real so that it is linked with daily tasks given to employees and that everyone is informed in due time.

By the use of this method, it is possible to forecast the development of the company’s operation in the future.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a new type of automation of business processes – a platform which permits software robots to perform tasks and activities in software by interacting with it in the same manner as a human. It saves man-hours spent for manual tasks and decreases the level of errors. It frees up your time to create added value for clients and for activities to increase income.

RPA is like a virtual colleague who:

• automates simple tasks and processes on the basis of the set criteria;
• is capable of performing daily tasks following a special set of provisions where each activity can be defined by “yes” or “no”;
• can operate 24/7;
• cannot analyze and make complicated decisions.

In most cases, RPA is used:

• for data recording: a robot obtains electronic data and records them into another system, for example, an invoice received in email is recorded in accounting system;
• for data validation: data compliance and accuracy is verified based on different sources of information;
• for time-restricted works: in specific dates, periods, for example, processing of monthly reports;
• for system integration: processes where people perform data transfer between system which are not integrated.

We ensure qualitative implementation, development, integration and maintenance of information systems and solutions. We use the newest technologies and perform works in compliance with the highest standards. We ensure that the company data are always available to you and they are kept safe.

We make backup copies of the data in accordance with client’s requirements. We are sure that by perfecting the interaction between IT and business processes in the company, it is possible to find a solution for any business challenge.  

We can be your eyes and hands in the Baltic states to implement and maintain corporate standards. 

We offer centralized IT issue and request management. Requests and communication can be managed through phone or email. Each request is marked with a unique identifier and clients are informed about the progress of request in a timely matter. In HelpDesk system, we register not only the requests the solving of which falls in Eddi competence, but also the questions falling in the competence of client’s cooperation partners and other service providers.

We offer to perform IT maintenance works in the following parts:

• User workstation management – performing all works that are related to workstations: choice and procurement of hardware, ensuring specific configuration, maintenance, installation of newest operation systems and their updates, and issue solving.
• Implementation and maintenance of server solutions - we ensure the assembling, ordering, installation and configuration of servers as well as their further servicing; migration of servers and implementation of new solutions.
• IT solution development and implementation - on the basis of the wishes of a client; we offer the development of specific IT solutions. We ensure connection management between branches of the organisation. We develop and maintain the internal network of the company (wireless and cable).
• IT infrastructure strategy planning and management - we assume the leading role when performing planning and communication with the representatives of the client or related companies in IT sector. The information received is communicated to the representatives of the client; in such a way, it is ensured that there are competent decisions made in the management of IT infrastructure.

When starting operation, any company faces difficulties in forecasting the pace of its development. In most cases, the development is conducted according to the following scenario – something is additionally purchased, set up and installed step by step. This scenario is accepted as the only correct one. Nevertheless, as the company grows, the amount of its IT equipment also increases; there are technologies accumulated which possibilities and use is no longer well known, and software which has not been used for some time. At one moment, we realize that the infrastructure has become complicated, fragmented and difficult to maintain. In such moments, everything has to be started from the scratch. Complete return on investment from IT can be expected only when the establishing and development of it has been planned.

Due to this reason, before making any changes in IT infrastructure, it is necessary to perform in-depth analysis for each function planned to be introduced or changed:

• if it operates correctly and without downtime;
• if the existing and new functions do not contradict each other’s operation;
• how the planned, necessary result can be achieved with smaller expenses.

Only previous analysis of the situation and a considerate plan of implementation ensure confidence and responses on these and several other questions.

The development of a considered IT infrastructure will ensure that you do not have unnecessary diversity in your equipment and software.

During IT infrastructure analysis, we collect information on the compliance of the resources to the business requirements and goals, regulatory provisions and legislation.

In the result of the analysis, clients obtain overview about the risks that might occur in the operation of the company and recommendations on how to avert these risks. The analysis will help to understand how the investments that have already been made can be optimized and how to do more with the resources that already are at your disposal, and how to ensure expanding and a stable development proportionally to increasing needs of the company.

Within the framework of complete analysis of IT infrastructure, the following are conducted:

• IT resource analysis;
• IT security and software analysis.

Veicam arī daļēju pārbaudi, ņemot vērā uzņēmuma prioritātes.

We offer our knowledge and resources for the administration and monitoring of your ICT infrastructure. We ensure that your IT equipment is available and performing to the level expected and required to maintain your business.  

