The global economy continues to shift and evolve in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with activity rising and falling alongside political shifts and trends.
An available vaccine — or the lack of one — is causing pundits to contemplate on when, if ever, business will return to normal. Entities such as the World Bank in Washington forecast global growth with slow to as little as 1.6% if vaccine delays continue to pose a problem. At the same time, European Central Bank remains more optimistic.
While there is no sure way to know what tomorrow may bring, there is a silver lining to this cloud of uncertainty — businesses can use the current slowdown as the perfect opportunity to get ready for what comes next.
If we look to the past, we can see that recent economic disturbances have always affected business data in a purposeful way.
The recession in the 1990s provided us with Customer Relationship Management software (CRM) that allowed for bigger, stronger databases. The decline of the first internet boom by 2000 took data collection and categorized and optimized it. Finally, the Great Recession of 2007-2009 prompted C-suite professionals to roll up their sleeves and dive deeper into the data to glean new ways to increase profitability.
Whatever it will be, this new economy is the perfect time for businesses to dig into their data and learn how to better manage it for a better, more profitable future.
Use the Downturn to Become Stronger — Clean Your Data Operations Now
Businesses run on data. From employee resumes to customer profiles, invoices, bills of lading, proposals, marketing collateral, and a host of other mission-critical information, your business’s ability to be competitive relies upon how well you collect, manage, use, and share data.
Here are some excellent strategies you can deploy right now to gain visibility into the data you currently have and retain better control of the information you will receive in the future.
- Go Digital
Does your business rely on paper-heavy processes or outdated information silos? Now is an excellent time to move towards a digital transformation by converting physical documents to digital ones and archiving them using a robust document management platform.
Document management systems (DMS) can reduce the errors inherent in manual data entry and eliminate the potential for theft or loss that storing paper documents can pose.
- Focus on Information Governance
If you are in business, you handle sensitive information. This can be as simple as employee resumes or credit card information as complex as legal transcripts, financial information, or medical details.
No matter what industry your business is a part of chances are you must be compliant with one or more data privacy regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and others. Optimal compliance is achieved through a robust data governance program.
For risk management purposes, you should focus on removing redundant or obsolete data; ensure your data can be tracked, managed, and protected; and provide access controls on all communication channels.
Deploying an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) program is one way to manage all these tasks while making data readily available to the employees that need it — when they need it.
The Blue Technologies Team Has Strong Data Management Tools for Your Business Needs
Now is the perfect time for your business to get ahead of the competition by cleaning out old data silos, converting your paper documents to digital, managing and archiving your data sets, and ensuring your sensitive information is adequately protected.
At Blue Technologies, we offer a wide range of technologies and services that will help you zone in on data challenges and get your business ready to thrive in whatever economic shifts happen in the future.
From leading-edge document and enterprise content management systems to hardware such as printers, scanners, and multi-function devices that assist with your digital transformation, our team has robust data management tools that can revolutionize the way you work.
Plus, our team of IT professionals is standing by to provide expert assistance, troubleshooting, and maintenance for all your IT needs, taking the burden off in-house staff so they can focus on what counts — doing business.
Be prepared for the new economy. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant today and get control of your data using our state-of-the-art technology and services.
