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Dynamics 365 vs NetSuite ERP: A Comparison

In this blog, we provide a comprehensive comparison between two leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions – Microsoft Dynamics 365 and NetSuite ERP. We delve into the details of both systems, comparing their features, capabilities, and suitability for growing businesses. Whether you’re a small startup or a mid-sized business, our comparison will help you make an informed decision about the best ERP solution for your business needs. 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and NetSuite ERP are two of the fastest-growing enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions. With a focus on ongoing innovation, both offer a comprehensive suite of applications designed to streamline business operations and improve efficiency. But how do they stack up against each other? In this blog, we’ll delve into the details of both systems and compare their features, capabilities, and suitability for growing businesses. 

Overview for Microsoft Dynamics 365

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a suite of intelligent business applications that helps you run your entire business and deliver greater results through predictive, AI-driven insights. It combines CRM and ERP capabilities, integrating seamlessly with other Microsoft products such as Office 365, Power BI, and Azure. 

Dynamics 365 offers a range of modules, including Sales, Customer Service, Field Service, Human Resources, Finance, and Supply Chain Management. Each module can be used independently or in combination, providing flexibility and scalability to growing businesses.

Overview of NetSuite

NetSuite ERP, a product of Oracle, is a cloud-based, all-in-one business management solution. It provides a suite of applications, including accounting, inventory management, CRM, and e-commerce. NetSuite is designed to automate operations, streamline processes, and provide real-time visibility into key business metrics. 

NetSuite’s strength lies in its unified business suite approach, offering a single source of truth for all business data. It’s particularly popular among mid-sized businesses and large enterprises looking for a comprehensive solution that can scale with their growth. 

How NetSuite Compares to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance

When comparing NetSuite to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, both offer robust financial management capabilities. However, there are some key differences.  

NetSuite provides a comprehensive financial management solution with features like general ledger, accounts payable/receivable, and cash management. It also offers built-in business intelligence with real-time reporting and analytics. 

On the other hand, Dynamics 365 Finance goes beyond traditional ERP systems by using AI to predict future trends and make data-driven decisions. It offers in-depth financial insights, automates financial processes, and reduces operational expenses. 

Here’s a detailed explanation of how the features of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance compare against NetSuite: 

User Interface and Customization: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance provides a more intuitive and user-friendly experience compared to NetSuite. Its interface is designed to be familiar to users of other Microsoft products, reducing the learning curve and speeding up adoption.

Scalability and Flexibility: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance can adapt to the changing needs of businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises. It offers a wide range of modules and functionalities that can be tailored to specific industry requirements, making it a more flexible solution than NetSuite.

Reporting and Analytics: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance provides robust reporting tools, real-time dashboards, and advanced analytics features that enable businesses to make data-driven decisions. While NetSuite also offers reporting features, Dynamics 365 Finance’s integration with Power BI takes its analytics capabilities to another level.

Integration Capabilities: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft products, such as Office 365, Power BI, and Azure, providing a unified and connected ecosystem for businesses. This level of integration can lead to increased efficiency and streamlined workflows.

Security and Compliance: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance adheres to industry standards and regulations, offering robust security measures to protect sensitive financial data. Microsoft’s commitment to security is well-known, and this extends to Dynamics 365 Finance.

Customer Support and Resources: Microsoft provides a wealth of customer support and community resources for Dynamics 365 Finance users. This includes online documentation, forums, and training materials that can help users maximize the software’s potential. 

Overview of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a comprehensive business management solution designed for small to mid-sized organizations. It automates, streamlines, and connects various business processes, helping users manage multi-department operations, teams, and projects more efficiently and effectively. 

Business Central integrates with other Microsoft cloud services including Office 365 and can be customized or extended for specific industry needs with PowerApps, Microsoft Flow, and Power BI. 

Here are some key points about Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central: 

Comprehensive Business Management: Business Central connects sales, service, finance, and operations to work smarter, adapt faster, and perform better. It provides a unified solution to manage all aspects of your business. 

Designed for Small and Mid-sized Organizations: Business Central is optimized for small and mid-sized organizations, providing a solution that can scale along with your business as it grows.  

Latest Updates and Features: Microsoft continually invests in Business Central, adding new features and capabilities with each release. The 2021 release wave 2, for example, brought a host of new features and investments by Microsoft to the platform.  

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central also comes with built-in light customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities that can help businesses manage their customer relationships more effectively. Here are some key CRM capabilities of Dynamics 365 Business Central: 

Contact Management: Business Central allows you to keep track of your contacts and categorize them based on various factors such as sales, relationship status, and engagement history. This helps you manage your relationships with your customers effectively.   

Sales Management: With Business Central, you can manage your sales from lead to cash. It allows you to keep track of your sales opportunities, create quotes, manage orders, and handle invoices, all from a single platform.   

Service Order Management: Business Central also allows you to manage your service orders and agreements. You can register your after-sales issues including service requests, service orders, and repair requests.   

Marketing: Business Central comes with built-in marketing tools that allow you to manage your marketing efforts effectively. You can segment your contacts based on specific criteria and run targeted marketing campaigns.   

Integration with Dynamics 365 Sales: If you need more advanced CRM capabilities, Business Central can be integrated with Dynamics 365 Sales. This allows you to synchronize your data across both platforms and provides you with additional CRM features such as sales force automation, customer service, and field service. 

Why You Should Choose Microsoft Dynamics Over NetSuite

Choosing between Microsoft Dynamics and NetSuite depends largely on your business needs. However, there are several reasons why you might lean towards Dynamics 365. 

Firstly, if your business is already using Microsoft products, Dynamics 365 offers seamless integration, providing a unified and familiar experience for users. Secondly, Dynamics 365’s AI capabilities offer predictive insights that can drive more informed business decisions. Lastly, Dynamics 365 offers more flexibility in terms of deployment, with options for on-premises, cloud, or hybrid models. 

Benefits of Dynamics 365 

Here are some reasons why you should choose Microsoft Dynamics over NetSuite:  

Integration with Microsoft Products: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products, such as Office 365, SharePoint, and SQL databases. This integration allows businesses to leverage their existing Microsoft tools and streamline their operations, which is a significant advantage over NetSuite.

Scalability and Flexibility: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance is known for its scalability and flexibility. It can adapt to the changing needs of businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises. It offers a wide range of modules and functionalities that can be tailored to specific industry requirements.

Advanced Analytics and Reporting: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance provides robust reporting tools, real-time dashboards, and advanced analytics features that enable businesses to make data-driven decisions. While NetSuite also offers reporting features, Dynamics 365 Finance’s integration with Power BI takes its analytics capabilities to another level.

Security and Compliance: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance adheres to industry standards and regulations, offering robust security measures to protect sensitive financial data. Microsoft’s commitment to security is well-known, and this extends to Dynamics 365 Finance.

Pricing: While both Microsoft Dynamics and NetSuite offer subscription-based pricing models, Dynamics is typically more expensive than NetSuite. However, the additional cost can be justified by the extensive features, capabilities, and integrations offered by Dynamics 365 Finance.

Dynamics 365 and Dynamics 365 Business Central are Best for Growing Businesses

Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Dynamics 365 Business Central are excellent choices for growing businesses due to several reasons: 

Comprehensive Business Management Solution: Both Dynamics 365 and Business Central offer comprehensive business management solutions. They streamline and automate business processes, helping businesses manage their operations more efficiently. 

