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31 Jan Better Business Through Automation
Better Business Through Automation
Humans have been finding ways to improve their daily lives with technology since – well – the wheel was invented. But now we are completing fewer tasks manually through technology far more advanced than a wheel, and businesses should be no exception; if you’re not automating simple, repetitive tasks, you’re wasting time.
Business automation can be essential for increasing productivity, decreasing frustrations and inaccuracies of manual repetitive tasks, while improving the overall quality and reliability of services. Business automation should result in added value for you or your customers (a value stream), and it may take an outside perspective to identify potential opportunity for automation and manage them to fruition. Are you still manually typing and sending that weekly update with the same data? Do you build each of your monthly lead capture PowerPoints by copy-pasting relevant information and manually fixing the formatting? Do still print paper forms (or email pdfs) to manually request approval for something as simple as time-off? What if those simple but important tasks could be done quickly, consistently, and inside a secure and controlled environment?
An approval process still takes time, even if your company has switched to digital forms. While you may not have to chase anyone down physically, how are you ensuring consistency in such things as: what fields are completed on the form, and if they’re filled out correctly; who receives the form, how, and in what file type; how decisions are requested, applied, and archived; how decisions are communicated to appropriate process users; or how the result is relayed back. Automation can help, our developers have reduced manual administrative work of our team, creating systems to streamline overall efficiency by automating applicable tasks. In doing so, we’ve developed Variable Automation Service Tools (VAST) to support all levels of our organization and assist with processing approvals, tracking requests, and maintaining complete compliant records. VAST drastically reduced the manual labor of our team through a system of complex workflows, access-controlled dashboards, and intelligently designed data-management structures. This has allowed our team to pass audits with flying colors; identifying required information and easily, collecting or validating them through the dashboards or record history.
Prior to formalizing systems, it wasn’t uncommon to go digging through email records; going dumpster diving through an inbox to find or correct source data, losing valuable time. Though VAST developments, STS has a system of automated processes and data collections to cut out excess steps, formalizing and providing searchable records of our interdepartmental collaboration.
Through these value stream improvements, data is stored together, and flows ensure required data is sent where it needs to go, accommodating diverging requirements. By connecting and storing data this way, we can trust our records are kept accurately, consistently, and securely. Simple automations gives team STS time back. A digitized form is only the beginning; hitting a submit button and knowing a process is working means data audits are a breeze. Dashboards provide organizations with a workspace to collaborate effectively, while easy to manage protocols ensure data access security, and role-controlled engagements.
Our Variable Automated System Tools (VAST) service gives you the tools to standardize procedures and streamline processes.
So, you want to automate your business, but you don’t know where to start? Summit Technical Solutions wants to share our growing automation tool portfolio with you. Our Variable Automated Service Tools (VAST) software as a service (SaaS) provides you the expertise to standardize procedures and value stream existing or new processes. Using familiar platforms like SharePoint, Microsoft Teams and more, our dedicated team will work with you to understand your process and ideate a solution which minimizes manual tasks, reduces redundancy, and securely stores and delivers data to applicable members or process controls. The resulting program is a customized digital solution to meet your process needs.
The Benefits of Automation & Digital Workspaces
- Reduce administrative & task redundancy
- Increases workforce or service productivity
- Maintains comprehensive and consistent records
- Secure connections and controlled access to data
With our expertise, STS can design a streamlined tool which can be easily integrated into your organization or enterprise.
Our team consistently exceeds expectations. With our expertise, STS develops custom tools which can be easily integrated into your organization or enterprise. In addition, our iterative development process ensures you are satisfied with your solution at every milestone. If you have troubles with program integration or utility, we are here to support you in making positive changes to your solution in order to make a system tool as useful as possible!
Need some examples?
Summit Technical Solutions has existing solutions that can be adopted by your organization or serve as a starting point for your specific needs for automation.
Ticket Automated Service Keeper (TASK)
TASK is a proprietary STS tool used on the CIMS-III contract.
Designed to initiate, track, and manage service requests (SRs) for U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC), TASK is used to coordinate SR projects and their associated support across multiple task orders in several geographic USASMDC locations. As a demonstration success, the CIMS contract trusting the controlled process and initiated over 200 requests; a ten-fold increase in successful service compared to the prior contracts’ performance. Recognizing the importance of each step, the process, data control and automations made sense to streamline and reduce risk of CIMS requests through VAST. Not only does TASK validate user roles at every engagement, it controls the user experience with system data, automatically identifies process deviations and routes data properly. Additional automatic notifications and intelligent flows have generated an increased efficiency beyond initial requirements.
“Having captured all critical stop and functional data points associated with acquisition and systems engineering efforts, the SharePoint Administrator’s keen attention to detail and technical mastery, seamlessly amalgamate Governmental and contractual mandated procedures into a lineal, easy to use, go/no-go application.”
– CIMS-III COR
QualTrek
QualTrek is the quality lifecycle tracking tool utilized on the Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization System (PARCS) contract and serves as the principal mechanism for the quality team’s oversight and control of the quality improvement processes. QualTrek uniquely tracks quality opportunities or deficiencies throughout their improvement lifecycles, automating and streamlining recurring administrative tasks such as: auto-assigning report IDs; auto-generating document and information management structures; task assignment and system generated notifications; generating status updates & performance analysis; quality assurance analysis; etc. By engaging the primary user base throughout QualTrek’s development, STS ensured quick adoption of the system with all PARCS users.
Mandatory Reporting App
New Security Executive Agent (SecEA) directives establish reporting requirements for all individuals who have a security clearance or hold a sensitive position. Cleared individuals are to report to their FSO any planned or actual involvement in a variety of activities prior to participation. More than 95% of the STS workforce holds a clearance, but 100% of employees are affected by the directive. So, we developed an app for that!
This SharePoint connected PowerApp securely collects reports from users, automating notifications to security personnel while allowing employees and FSO alike to track reporting and after-actions within the secure environment. Accessible through both iOS and PC, users can submit and report mandatory information through a simple user interface form, which requests various data specific to the reporting requirement. Once saved, complex flows assess and store the data, and automatically notify the FSO of the submission. Security teams or controlled access users can review and confirm the report and make notes via a simple SharePoint interface. Previously submitted reports can be reviewed directly in the app for status, and your security team can trust the interface and controls ensure users only access what they need to know. It’s as simple as that!
We see VAST process improvements in our future, do you?
Whether you’d like to work with Summit Technical Solutions as a teaming partner or you want our experts to streamline your processes, we’re here to help! To learn more about our services visit www.sts-llc.com/innovative/VAST-Services or schedule a free solution demo today!
Miriam Neel is the Communications Manager at Summit Technical Solutions, LLC (STS). With more than a decade of experience in digital marketing, Miriam specializes in small business marketing and brand management, and has a passion for creating unique and compelling print and video collateral. Miriam drives the development and administration of SalesForce CRM and SharePoint systems for STS, specializing in ideating and designing automated business processes and SharePoint system solutions.
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