What is Project Management Office?

A project management office (PMO) is a team or department that sets and maintains standards for project management throughout an organization. The PMO is in charge of creating procedures and best practices that will help operations:

• Go smoothly
• Complete on time
• Result in quality deliverables

What is Project Management Office in Smartsheet?

Project Office Management in Smartsheet is an accelerator tool that is particularly useful for IT-PMO. It gives IT executives visibility and helps align everything to your organisations key objectives.

Why approach us about Project Management Office?

At Smarter Business Processes we can help you identify and document your PMO Processes and help you in other ways too. For example Project Management Office can help you to create an IT solution which supports your project and organisational processes. 

Whether by using Smartsheet templates to jumpstart the design, or by careful planning and design by our expert consultants, we can build the solution tailored to your requirements. 

Once the solution is built and delivered, why not use SBP to help you educate your users? We can provide training on the best way of sharing and using the solution, and ensure a quick buy in from your work force.

Auto updates in Project Management Office

Do you need your Project Management Office solution to auto update and include all new projects?  Do you need those projects to follow your processes consistently, and provide clear repeatable statistics?  Then you need to consider Control Center. 

Control Center from Smartsheet

Control Center is a Premium App from Smartsheet which provides you with a repeatable process to create project workspaces and roll up all project data to portfolio dashboards. 

Control Center also provides you with reporting and global updating capabilities as well as archiving routines, all bundled into a complete control package. Contact us for a demonstration of Control Center.  

Affordable alternatives to consider

If you don’t have the budget for Control Center but would like to automate & control your project assets to a degree, then seek out a demonstration from us on our SmarterControls4sheets.

As Smartsheet Ambassadors, we pride ourselves on our ability to help our clients get the most from their Smartsheet licenses. We have listened to client feedback to create our own enhancement apps to provide you with effective automations to compliment your core product.

If you don’t know where to start, Smartsheet Solution Center (found by using the + in your left hand navigator bar) has a large selection of templates ready to jumpstart your design. 

Find out how we can assist your Project Management Office and management of Smartsheet items. Get in touch today!

The post Project Management Office in Smartsheet appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

Today, if you’re looking to continuously improve and grow your business, one of the most effective things to tackle is streamlining your processes.

Tools such as Smartsheet make it very easy to do just that but, at Smarter Business Processes, we’ve discovered a way to go a step further.

You see, enterprise solutions like Smartsheet can only do so much. They have to cater for an enormous global market of clients but sometimes a small tweak here or a little extra automation there can be the difference that makes the difference.

And that’s exactly what we offer.

There’s an app for that

Our purpose-built apps make Smartsheet easier to navigate and help you be even more efficient at managing your data and decision making. We’ve developed what we know people need – we hear what people are struggling with and we find a solution to help you use every function of Smartsheet to its fullest.

We know you’ll get so much use from features like advanced data visualisation, automated alerts, and live reporting. 

For example, try our Smarter Report to a Sheet app which will copy data from a Smartsheet Report and paste it into a sheet. It can even be automated to do so on a regular basis. 

If you’re a system admin, you’ll love something like Smarter Global Search and Replace, which saves so much time by enabling you to make global updates across all your Smartsheet workspaces.

Or have a look at our premium Smarter Dashboards 2.0 app which enables you to configure your Smartsheet dashboard to analyse, filter and share exactly the information your business needs, when it needs it. 

Building the bridge to efficiency

If you’re not sure what you’re looking for, and it doesn’t already exist, we can bring our team of consultants together to create something bespoke. To date, we’ve worked on global Project Management Office (PMO) solutions, business process trackers and bespoke dashboards to help clients streamline their data flows and create the documentation and reports they need at the click of a button.

And we don’t stop at the tools themselves. We’re also available to help you improve your systems integration and increase automation across your business.

Nothing saves time and increases productivity like a suite of platforms that are all talking to one another. You can drop time consuming repetitive tasks and let your ERPs and CRMs take the strain on managing your data.

Having excellent connectivity within your business is the key to unlocking data integrity and transparency as well as simplifying tailored user access.

Showing you how as well as what

Our clients find they can reach new heights in productivity and smooth out their workflows, especially when they use our training capabilities too.

Because these are delivered as bespoke, live, online sessions of just 90 minutes, they work for busy business owners like you. Our clients tell us they find them easy to understand, highly relevant and because they’re bite-sized, easy to remember and replicate their learnings.
If it’s time for you to improve your productivity, harness your data for real-time decision making and position yourself for growth and success, let’s chat. We offer free consultations so we can find out how best to help you.

The post How Smarter Business Processes makes it even easier to benefit from time saving workflow tools appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

This blog explores the critical role of cybersecurity and shares our four top tips for steps you can take if you’re not protected already. 

Why cybersecurity matters more than ever

Even over the past few days there has been news coverage of increased risk to the UK from cyber warfare.

Digital transformation is empowering businesses to work smarter, and data is becoming more and more valuable, but storing it in accessible ways also brings heightened risks. 

Tools like Smartsheet handle vast amounts of confidential and proprietary data—customer records, project plans, financial information, and more. This data is a valuable target for cybercriminals, and a breach could lead to operational disruption, reputational damage, or even legal consequences.

The need for robust cybersecurity is clear. At Cyber UK 2023, the UK National Cyber Security Centre emphasised that boards and CEOs must treat cyber risk as a core governance issue. 