Scalability: These platforms are designed to adapt to the changing needs of businesses. As your business grows, Dynamics 365 and Business Central can scale with you, providing the necessary tools and functionalities to handle increased demand. 

Connected Cloud Solution: Dynamics 365 Business Central provides a connected cloud business management solution. This means you can bring together your finance, sales, services, and operations teams within a single application, providing the insights needed to drive your business forward. 

Optimized for Small and Medium Businesses: Dynamics 365 Business Central is built and optimized for small and medium businesses. It’s an ideal solution for companies that have outgrown their entry-level business applications or are replacing outdated legacy systems. 

Integration with Other Microsoft Products: Both Dynamics 365 and Business Central integrate seamlessly with other Microsoft products, such as Office 365, SharePoint, and SQL databases. This integration allows businesses to leverage their existing Microsoft tools and streamline their operations. 

Conclusion 

Microsoft Dynamics 365 and NetSuite ERP are robust and comprehensive enterprise resource planning systems, each with their unique strengths. However, when it comes to integration with other Microsoft products, scalability, and advanced analytics capabilities, Dynamics 365 stands out. Its AI-driven insights, flexibility, and seamless integration with familiar Microsoft tools make it a compelling choice, particularly for businesses already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem. 

Dynamics 365 Finance and Dynamics 365 Business Central, in particular, offer highly detailed business management solutions that can scale with the growth of your business. Their robust reporting tools, real-time dashboards, and advanced analytics features enable businesses to make data-driven decisions. Moreover, their adherence to industry standards and regulations ensures robust security measures to protect sensitive financial data. 

Ultimately, the choice between Dynamics 365 and NetSuite ERP will depend on your specific business needs and existing infrastructure. However, for growing businesses seeking a scalable, flexible, and integrated solution, Dynamics 365 Business Central presents a compelling case. 

Consult our experts to discuss your business requirements and plan your Dynamics 365 ERP implementation or migration. Get in touch here.  

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Importance of Cloud and Artificial intelligence in Retail Startups and E-Commerce

While the retail industry took a huge hit after the pandemic, large players pivoted to more robust digital models along with the e-commerce sector that saw substantial investments towards boosting their digital technologies to meet the surge in demand. Spends on cloud computing and Artificial intelligence in Retail made up a large portion of these investments that added new and improved capabilities to both online-only and omni-channel consumer businesses.

Technology is always pushing the boundaries of what e-commerce can accomplish, from digital transformation and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to virtual reality and artificial intelligence. AI implementation has the ability to affect a wide range of business processes within your firm. At the same time, almost every industry, sector, and business has witnessed the power of cloud computing. Cloud computing offers various benefits for e-commerce businesses as well, including harmonizing supply chain and payment systems for various geographies to help businesses reach and serve a large number of customers. Furthermore, the growing use of AI and cloud in retailing is assisting the sector in aligning its offers with customers’ expectations for more customized products and services in the digital era. Indeed, according to a recent Business Insider study, up to 85% of consumer contacts may be handled without the intervention of a human by 2021. Many e-commerce companies are already using artificial intelligence to better understand their consumers, create new leads, and deliver a better customer experience.

E-commerce business landscape in North America

Consumers’ online purchase behavior is continuously changing, causing changes in everything from product design to packaging, selection, fulfillment, and shipping. Product protection is regarded as one of the most critical problems. During the projected period, the North American e-commerce packaging market is estimated to grow by 12.5% (2021 – 2026).

Despite having just 5% of the world’s population, the continent of North America has numerous economically developed regions with high living standards, considerable food, and energy consumption, and extensive trade and commerce. With COVID-19, the region’s demand for e-commerce has increased significantly, owing to increased demand for medication, food, and other vital commodities. People are increasingly leaving the house only for essential purchases, such as groceries or medication, and many are turning to e-commerce for their retail needs, thus the market demand for e-commerce logistics solutions has seen a steady rise.

Today, the average North American internet buyer spends approximately $3,800 each year online. Retailers throughout the continent are beefing up their delivery capabilities to fulfill orders through digitally oriented distribution hubs and last-mile in-car, in-garage, and in-house deliveries. By 2022, the regional market is anticipated to exceed $1 trillion, with fashion becoming a key purchasing sector. Many major trends have arisen in the last year as game-changers for the North American e-commerce market.

Top technology trends for e-commerce business growth

The e-commerce industry is always changing, and the past year and a half have been no exception. Merchants are developing and/or upgrading their e-commerce platforms to reach customers where they are now more than ever. While it may appear like everything in e-commerce is changing, we have narrowed it down to the top trends that will influence businesses in the coming months and years. So, let’s have a look at some of the top e-commerce trends that can help you build your e-commerce business faster.

Making online purchasing more engaging through augmented reality

Augmented reality (AR) has completely transformed e-commerce. With this sort of technology, customers can really see the thing they’re looking at, which aids them in making a purchasing decision. AR has a significant impact on the buying experience in some areas such as fashion and home decor because the buyer can get a better sense of the item without having to see it in person.

Improvement of purchase and post-sales experience using chatbots

Experts estimate that in the future, 80% of firms will use chatbots. Chatbots engage with online shoppers in the same way that a sales representative would. Today’s customer expects to be able to discover and buy a product with just a few clicks, and they may very well move on to another e-commerce platform if they can’t. This is where a chatbot can help rescue the deal.

AI assists retailers in learning about their customers

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning enable customers to enjoy automated, tailored purchasing experiences. AI is always gathering data on how customers shop when they make purchases, and what they’re searching for in a product or service. It’s a piece of technology that just cannot be reproduced in-store.

Using cloud computing and Artificial intelligence in Retail and Growing your e-commerce business

The world is evolving at a rapid pace. Businesses must be prepared to embrace IT transformation in their operations, tap into business data in new ways, and rethink IT system management in order to remain competitive. The future of IT will provide tremendous opportunities for well-prepared organizations. Artificial intelligence is changing the internet retail sector by anticipating purchasing behavior based on the items purchased and the time they are purchased.

Automation is the future of technology, and with it, plenty of new automation solutions for e-commerce firms have been introduced. It is the most powerful tool in your arsenal as an online store owner.

Since the advent of cloud computing, many e-commerce companies have begun to expand their operations with cloud computing. Some well-known e-commerce companies, such as Amazon, Google, and Alibaba, have incorporated cloud computing into their long-term strategy at a pivotal stage to achieve the level of growth they see now. With the fast growth of information technology, e-commerce services are driving higher efficiency, lower costs, and greater flexibility for businesses, and providing consumers the power of choice and speed like never before. The rise of cloud computing is giving birth to a new service ecosystem that will combine all e-commerce resources and enable new service modalities.

Business benefits of adopting cloud computing for e-commerce operations

Organizations all around the globe are turning to cloud services to help them save money on data storage, expedite development workflows, and improve decision-making skills. This cloud adoption trend reflects, in part, how big data has altered the current corporate landscape, as well as the increased demand for flexible management tools.

The public cloud marketplace is currently oversaturated with competitors. Despite the fact that the cloud computing services sector has gotten increasingly saturated, three suppliers have emerged as market leaders: Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. Because of their huge resources and access to skilled talent, these major corporations have been able to create user-friendly cloud-based platforms, on-demand services, and support systems that appeal to enterprises of all kinds.

With a solid understanding of cloud services, it may be helpful to dive into how they assist modern companies. With that in perspective, below are the top cloud business benefits.

Scalability on demand: Scalability is a critical consideration for any infrastructure-related investment since business demands vary over time, whether for expansion or reduction. Public cloud infrastructure built on platforms like Microsoft Azure enables companies to scale up their storage space and processing power on demand, providing maximum capacity during peak traffic periods and long-term growth initiatives.

