Even as Covid-19 appears to be quieting down, restrictions are being eased and vaccinations are being administered, there is little doubt that the way we all are doing business has changed significantly and permanently.
While people tend not to like change, we prefer to look at impacts like this as opportunities to be better, to improve and to learn. Some questions should be asked: How has our business changed because of COVID-19 and the lockdowns? How did we react? What changes did we make? And perhaps the most important question, what did we do in the response that makes us better employers for our Team and better partners for out clients?
Most business owners will tell you that to survive many had to be creative and implement safe and secure practices that did such things as:
Businesses trying to solve these problems, looked to technology to try and find solutions. We’ve already reported on using technology to stay in communication with your remote employees (See https://www.pssolutions.net/news/?postid=1881 or visit our friends at WorkTok at www.WorkTok.com ) And while new technology keeps coming on to the market, as it turns out, one of the easiest fixes happens to be a technology and software development solution that has been around for years – the web portal.
Web portals are internet-based gateways that companies can create to grant specific (authorized and authenticated) persons to have access to company information and exchange data with the company. Those authorized and authenticated persons can be employees, customers, vendors, stockholders, virtually whatever the company choses.
Typically, the web portal is accessed through the company’s web page or can be a separate web page all together. Access typically requires authorization through passwords and/or other means of authentication. Once the access is obtained, then the user is able to access and exchange a wide variety of information, all without the need of direct contact with another person.
Just some of the things that can be done with a Web Portal include:
Even better still, this technology can be created at a very affordable cost and can be implemented relatively quickly.
The use of a Web Portal is not just for huge corporations. Small business with even as little as 10 or more employees can benefit from having a portal to handle a lot of tasks which otherwise would take up valuable time. Small business, not big enough to have separate staff members doing HR, Accounting, and Office Management find that the web portal keeps key administrative and management employees from being overwhelmed by the various tasks that now can be handled through the portal.
Portals can be used for far more than company administrative function. Web Portals can be created and used to help with:
Just like almost everything else, the Portal can range from the very basic and least expensive to extremely complex and complicated processes. However, the good news is that even a basic Web Portal can provide a lot of increased efficiency for companies.
Probably, the five most popular uses of Web Portals to help deal with changes brought on in dealing with the Covid-19 Pandemic are:
All in all, the Web Portal can be a relatively inexpensive means of improving efficiency and communication. Changes in the workforce toward increased work-from-home situations make the Web Portal even more valuable to businesses looking to find ways to adapt and improve in what looks to be an ever-changing business environment.
At PS Solutions, we love helping people use software and information technology to help people solve problems. Feel free to reach out with any questions you have or to drop me an email at whippo@pssolutions.net to find out what should be done next on your web portal project.
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Wayne Hippo is an owner and Managing Partner of PS Solutions, a software outsourcing and consulting firm with offices in Altoona, PA, Pittsburgh, PA, and Wilmington, NC.
You can reach Wayne at whippo@pssolutions.net