And this feels like a call to arms that is much needed. The UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2022 revealed only just over half of those UK businesses who had identified a cyberattack went on to take proactive steps to identify their risks. It feels as though we may have our heads in the sand.

The challenges businesses face

For many businesses, managing cybersecurity can feel overwhelming. Common challenges include:

• Lack of in-house expertise to assess and manage risks.
• Complexity in ensuring device compliance, especially with remote work and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies.
• Time constraints that make it hard to keep up with evolving threats.

Automation can help bridge these gaps by streamlining compliance tracking, software updates, and risk monitoring—areas where platforms like Smartsheet or Airtable can play a role.

Our top four tips to help you strengthen cybersecurity

Protecting your business doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some best practices to get started:

1. Secure your accounts:
   Use strong, unique passwords for each account and enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible. Consider using password managers to generate and store passwords securely and opt for authenticator apps over SMS codes for added protection.
2. Safeguard devices:
   Ensure all devices—whether company-issued or personal—are kept up to date and compliant. Implement Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to monitor and automate updates.
3. Protect your data:
   Back up important data regularly and use encryption for sensitive files and communications.
4. Pursue cyber essentials certification:
   This UK Government-backed certification provides businesses with a framework for implementing basic security controls to protect against common threats. It demonstrates a commitment to best practices and boosts client confidence.

How Smarter Business Processes supports cybersecurity

At SBP, we understand the responsibility that comes with working on clients’ data. That’s why we’re Cyber Essentials certified, reinforcing our commitment to robust security practices.

By obtaining this certification, we not only protect our own operations but also set an example for our clients. We encourage all businesses to consider accreditation — not just as a compliance exercise but as a meaningful step towards a stronger and more resilient UK industry. 

Every certified business helps bolster the collective defence against cyberattacks.You can find out more about the government’s Cyber Essentials initiative here.

The post Your data may be organised but are you protecting it too? appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

*Yes, we had to look it up too. An exabyte is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes. Five exabytes are described as being ‘all words ever spoken by human beings’.

There’s no doubt that data is here, it’s big, and it has so much value. If we can just keep control of it and use it to our best advantage.

Data solutions like Airtable really help us to achieve this.

Airtable is a versatile platform that combines the simplicity of a spreadsheet with the robust features of a database. It can be put to great use in businesses of all sizes and doesn’t require extensive technical skills to use.

However, like all tools of its type, you need experience to be able to leverage its full capabilities. And that’s where Smarter Business Processes comes in.

We offer specialised Airtable customisation and consultancy services that will help you maximise the platform’s potential, in particular helping you integrate systems with Airtable to create frictionless, efficient workflows. An example of this is the integration of Xero with Airtable for Dan Lewis from Duct-IN. 

After working with our experts, Dan said “While Xero is excellent, it has limited functionality for tracking margin information on individual orders and at month-end. To fill this gap, I’ve been manually inputting data into a spreadsheet, which takes up about 15-20% of my time each month. Smarter Business Processes understood my goals and helped me develop a customised Airtable solution tailored to our business needs, allowing us to achieve the required results.” 

Let’s explore what Airtable has to offer.

• It provides a visually appealing spreadsheet format with an easy to use drag and drop interface
• It ensures data integrity and consistency with true relational functionality
• It’s powerful enough for complex solutions, such as a CRM, task management, project management and inventory tracking
• It brings real-time collaboration into your organisation, enabling teams to work together in a shared online space
• It’s customisable so you can really make it work for your business (it also has a great range of ready-made templates if you prefer that)
• It can be integrated with other tools such as Slack, Google Drive, and Xero

However, we wouldn’t be living up to our smart business name and reputation if we let things lie at this point. Because we know not everyone is technically minded, and because sometimes that ‘new platform learning curve’ simply takes up too much time, we’re here to help you make the most of Airtable within your business. 

Our specialist Airtable consultancy services start with us conducting a comprehensive assessment of your current workflows to identify opportunities for improvement. 

Our Airtable consultants can then offer tailored advice to help you implement customised Airtable solutions. 

Working with us in this way means you avoid common pitfalls and benefit from a fast-tracked project to integrate Airtable into your systems and processes.

What might this look like?

We’re often asked to help clients integrate Airtable with their in-house and legacy systems so they can have one reporting interface. We can help you build this integration and implement it seamlessly.

And while you might be fine with creating a basic database using Airtable, when it comes to creating something more organised and relational, you can benefit from our experience and knowledge – as they say, you don’t know what you don’t know!

If you’re running a slightly larger and more complex organisation, you might need some project management help. In the past we’ve helped clients who want to integrate departments and functions across the business, including several legacy systems and ensuring one overarching system that can be used by everyone in the business for collaborative working and efficient reporting. 

There are few things more worthwhile than streamlining your data and processes to enable everyone to improve their access and ability to use data in decision making. 

Having great data is one thing but if you can’t use it to gain insights into trends and predict future outcomes, what use does it really have?

If you’d like to know more about Airtable, or speak to one of our accredited consultants, simply book a free consultation and we’ll be delighted to show you how we can help.

The post How to streamline your workflow with Airtable and Smarter Business Processes appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

We are excited to announce the launch of: Smarter Dashboards 2.0. 

