Are you a manufacturer and still operating your business the exact same way you did 20 years ago? If we were to guess, that answer is probably not. You’ve evolved over the years. You’ve utilized new technology to streamline things. You have tweaked your processes to increase quality, decrease costs, and control the margin of error. So why should you be treating your technology the same way you did a decade ago?
Manufacturers Have Long Embraced Technology
Ask any manufacturer which technology trend offers the most bang for the buck, and inevitably they will point to automation. Since the days of Henry Ford, automation has been the key to allowing manufacturers to grow their business. This growth is achievable primarily due to increased productivity, efficiency, and a reduction in the need for manual labor.
Automation is a lot more than just machines in a shop doing the work of a number of people. Automation can also apply to testing, managing an inventory, managing sales and relationships, maintenance, and a whole lot more.
Managed IT and Automation
That’s why we find a lot in common with manufacturers. At Fuse Technology Group, a lot of our business is wrapped around automation as well. Just like yours, what makes us stand out isn’t the automation itself, however, it’s what we can do because of the automation.
Because we build processes and automate complex, time-consuming tasks, we are able to focus on tweaking and streamlining what we do to give ourselves and our customers an edge.
Here are some examples of how we use automation to serve our customers:
- We use advanced, enterprise-level remote monitoring tools that automate the upkeep and maintenance of the technology your business depends upon. These tools are able to monitor computer logs 24/7 and detect potential problems before they affect the user. It gives us an early-warning system for when a component needs to be replaced or tells us if something needs to be investigated by a technician.
- Automatic spam and content filtering are essential because your team will be the primary target of a cybercriminal. These systems use advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning to stay updated to prevent most modern threats from finding their way into your network.
- We script and process out repeatable tasks. Let’s say we need to push a new application to 25 computers on your production floor. Normally that would be an arduous task, but we carefully deploy it in a test environment first, and document the whole process. Then, we build a script to batch out the same exact process on every other machine. This also means that, in the future, if you add a new workstation to the production floor, we can easily re-run the process without having a technician have to go through old notes and familiarize themselves with the setup process. The more you eliminate the possibility for user error, the smoother everything goes.
- Automatic backups. This one is huge. Although we don’t find very many businesses using older tape backups, it still happens occasionally. Your backup solution should never require human interaction to work. It needs to back up your data, verify the backup, encrypt that data, and push it to the cloud without your intervention.
- Beyond that, we also develop custom applications that are an excellent fit for manufacturers who can’t get the exact solution they need from off-the-shelf software. Moreover, custom applications allow your organization to develop applications to increase productivity by automating a wide range of functions previously done manually. Custom applications will enable you to collect and sort data, communicate with team members and clients, and automatically complete a series of tasks.
Manufacturers Need Their Technology to Work For Them
While it is certainly comfortable to maintain the status quo, doing so may cause you to miss opportunities out of a reluctance to change how you have been doing things. Technology can bring many benefits to manufacturers, but only if you choose the solution that is right for your business.
Detroit and Michigan as a whole have decades of supporting a variety of manufacturing industries. However, not all local IT firms are familiar with this unique business environment. Suppose you’ve been having trouble finding a technology partner who understands your business. In that case, it may be because they are using cookie-cutter solutions instead of designing something customized for your business.
This is why it pays to partner with an MSP who understands what makes Detroit, well, Detroit. We are one of the few managed IT providers who live in the Detroit area and we fully understand the needs of manufacturing businesses. If you’re a Detroit or Michigan-based manufacturer and your technology is hurting your bottom line, call 248.545.0800 today to schedule an appointment to learn how managed IT can benefit your business.
