Fisher Technology Press Center

Your Finance Team Is Capable of More Than Manual Processes and Human Spreadsheets

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:45:02 GMT

Finance teams are often described as the engine room of a business. They keep the numbers accurate, the cash flowing, and the reporting on time. But in many organizations, a significant portion of that team’s energy goes into tasks that are repetitive, manual, and frankly not a great use of skilled people.

That’s where business process automation comes in. And when it’s applied thoughtfully to finance, the results go well beyond efficiency gains. Done right, automation repositions a finance team from a cost center into something that actively contributes to business growth.

The Problem With Manual Finance Processes

Most finance teams are sitting on processes that haven’t changed much in years. Reports get generated by hand. Invoices are chased through spreadsheets and email threads. Credit control relies on someone remembering to follow up. Reconciliation happens in a mad scramble at month end.

These tasks are necessary, but they don’t need to be manual. And when they are, the cost isn’t just time. Errors creep in. Deadlines get missed. Cash flow suffers. And the finance professionals who should be providing strategic insight spend their days on administration instead.

“When skilled finance people spend their days on administration, the business loses the strategic thinking it’s paying for.”

What Automation Actually Looks Like In Practice

BPA Platform addresses this by automating the repetitive, rule-based work that clogs up finance workflows. That includes the automatic generation and distribution of invoices and statements, automated credit control procedures that send the right communication to the right customer at the right time, purchase order approval workflows that route requests based on value thresholds, and scheduled financial reporting that lands in the right inbox without anyone having to build it.

The platform integrates with the accounting and ERP systems finance teams already use, including Sage, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, and many others, so there’s no need to rip out existing infrastructure. Automation gets layered on top of what’s already working.

A Real Example: What This Looks Like For A Finance Team

One pattern that comes up consistently across BPA Platform customers is the reporting burden. Finance and operations teams often spend several hours every week manually building, formatting, and distributing reports that nobody has time to question or redesign because they’ve always been done that way.

With BPA Platform’s reporting automation in place, those reports are generated and distributed automatically in real time. The staff time that was going into assembly gets freed up for analysis. Errors that crept in through manual data handling disappear. And the people responsible for financial reporting can focus on what the numbers mean rather than how to produce them.

Codeless Platforms’ customers across industries have seen this play out in reporting, reconciliation, and financial administration. The time savings are consistent, and so is the observation that the real benefit isn’t just the hours recovered. It’s what the team does with them.

Credit Control: Where Automation Directly Protects Cash Flow

One of the highest-impact areas for finance automation is credit control. Late payments are one of the most common causes of cash flow pressure for businesses of all sizes, and most of the time, the problem isn’t that customers won’t pay. It’s that nobody followed up in a consistent, timely way.

BPA Platform can monitor outstanding invoices daily, automatically generating and sending the right communication based on how overdue an account is. An approaching due date triggers a polite reminder. A missed payment triggers a follow-up. An aged debt triggers an alert to the collections team and the relevant account manager simultaneously. The whole process runs without anyone having to track it manually, and nothing falls through the cracks.

For businesses that have implemented this kind of automated credit control, the results tend to show up quickly. Aged debtor times come down. Cash flow becomes more predictable. And the finance team spends less time chasing and more time managing. For businesses that have implemented this kind of automated credit control, the results tend to show up quickly. Aged debtor times come down. Cash flow becomes more predictable. And the finance team spends less time chasing and more time managing.

The B roader Shift: From Reactive To Strategic

The real value of finance automation isn’t just the hours saved, though those matter. It’s what becomes possible when the team has capacity to think rather than just process. Real-time visibility into cash flow. Faster month-end close. Earlier identification of risk. More informed conversations with leadership about where the business stands and where it’s heading.

Finance teams that automate the routine work don’t just get more efficient. They get more valuable to the business. And that’s the transformation worth aiming for.

“Finance teams that automate the routine work don’t just get more efficient. They get more valuable to the business.”

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Fisher Technology helps organizations across North America implement BPA Platform to streamline finance operations and unlock the full potential of their teams. If you’d like to explore what automation could look like for your finance function, we’d love to talk.

Get in touch: www.fisher-technology.com/contact

The Code Worked Fine until it Didn't!

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:35:57 GMT

Sit through enough software demos and a pattern starts to emerge. Somewhere between the slide on streamlined workflows and the one about real-time visibility, the presenter leans forward and drops the phrase: AI-powered. The room nods. Someone scribbles it down. And the question nobody says out loud is "what does that actually mean?"

To be fair, AI is genuinely changing enterprise software. Real progress is happening in how systems learn from data, flag problems early, and cut down on manual grunt work. This isn’t an argument that AI is all smoke and no fire. It’s an argument that not all AI is the same thing, and that mid-market buyers are getting a raw deal when it comes to telling the difference.

The Pressure to Lead with AI

Mid-market ERP and CRM vendors are caught in a tough spot. Enterprise players have poured billions into AI, and their customers are asking the same questions regardless of company size. So “AI-powered” has quietly shifted from being a technical description to a marketing checkbox, something that needs to show up on the website, in the pitch deck, and in the renewal conversation, whether the product genuinely justifies it or not.

This isn’t a dig at any one vendor. It’s the water the whole industry is swimming in right now. When buyers expect AI and competitors are claiming it, stretching the definition becomes hard to resist. The result is a market where “AI-powered” can mean anything from a genuinely sophisticated machine learning model to a rebranded reporting dashboard. Both might be useful. But they’re not the same thing, and they shouldn’t carry the same price tag.