We’ve been working away behind the scenes to create this solution, to feature a client configurable, interactive, filterable, live interface which gives you visibility of the data you need. 

The post Smarter Dashboards 2.0 Launch appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

We are delighted to announce the exciting news that we at Smarter Business Processes have become an accredited Airtable Service Partner.

Smarter Business Processes is an accredited Airtable Service Partner. Our expert consultants can help you to extract maximum value from your adoption of this flexible and sophisticated platform. Read on to learn how you could use Airtable as your next database, workflow management or PMO solution.

What is Airtable?

Airtable is the Cloud Based relational database we have all been waiting for. It is a collaborative online platform for creating and sharing relational databases.

With Airtable, teams easily design and deploy flexible and engaging apps that power critical workflows and make valuable data actionable across the enterprise.

Unlike SQL and MySQL Databases, AIRTABLE provides a user-friendly interface, making collaboration and visibility easy compared to other available PMO and Workflow systems.

How easy is Airtable to use?

Airtable uses a spreadsheet format to organize data with a colourful easy to use interface. Airtable has the ability to store information in a spreadsheet that’s visually appealing and fundamentally easy-to-use. 

However should you want to delve deeper or need Airtable help, as an accredited Airtable Service Partner we are able to assist to ensure you extract maximum value and optimise your project efficiencies across organisational functions. At Smarter Business Processes as an accredited Airtable Service Partner we offer Airtable Support.

Why is this important to you?

We are a team of Consultants that enjoy creating state of the art solutions which our clients tell us they love. So why not engage us to build your next great workflow solution.

How powerful is the Airtable solution?

Airtable is powerful enough to offer sophisticated database features that businesses can use for customer-relationship management (CRM), task management, project management, and inventory tracking. Applications are endless! We can create tailor made apps for all business functions, helping you to deliver greater project efficiencies.

How does it rate as a collaboration tool?

One of the reasons we wanted to become an accredited Airtable Service Partner is because believe it is a powerful collaboration tool.

Airtable’s powerful collaboration features give the whole business focussed access to real time data via configurable views. We can help you to set up intuitive interfaces for all teams and departments allowing them to collaborate efficiently at all levels. All organisations small or large can benefit from using Airtable.

Is Airtable customisable?

Airtable has easy to use customisable features, that allow you to adapt the tool for various projects, creating Airtable Apps helping to optimise workflows. And if you need Airtable support our Smarter Business Processes consultants can help you achieve your specific goals in setting up your Airtable database.

Airtable also has a large number of ready-made popular templates available to help you manage a wide range of standard business operations.

A solution that appeals to businesses of all sizes.  

At Smarter Business Processes we offer Airtable Consultancy, Design and Build, Self build Support, Training and Integration with other systems to maximise your Airtable workflows.

Airtable Service Partner – Consultants

While Airtable is easy to use for standard functionality and data storage, we can offer specialist accredited consultants with formal Airtable Service Partner status to help you maximise your use and proficient adoption of all the Airtable services and tools. To contact with our Airtable consultants to request a consultation

Airtable Integration

Taking the time to review your business needs before implementing new software is essential, as is bringing the team in on the selection process and most vitally the training. Management may not always have full understanding of the intricacies of the tools required to get the job done.

One of the reasons our customers return time and time again to ask our Airtable consultants for support is for projects enabling Airtable integration with their in-house and legacy systems across different departments.

For example, whether you need to integrate sales and marketing systems creating a joint reporting interface, or a sales and finance integration with cross functional data entry and reporting, our Airtable consultants can help you build a solid integration for optimal use of your ready data.

Airtable Database

While an Airtable database is simple enough to construct, because the company’s philosophy is to democratize software creation by giving everyone the power to create, sometimes your needs for a relational database are a little more complicated.

If this is the case, request a consultation from one of our accredited Airtable consultants.

What We Hear About Database Tools

At Smarter Business Processes, we hear many of the most common complaints about the available database tools. This list comprises a remarkable set of criteria.

Point to note –

Most of these challenges and issues are avoidable by choosing the correct tool for your organisation and your specific project and ensuring you secure the right training for your team.

Challenges Teams Face With Many Software Tools

• Overly complex. Employees have to spend time navigating various menus to find the features they need. Staff struggling to navigate an unfamiliar system quickly become stressed and demotivated.
• Not best fit for your business needs. Management need to have a clear understanding of their business’s database goals and needs to ensure they have the right software. Train your team in tools that are relevant to their role, and achieve what is required.  We can assist in this process.
• Too labour intensive. Involving repetitive manual tasks such as data entry.  
• No allowance for the learning curve. As with all new tools and processes, new a database software needs time to bed in. Allocating your team training resources is essential, as is a roll out period to iron out any quirks and address issues.

Find the Right Database Tool For Your Team

Database software requirements vary depending on the business, and the size and scope of the project. But in our experience a strong tool will help you understand and manage your data requirements effectively without costing the Earth.

As accredited Airtable Service Partners we are able to help you assess your business needs and build an integrated database to deliver your goals.

In Summary

Reviewing and changing your relational database toolkit can power efficiencies and be cost effective, provided it is done in the right way. Take the time to consider your company datbase, workflow and business needs, and act in consultation with our Airtable consultancy team for the best results. 