We will create monitoring solutions so that you can:

• receive timely reports on an existing or potential problem;
• avoid downtime;
• view the monitored device in real-time 24/7, regardless of its physical location.

All historical data on equipment and its condition are preserved, which helps to assess the load dynamics over time and to anticipate and eliminate potential problems in a timely manner, making the ICT infrastructure more flexible and subordinate to your business needs.

It is possible to monitor anything that is achievable on the network. Contact us and together we will create monitoring solutions tailored to your company.

We provide assistance in choosing and install the most suitable engineering and automation solutions for efficient operation, supervision and control of business infrastructure. We ensure the integration of systems and necessary programming works, regular servicing, remote supervision, maintenance works and go for visits on-site.

The technical solution of the system permits to move it in a convenient way from one object to another. The necessary data are read by working time accounting system from the access control system and/or special mobile GPRS terminals, and these data are transferred further to cloud server. In turn, the cloud server ensures safe storage of the data, wide possibilities of report preparation and data exporting to any other systems.

Advantages of electronic work time tracking software:

• registers and saves any type of data;
• ensures the development of various type of reports and receiving notices according to the parameters chosen by you;
• possible integration with any other internal or external system (including Tax institutions);
• average time necessary for installation - 1-6 weeks (depending on the type of solution);
• budget-friendly costs.

Industrial automation management solutions provide a possibility to supervise and control manufacturing processes and equipment operations. We have developed industrial automation solutions on the basis of micro-controllers that provide new possibilities for the support of technological manufacturing processes, efficient control, as well as the analysis of manufacturing processes and their results.

Industrial automation solutions ensure:

• supervision of manufacturing process in compliance with defined parameters;
• accumulation of manufacturing data, their grouping and analysis;
• recording of equipment idle time and analysis of its reasons;
• remote equipment management and continuing operation control.

Nowadays, resources consumed during production and other processes (electric energy, gas, water, etc.) form a considerable part of production costs. Due to this reason, it is vitally important to follow the efficiency of the use of resources so that it was possible to forecast and perhaps to reduce the costs as well as to make the activity as environmentally friendly as possible. The use of the BMS (Building Management System) provides a possibility to achieve a substantial decrease in the costs related to the building maintenance as it ensures mutual integration, efficient control and management of various systems and equipment. The BMS building management system can be installed in production units, hospitals, schools, kindergartens, offices, hotels, residential buildings, shops, shopping centers, ships, ferries, airports, etc. 

Advantages of the BMS solution:

• is able to read the data from any type and age meters and controllers;
• not only supervises the consumption of resources but also calculates energy efficiency;
• warns about the increase in norms or set measurements;
• provides detailed reports on the consumption of resources and assist in detecting the trends of excessive consumption;
• calculate energy and resource consumption per production amounts or per man-hours
• retains the history of resource consumption;
• ensures the compliance with ISO environmental standards that can be easily controlled on daily basis;
• and, certainly assists in making a considerable reduction in the costs related to the consumption of resources.

Indicators that we can read and collect:

• Electricity consumption
• Gas consumption
• Water consumption
• Heat consumption
• Water temperature readings
• Air temperature readings
• Air quality readings
• Heating readings
• Ventilation readings
• Air conditioner readings
• Compressed air readings
• Person amount on premises
• And many others

We can help you:

• to install the BMS system on top of your energy infrastructure and implement all necessary data integrations;
• to provide necessary training in system usage;
• to provide maintenance and support of the system.

Remote wastewater control is an excellent solution in cases of increased environmental risks. You can constantly monitor the level of wastewater in wells from any place and it will save your time and resources. When using decentralized wastewater systems, attention must be paid on the control of the level of wastewater in wells. To make the process control of wastewater more convenient for households and especially for manufacturing companies, we have developed an innovative system for remote supervision of wastewater.

Advantages of the remote wastewater control system:

• constant control of the level of wastewater;
• receiving warning on the changes in the water level (the interval of reporting is determined by the client);
• receiving warning regarding deviations of the water level from the standard (regarding water leakage or approaching the critical level);
• possibility to analyze the data of the wastewater level for timely planning of pumping out the wells;
• economy of human resources and time.

Installation of security systems provides a possibly to have a convenient supervision and control over the events taking place in the company so that you could safely and with confidence move towards achieving the strategic business goals! We perform functionality audit of the existing security systems and provide recommendations for the improvement of the operation of the systems; we develop the projects of security systems in compliance with the needs of the client.

