Companies invest more and more in business intelligence every day to become more competitive in the face of competition. Data management software and those that help automate the information technology environment are no longer just a trend, they are becoming increasingly necessary for business strategy.

To respond to customer demands and constant market changes, it is interesting for the organization to invest in processes that enable agile management, for example, the automation of the IT environment. In this article, we have separated five steps to adopt resources to optimize your work routine and benefit all sectors of the company.

1- Identify IT processes

The first issue to consider is the IT processes that can be automated, so it is necessary to map them all. You can do this by thinking about all the deliveries that the technology sector makes to other teams and the workflows involved, from this, it is possible to identify what can be optimized, see below some examples where automation works well .

Support

This example can be considered primarily for supporting the company's employees. The Information Technology area is usually responsible for managing and maintaining systems and infrastructure, so optimizing internal calls using call management software can reduce the time spent on this procedure.

It is also possible to consider support for services provided or maintenance of products sold. In this case, automation of communication can be useful, such as the use of chatboats, automatic email responses, or even online systems programmed to answer the most frequently asked questions.

Software that enables automatic responses through any channel also allows the company to gather the history of main occurrences. With this, it is possible to always improve responses and gain more agility as automation becomes more efficient in the resource to which it was applied.

Operational flows

Team workflows can be optimized by thinking about steps in the operational routine that can be eliminated in order to increase productivity. It is very common to remember industrial automation processes in the production of consumer goods, but we can also think about office routines.

An example is the issuance of invoices, there are systems that perform this function and save the finance department time. We can also consider facilitating the sales team's routine with actions such as automating order collection and preparing quotes, for example.

Backup routines

Companies are investing more every day in information management, as company knowledge and easy access to strategic data is an important asset for decision making. Backup automation, which can be done in cloud computing, guarantees data security and recovery, if necessary.

Data protection

Automation can be very useful for information security by protecting company materials, as it makes it possible to monitor access to the database, as well as allow or restrict it to employees. With this process, it is possible to guarantee the integrity and security of the organization's knowledge, as well as to act in the event of crises.

Information management

Business intelligence software helps manage the high volume of data that organizations have and automates the production of reports. They organize knowledge into reports and graphs for dashboards so that executives can access information quickly and assimilate it objectively, without wasting time searching for what they need in scattered or non-standard materials.

It is interesting to analyze which company systems can be integrated and how information can be standardized and unified, all of which can eliminate unnecessary steps in the teams' workflow. The organization's data governance relies on technological resources so that productivity and process agility are always priorities. Monitoring results.

By collecting and storing data, it is possible to monitor the metrics and KPIs of all sectors of the organization, as well as the progress of its strategic objectives. Technology allows these indicators to be monitored in real time in a simplified manner through information entered daily into the systems, making it possible to correct tactical and strategic actions that do not go as expected.

2 – Identify repetitive tasks

After mapping all the company's services in which the technology area is involved, it is time to analyze them individually to identify what can be optimized. Almost all repetitive tasks and many situations that happen constantly can be automated.

3 – Get to know the software

At this point, it is interesting to know the possibilities of software that can help with the automation of information technology routines. Investing in appropriate systems and, if necessary, in a consultancy specialized in their implementation, will bring many gains to the company. Some examples of software, Selenium, Terraform, Ansible, Chef, among others.

4 – Involve teams

When the planning phase comes to an end and the implementation of automation systems and processes begins, it is time to train teams on how to use the new functionalities. It is important that representatives from all areas provide details about their routines so that they can be thought of in logical and automated sequences.

It is very easy to involve teams, as everyone gains in terms of time and results with process optimization, but anything new can generate distrust. One way to encourage everyone's participation is to communicate the benefits gained from this work, such as increased productivity and improved quality of delivery.

Another benefit is the time saved to focus on more strategic matters, since the most bureaucratic and mechanical routine tasks are taken over by computers. Teams need to follow the processes to monitor them and intervene in the steps where manual actions need to be carried out.

Finally, still talking about teams, it is important to think about the roles that information technology professionals will assume during this process of analysis, implementation and monitoring of process automation. It is necessary to analyze the team's background and assess the need to hire specialized professionals to get things right in the first stages.

5 – Monitor and improve

After the company adheres to automated processes, it is necessary, as in any planning, to monitor and monitor results. Although routine optimization reduces errors, there may be points that can be improved or added to the program, meaning this is an ongoing process.

It is essential to think about automating technology routines so that executives do not waste time with bureaucratic tasks and remain more focused on the business strategy, including those in the IT area. Now that you know the main steps to make your organization's processes more agile, it's time to start planning by mapping out what can be optimized and, as a result, gain more competitiveness in your segment.

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