If you are reviewing your business processes and still unsure where to start, get in touch. We can offer a free consultation to uncover the tools, software and processes that are right for you.

Next Steps

Contact us to arrange your Free initial Airtable Consultation.

Further Reading

If you would like to read more about our Airtable Support and effective database construction and management take a look at some of the articles on our blog:

Recommended articles

4 Tools to increase productivity and efficiency

What are the 5 Stages of project management

The post Airtable Service Partner – It’s official! appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

Hyatt Hotels Streamline their PMO with Smartsheet and Smarter Launchpad

The Challenge

As of September 30, 2023, the Hyatt Hotels Corporation portfolio included more than 1,300 hotels and all-inclusive properties in 76 countries across six continents. There is a growing need to streamline their PMO ensuring visibility of governance vitals across the organisation.

The Company’s offering includes brands in the Timeless Collection, including Park Hyatt®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt®, Hyatt Vacation Club®, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Studios, and UrCove; the Boundless Collection, including Miraval®, Alila®, Andaz®, Thompson Hotels®, Dream® Hotels, Hyatt Centric®, and Caption by Hyatt®; the Independent Collection, including The Unbound Collection by Hyatt®, Destination by Hyatt®, and JdV by Hyatt®; and the Inclusive Collection, including Impression by Secrets, Hyatt Ziva®, Hyatt Zilara®, Zoëtry® Wellness & Spa Resorts, Secrets® Resorts & Spas, Breathless Resorts & Spas®, Dreams® Resorts & Spas, Hyatt Vivid Hotels & Resorts, Alua Hotels & Resorts®, and Sunscape® Resorts & Spas. Subsidiaries of the Company operate the World of Hyatt® loyalty program, ALG Vacations®, Mr & Mrs Smith, Unlimited Vacation Club®, Amstar DMC destination management services, and Trisept Solutions® technology services.

How to manage IT projects and streamline a PMO across the Hyatt Universe

As the company grows the challenge of managing fundamental processes consistently across all sites grows too.  Hyatt wanted to formalise a complex project management process and build an IT solution which would automate the launching of the required assets and enable more integrated, cross-functional collaboration between 10 key business units, but leave the business units accountable for their projects too. 

The projects range from business-critical work against strategic objectives to repeatable jobs delivered by a department.  The level of governance of the projects was also important to build into the solution, streamline the project management process with high impact strategic projects being visible to members of the board and lower-level projects reporting progress but not in as detailed a way. 

The Vision

Angela Steele, AVP Technology Strategy & Project Management, had the vision and knew that Smartsheet could be the tool to use, but needed assistance in designing and building this PMO solution.

The Solution

SBP spent time with Hyatt, mapping out the vision into a Project Management Process Model.  From this model SBP designed and built out Angela’s vision using Smartsheet as the core product and using their own app Smarter Launch Pad to facilitate the creation of the project assets dependent on the governance level required.

Dashboards were used effectively to guide business units to the high governance projects requiring their involvement and to provide a way to create lower-level projects to track progress there also using Smarter Launch Pad.  Business Units can request cross functional project work, and they are also able to promote their lower-level projects into the higher governance projects if required.

The Complexity

High tier project template sets include Project Charter, Gantt Plans, Raid Logs, Executive Summary updates, List of useful resources and all dashboarding and reporting to surface progress across all. Lower tier project templates are just a Key Milestones sheet (in Gantt Format).

Each business unit has customised High Tier and Low Tier templates meaning that Smarter Launch Pad is assimilating 11 intake sheets and selecting from a set of 22 templates.

TESTIMONIAL

“SBP has been integral in helping Hyatt develop a solution that can meet the needs of our increasingly complex and rapidly growing organization.  This solution will enable Hyatt’s ability to scale through automation, while also allowing for flexibility using different templates to support a wide range of projects across the organization. 

SBP helped us design, develop, and deliver the solution in under 3 months, and we have already identified several more opportunities to continue our partnership with SBP. “

Angela Steele, AVP Technology Strategy & Chief of Staff to the CIO, for the Hyatt Hotels Corporation

CONTACT US

If you are interested in learning more about how Smarter Business Processes can help you with your organisation and you feel the Hyatt Hotels Corporation case study could be a useful example please get in touch.

Contact us to arrange a free one hour consultation. CONTACT US

The post Hyatt Hotels Corporation – Streamline their PMO appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

Roadnight Taylor have moved to a 4-day work week, thanks in part to significant time savings and administrative efficiencies created through a Dynamics CRM and Smartsheet integration project combined with Smarter Launch Pad.

Roadnight Taylor linking MS Dynamics to Smartsheet for Optimal Workflows

The Challenge

As this independent specialist grid consultancy grows, with new staff and services offered regarding the electricity networks, the challenge increases to manage processes efficiently across all functions.  

We identified one significant process for improvement:

1. New opportunity data was entered into MS Dynamics, their CRM.
2. On winning an opportunity, the correct Smartsheet template was identified manually from the pool of circa 15 templates (templates drove specific task lists tailored to the planned service).
3. The Smartsheet template was then saved as new, so creating a task list sheet for each ‘won’ opportunity.
4. Seven Smartsheet summary fields were then manually entered into the summary pane to enable the assigned engineer and other employees to find related data (thus duplicating data entry efforts as the data was already in the CRM).
5. Finally, the new sheet was moved to a client folder.