High level of accessibility: Again, Microsoft Azure, unlike many of its rivals, provides high availability and redundancy across all of its data centers. Azure is well-suited to organizations with a global reach since it runs in 55 regions across the world and is offered in 140 countries.

Cost-effective Platform: Microsoft’s pay-as-you-go approach lets you pay only for the resources you use to develop or grow them utilizing Azure services. As infrastructure is managed by Microsoft on Azure, this reduces IT management expenditures to a bare minimum. It simply links data centers to the cloud and covers 42 regions, unlike any other cloud provider.

Conclusion

From the above overview of the e-commerce market and technology trends, we can conclude that artificial intelligence will play a key role in developing new solutions and consumer experiences for e-commerce businesses. Traditional e-commerce businesses might benefit from embracing cloud computing rather than resisting it as a development strategy in the cloud era. Technology and people are always developing, and because e-commerce connects them all, we will always be looking ahead.

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4 Use cases of automation and digitization 

In this digital age, automation and digitization are essential for businesses of all sizes. In this blog, we look at four ways your company can benefit from automation and digitization, from reducing costs to improving customer experiences.

The term ‘Digital Transformation’ and its real-world significance have expanded in this new decade of the 21st century, as a force driving the next phase of modernization in information technologies and systems. From keeping up with increasing digital adoption among consumers to ensuring business continuity in the face of global events like the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for adopting the latest enterprise technologies has become mandatory rather than a choice.  According to IDC, global spending on digital transformation technologies and services is projected to reach $2.3 trillion by 2023. At the same time, the enterprise software segment is expected to clock $243.30 billion in revenues in 2022, marking an increased demand for digital and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms to fast-track digitalization.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine learning (ML) have advanced rapidly over the last few years, creating new opportunities to use them for business efficiency through automation and analytics. This new wave of digital transformation is all about analyzing the current level of maturity and enhancing systems further to leverage automation for various use cases. For this, understanding the changing roles of AI in digital transformation is the best way to gauge your automation needs and find the right way forward.

AI is a key driver of digitization and automation

At the core, digitization and digitalization are all about how information is shared, interpreted, and applied by businesses in their processes and decision-making. And artificial intelligence is one of the biggest driving forces of digital transformation. AI does much more than performing simple, repeatable tasks, and can also aid in building a self-governing and updating digital infrastructure with machine learning, handling day-to-day data classification and management, and helping in creating a robust automation system that connects processes and makes them autonomous. From creating a smart data analytics platform to designing an automated business process architecture, AI has evolved by leaps and bounds in terms of what it can achieve. The application of AI in workplace automation shows tremendous promise with the ability to carry out not only in-office processes but also industrial operations. Let’s look at some key business areas where AI offers deep automation capabilities to help enterprises build scalable, intelligent workflows.

AI and process digitalization: 4 popular use cases

1. Retail and Supply Chain Management Automation in retail and supply chain management is a real game-changer for organizations. It’s one of the areas where robotic process automation (RPA) and business process automation (BPA) can be used most effectively because of the repetitive, and scalable nature of work. Not only does it help with reducing overhead costs but also improves the quality of supply chain operation while reducing errors. From managing inventory to tracking the shipment until it reaches the final consumer, automation can be incorporated at each step to streamline workflows and make them trackable for all teams involved.

Today, organizations are using supply chain automation to find innovative solutions to issues related to managing order processing, inventory, shipping and logistics, and post-sale customer service. With regards to process automation in daily operations, AI can carry out a variety of manual data input, transfer, recording, and presentation tasks with utmost efficiency, freeing up human resources who only need to ratify these processes and take decisions.

Activities like order fulfillment, product shipment, and maintaining taxation and delivery records can be automated to save logistics costs and time-consuming tasks. For instance, with third-party logistics, automated shipping technology helps businesses find the most efficient route for product shipping.

2. Business Analytics The modern data-driven business environment demands fast and deep business insights that are not possible for humans to interpret. Using advanced AI and ML systems to support data analytics adds significant value to overall processes, and enables more effective strategies and execution of the same.

The key role of automated data analytics is to simplify and speed insight generation and presentation for the end user, be it an operations executive or a senior leader/decision-maker. Using the natural language generation program, the augmented data analytics system provides easy-to-understand insights that can be accessed by anyone within the organization.

Maintaining transparency in AI is still a major concern in data analytics automation. Tech experts recommend following strict security compliance with data analytics automation to maintain the integrity and security of the data. Here, cloud and DevOps offer an effective way to build agile systems that can be developed, improved, and deployed for better outcomes.

3. Customer Service The global pandemic forced businesses to reinvent their approach to customer service due to restrictions on physical proximity, and communicate with customers by any means necessary. For traditional B2C brands, the transition from brick and mortar to selling online meant they also needed to engage with them digitally to resolve issues and offer pre- and post-sale support. AI technologies like chatbots, enabled by machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) played a huge role in making customer interactions more engaging, efficient, and effective. Furthermore, brands that integrate AI with their lead tracking or customer relationship management (CRM) platforms can better analyze lead and customer data to determine how their sales teams or customer success teams should communicate with a lead or customer. They can also use data and analytics more effectively to anticipate customer demands, suggest products or relevant information on products they have purchased, and drive unique, targeted campaigns using email and social media.

4. Human Resource Management Automation in HR became a necessity as organizations transitioned to remote/hybrid working. With organizations competing to find the best talent in a post-pandemic market with high attrition, automation and digital continue to play a key role in streamlining the recruitment process, making it data-driven, and taking the guesswork out of it for more effective hiring outcomes.

Activities like collecting and processing candidate information and resumes, building a talent database, screening job applications, employee onboarding, employee performance management, and other aspects. With incremental advancements in technology, automation in recruitment is getting more sophisticated to handle complex tasks so that the HR team can focus on core business policies.

Conclusion

AI and digital technologies are always evolving. What started with undertaking shop-floor level tasks can now conduct more complex, high-level tasks with advanced computation and analytical capabilities, specifically for different sectors and business sizes. Digital adoption and automation will continue to be an integral part of technology strategy for growing enterprises seeking maximum efficiency with minimum costs of running processes and scaling their IT. Are you planning to incorporate or scale up automation in your business processes? VBeyond Digital offers 360-degree automation solutions from strategy to implementation and support with expertise in the latest cloud systems and methods.

Get in touch with us today. Share:

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How a SharePoint-based CMS can streamline enterprise policy management & lifecycle

Microsoft SharePoint-based CMS is an ideal content management system for enterprise policy management due to its versatility and collaborative capabilities.

Managing, updating, and regulating enterprise policy is crucial for organizations to set a regulatory code of conduct. Enterprise policy management (EPM) is an integral business operation that ensures the implementation of company regulations in both internal and external environments by storing, managing, and analyzing policy documents. Not only that, but it also enables organizations to make necessary changes and updates in the company policy to improve scalability and adaptability with the changing environment, thus maintaining a healthy policy life cycle.

As the business environment has changed drastically due to a global pandemic, it is now more important than ever for companies to incorporate fast, accurate, and reliable content management systems for policy management. And for a reliable content management system, nothing beats Microsoft SharePoint’s versatility and efficiency in data storage, processing, and distribution capabilities.

