The availability of cloud computing to everyone has had a significant impact on the ability of small- to medium-sized companies (SMEs) to function like their enterprise counterparts. Using cloud services, SMEs have access to enterprise-grade applications that will improve their service delivery and each worker’s productivity to meet the highest expectations of customers.
Werner le Roux, CEO of software development company Flux Interactive, says that cloud computing is not simply another way to get to applications; it can change the fortunes of SMEs in the services business.
“FLUX has taken its MobiGo application into the cloud in order to ensure that SMEs with field workers are able to maximise their productivity while keeping costs down,” says Le Roux.
“Whatever the company does, cloud-based MobiGo will ensure field workers don’t waste time coming in to the office to collect job cards or making repeat calls to customers because they didn’t have the correct tools or stock with them on the first call.”
With modules such as Quotes, Job Cards, Invoicing and Customer Satisfaction Surveys, all based in the cloud, SMEs can up their game without breaking the bank.
Le Roux provides an example of the benefits of this cloud-based service. A business owner or supervisor can use a PC or mobile browser to allocate jobs to his field teams in the evening.
When the employees start work the following day, they simply log into their Android or Apple smartphones or tablets and download their job cards for the day. These are stored on the mobile device to ensure they are available even if the worker is out of cellular range.
With the details of their daily tasks at hand, these teams can ensure they take the right tools and stock to deal with the jobs they will be attending to and immediately go to work.
Once on site, even if the site has no coverage, they can enter the required information or tick off a checklist once the job is done, generate an invoice for the client and ask them to sign-off the job – or they can even have them fill in a satisfaction survey on the device.
As soon as they are in a coverage area again, the system will automatically synchronise with the FLUX cloud servers and update the information. Any additional information, such as emergency jobs, can then be downloaded and the workers sent to a different location.
Management doesn’t have to wait for paper-based job cards to be returned and collated before gaining an overview of the status of their teams. As soon as the mobile devices are synchronised, the servers are updated and the data is available for inspection or integration into the SMEs financial applications.
“An added benefit of using mobile devices for job assignment and monitoring is that workers faced with complicated jobs can be assisted by sending a picture of a problem to a more experienced person who can often offer assistance without having to go to site.
“Being cloud based means a company can use the service to manage one team or anywhere up to 1 000 remote teams without having to spend a cent on buying or maintaining their own server technology, it’s all part of the contract,” explains Le Roux.
Whether it’s a one-man plumbing operation, or a larger electrician or any service provider with field workers, cloud-based MobiGo is the optimal solution to improve worker productivity and ensure jobs are done to specification, while management keeps an eye on its operations in realtime.