We design, construct and maintain on daily basis the following security systems:

• video surveillance;
• fire safety alarm;
• work time tracking;
• anti-theft alarm;
• access control;
• audio notification;
• other (specialized detectors, cooling systems, etc.).

In the manufacturing sector, it is important to ensure the continuity of production processes and optimum operation of the equipment by protecting oneself from the risks of industrial espionage at the same time. Due to this reason, it is the best praxis in the sector when the office data networks are completely separated from the network infrastructure necessary for manufacturing equipment.

Advantages granted by the construction of industrial data network:

• enhanced high-speed of data network for ensuring optimum operation of manufacturing equipment;
• increased security of the data network for the protection of industrial commercial secrets;
• nonstop operation of data network when there is damage in separate branch of the network;
• remote supervision and management of the equipment.

Outsourcing is the best way how a company can delegate to external service provider, in case when the company lacks resources, competence or time to perform these business support processes. We offer to become your cooperation partner so that you could focus on your direct business operations.

Upon getting seriously acquainted with the strategic aims of the client, having heard their business needs and having provided consultations about essential decisions, we can assist in:

• finding the most suitable approach for strategic problem solving;
• ensuring the continuity of business operations;
• supervising cooperation with service providers (including, suppliers, building managers, technical service providers, etc.);
• solving all topical matters with us because we can serve as the central point of responsibility and support.

IT outsourcing is a multidisciplinary set of IT services that will allow you to enjoy a functioning IT infrastructure without any complications or concerns. We offer to maintain your organization’s IT infrastructure and to provide infrastructure’s compatibility with security standards and to make sure that all problems are solved fast and efficiently.

We perform:

• server maintenance;
• IT resource management;
• Remote monitoring and support provision;
• User HelpDesk services;
• averting disturbances in the operation of computer systems;
• supervision of the operation of operating system and averting of disturbances;
• software management;
• subcontractor management;
• development and implementation of business continuity plan and disaster recovery plan.

Management of costs is an important business process which is used for planning and controlling direct and indirect costs of the company by subjecting them to the processes, end products and strategy of the company. The method of calculation of Activity Based Costing (ABC) creates understanding of the real structure of the costs in your company and provides possibilities to compare the costs. It also assists in improving business profitability, fostering the efficiency of processes and making right strategic decisions. It analyses costs and divides them in product groups, clients, employees or suppliers on the basis of activities performed. It is a very efficient tool to make decisions regarding the optimization of the costs of company.

Advantages from the use of ABC analysis:

• more precise division of indirect costs and calculation of the product or service cost structure;
• a wider possibility to analyze the efficiency of services and products;
• a possibility to analyze not only the costs of products and services but also the costs of other objects;
• assists in making decisions regarding pricing policy, business directions and optimization of processes, or their replacement with outsourcing;
• complete information about costs ensures the control over income.

CostPerform is a specialized tool for cost management – for the development and control of ABC models. ABC methodology offers more efficient approach the aim of which is to provide managers with simply understandable and meaningful information for decision making. It provides a possibility to model improved main business and supporting processes.

Choosing CostPerform for the management of your costs, you will be provided with a tool which:

• is the smartest and functionally richest from the tools available in the market as it has been developed on the basis of theory and praxis;
• is open for various data sources, it ensures convenient export and import of data;
• is user-friendly;
• has built-in data validation which helps preventing errors;
• is affordable even by a medium-size manufacturer as introducing of the tool is always profitable;
• has been cross-checked as it has been used on daily basis in the areas of medicine, manufacturing, banking, wholesale, logistics, insurance, education as well as in other areas throughout the world.

It can be used for:

the development of standard ABC models	strategic budget planning	modelling of overload and insufficient load	risk modelling and management	planning of production and accruals	management of changes	ABC modelling which is based on sale in time

Development of ABC models

Unlimited number of object levels ensures fast and precise modelling of business conduct and various processes - direct, supporting and sustaining business processes in line with the needs of the company.

Precise division of costs

It is simple and transparent. Various adjustable data views ensure a possibility to trace the flow of costs in all levels of company models and to obtain a visual representation and clear understanding on how the resources are actually being spent and how the costs occur. It supports also the application of time-driven ABC calculation methods and ensures a possibility for the user to develop their own specific cost calculation method.

Budget planning

It ensures more precise strategic budget planning which is based on the processes taking place in the company as well as on the resources and results.