Embracing the age of digital enterprise policy management

Nowadays, enterprise policies need to be dynamic enough to keep up with the ever-changing business environment, especially when it comes to defining responsibilities and liabilities when transitioning from legacy systems to digital. Numerous businesses struggle through this phase due to the need for drastic policy changes. That challenge has only amplified in a post-pandemic business environment.

In such a scenario, having a robust and reliable EPM system backed by an industry-grade content management system (CMS) will help emerging businesses in adapting to the market changes with quick and future-centric policy changes. This can enable organizations to better analyze current market trends, company growth, and government regulations to create a smooth policy life cycle. To that end, a content management system built on Microsoft SharePoint can add significantly to a company’s policy management system for years to come.

How SharePoint-based CMS can help you build a modern enterprise policy management system

SharePoint helps organizations to create a collaborative work environment with an efficient and secured data storage, analyzing, and distributing platform for businesses. One of the major functions SharePoint helps policymakers perform is streamlining and organizing the complex and vast data that goes into creating and updating policies.

From an enterprise policy management perspective, SharePoint works perfectly as a collaborative work system where the leadership can work together with key departments such as HR and IT to update company policy and communicate changes with their employees quickly and securely.

The sheer versatility of SharePoint with its plethora of features can be customized to match individual business needs. It also applies to designing the most comprehensive policy management ecosystem to handle the dynamic external compliance burden. Being the central hub of information, SharePoint also helps in upgrading policies to match scalability and digital integration needs.

Now, let’s take a look at SharePoint’s key features that can help organizations streamline and modernize enterprise policy management:

Secure data storage

The biggest strength of SharePoint is its secure architecture and data storage. The platform provides centralized storage for the company’s sensitive data, which also includes the company policies and market insights. SharePoint provides end-to-end storage security with the following features:

Permission-based access: SharePoint enables policy and decision-makers to assign various permission levels to users depending on the company hierarchy, which means only the top-level management or specific designated users can create, view, or modify policies.

Version control: SharePoint’s version tracking allows users to prevent accidental deletion and overwriting by restoring the last relevant version easily.

Audit trail: SharePoint allows administrators to track people accessing and editing the company policy files with date, time, and version history data.

Tracking and assessment

The SharePoint automated notification feature informs people within the organization about the updates in enterprise policies and evaluating its benefits by communicating with the leadership team. In addition to it, SharePoint offers the following features to enable accurate tracking and assessment:

Real-time dashboards: Build detailed dashboards on Excel or Power BI and then import them to the SharePoint CMS. This way, leaders and administrators can get insights on the list of policies, version details, status for approval, and other crucial data. When someone from the leadership updates or approves a new policy, it immediately reflects on the dashboard, notifying all employees of the change.

Alerts and notifications: SharePoint can be configured to generate various automated notifications. For example, you can configure automatic notifications that inform employees when a policy or a procedure gets modified, or a new document is added to the system. Furthermore, SharePoint can alert a policy manager when a certain policy needs to be revised or reissued.

Assessments: One of the most interesting features of SharePoint includes customized quizzes for employees to assess their policy knowledge. It can also lock the policy read until the employee completes the required assessment tests.

Quick policy creation, distribution, and retrieval 

Being a collaborative enterprise platform, SharePoint supports the generation, publication, and distribution of policy content. It supports various content formats like Word documents, images, videos, and audio files. Below are some of the features that help streamline policy document creation and distribution processes:   

Content template: Having a set template on various content types significantly eases up the process of creating new documents like renewed policies. SharePoint allows creating and storing custom templates to save time and maintain consistency while making new policies or updating the existing ones. 

Real-time collaboration: SharePoint helps the leadership team with a digital collaborative platform to work on creating new policies and updating the current ones. As teams can work simultaneously in real-time, it reduces the time needed for policy finalization. 

Workflows: Build custom, automated workflows for your SharePoint CMS using Power Automate to facilitate smooth approval processes for new policies. Leadership teams can design a new policy and share it across relevant departments for quick reading and approvals. Thus, it streamlines the overall policy life cycle with defined stages from start to finish. 

Search: SharePoint speeds up the policy search by enabling search by policy titles, keywords, or even a part of the content. For big enterprises with numerous policies, employees can find the required policy document with SharePoint’s result by relevancy. 

Leverage custom SharePoint development solutions for enterprise policy and knowledge management

A SharePoint-based content management system can add sophistication, customizability, and simplicity to your enterprise policy management systems. With a fully digital system that applies automation to reduce time and error, business leaders can focus better on core business activities while being supported by a robust policy system.  

VBeyond Digital helps you make this process even simpler and cost and time-effective Microsoft 365 solutions to accelerate your enterprise policy management process. 

Contact us now to discuss your organization’s requirements and build powerful solutions on SharePoint and Microsoft 365.

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Applying machine learning to process automation

Implementing machine learning in process automation can provide various advantages to businesses. Here, we look at its use cases and benefits for enterprises.

The practice of applying Machine Learning (ML) models to real-world situations through automation is known as Automated Machine Learning. It automates the selection, construction, and parameterization of machine learning models in particular. Since then, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its subsets have become clever additions to the field of automation, attempting to tackle problems that go beyond simply taking over repetitive tasks.

Machine learning is one form of applied AI that is now being used in Business Process Automation (BPA) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Machine learning is the use of artificial intelligence to enable systems to learn and make decisions without being specifically programmed to do so. In RPA, ML can move robots beyond repetitive process execution and enable them to perform jobs that previously needed human decision-making. Artificial Intelligence skills may also be used to improve data integrity, give structure to unstructured and semi-structured data sources, increase business insights, and improve automated execution.

In this blog, we’re taking a closer look at the role of machine learning in automation.

Machine Learning in Process Automation

The applications of machine learning are expanding rapidly to help organizations and society solve real-world issues. ML works on the basis of encapsulating a vast quantity of data (or knowledge) into some form of a mathematical model. The model may be used to solve issues by using the knowledge it contains.

Machine learning can be applied to a wide range of problems where large amounts of historical data can be used to predict or make decisions in specific areas. It should be highlighted that, unlike constructing an algorithm, it is based on the creation of a knowledge base. However, the ML technique is particularly efficient in dealing with such problems.

Process automation has evolved to provide solutions to assist, simplify, and expedite processes. It all started with robotic process automation based on automating step-by-step workflows in a single platform or application. RPA has transformed the way people work today, with millions of bots working alongside humans.

The majority of RPA implementations make use of software bots that automate operations based on pre-defined or established criteria. As corporate processes became more sophisticated, artificial intelligence technology such as machine learning began to impact how bots might accomplish more. With the inclusion of ML, bots continually learn from human activities, emulating human cognition to a great extent. The more training and learning supplied, the closer machines can get to reading, visualizing, learning, and thinking like humans.

How to apply machine learning to process automation

The simplicity with which a workflow or process can be automated is RPA’s biggest strength. However, it has a restriction in that it cannot be automated if it requires decision-making supported by knowledge application. This is where machine learning comes in; it assists in the creation of a knowledge base based on past data, which is then used for decision-making and prediction.

Integrating Machine Learning with robotic process automation can result in strong automation solutions. Many RPA software suppliers are striving to include this functionality inside the tool itself in order to broaden its capabilities. However, because ML is a new subject, it needs the expertise of engineers with extensive knowledge and abilities in order to construct correct ML models.

Improving the Execution of Automation

Algorithms for machine learning can also be used to improve the delivery of automated services. Algorithms can be used in computer vision, for example, to teach robots how to detect and interact with onscreen fields and components. Machine learning models are also employed for error management, and recursion is frequently used to minimize code complexity and optimize robot runtime.