Although this process worked, it required a licensed Smartsheet user to complete the process. Human errors occurred e.g. selecting the wrong template sheet; editing templates (instead of saving as new); entering incorrect data into summary pane fields.

The Goal

Roadnight Taylor wanted to automate the creation of the service driven Smartsheet task lists, while flagging an opportunity win in one system and populating the appropriate data quickly in Smartsheet. This would allow a quick, methodical approach to action ‘won’ tasks, while enabling full visibility for management.

The Solution for Roadnight Taylor is Smarter Launch Pad and a Dynamics Integration

Smarter Business Processes, working with Roadnight Taylor and their MS Dynamics consultants, created a solution using Smarter Launch Pad and the API from both systems:

1. ‘Opportunity Won’ flag triggers the CRM to send key information through to a Smartsheet intake sheet.
2. This in turn triggers Smarter Business Processes’premium app Smarter Launch Pad to select the correct template and merge the data from MS Dynamics into a new task list sheet.
3. An automatic alert tells the administrator that the sheet is ready for use.

The Results

The new administrative process is much more efficient and has been fundamental  in enabling the team to reduce their work schedule to a 4-day working week.

Roadnight Taylor now receive ready to use service driven tasks lists in Smartsheet within minutes of adding data to CRM. It saves many working hours in the week, previously spent on administration. Hours of administrative time have been liberated because routine tasks are now fully automated:

• Tasks are now automatically linked to unique CRM tracked opportunities.

– Time saved – Duplicating data across two systems is no longer necessary.

• Thanks to automation no manual intervention is required.

– Time saved – Team no longer perform admin tasks in Smartsheet, nor are they waiting for a licensed user to create sheets. Instead, Smarter Launch Pad automatically deploys, populates and links  templates.

• Data integrity is assured – The pool of Smartsheet templates are safe from inadvertent edits by humans.

TESTIMONIAL

“We knew that Smartsheet had incredible potential, but we realised we were only using it in a very rudimentary way. It had become something of an admin monster. We needed genuine experts to help us identify how the functionality could be applied to our business in a practical way, in order to create a really robust but agile operations function.

Our collaboration with Debbie and the technical team at Smarter Business Processes was a game-changer, enabling us to streamline processes, improve efficiencies, reduce margin for error and increase productivity. In turn, this has been fundamental in Roadnight Taylor taking the decision to move to a four-day work week. And through our ongoing relationship with Smarter Business Processes, we are still finding new and innovative ways to develop and grow the business, as well as ensuring that we maintain the high standards of very personal service that our clients have come to expect.”

Lucy Taylor, Operations Director for Roadnight Taylor.

CONTACT US

If you are interested in learning more about how Smarter Business Processes can help you with your organisation and you feel the Roadnight Taylor case study could be a useful example please get in touch.

Contact us to arrange a free one hour consultation. CONTACT US

The post Roadnight Taylor – Optimal Workflow appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

In 2022 only 54% of businesses acted to identify cyber security risks. We are proud to be in that 54% and have formalised this by securing our Cyber Essentials Certification 

Proactively managing cyber risk

While the majority of most cyber attacks are basic, vulnerability to basic attacks is still an issue. It marks you out as a target for more in-depth attacks from cyber criminals. 

At Smarter Business Processes, we take cyber security very seriously and this accreditation demonstrates our commitment to maintaining high standards of cyber security and to protecting both our clients’ sensitive data and our own systems, services and business information.. 

Our tools and Apps are built to be robust and resilient

We design and roll out tools and solutions designed to help clients manage and monitor their data. We implement API solutions to help integrate large amounts of data with external software. We understand the need to prioritise cyber security.

We are Cyber Essentials Certified

Smarter Business Processes are very excited to be Cyber Essentials Certified.  We achieved Cyber Essentials Certification through the IASME Consortium with Cyber Smart.

The Cyber UK Conference

At his speech to the Cyber UK Conference in Belfast, Tom Tugendhat, Minister for Security said,

“New findings released just yesterday from the Cyber Security Breaches Survey show that 32% of businesses experienced at least one cyber breach in the last 12 months.

This year the survey also tells us how many of these breaches resulted in real cybercrimes. We estimate that 11% of businesses fell victim at least once, costing each around £15,000 in a year. We must never lose sight of the fact that behind each of these online statistics is a real-world victim”

According to the Cyber Security Breach Survey 2022 39% of UK businesses identified a cyber attack last year. Among the organisations reporting cyber attacks, 31% of businesses and 26% of charities estimate at least weekly attacks.

 Cyber security – An Overlooked Concern

Despite the growing risk, tightening up cyber security is often overlooked by organisations. Upgrading and maintaining healthy security practices slips down the do list.  Many organisations believe they have highly developed secure technology platforms but fail to stay up to date. This may be due to a lack of knowledge or training.

The survey found that, despite growing concerns, only half of businesses (54%) acted in the past 12 months to identify cyber security risks.  One of the challenges businesses face is only having a limited understanding of cyber threats, with management opting to outsource to cyber protection. 

What is “Cyber Essentials”?   

Cyber Essentials is a Government backed, cyber essentials self-assessment scheme designed to support organisations against a wide variety of the most common cyber attacks. 