Modelling of development scenario

It provides a possibility to develop unlimited number of scenarios by using various models and to assess how the introduced changes influence various indicators; it also provides support in decision making regarding necessary improvements or when planning the development in the future.

Report preparation

Convenient and extensive possibilities to prepare automatic reports ensure easy filtering of necessary data and their analysis by periods or units as well as the use of the results jointly with other users.

Graphical analysis of data and resources

Previews that can be easily developed ensure a possibility to review, control and analyze on regular basis how the changes in costs and other indicators influence resources, processes and capacity of the company. It is important to have a clear understanding about various processes taking place in the organization and the costs of these processes for making efficient changes.

Lack of interaction between business and IT

Company management resembles never ending game of chess. Information technologies (IT) influence course and pace of it, and in the best case, they become a positive driving force. The source of this power is excellent synergy between the areas of IT and business processes in the company. Despite the fact that the involvement of IT employees in the analysis and improvement of business processes is welcomed, unfortunately it seldom occurs. I have observed in praxis that in many companies IT functions are limited to technical matters.

		Consistent dependence on programmer To fill in the missing segment in the link between business and IT, in most cases there is a programmer used who speaks both IT and business languages (let’s keep our fingers crossed that this person is always healthy and never takes long vacations!). Various ready-made solutions and programs which promise to make the daily routine of the manager and employees easier serve as an alternative for a position of a programmer; for instance, these are solutions for client management, planning of manufacturing resources and many others. Nevertheless often seems that it is more convenient and easier to pay to the programmer for adjusting the solution of existing base software and constructing the missing modules. Although such solution seems to be the most optimum in short-term, it is necessary to make a careful assessment of risks that are linked with the maintenance of such information system and its long-term management.
		Simpler construction of the system grants larger independence Ability to react swiftly and adjust to the changes is one of the reasons why companies throughout the world choose to develop simple and easily manageable information system architecture. The basis of such system architecture is formed by choosing and implementing the solution which is the most suitable for each specific business process or function, as well as mutual integration of solutions. In such a way, daily work and development of the company is influenced by the decisions of the company management instead of the possibilities or deficiencies of one program, the talent and speed of work performance of programmers.
		Use the competence of IT employees There is nobody who knows the processes of your company better than the employees of the company. Pursuant to the best world praxis, it is recommended to determine that one of the priorities of the manager of the IT department is the analysis of business processes and risks. The IT department must be the department which is capable of assessing, selecting and introducing necessary solutions by justifying their choice with specific needs for improvement and further development of business processes. Up to a great extent, ability for your business to survive in the circumstances of global competition will be determined by the fact if information systems accelerate or impede the development of your business. Due to this reason, internal IT human resources are to be used for the development of your business!
		One must think about the future already right now – you reap what you sow There is no doubt that it is not easy to change that what has been constructed for years especially if large amount of financial resources has been invested. Nevertheless it is highly recommended not to stop and to keep seeking for the most suitable solutions for the development of your company! It is the only possibility how to ensure competitiveness and increase power of your business. In the result of reconstruction of the architecture of information systems for the needs of the processes of your business, you will obtain a set of solution that can be easily used and managed on daily basis which in long-term will ensure not only the increase of the added value of your business but also more efficient fulfillment of its strategic goals!

It is not just a couple of days’ work to develop a link between people, business processes and programs which is dynamic and fosters the development of company. For making powerful business and IT interaction profitable, it is necessary to delve constantly into company business processes, to seek for weak points in the flow of data/information, and to find the most suitable solutions for them. We propose 3 steps how to develop such a link between people, business processes and programs which fosters the growth of the company.