Another growing use of machine learning in automation is task mining. In this case, robots are taught to assess daily task information obtained from employees in order to create process maps and recommend procedures for automation based on the maximum return on investment (ROI.) This application can be a mixed bag since it needs extensive training to reach the proper balance between ROI, degree of effort, and overall suitability for automation.

Attended Automation

Attended automation, also known as Remote Desktop Automation (RDA), is when robots work alongside people to augment their job or help them make better decisions. Machine learning may be used to absorb data from several sources in real-time, allowing robots to assist humans in determining the optimal next step in their workflow.

Machine learning may also be integrated with other cognitive skills, such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), to allow robots to emulate the easier decision-making inside a human’s workflow, bringing us even closer to end-to-end automation.

Conclusion

From the above breakdown of process automation technologies, we can surmise that investing in machine learning to augment BPA and RPA can provide various advantages to businesses. It is a powerful and continuously evolving technology, and its ramifications will only grow in the future years. As a result, it is a worthwhile improvement over manual processes and a crucial step towards helping your teams become more productive. Machine learning algorithms can help to reduce risk and eliminate the cost of operating clunky, outdated software.

Reimagine business efficiency with automation and data solutions built by VBeyond Digital.

Get in touch to speak with our experts.

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6 Benefits of Automating CMS With SharePoint & PowerApps

SharePoint and PowerApps are popular cloud-based applications that can be used for automating CMS functions. They have been around for a long time, which means they are mature and stable. These applications have a dedicated developer community as well, which means there is extensive support from vendors and online resources to help you improve your digital experience.

For organizations that use Microsoft Office 365 and SharePoint, an automated CMS setup can be a great way to improve productivity and reduce costs. But it’s also quite simple for businesses not on Microsoft to set up and get a SharePoint-based CMS up and running in no time. Automating CMS is an easy way to boost productivity and efficiency in your business. The ability to quickly create content and make updates with just a few clicks is a huge time saver. With an automated CMS solution built on SharePoint or PowerApps, you can spend less time managing content and more time creating value for the relevant stakeholders.  

This automation also helps you to save time, energy, and money by eliminating the need for manual processes that take up a lot of resources. Like any other process, the same concept applies to the automation of content management systems. It allows computers or software applications to access data from different sources, understand it, and perform tasks automatically without human intervention once they’re set up correctly. 

Why SharePoint for automating CMS ops 

1. Simplify content management with an intuitive platform 

If you’re looking for a more structured approach to content management, SharePoint might be what you need. SharePoint allows you to automate your CMS by using PowerApps as a tool for organizing and presenting data. It has all the capabilities of other CMS platforms, but it also comes with many useful features that can make content management easier than ever before. For example, SharePoint has a built-in search engine that allows you to gather data from across your organization and display it in an easy-to-read format.  

You can use SharePoint to create an internal site for a team for a specific set of people in the organization that’s mobile-friendly and customizable. Using such an intranet site or portal, you can create a content management solution for your team that’s easy to manage and update. You can also create custom dashboards that display the most relevant information for different groups of people within your company. SharePoint makes it easy to manage content on multiple platforms at once without having to worry about security issues or compliance concerns. 

2. Easily Integrate SharePoint CMS with existing systems 

SharePoint and Power Apps are both cloud-based solutions. This means that you don’t have to worry about IT or servers and focus on what matters: serving customers. 

Additionally, SharePoint and PowerApps are built on the same technology platform. This allows for easy integration into your existing systems so they can work together seamlessly and maximize their potential. You can use SharePoint as a hub for all of your content and data. This will let you centralize all of your information into one place, making it easier for everyone in your organization to collaborate. Plus, SharePoint comes with built-in security features that keep sensitive data safe from breaches and unauthorized access. 

Since SharePoint is easy to use and has a low learning curve, it won’t take long before your users will be comfortable with setting up automated content publishing in no time at all! 

3. Improve productivity and reduce costs 

One of the biggest benefits of automating CMS is that it allows you to reduce your operational costs by reducing the number of employees needed to manage content and data. While you may be able to find other solutions that can help you automate your content publishing, none of them are as powerful and easy-to-use as SharePoint. Especially if your organization runs on Microsoft Office 365.  

SharePoint works seamlessly with Office 365 and PowerApps, making it easy for everyone in the organization to access their content from any device or location. You’ll also have access to a wide set of APIs that let you create custom apps or connect with third-party tools for even more functionality. 

Through these functionalities, you can: 

Reduce time-to-market for new content. 

Improve data quality in your DAM. 

Gain insights into how your content performs by building interactive dashboards using Power BI.  

4. Ensure accuracy of data 

When you automate your CMS operations with SharePoint and PowerApps, you can ensure that the data you’re collecting is accurate. Data accuracy is critical for legal and compliance purposes.  

In addition to automated data entry, you can use PowerApps to create forms so employees can fill out information on their devices. For example, if your company has a new benefit plan that needs to be implemented in your employee benefits portal (or any other system), HR can notify them through a SharePoint site for internal communications and solicit any details or consent they may require through a form. This way, employees will enter their responses directly into the system without having to call or email anyone in HR.  

 5. Streamline notifications and escalations 

Automating CMS with SharePoint and PowerApps allows you to streamline notifications and escalations. Notifications can be sent when an issue is opened, assigned to a team member or automatically closed as it’s resolved. Escalations are triggered when a ticket hasn’t been reviewed for too long and will notify the right person at the right time about issues that require attention.  

Notifications can be sent via email, SMS or other channels such as Slack messages or phone calls. It’s easy to personalize them depending on who needs to be notified (for example by filtering based on their role) and you have full control over which channel(s) they’re sent through – so if you don’t want anyone getting notifications through Slack but do want them via email or a Teams message then this that’s possible too.  

  6. Reduce Time-to-Market for New Content 

With SharePoint and PowerApps, you can have a new content item up in minutes. You can create a new content item directly from the PowerApps app canvas or by tapping an existing SharePoint list. This means you can create and publish new content faster, which can help you avoid the risk of accidentally publishing outdated or inaccurate information. When your content is managed in one place, it’s easier to keep its quality high. For instance, you can easily update the title, description, and metadata fields for each item when you create it with SharePoint or PowerApps. 

Conclusion 

SharePoint and PowerApps are platforms from Microsoft that have been around for a long time, which means they are mature and stable. These applications have a dedicated developer community as well, which means there is extensive support available from vendors and online resources to help you improve your digital experience.  

An automated CMS can increase overall productivity, reduce costs and improve time-to-market for new content. By using SharePoint and PowerApps, you can streamline your content management processes and save time. In addition, these applications can improve the efficiency of your organization by automating tasks that are otherwise manual and error-prone. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you implement these applications in your organization. 

Want to get started with a content management system and streamline your Office 365 usage? Get in touch with our experts today. 

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Why SharePoint is the best fit for your enterprise learning and development requirements

Building a learning management system on SharePoint can help create a collaborative knowledge-sharing environment for employees to learn, apply, and grow.

SharePoint has emerged as one of Microsoft’s fastest-growing products and for good reason, given the pace of digital transformation across the enterprise ecosystem. SharePoint is a powerful platform that provides centralized and secure storage for business insights and documents while decentralizing access to important data for your teams to ensure uninterrupted workflows. At the same time, it enables the creation of custom learning and development (L&D) platforms for employees with a SharePoint foundation. 

With a learning management system (LMS) built on SharePoint, employees can collaborate and interact with each other to share knowledge and resources. Here, learning and development initiatives can include short to mid-term skill enhancement courses, specialized training programs, etc. that help them learn and access growth opportunities. 