This Certification gives peace of mind that your defences will protect against the vast majority of common cyber attacks. And this is because such attacks are looking for targets without the necessary security controls in place.

Cyber Essentials online shows you how to address those basics and prevent the most common attacks.

To become Cyber Essentials certified, a company must demonstrate that their cyber security meets specified criteria set out under the rules of the scheme. These are specified under 5 technical controls: 

• Firewalls. Every device in scope must be protected by a correctly configured firewall (or equivalent network device). 
• Secure Configuration. Ensure that computers and network devices are properly configured to reduce the inherent vulnerabilities, and provide only the services required to fulfil their role. 
• User Access Control. Ensure user accounts are assigned only to authorised individuals, and provide access to only those applications, computers and networks actually required for the user to perform their role 
• Malware Protection. Restrict execution of known malware and untrusted software, to prevent harmful code from causing damage or accessing sensitive data.  
• Security Update Management. Ensure that devices and software are not vulnerable to known security issues for which fixes are available.

Each Cyber Essentials scheme Applicant must ensure that their organisation meets all the requirements. They must also supply evidence to confirm the above criteria has been met. The certification is valued for 12 months and must be up to date to retain certification. For more information view the detailed FAQ page.

SBP is delighted to announce that we have fulfilled all the requirements and are now officially Cyber Essentials Certified.

What Does this Mean for Smarter Business Processes and for you?

Securing this certification for Smarter Business Processes means that we have met the government requirements under the 5 control themes. We can offer greater protection and peace of mind to our clients to help manage cyber risk when dealing with:

• Sensitive and personal data
• Shared work spaces 
• Working collaboratively with cloud based software
• Sharing data across integrated software solutions

If you want to contact us about any of our services please register your interest here.

Next Steps

To learn more about Cyber Essentials watch the video below from Cyber Smart.

The post Smarter Business Processes Achieves Cyber Essentials Certification appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

It also lets you customize form links with query strings for instance in email shots to provide different default values for each recipient.

Case Example

Suppose you are managing a team logging support calls. You can provide everyone in your team with a link to the same form that prepopulates their individual name and department.

Simply create one base form, and then give each team member a different URL with parameters unique to them, providing them with a query string that prefills their name, department, and whatever other unique information you need them to provide. Each team member can easily log each support call with all the relevant information prefilled on the form.

To build the query string for a form URL:

• In the menu bar, select Forms > Manage Forms.
• Hover over the form you want to distribute with custom URLs.
• Select Copy Form URL.
• In a spreadsheet or any word processing application, paste the URL.
• At the end of the URL, type a question mark (?) For example:

• Type the value for the form field that you’d like to populate. For example:

• Type an equal sign (=)

• Type the value you want to set as the default. For example:

• To include multiple fields in the URL, join them with an ampersand (&).  For example:

The image below shows what the form will look like with all requested values filled in.

Tips To Remember

A prefilled query string won’t work if users have to log in to access the form. Authentication clears any customization from the URL.

If your team needs to submit the same data again, they can use the browser’s back button to reload the form with the last submitted values, including prefilled values. Then, they can overwrite anything they need to change and resubmit the form.

In your form settings, remember to select ‘Allow submitter to email a copy of form submission option.’ Once this is set up, you can use query strings to automatically enter a default email address.

Want to know more?

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Read more about our Smarter Forms tool here, and watch our webinar on creating webforms in Smartsheet below.

The post URL Query String in Smartsheet appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

(By cold data, we mean data that is held offline, ie not in the cloud. Cold storage is generally recommended for data that needs to be stored long term, or sensitive data that needs to be kept offline for security purposes)

The statistics on Big Data are staggering. According to a recent report by Domo, 90% of all data today was created in the last two years. The number of internet users has grown by a billion in the last five years. As digital storage continues to become cheaper and faster, the volume of data in the world is set to continue to rise.

If you or your organisation are relying more and more on data analysis to inform your strategy and enhance performance, now is the time to start thinking about strategies for efficient data management.

Effective data management is important for a number of reasons. Automating your data management can be extremely cost effective, and save time by streamlining your processes and reducing manual labour.

Aside from the financial benefits, proficient data management also helps businesses easily access and analyze their figures to gain valuable insights, which leads to better decisions and improved customer satisfaction.

Companies are recognising the benefits of having a data driven approach their business model. Recent studies show that data driven companies are out performing their competitors by as much as 22%.

Good data management also means improved security. Managing your data effectively can ensure you keep your sensitive information secure and confidential, and improve your protection against data breaches and security threats.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, robust data management can help towards sustainable business. According to Carbon Accounting Platform Greenly, data storage centres are responsible for 2% of global carbon emissions, when you factor in all devices that use data storage. Data storage now accounts for more carbon emissions than the airline industry, and a single data center uses the same amount of electricity that can power up to 50,000 homes.

Here’s our five tips for getting efficient with your data management;- 

1. Find the right storage solution

There are two main types of data storage;-

Direct Attached Storage (DAS) This is storage that is attached directly to a specific computer. This can either be the storage space on a PC hard drive, or it can be a removable portable storage medium, such as an external hard drive, CD or DVD, USB drive, or flash drive.

Network Attached Storage (NAS) Data stored via a central, file server, which allows multiple users to store and share files over a network via Wifi.