	1. Find your “effectologist” or efficiency driving force To create a powerful “bridge” between business and IT, firstly, you have to find someone who likes analyzing and seeking for possibilities how the work can be done better and faster by all together. Take a look around – for some, this person might be a skillful and innovative IT manager, for others – business analyst or quality manager. Look for passion, persistence and analytical business thinking as these are important qualities for asking proper questions, noticing the right connection between cause and effect and knowing the correct direction where to find the solution. If you do not see proper candidates inside the company, try to involve the resources from outside. Start at least with one improvement in efficiency per month, and in long-term you will obtain more united and loyal team and increasing added value of the company!
	2. Obtain understanding about the flow of information in your company Entrust to the candidate chosen by you to talk and listen to medium and operative level managers (M and M-1) in order to obtain enhanced understanding how work is organized within the framework of both one process/function and several units/business functions. The main task is to obtain clear understanding on how information or data flow currently moves within the framework of your infrastructure – where are delays and where are the lack of data, etc. When performing the analysis of the existing situation, you will be able to create more precise vision of how your information systems are supposed to operate in the future. But what you should start with? Assess carefully providing of which operative flow of data provides higher added value to the company. Make a list of priorities and get down to work!
	3. Choose the data automation solution which best corresponds to your needs To ensure that the solution of the problem brings the expected result, it is recommended that you spend sufficient amount of time for understanding the true causes of the problem. Start with questions indicating on main problems and areas in which improvements will provide the greater return, for example: How efficient is the currently used software and the fulfillment of processes in it? Has the specific problem occurred in the result of human incompetence/competence? How efficient is the mutual interaction of different software? How efficiently the current software support the requirements of users and processes?

After understanding the true causes of problems, you will find out the criteria and requirements to which special attention must be paid so that it was possible to choose from the wide range of data automation solutions the ones that fit the best for the specific needs and processes of your company! It is recommended to refrain from temptation to choose one impressive data automation solution as a response to all problems in business processes. Consequently, in most cases there is a clumsy solution obtained from which possibly only a small part is used. However, by the use of several specialized data automation solutions and their mutual integration, you will obtain easily manageable information system which ensures a possibility to retain competitiveness in business also in current changing business environment circumstances.

Good luck with it!

The number of confidential data loss incidents resulting from the use of public Wi-Fi access points has been increasing lately. Therefore it is advisable to be extra cautious when connecting to an unknown or unreliable network (e.g. free Wi-Fi in the local café, airport or other public spaces). You need to keep in mind that in such cases Your entire data flow, containing both Your personal information as well as critical business data, may be monitored.

For safety of critical business data, we recommend You to follow these suggestions:

		1. Do Your best to avoid using public Wi-Fi access points, especially if You own a Company device (smartphone, tablet etc.). You may lose business data even if Your personal device is configured to send and receive work emails.
		2. If You do need to access business data & information outside the office, use connections that are safer against data leaks: a VPN with at least 2 factor authentication or an internet connection provided by mobile operators (LTE/3G/4G).
		3. An alternative to the above is to purchase and use mobile device management solutions. Your Company IT staff will be able to consult You about these in detail.

In case You connect to a public Wi-Fi access point, never accept any change requests that may appear on Your screen. Select “Cancel” – most likely it is an attempt to steal Your data!

Currently this is the highest possible business data loss vulnerability, which may significantly reduce the overall impact of business security policies even if other (internal) security procedures are maintained on a high level.

Please inform Your staff and colleagues about this and make sure that the guidelines on safe access to public Wi-Fi are covered in Your company data safety procedures.

		The strategic goals of your business define your IT strategy and annual IT budget. Implementation of new IT projects or solutions does not have an adverse effect on existing systems and applications – employees are generally happy with their performance.
		You have never heard such comments as “That can’t be done” or “I don’t know” from your IT team. For example, if changes in business logic are needed or some IT related initiative requires attention, they will always inform you how it will be done, how much time it will take and how much it will cost.
		If a meteor was approaching your office building, you wouldn’t panic. You know that there is a disaster recovery plan that explicitly tells you what actions to take to recover from downtime in case of major or minor incidents.
		All business-critical processes generally run smoothly in your company. Incidents and downtimes happen, of course, but not more often than a few times per year and usually around the time of full moon. However, you always keep calm because you can rely on your business continuity plan.
		If some critical business process function is interrupted, you are informed straight away via text message. A little later you also receive a report regarding the causes of the incident and what will be done to avoid incidents like this in the future.
		If anyone accidentally deletes or loses some piece of more of less critical information, you haven’t heard of any cases when it would not have been possible to restore access to it.
		You know that all the information about your IT infrastructure and changes made is well-documented. If needed, a new IT specialist will be able to jump in quickly and take over from someone else.
		You are confident that current business needs are fully supported by existing IT infrastructure and systems because you have heard about the annual internal audit results. If there are any deficiencies – they will be eliminated soon.
		Employees generally do not complain to you that IT problems are not resolved on time. If you do hear from someone, there is usually a simple reason – priority is always given to problems that have a direct impact on business processes. All the rest just have to wait.
		IT specialists occasionally provide training for employees covering various data security topics. You have also been informed about the guidelines for a secure password, principles of social engineering and the risks of processing online payments using the wi-fi connection of the local café.