But before getting started with using SharePoint for your LMS, it is important to understand key points and benefits to ensure maximum impact of SharePoint on your L&D efforts.

Benefits of building an LMS on SharePoint

Traditional learning management systems or third-party portals often have a siloed or isolated learning process. On the other hand, SharePoint enables you to build a highly customized learning platform with greater engagement and interactivity for employees. The platform’s customization capabilities further enable administrators and instructors to track an individual’s learning progress more closely and measure success through several predefined metrics. 

To understand SharePoint’s value as an LMS, let’s look at some of its key features and benefits:

1. Rapidly create and deploy learning management systems

The core benefit of using SharePoint to build an LMS is eliminating extra effort in incorporating, learning, and deploying new enterprise software. SharePoint achieves this by maximizing the use of existing software to gain maximum results. SharePoint ensures increased utilization of existing resources to customize the LMS system customizable for your business.

SharePoint easily integrates with various internal data and content sources, including Microsoft Active Directory, allowing you to migrate data to the LMS. This way, incorporating SharePoint in your LMS initiative also creates a single source of knowledge for better content access and customization while reducing effort in creating learning content. 

With seamless integrations offered by SharePoint, you can maximize the value from your existing Microsoft 365 deployment for a comprehensive LMS. As employees would already be familiar with the user interface and experience of the Microsoft 365 suite, implementing a new LMS becomes much faster and can take place with fewer hiccups.

2. Create an engaging user experience

The most crucial metric for a successful learning management system is the engagement of users, the quality of the learning experience, and incorporating the training into actual responsibilities and business scenarios. That’s why creating a customizable learning experience for individual employees as well as groups of employees is better than force-fitting a certain group into randomized learning hierarchies. 

This is where SharePoint can be the game-changer for your LMS. With an in-depth understanding of your corporate hierarchy and learning needs at every stage, SharePoint can create a learning program for every level of management. 

SharePoint enables you to assign individual employees to customized training programs, evaluate individual employee performance, and choose whether to promote certain employees as per their progress in the learning module. For instance, training modules for salespeople working in the field will differ vastly from the financial management employees. This way, learning programs can be tailored for employees, starting from the entry-level to mid-level and senior-level employees based on the skills needed for their specific roles. 

Furthermore, being a centralized data management system, SharePoint can extract data of every employee from internal, connected storage platforms to create the most comprehensive training modules for your organizational needs. And it doesn’t stop here. You can gamify the entire training module with interactive challenges, quizzes, case studies, and leaderboards to ensure a healthy competitive environment within the organization.

3. Manage the entire learning experience on a single platform

SharePoint is essentially an enterprise application for creating a comprehensive, collaborative, digital work environment. However, its various functions can optimize and customize training modules as per the company’s requirements.

From an L&D perspective, SharePoint allows for such functions as:

Enterprise content management

Task-oriented, in-context collaboration

Personalized aggregation points for your user’s experience

Enterprise database search

Business intelligence

Here’s a general explanation of how these features work – 

Using SharePoint as an LMS, trainers can upload content directly to SharePoint. Using version control and workflow creation features, trainers and admins can ensure the quality of all learning content and ensure that it is current. They do not need to transfer documents from one system to another. In fact, trainers can simply set permissions from Active Directory regarding who can access the training and set tasks that link to the learner’s Microsoft Outlook or Teams. The learner and trainer can also discuss any of the training topics on a team site either one-on-one or in a group setting through chats. 

SharePoint’s multi-device access also helps employees to access the training module on their smartphones or their tablets, hence enabling learning on the go.

4. Efficiently build and manage LMS content

As mentioned before, SharePoint creates a central data access storage and management system for your business. It also includes the LMS system where you can store individual employee performance and previous LMS content for efficient management and integration with your SharePoint-based LMS in the future. Incorporating Microsoft Active Directory can further enhance the process by avoiding data duplication and additional efforts in creating employee profiles for every new training module.

5. Fast and accurate reporting

Reporting is essential to know if learning objectives are being met and to know if they’re positively impacting team productivity and business outcomes. And the key to getting this information is the ability to convert data on learning outcomes into easily understandable reports. 

SharePoint reduces the friction of reporting that is common with other systems. Your SharePoint LMS can be easily integrated with Power BI to cross-share data and build automated dashboards using Power Automate, that ultimately, help key stakeholders view detailed reports and insights.

Build a powerful LMS by integrating SharePoint with Power BI and Power Automate

With everything we have talked about above, it’s rather obvious that SharePoint provides maximum efficiency and limitless customization to enterprise learning and development modules. However, what if we tell you it can be even better?

Building an integrated L&D management system for your organization with Power BI and Power Automate can make the entire process even more customizable, scalable, and further simplify how employees’ learning progress is measured and used. Power BI is business analytics and visualization tool that helps businesses to present and view data and make better decisions on talent and leadership development as well as business aspects. This includes synchronizing files, enabling data flow among various applications, setting custom triggers, receiving customized notifications, and more. 

Integrating Power Automate with SharePoint makes the process of building learning modules using specific data on the cloud much simpler by allowing trainers to connect them to SharePoint without having to use any code. This way, they can build more accessible, customizable, and scalable learning programs of varying duration and complexity for thousands of employees at minimum cost and time.

As an enterprise data visualization tool, Power BI delivers a whole new level of sophistication and customization in building dashboards for both employees and the leadership team to measure the progress of the training module along with each participant in it.

This further enhances the value of a training module with real-time progression mapping. Through these insights, management can decide which employee is best suited for a particular job role or is fit to take on leadership roles based on a combination of data showcasing their performance and learning history.

Don’t just think about building an LMS – do it

As companies evolve and employees transition from one role to another, capturing new knowledge, keeping the existing one, and sharing the acquired knowledge with their peers in a collaborative workspace is crucial for sustainably growing organizations. 

A strong organizational culture of learning and skilling, backed by a powerful learning management system, can ensure that your organization grows with new knowledge and skilled talent. Additionally, employees feel they are adding value to their jobs while they grow professionally. 

At VBeyond Digital, we can help you get started with learning and development initiatives you have wanted to implement in your organization, but were skeptical about the costs and technological resources associated with them. 

For more information and answers, feel free to contact us. 

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The 10-step checklist for your cloud migration project

You may think a migration to the cloud will be simple, but the first steps are crucial for a successful migration. A good checklist can help you keep track of what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and who needs to do it. Read on as we list the 10 steps every migration project needs and why.

A move to the cloud can have many benefits for your organization that include better agility in IT processes, lower operating costs, faster turnaround on processes and approvals, and improved security, to name a few. However, successfully executing a cloud migration project requires careful planning and execution. To help ensure a smooth and successful migration, it’s important to follow a structured process with clear steps and checkpoints. In this blog, we’ll outline a 10-step checklist for your cloud migration project to help you define what steps need to happen before, during, and after a migration project. 

The steps to a successful cloud migration 

Define the expected outcomes and long-term business goals from cloud migration

This will help ensure your migration strategy aligns with your overall business objectives and goals, and IT and technical considerations such as application characteristics, performance requirements, availability, and information security. Choose a cloud service provider that can deliver the required services at an acceptable level of quality with minimum disruption while minimizing cost through cost modeling exercises (including financial analysis). 

Assess your current IT infrastructure and identify which workloads and applications are suitable for migration to the cloud.

Identify which workloads can be migrated to the cloud, including those that are currently running on-premises. These include virtual machines (VMs), applications, databases, network security devices, load balancers, and firewalls. 