Within these two categories there are a range of data storage options, such as cloud storage, hybrid cloud storage, disc drives, SSD and flash storage. Whichever option you choose for your data management depends on several factors, such as your budget, scalability, ease of access. No matter which solution you use, the two golden rules of storage apply.

• Where possible, only store what you need to keep.
• Store crucial data in more than one secure location.

2. Understand your data

As already mentioned, your data management should be appropriate for the amount and type of data you need to store, as well as how often you need to access it. According to a recent article in Forbes, the over retention of data is a growing concern among businesses. Retaining unnecessary data for long periods can cause security risks and compliance issues.

Keeping track of key metrics such as the type of data in storage, it’s age, how often it is being accessed, can help you keep a handle on what you are hoarding and help you assess whether you really need it.

3. Archive and back up

While this may not always seem like a priority, having a comprehensive archiving plan can help you stay ahead of the game. It can also keep you covered in terms of legal and GDPR compliance.

Consider automating your archiving process, to ensure out of date files are reviewed and archived on a regular basis. For backing up your data, we recommend our Backup Manager solution, which allows you to schedule back ups of your Smartsheet assets, retaining all links and formulae. Backup Manager auto replaces the data you are backing up, and may not always be suitable for archiving; for more complex archiving in Smartsheet, we can create you an API solution that will back up and store your data in a separate sheet or sheets and keep it secure.

4. Data cleaning

Data cleaning is the process of fixing incorrect, incomplete or duplicate data. Identifying data errors and then changing, updating or removing them is an important part of effective data management. We find our Smarter Search and Replace tool for Smartsheet users is invaluable for this kind of operation. Smarter Search and Replace allows you to automatically amend errors and submit updates across multiple sheets. Accurate, well organised data is easier to manage and store and gives you a clearer, more complete picture of your business. 

5. Have a robust data retention policy

A data retention policy is a business’ established protocol for maintaining information. Your business may have regulations is it required to follow, for example when dealing with sensitive or financial data, or you may be able to set your own protocol depending on your requirements.

Typically, a data retention policy will define:

• What data your business needs to retain
• How long you need to store it for
• The most appropriate storage format
• Whether it should eventually be archived or deleted
• Who has the authority to dispose of it
• What procedure to follow in the event of a policy violation

This makes it easier when reviewing what to delete and what to keep. Is your data being held in accordance with GDPR? Do your shareholders, investors or clients have their own data strategies you should adhere to? By ensuring you follow any necessary retention requirements, you can always be clear on your legal rights when it comes to ownership.

In Summary

Data management continues to be a hot topic as the volume of data in circulation continues to increase. With cyber attacks on the increase and changes in laws and regulation there has never been a better time for your business to get to grips with it’s data security and retention.

For further reading on how we can help keep your sensitive financial data secure, read about our Smarter Accounts Solutions.

You can watch a demo video of our Smarter Backup Manager Tool below.

Or if you’re looking to review your data strategies and you’re unsure where to start, drop us a line today. We’re here to get you through it!

The post 5 Tips for Efficient Data Management appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

What Is Productivity?

Productivity means the efficiency of an organization or its employees to convert inputs, such as capital and labor, into outputs, like services or products. Project managers employ incentives, goals, and communication strategies to boost employee performance and increase productivity.

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Why is productivity important in workplace?

But what does that mean, and why is it so important? In economists’ terms, “productivity” means labour productivity. Specifically, how much value each worker generates per hour.  Higher productivity means higher wages, and an increase in the standard of living.

With the current cost of living crisis, and in the face of doom laden media speculation about under investment and inflation, the drive to improve productivity from the ground up has never been more pressing.

How does productivity affect you ?

Regardless of your industry or role in the business or organisation where you work, the level of personal and group productivity will have an impact on costs, and revenues. But what does this actually mean for you and your business?

Analysing your business’ productivity is a positive, proactive way to tackle a national problem. The good news is, making the necessary changes to improve doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming. 

We’ve worked closely with clients from a broad range of industries for over a decade, and pride ourselves on the key areas of;- 

Workflow Management.

We can identify areas of improvement and help you streamline your workflow, with our Business Process Mapping Solutions.

Keep track of your processes and automate the flow of data with our Workflow Manager Tool.  

Automation.

Automating menial tasks frees up your time, allowing you to concentrate on more important areas of your business. Clients report efficiency gains of 30% and more simply by automating repetitive tasks.

Improved Reporting.

Poor, inefficient data management is one of the biggest challenges to productivity. We can help you streamline your data analysis with our Smarter Dashboard solution. Save time, and get a clear picture of your data in concise, graphical format. 

Communication.

With remote working here to stay, and clients frequently working out on site, poor communication is fast becoming a time consuming challenge to productivity. Our Smartsheet tools are cloud based, meaning that data is uploaded in real time, ensuring everyone is kept in the loop. Create staff surveys with our tools such as Smarter Forms, and can take advantage of features such as cascading drop-down lists and conditional logic. 

Training.

Ensure your team has the skills they need to do the job. Engage with them to ensure they feel part of any new changes, and listen to what they have to say. Our training modules are run as 1-2-1 sessions, or remote workshops for the entire team.  

But in our experience the real secret is no secret at all. We recognise that nebulous productivity stats and government targets aren’t right for everyone. There is no one size fits all approach. The real answer to the Productivity Conundrum lies in identifying the challenges specific to you and your team. 