If you can recognize the above signs in your company, congratulations! Continue enjoying your coffee with a peace of mind. If there are some things are not quite there, maybe it’s worth asking your IT manager to join you for a cup of coffee next time?

Wishing you a happy and productive day!

Effectiveness is a multi-layered and subjective concept. It entails a lot more than financial indicators and needs to be thoroughly examined since every company’s situation is unique. There is no other person better suited than a company’s leader to determine what, how and how often should be measured to obtain the result that best describes company performance and objectively points out the strengths as well as the weaknesses to be eliminated. For a comprehensive evaluation of a company’s effectiveness, I recommend to include and carefully consider all of the 10 factors discussed below. 

Strategy
		Are lower level employees in your company fully aware of their role in implementation of the overall business strategy? Do your employees know how close or far away your company currently stands with regards to achievement of strategic goals? Are the strategic principles and goals of your business reflected in the remuneration system of the company? Business strategy generally serves as a good foundation for a successful operation of a company. However, every leader should critically assess if employees below the management level have an equally clear understanding of the strategy and also feel engaged and equally responsible for its realization. Any strategy and long term goals will deliver a much better result if those are communicated across the entire company and both the management as well employees themselves are able to track progress daily. Strategy may not be polished to perfection, but with outstanding performance management it will definitely yield the desired results!
Management
		Has the company been able to develop and achieve its strategic goals under your leadership? As a manager, are you informed of the current state of your business and the problems your company is currently dealing with? Are you a true leader of your company team and does your team trust you? One of the tasks of the management team is to select and assemble the kind of employees that are the best fit for the internal culture, values and strategic goals of the company. However, most attention should be paid to make sure if employees’ characteristics precisely match the competencies needed to accomplish particular tasks. It is also important to regularly check that tasks and responsibilities are further delegated within the team and upper management is providing adequate support to ensure the tasks are successfully accomplished..
Employees
		Do your employees often approach you with suggestions for improvement? If so, do you listen to them and assist in the implementation process? Do you support and encourage the professional development of your employees and also motivate the personal development of your team? Do your employees feel equally responsible for the future of the company and are proud to be working for you? The strength of any company is defined by its team – employees. However, one should remember that it is impossible to force anyone in your team to work with either 60% or 120% capacity. Instead employees can and should be accordingly motivated and enthusiasm about the accomplishments of every employee as well as the team in general should be cultivated. By regularly paying attention to the internal climate and mood of the team, it is possible to notice and rectify various nuances and maybe even dissatisfaction before it reflects in the financial indicators of your business.
Internal company standards
		Are your employees able to independently achieve the needed results also in case of absence of upper management? Is a new or rotating employee able to quickly understand the new responsibilities and fulfill his/hers new duties, thus ensuring that any employee can be replaced if needed? Is your company flexible enough, compared to competitors, and ready to quickly implement any changes? Employees are able to carry out their duties if the main guidelines regarding internal standards and processes are clear to everyone, thus creating a sense of order and making everyone’s work easier. It does not really matter whether you use online forms that need to be filled out, procedures or process maps - it is important to make sure that employees know them, have an understanding of the relationship between the various processes and are able to apply this information when solving different problems as well as during their day-to-day work.
Change management
		Do your employees express resistance or dissatisfaction associated with implementation of changes? Is change implementation a regular and natural process within your company? Is change management process in your company controlled and managed so that you can implement a new idea as quickly as possible? In today’s environment of global competition ability to adapt, mobilize resources for change and implement those changes quickly often defines a company’s ability to yield profits. Employee support or, on the contrary, resistance to change, plays an important role during implementation of any changes.
Customers
		Is your company able to sustain long-term partnerships with customers and ensure that they regularly purchase your products or use your services? Would your company be able to ensure operational stability even in the case if your largest customer terminated the contract? Are your customers spreading the word about your company and recommending your products/services to others? Employees who are enthusiastic about what they do and have a great understanding of the company's internal processes and rules, will make every customer happy and satisfied. However, it is well worth the effort to make your customers not only satisfied but also loyal to your company / brand. A satisfied customer will regularly purchase your products or use your services, but a loyal customer will make sure his family, friends and acquaintances also follow his/her example quite soon.
Suppliers
		Are you satisfied with the partnership principles and terms and conditions of your suppliers? Are your suppliers responsive and flexible in non-standard situations? Do your suppliers express interest in and take part in various projects concerning development and innovations of your company’s products/services and also provide support during project implementation? Suppliers also play and important role in achievement of customer satisfaction. It is important to carefully evaluate if the standards and principles of suppliers match the standards and service levels you want to provide to customers. By keeping an eye on them and regularly checking if they fulfill their promises or not, you will be able to not only increase customer satisfaction rates but also the value of your company in the eyes of employees and suppliers.
Internal communication
		Is it possible to quickly notify all employees of regular changes and ensure they are implemented? Is it possible to quickly receive feedback from all company levels about any issues or problems caused by regular changes? Are all incoming incident tickets or problems in your company structured and solved in the order of importance determined by the needs of various business processes? For every company it is important to secure an open and friendly environment for both horizontal and vertical communication. Attention should be paid not only to the speed of information and feedback flow but also to the quality of communication. If mutual trust is missing between the employees and company management, open and honest opinions will not be heard often. More approachable and open company management will provide more opportunities for improvement and allow to eliminate any obstacles to successful company operation.
Information systems
		Are real time data and information continuously available to your employees? Do your information systems provide support for the business processes of your company? Is the structure of your company information systems flexible enough to ensure they can be quickly adapted in case of need? Different kinds of information systems make our work routine a lot easier every day. However, rather often real time data within the company are not available when important decisions need to be made. Moreover, the larger the mix of different systems a company is using, the more attention has to be paid to the speed one can restore their functionality in case of incidents to ensure minimum possible downtimes. More simple and flexible information systems will allow you to take advantage of any changes and use them to strengthen the competitiveness of your company.
Quality
		Do you often receive complaints related to poor product or service quality you’re your customers? Does your company have a quality management system requiring continuous effort to ensure quality improvements? Has your company developed a system allowing employees to control the quality of each other’s work and report of any discrepancies? Ensuring constant product or service quality within an always changing business environment is a challenge for every company. Anyone can make mistakes and the most expensive equipment may stop working at some point. However, when quality problems are detected, it is important to make sure that their causes are eliminated and proper corrections are put in place in order to ensure that the same problems do not happen again. Of course, the best results can be achieved by continuously improving the quality of your products or services, before new problems are detected.