Decide which applications can be migrated to a public cloud or private cloud environment from an on-premises solution. Some examples of applications that can be migrated include CRM/ERP; financial reporting; SAP; Oracle; Microsoft Dynamics; Microsoft SharePoint Server; payroll systems with HR modules; data warehouses, and more. 

Choose a cloud service provider and decide on a cloud deployment model (public, private, or hybrid)

First, you’ll need to choose a cloud service provider and determine which cloud deployment model (public, private, or hybrid) is the best fit for your needs. Understand the cloud computing landscape and then evaluate deployment models to find one that suits your industry or line of business. Research different cloud providers, their offerings, pricing models, security features, and service level agreements. This will help you decide which provider best suits your needs. Also make sure that you choose a cloud service provider that has a sizeable customer base and good reputation in the market with a wide range of cloud services and reliable support services. 

Create a budget and timeline for the migration project

The cloud migration project will require a significant investment of time and resources, so it is important to determine your budget well before you begin. You should also develop a timeline for the project along with mapping out key stakeholders for each task so that everyone involved knows what to deliver. 

Consider all costs associated with migrating to the cloud, including new hardware requirements, software upgrades, training for employees who will have to work with new platforms and as per new workflows in a cloud environment. Also leave room for any other expenses related to moving data between systems or deploying new systems entirely.  

Develop contingency plans to tackle any issues arising during your assessment phase (for example, if problems are found in existing applications, databases, etc.), as this could affect both your budget and timeline. Communicate regularly with stakeholders throughout all phases of your migration project (assessment through implementation) so they’re aware of progress being made on schedule/budget goals set by the senior management or IT leaders. 

Develop a data migration plan to transfer data securely and efficiently

Your data migration plan should detail how to transfer data securely and efficiently and the tools and platforms to be used for the data transfer. It’s essential that you have a well-defined plan in place before the actual migration begins.  

To begin, you’ll need to determine whether the new cloud service will be a replacement for your existing infrastructure or if it will be used in addition to what you already have. If this is an incremental move, then you’ll likely want to make sure that your data transfer method will allow for both systems to run simultaneously until users are fully transitioned over. You may need customizations or integrations with your existing systems depending on how long it takes for everyone on staff (and their devices) to transition off of one system onto another. 

Determine how to handle necessary customizations or integrations with existing systems

This is a critical step in the planning process, as many companies have existing systems that rely on their current environments and need to be able to communicate with new cloud-based applications. There are many ways this can be accomplished—for example, you could use application programming interfaces (APIs) to integrate your current systems into the new environment, or use middleware tools, or developer kits for connecting applications to the cloud. 

Train your team on the new cloud environment and best practices for using it

The next step is to train your team on the new cloud environment and best practices for using it. In this phase of your migration project, it’s important to teach your employees how to use the new tools, such as the cloud console. This will give them a better understanding of how they can access their data in the cloud and make adjustments as needed to align with the workflows and approval flows across key operational teams such as sales and marketing, customer service, financial management, IT administration, and others. 

Test the migrated systems and applications thoroughly to ensure they are functioning correctly.

As you complete each phase of your cloud migration project, you’ll need to continuously test your new environment thoroughly to make sure that everything works as expected in the new environment. This will also help you identify any issues or challenges before moving on to the next phase of your project. 

Perform a final review and sign off on the migration

Take the time to review your entire cloud migration project. You’ll want to make sure that you’ve met all of your goals and objectives before moving on to other things. 

Establish a process for ongoing monitoring of the cloud environment after it’s been migrated over. You want to be sure that everything is operating as expected and that anything new or unusual gets flagged quickly so you can deal with it as soon as possible. 

After the migration is complete, you need to constantly monitor and optimize the new cloud environment including applications, databases, and more, to straighten out any early issues. This will help ensure that it continues running smoothly after everything else is done, which is important because this isn’t just about getting something up-and-running—it’s about making sure it stays up-and-running once it’s there. 

Monitor the performance of the migrated systems and continuously optimize their usage of cloud resources

Use monitoring tools to track key metrics such as system uptime, latency, throughput and errors. You can also use these tools to monitor resource utilization levels and determine if you need to scale up or down your instances based on demand. 

Use optimization tools that enable you to optimize your application for the best performance in a cloud environment. For example, you can deploy auto-scaling groups with load balancers using API calls or using autoscale policies during development cycles to optimize and improve application performance. 

Conclusion

A well-planned cloud migration project can make execution and adoption smoother for everyone across the senior management and IT teams to the operations teams who will be the ultimate users of the cloud systems. If you’re considering a cloud migration project, these 10 steps can help you get started.  

Make your move to the cloud quick and hassle-free with VBeyond Digital. Reach out for a consultation to speak to our experts on starting your cloud journey.  

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Best Practices for efficient document management on SharePoint

Document Management on SharePoint have the capabilities enable seamless handling of documents, ensuring faster processing of information between departments to drive critical business functions. 

Microsoft SharePoint is one of the most important enterprise collaboration tools available today. And with the present scenario of remote work and geographically distributed teams, the benefits of an enterprise connectivity platform such as SharePoint are multifold. While cost optimization and higher productivity are among the key benefits, SharePoint is also extremely useful as a centralized document management and sharing platform for enterprises. Microsoft SharePoint is one of the most important enterprise collaboration tools available today. And with the present scenario of remote work and geographically distributed teams, the benefits of an enterprise connectivity platform such as SharePoint are multifold. While cost optimization and higher productivity are among the key benefits, SharePoint is also extremely useful as a centralized document management and sharing platform for enterprises. 

Users can build fast, dynamic, user-friendly sites and pages without coding and in virtually no time, and do much more. Moreover, they can manage information and documents integral to daily business operations and make them seamlessly accessible to users across the organization, while keeping sensitive information safe. We have compiled some best practices to help simplify your SharePoint implementation journey and help you make the most of SharePoint’s data management capabilities. 

Some of best practices to help and simplify Document management on SharePoint

Efficient information classification

Microsoft SharePoint makes it very simple to organize your documents and make them accessible based on an information architecture. This architecture ensures efficient classification of documents with the help of the following functions: 

Lists: Create lists to categorize and store documents such as emails, meeting agendas, memos. 

Libraries: Create libraries for editable documents to collaborate and co-author and edit documents such as invoices, contracts, policy documents, etc. 

Document Classification: Classify documents according to date, type of project, client, etc., with the ability to set access restrictions for sensitive documents. 

Metadata: Assigning metadata to your documents will allow you to track their contents instead of the file or subfolder location. 

Column Indexing: Manage libraries and large lists more efficiently with column indexing as this helps SharePoint analyze the data in the column faster. 

Library Views: Your SharePoint content can be presented more conveniently according to the purpose of viewing data, for instance, in the form of tables like those created on Excel, Gantt charts, calendars, and more. SharePoint also allows you to customize the library view by arranging columns in varying order for users to view the relevant data first. 

Standardized naming for documents

Creating simple and easily discoverable names for your documents stored in SharePoint can save you a lot of time and ensure faster processes. Here are some practices to help you with it: 

Use short names: Although the limit for file names was raised to 400 characters from 250 characters with SharePoint 2019, the platform still allows you to exceed this limit for libraries, sites, and files with long names. However, it is both fast and convenient to search for list items, libraries, sites, etc. if your URL address is short and specific, with abbreviations being particularly effective. 

