Technology headlines often herald the next giant leap forward or futuristic advancement. Shrewd businesses and professionals know to look beyond the headlines to find smart solutions. Many new business technology advancements alleviate small, everyday problems within a corporation. These tiny problems — answering emails or locating the right file in a mountain of data — can eat up hours on a daily basis. Here are a few ways that cutting-edge tech improves workflow by streamlining small tasks for knowledge workers.
How Do Small Problems Add Up During the Workday?
The dawn of the digital workplace has forever changed the way offices function. Remote workers can connect with teams over massive distances. Global integration is easier than previous generations could have imagined.
An interconnected workplace also means a much larger body of files to sift through every day. Multiple studies have shown that the average knowledge worker spends a massive amount of work time searching for the correct file — up to 1.8 hours every day. Answering emails can easily take up another hour in some industries. As companies grow, expand and merge, technology must step up to tackle this mountain of menial office tasks.
What Technology Solutions Can Eliminate Small Problems and Speed Workflow?
The most promising new solutions today avoid trying to reinvent the wheel. Instead, they smooth workflow by streamlining thousands of small time sinks.
New Software Effortlessly Manages Large Files
After an employee locates a file, it is often an even bigger hassle trying to send or share it. Basic Gmail only allows file attachments up to a measly 25 MB in size. Compressing large business files with third-party compression software compromises the quality of the file, risks the file’s security and puts a major productivity block into the workday.
The simple solution is investing in a dedicated large file sharing service. Advanced programs can send and receive large files seamlessly. They can also foster collaboration by featuring an intuitive interface that lists the employees who have access and editing privileges on the file. Employees can easily edit and work on large files from any device, keeping the project on track without endless email chains. Leaving large files intact with dedicated software instead of compressing them ensures that high-resolution images remain crisp. It also lowers the risk of a security breach by keeping large corporate files away from third-party compression applications.
AI Assistants Smooth Out Repetitive Tasks
Artificial Intelligence has been all over the news as a language solution, an automation tool and more. In reality, AI capabilities are still limited even amid recent advancements. Critical thinking and longform work are still best done by humans. The most efficient uses for current AI technology are tackling small tasks that add up.
In the workplace, AI assistants can help with many daily tasks to increase efficiency. Some current applications include:
- Autocompleting standard business emails
- Identifying which team members can help with certain tasks and projects
- Transcribing video calls
- Managing schedules and flagging scheduling mistakes
- Looking out for deviations in patterns that may indicate an error
The future of AI is still up in the air, but in the present, it’s important for businesses not to over-automate complex tasks. Keeping AI applications small lowers the margin for error while still delivering massive time-saving dividends.
Modern Scanners and Printers Handle Hundreds of Pages Quickly
New and helpful technology in the business sphere is not limited to software. Scanning, copying and printing technology have all taken leaps forward in recent years. Industries that rely on paper documentation — such as medical offices, law offices and accounting firms — now benefit from compact scanners that can tackle hundreds of documents a minute.
Software inside printers and scanners can stop the flow of paper at the first turned corner or crinkle, preventing paper jams. Scanning software can also pull numbers and tables from scanned documents automatically, eliminating the need for tedious manual data entry.
What Might Be Next in Everyday Business Technology?
Small frustrations in the office are so common, it may be hard to imagine a workplace without them. As intrepid software developers and tech companies eliminate small problems, the productivity boost of the digital era will likely rise to unprecedented heights.