It’s in those conversations when we sit down together and talk specifically about your business, your challenges, your goals for the future, that we can start to build a picture of what will work for you. 

Streamlining processes to improve productivity

We have the tools and a team of experienced consultants ready to implement the changes you need to see achievable, measurable change, at a pace that’s right for you.  

Demo videos of all the solutions mentioned in this blog are available on our Youtube Channel. Or, for a free consultation get in touch with us today.

The post The Productivity Conundrum. What is it and how can it be solved? appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

The Challenge

The engineers at European Electronique predominantly work on site, providing engineering tech support to schools and colleges. With different engineers working on different sites, visibility of availability was poor and project planning was a challenge. The team needed a central hub to improve communication and track resources across the team.  After Initial licence purchase, the client found they needed a little assistance in configuring both areas to provide a well structured PMO solution that integrated with the Resource Management module.

Our Solution

We worked collaboratively with the client to help build and set up a Project Management Solution in Smartsheet.  We then helped configure a Resource Management module to integrate with the PMO. 

Once this was up and running we then provided training across the team on how to use it. 

The Benefits 

• Increased visibility across multiple projects
• Single source of data shared among the team 
• Reduction in duplication of work
• Effective resource management 
• Streamlined the management of the projects

Testimonial

“From the start the support I have received from Debbie and the team has been great. It can be quite demanding sometimes when you have users that want to run before they can walk and I am no exception. Idea generation and training have been provided throughout and also with a friendly smile, it is always nice to be valued, and the team certainly made me feel that way – thank you.”

Richard Howes- Head of Project Management Office- European Electronique

The post European Electronique Takes PMO Solution To The Next Level appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

The Challenge

As a private finance company, compliance requirements at Cidel are very stringent. Risk and compliance measures are closely tracked and reviewed annually. 

In order to manage these efficiently, individual employees are assigned ownership of particular risks. It is their responsibility to track these, to make sure each risk has been reviewed and rated and complies to the relevant regulations.  

The challenge was to manage how these risks are assigned, and make sure each employee has access to the relevant regulations pertaining to that risk. With hundreds of risks and regulations to keep track of, Cidel needed a transparent, robust system to ensure the correct risk is assigned to the correct employee with all the relevant information available to them. 

In addition to this, each risk owner needed to be able to delegate their assigned risk. The system needed to let them grant risk assessment permissions to other employees when required.

Our solution 

We created a bespoke system from the ground up. We adapted out Smarter Dashboard Solution to create a website that enables any Cidel user to log in via Smartsheet and view any risks assigned to them. They can then examine all the information that’s relevant to that risk, assign the level of risk, and even specify what controls are in place to mitigate against it. 

The product has the capability to handle hundreds of employee logins, either as the risk owner or if the risk has been delegated to them. As a cloud based system it has the advantage of allowing the team access whenever they need it, and the efficiency of information updating in real time. 

We worked closely with the client and adapted the solution to fit their requirements as part of an ongoing development process.

The Benefits

• A coherent, flexible system that tailors the relevant information to each individual log in.
• Intuitive and accessible. Minimal training required to use.
• Unique. This one of a kind solution is designed to fit the client’s specific requirements.
• Comprehensive. The system stores and tracks hundred of risks, making each one instantly available when needed.

The post Cidel Bank Takes No Risks with Our Bespoke Smartsheet Solution appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.

CEO Mark Mader shared some inspiring customer stories in his opening keynote speech, and chatted with representatives from McLaren, TIME and Convergint about how Smartsheet is transforming their businesses. The message was simple: Product innovation allows teams to work together and adapt quickly to the ever-changing work environment.

​We were truly inspired by the panel of overachievers from Lumenonics, KPMG US, Climate Pledge Arena and Cisco, ably hosted by CMO Andrew Bennett. They covered the importance on onboarding, and demoing new solutions to your team. The advice to new Smartsheet users was clear: back up as much as possible, trust the experts and build great dashboards.

Our team of Etienne Mermillod, Richard and Gwen Rymill attended seminars and demos on an exciting range of Smartsheet products, including:

• Data Table. Allows users to collaborate on large data sets by pulling together content from ERPs, CRMs and other data sources. Store millions of rows, combine data from multiple sources and automate your data uploads.
• Bridge. Are you relying on multiple business processes and people for your data and workflows? Bridge is a no code solution that allows users to build cross platform workflows, connect data and automate routine tasks.
• Mobile Offline Forms. Allows users access to Smartsheet Forms even when they don’t have internet access. We’re particularly excited at how this will benefit our clients working on site. 
• Smartsheet Desktop App. Work in Smartsheet without the distraction of a browser. It works exactly the same as browser-based Smartsheet, but sits in a self contained programme on your desktop.  
• Updated User Interface. Smartsheet will soon be announcing changes to the look and feel of the main grid. Watch this space for updates!
• Core Smartsheet Function will soon include Card View in Reports and Work Insight information. A particularly welcome update to reporting has also been announced; If a column name changes in a sheet, it will no longer vanish from the report!

We’re excited to start passing our knowledge on to our clients!

If you would like to know more about the above, or have a chat about how we to boost your business with Smartsheet’s latest features, get in touch with us today.

The post Smartsheet Engage 2022: Our Key Takeaways appeared first on SmarterBusinessProcesses.