Avoid special characters and spaces in library names: You don’t need to use special characters like a dot (“.”) or an underscore (“_”) at the beginning of a document name to bring it to the top of the list. You can, instead, apply SharePoint filters or views. Using spaces isn’t recommended either since they add at least three extra characters to the URL address. 

Avoid numbering document versions in the title: SharePoint offers a built-in capability for document versioning that eliminates the need to name and track your document versions manually. 

Auto-naming documents: Integrating SharePoint with third party tools allows you to use predefined rules to generate standardized names for new documents according to your company’s policy. This way, it allows for fast and easy searching and classification of files and supports consistency in naming. 

Robust document security & compliance

A good document management system must have built-in strong mechanisms to keep sensitive information secure. Given that several industries have to abide by a number of national and international data protection laws, enterprises must need to ensure that best practices are adhered to. Here’s how Microsoft SharePoint helps: 

User permissions and roles: SharePoint allows users to set permission levels that restrict access to specific documents based on an employee’s role. These permission levels range from “View Only” to “Full Control”. Managers and administrators can, then, leverage this capability to manage permissions and access on a group level instead of an individual level. This will ensure that your sensitive business information is safe in libraries created for such critical information, as employees are, by default, only given the lowest level of operative access employees require for their job. 

Policies for document retention and deletion: Many regional data protection laws specify exactly the time period for which companies can store certain kinds of information after which they cannot use the data and must remove it from their systems afterwards. This is where SharePoint’s document retention and deletion policies enable organizations to better manage their documents and avoid unnecessary usage of resources while ensuring effective regulatory compliance. 

Check Out feature: The “Check Out” feature is used to lock a document to prevent editing when multiple people are working on it or when one user is already editing it. Hence, you can make sure that no unnecessary, unauthorized, or erroneous changes are made to documents, especially those containing sensitive information. 

Security alerts: SharePoint allows you to detect and prevent security violations pertaining to sensitive information by setting up alerts for specific user activities on sensitive documents. This means that administrators or managers are notified when somebody accesses, modifies, and/or shares a document. 

Backup and recovery configuration: International data protection regulations, such as GDPR, for example, mandate companies to deploy robust backup and recovery mechanisms. SharePoint allows you to recover documents deleted mistakenly, and also to set retention policies that specify a certain duration for which documents will be stored in the recycle bin. 

Leverage the most out of SharePoint’s data management capabilities

SharePoint’s document management capabilities are extremely useful for enterprises given how they easily integrate with external or third-party tools and systems such as ERP and CRM. This ensures smoother handling of documents along with faster processing of information between departments to help drive critical business functions. 

VBeyond Digital can work with you to set up SharePoint sites, workflows, and asset libraries so you can take advantage of real-time collaborations. More importantly, as part of our SharePoint services, we place special emphasis on ensuring that all best practices stated here are adhered to help you derive maximum value from your deployment. Click Here to contact us regarding your SharePoint requirements. 

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How RPA and machine learning work together in the enterprise

RPA and Machine Learning are key drivers of enterprise automation that can help organizations build interconnected and efficient digital workspaces.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) continues to attract a lot of attention and discussion due to the increasing need for digitizing business processes and connecting applications and disparate data sets for smoother workflows. Automating repetitive tasks to increase efficiency while minimizing human errors is an appealing proposition as businesses focus on digital innovation and monetizing their investments in technology. Bots, or pre-programmed automated systems, do not tire and can replicate and repeat tasks at any scale or speed, thus aiding humans by freeing them up to focus on higher-value tasks. Intelligent Automation, a combination of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) with Robotic Process Automation goes beyond simply automating repetitive tasks, but lends an additional layer of human-like perception and predictive capabilities.

The benefits of combining RPA and ML

Automating tasks is a good way to free up employees for more important work and eliminate human error, but by itself, simple automation isn’t enough for scaling organizations. To truly create efficiencies with automation, you need machine learning which can automate more complex tasks, allowing any organization using both technologies to apply automation to its core operational functions. RPA and ML both provide opportunities for going beyond just automating routine business processes, but also improving the way they are undertaken using data-driven insights and self-learning capabilities of the machine. Since RPA works by collecting and structing data, it can help train machine learning algorithms, and this structured data enables the RPA tool to make autonomous decisions or recommendations which can then be ratified and executed by a human. RPA and machine learning are technologies that complement and add value to one another. RPA systems are particularly effective in structuring data and digital workflows. With the help of machine learning, RPA systems demonstrate greater capabilities in handling newer and incrementally challenging decisions with absolute precision.

RPA bots with ML can self-learn and improve over time

You may have heard of robotic process automation (RPA) and machine learning (ML), and you might be wondering how the two technologies work together. The answer is that RPA and ML both provide opportunities for automating routine business processes. Because RPA collects data, it can help train machine-learning algorithms. Because an RPA tool has access to structured data, it can make decisions or recommendations based on that data. And because ML can automate more complex tasks, an organization using both technologies will find many new opportunities to apply automation in its day-to-day operations. You may have heard of robotic process automation (RPA) and machine learning (ML), and you might be wondering how the two technologies work together. The answer is that RPA and ML both provide opportunities for automating routine business processes. Because RPA collects data, it can help train machine-learning algorithms. Because an RPA tool has access to structured data, it can make decisions or recommendations based on that data. And because ML can automate more complex tasks, an organization using both technologies will find many new opportunities to apply automation in its day-to-day operations. Machine learning and AI are data-driven and rely on large, clean data sets. The power of machine learning comes from algorithms that analyze data, find patterns and make predictions based on those patterns. Machine learning isn’t a replacement for human intelligence; it’s a tool to be used by humans. ML can help identify patterns in the data that more traditional business intelligence tools might miss, but ultimately these tools are meant to augment human capabilities — not replace them. On the other hand, RPA is rule-based and excels at automating structured processes. RPA can’t use context or interpret unstructured information like video or audio files. In addition, RPA doesn’t have the ability to learn to complete new tasks without being programmed to do so. This predictable nature makes RPA ideal for automating structured processes like accounts payable or claims processing but less effective at handling exceptions or non-standard inputs like handwritten notes or scanned documents. RPA can’t use context or interpret unstructured information like video or audio files. In addition, RPA doesn’t have the ability to learn to complete new tasks without being programmed to do so. This predictable nature makes RPA ideal for automating structured processes like accounts payable or claims processing but less effective at handling exceptions or non-standard inputs like handwritten notes or scanned documents. RPA can run workflows even with unstructured data such as text, images, and more when combined with machine learning. Intelligent automation systems with underlying ML programs can also make decisions on a large scale such as credit underwriting, for example, with great speed and accuracy which simple RPA alone cannot. Hence, the two technologies, when combined, can support intelligent end-to-end process automation and scaled up as processes and data sets become more complex.

We help build intelligent automation for your business

RPA and machine learning complement each other nicely: machine learning identifies patterns that can be used to automate processes, while RPA automates those processes themselves. Together, they represent a powerful approach for automating high-volume tasks once reserved for human workers. The use cases of intelligent automation demonstrate just how these technologies drive speed and accuracy with automation that doesn’t impact human jobs but instead helps them perform better while lowering costs through improved productivity. Despite the complex-sounding explanations of how automation or AI technologies work, their implementation is neither time- nor capital-intensive. The key is the right development and implementation partner who can help you build a strategy and rollout automation systems that are easy to use and do not require long for users to get accustomed to. RPA deployments can be built and scaled up as and when business needs evolve, be it to connect existing SaaS applications and make them cross-talk or building custom systems from the ground up for future-ready digital transformation.

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