The good news: Technology is growing at an incredible rate, and is opening up windows of opportunity that have been unachievable before today.
The bad news: Keeping up to date with these technologies can seem nearly impossible. It almost seems that once you update to one new technology, a newer, more efficient way to complete that task comes us and sends you back to the drawing board.
Although this can be a frustrating realization to a project manager and his team – there are many ways to utilize these technologies to their full benefit – but how? Let’s take a look at a few ways you can maximize the potential of new technologies to streamline your startup’s project management in 2015.
Utilize Automation
The current era that we live in is engulfed in technological opportunities that very few projects are utilizing to their utmost potential. New technologies can be the deciding factor of whether or not a project is finished successfully and efficiently. Thankfully, there are many ways to streamline maintenance and backlog reports through the use of computerized maintenance management software. Utilizing software in this nature can not only take the burden of managing costs, equipment orders, and events off of your shoulders; it can also assist with reorganizing a schedule to make the job more efficient and resourceful.
Communicate
When managing a project, one of the harder tasks to overcome is to uphold a wide array of communication within the project. Failing at this can result in an overall failure of the project. Communication can be anything from assigning tasks or schedules to certain individuals, keeping track of finances, or just holding meetings within the project. However, with the help of technology, things using Google Docs to manage and share this information is incredibly easy and accessible, even from smartphones and tablets. Alongside record keeping software, another service to look into is conference calling. This can serve as a hub for communication between staff, clients, or management. Conference calling can be incredibly useful to the project – especially with today’s technology – due to the fact there is the option to make international calls using these services. It is important to take a step back to ensure you are using the best form of communicating within your project.
Keep a Data Backup
It is always a great idea to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. In the event that something goes catastrophically wrong, or even something as miniscule as a computer crashing; you want to ensure that your data is safe and backed up on a regular basis so that it is not lost forever… Luckily, there is a nearly never-ending supply of online cloud storage services, most of which are available for free or for very small annual fees. You can use these services to store employee records, client information, scheduling, payroll… the list goes on and on. However, if online cloud storage is not for you, even simply using an external hard drive can eliminate any risk of data loss (as long as you are updating it regularly). Overall, it’s always better to be safe than sorry during any job!
I do hope I was able to provide some insight on some ways you can use various technologies in today’s ever-changing times. I ultimately want to show you that there are some quick ways to work with technology, rather than fighting against it, because let’s face it: technology isn’t leaving anytime soon.
Please feel free to leave a reply below with any input on the topic! I would love to hear your suggestions.