I bet that you could easily list three such processes off the top of your head, right now.

These processes, while needed, can ultimately be more of an annoyance than anything else. There’s just so many to see to, and your efforts could really be better used working on another task.

A Hands-Off Solution
The technology that could help you the most is known as automation, where certain processes can be automatically seen to once another has been completed. This is already a common enough solution.

For instance, many websites have a handy dialogue box to help you better find what you are looking for, returning contextual answers that may solve your problem without the need to call in one of the website’s human support team members.

The infamous Clippy, the Microsoft Office Assistant that would pop up and offer assistance with certain processes in Office applications, could be considered a very basic use of automation. If the user began to format their document in a certain way, Clippy would appear and try to advise them on how to do it properly, along with other pieces of unsolicited advice.

Fortunately, not all automation is quite as insistent or obtrusive as Clippy was. Most of it can take place entirely behind the scenes, eliminating many of the time-intensive requirements that hold back significant productivity.

Automation solutions today offer three particular benefits to those that leverage them:

• As we’ve mentioned, smaller tasks no longer require a user’s attention. This allows your employees to focus more on their bigger responsibilities in service to your customers and clients.
• Instead of spending time scheduling certain tasks to move to the next employee in line to work on a project, the right automation can take care of this, well, automatically. As a result, it is easier to maintain productivity and a standard operating procedure.
• Automation is also less error-prone than a human being would be, making it a faster and more accurate means of routing information to the applications that require it.

Concerns
Of course, no solution ever comes without any challenges, automation included. Some are more technical, but the major one that always comes up speaks to deeper human concerns.

One the technical side, automation presents two major challenges:

• Automation still requires at least some monitoring by a human resource to ensure that the automation is functioning properly, and is also delivering a better return on investment than a human can. Otherwise, it may not be worth the effort it takes to implement and, again, monitor. This is something that many delegate to an outsourced provider.
• All of your different solutions and systems may not play so nicely with each other, making it necessary to integrate them into a single chain of automated processes. A technology professional from Patriot Tech Services Inc. can assist you in selecting the right ones for your needs.

Finally, the last (and in many ways, worst) obstacle you may encounter is pushback from your employees.

Yes, I know, you’re actually making their jobs easier and allowing them to tackle more important responsibilities - but look at it from their perspective for a moment. If you don’t fully explain the benefits behind your choice to implement automation, they may see it as their job being replaced by a machine.

Therefore, to avoid this, bring your employees into your implementation process. Make sure that they are made clear of the fact that this is to help the entire business, and that they are a part of that business. Giving them more significant tasks and responsibilities will also help with this.

If you want assistance in planning and implementing your business automation strategy, give Patriot Tech Services Inc. a call. We’d be happy to assist you with any of your technology needs. Call 877-874-4629 today!

Defining Encryption
Encryption means that your data is scrambled in a way that obscures it from just anyone viewing it. What this means for email is that only the intended recipient can decrypt it, preventing those who might try to intercept it from being able to read it. For business email, this is particularly helpful.

Security
Security is the biggest reason to use encryption, and since it’s such an effective way to obscure data from prying eyes, it’s no wonder why. Many businesses utilize private or sensitive data, making it extremely important that it’s not exposed while in transit. In contrast to the way that hackers used to go about their business--breaking into networks and stealing data--many have opted instead to simply take a peek at the data while it’s moving from point A to point B. Encryption means they can’t do this anymore… well, they can, but they won’t see anything worth stealing due to the encryption scrambling the data.

Compliance
If your industry is one that must comply with regulations regarding data privacy, you might have to use encryption, so you can dodge hefty fines for not doing so. One of the best examples is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. What this states is that health information and records absolutely cannot be shared without the patient’s consent, meaning that if a hacker were to steal this information, the company responsible for storing it would be in direct violation of HIPAA. If you use encryption to make sure this doesn’t happen, you can protect your business from liability for this and your users from having their personal information stolen.

Efficiency
If you take the right measures to protect your email systems, then you’ll make the entire process easier as a whole. If you take the time to install systems that automatically encrypt your email, then that means you won’t have to manually do it.

Patriot Tech Services Inc. can help you secure your email solution. To learn more, reach out to us at 877-874-4629.

Recovery of Lost Word Files
We’ve all been in a situation where we have lost progress on specific files due to a power outage or similar disaster, like an unexpected hardware crash. Thankfully, there is a way to save your hard work if you haven’t had the opportunity before the crash happens. In Word, navigate to the Open menu. At the bottom of this page, you’ll see a button that gives you the ability to recover unsaved documents.

Compare Two Documents Side-by-Side
Collaboration is critical to the success of all businesses, but this often includes comparing documents side-by-side--something that is difficult if you’re not in the same physical location. If you want to compare two different versions of a document, and even merge it into one, you can use the Review tab at the top of Word’s document screen. This gives your employees even more opportunities to work together as effectively as possible.

Add a Functional Table of Contents
Office workers are often asked to build out reports, but they can be challenging to look at without a table of contents. If you have a little knowledge of Word, you can use it to build an easy table of contents in any paper or report. To do so, first make sure the headings and whatnot are all laid out in the proper order. Next, go to the References tab and click on Table of Contents. Choose the style you’d like to use from the options presented and the table of contents will be generated. You’ll have to edit them to your specific requirements, but this is easy enough.

Add Custom Words to the Spell Check Dictionary
Some words and phrases simply aren’t identified as “spelled right” by Word, no matter how many times you use them. In cases like this, you can add custom words to the spell check dictionary so that they don’t waste even more of your time moving forward. You can add words by going through the File menu and clicking on Options. Once this window appears, you can click on Proofing.

When the dictionary list pops up, select CUSTOM.DIC and click on the Edit Word List option. You’ll be able to make changes to your custom dictionary in this way.

For more great tips and tricks on Microsoft Word and more, subscribe to Patriot Tech Services Inc.’s blog.