Challenges of Aging Technology for Small Businesses

Many of the companies we have met are very professional and focused on running a well-organized business. Unlike many large enterprises, they often have a clear understanding of what works and where their real risks and challenges lie. However, they face greater pressure to prioritize. Regulations, changing customer requirements, and increasing cyber-security risks hit them hard.

Many were already struggling with:

• Ageing technology
• Viewing their IT solutions as a critical enabler of their business rather than a cost
• Including IT solutions in their business continuity planning

Strategy for Implementing Effective IT Solutions

Given that few companies have the resources to replace their ageing technology entirely, part of the solution can be to introduce new solutions that mitigate risks and improve IT operations. However, this needs to be done correctly. It is not just a strategic exercise but also involves mapping specific elements of the IT landscape, linking them to potential business impacts, and prioritizing the reduction or removal of risks.

When you conduct this exercise, you will have a much more solid platform on which to build new and improved technical solutions. You can invest and achieve ROI without the fear of increasing business risks by linking more of your operations to an insecure platform, which could fail at any moment.

Choosing the Right Partner for IT Solution Implementation

What should you do about it? Our suggestion is to act now. If you lack the resources to do it yourself, find a trusted partner to support you.

If you decide to seek help, ask potential suppliers:

• Have they done it before?
• Do they have effective processes?
• Do they have good customer references?
• Do they understand your business, and can they communicate with all stakeholders, including existing vendors?

After selecting a supplier, the next step is to meet and start scoping and planning the exercise. Get the vendor to write a proposal and provide an estimate. Remember to ask what information and resources they require from you during the exercise. Also, keep in mind that this exercise is about implementation, so don't be swayed by the flashiest slide deck; it often reflects the price more than the quality of the deliverables.

If everything feels right, begin the project. Make sure you have allocated the right resources, that they understand their roles and the project’s goals, and then get the exercise running. Have regular check-ins with the vendor along with your key personnel to ensure progress and alignment.

If you are looking for a reliable partner, contact us at eddi@eddi.lv.
Read more about how IT provides essential support for business processes here.