What “AI-Powered” Often Looks Like in Practice

A few patterns come up again and again:

Predictions that are really just history repeating. If a system flags a customer as “at risk” because their order frequency dropped, that’s not a prediction, that’s a report. Useful, sure, but it’s been available for years. Platforms like BPA Platform have delivered exactly this kind of data-driven alerting and exception reporting through straightforward business rules and workflow logic, long before anyone was calling it AI. The capability was always real. The rebrand is what’s new.

Automation dressed up as intelligence . Routing an invoice to the right approver based on a spend threshold. Triggering a follow-up when an order status changes. Escalating a support case that’s been sitting too long. These are rules-based processes and BPA Platform handles them through its low code automation engine without needing a machine learning model anywhere near them. They’re reliable, auditable, and they work. When vendors slap an AI label on this kind of automation, it doesn’t make the feature more powerful. It just makes the buying conversation murkier.

Generative AI bolted on rather than built in . The scramble to add large language model features to existing products has produced some genuinely useful results and some that are basically a chat window glued onto software that hasn’t fundamentally changed underneath. The question worth asking isn’t whether there’s a generative component. It’s whether it’s working from relevant data, wired into actual workflows, and backed by someone who’ll own the problem when it gets something wrong.

A Simple Framework for Evaluating AI Claims

You don’t need a data science background to push back on what vendors are telling you. A handful of direct questions will do most of the work:

Whose data is it learning from? Ours, or a generic model? A system trained on your business behaves very differently from one drawing on industry-wide averages.

What happens when it gets it wrong? Every AI system makes mistakes. How a vendor answers this question says a lot about how seriously they’ve thought it through.

Who owns it when something breaks or changes? Features tied to third-party models can shift behavior when those models are updated. That’s a support question, not a technical footnote.

Can we see it running in a live environment? Demo environments are controlled by design. Asking to speak with a reference customer who uses the feature in production is a completely fair request, and the answer tells you a lot!

So

So What Should You Actually Do?

None of this is a case for tuning out AI conversations entirely. Informed skepticism is different from blanket cynicism. AI is developing fast, and what isn’t quite there yet could look very different in two or three years. The vendors worth watching are the ones building seriously on solid data foundations — and being straight with customers about what’s ready and what isn’t.

The ones worth being cautious about are using AI language mainly to justify price rises, paper over product gaps, or match a competitor’s latest press release.

Your business deserves sharper questions than that. Ask them. The vendors with real answers won’t mind.

Full disclosure: this blog was written with the help of Claude, Anthropic’s AI assistant. Yes, we’re aware of the irony — a post about not blindly trusting AI was drafted with the help of AI. But that’s rather the point. Used thoughtfully, with a human steering the ideas, challenging the output, and rewriting the bits that sounded like a robot trying to sound like a person, AI can be a genuinely useful tool. It didn’t write this. It helped write this. There’s a difference — and that difference is exactly what this blog is about.

What “AI-Powered” Often Looks Like in Practice

Don’t Buy the AI Hype — Buy the Honest Conversation

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 16:48:11 GMT

To be fair, AI is genuinely changing enterprise software. Real progress is happening in how systems learn from data, flag problems early, and cut down on manual grunt work. This isn’t an argument that AI is all smoke and no fire. It’s an argument that not all AI is the same thing — and that mid-market buyers are getting a raw deal when it comes to telling the difference.

The Pressure to Lead with AI

Mid-market ERP and CRM vendors are caught in a tough spot. Enterprise players have poured billions into AI, and their customers are asking the same questions regardless of company size. So “AI-powered” has quietly shifted from being a technical description to a marketing checkbox — something that needs to show up on the website, in the pitch deck, and in the renewal conversation, whether the product genuinely justifies it or not.

What "AI-Powered" Often Looks Like in Practice at “AI-Powered” Often Looks Like in Practice

A few patterns come up again and again:

Predictions that are really just history repeating . If a system flags a customer as “at risk” because their order frequency dropped, that’s not a prediction — that’s a report. Useful, sure, but it’s been available for years. Platforms like BPA Platform have delivered exactly this kind of data-driven alerting and exception reporting through straightforward business rules and workflow logic — long before anyone was calling it AI. The capability was always real. The rebrand is what’s new.

Automation dressed up as intelligence . Routing an invoice to the right approver based on a spend threshold. Triggering a follow-up when an order status changes. Escalating a support case that’s been sitting too long. These are rules-based processes — and BPA Platform handles them through its codeless automation engine without needing a machine learning model anywhere near them. They’re reliable, auditable, and they work. When vendors slap an AI label on this kind of automation, it doesn’t make the feature more powerful. It just makes the buying conversation murkier.

Generative AI bolted on rather than built in . The scramble to add large language model features to existing products has produced some genuinely useful results — and some that are basically a chat window glued onto software that hasn’t fundamentally changed underneath. The question worth asking isn’t whether there’s a generative component. It’s whether it’s working from relevant data, wired into actual workflows, and backed by someone who’ll own the problem when it gets something wrong.

A Simple Framework for Evaluating AI Claims A Simple Framework for Evaluating AI Claims

You don’t need a data science background to push back on what vendors are telling you. A handful of direct questions will do most of the work:

Whose data is it learning from — ours, or a generic model? A system trained on your business behaves very differently from one drawing on industry-wide averages.

What happens when it gets it wrong? Every AI system makes mistakes. How a vendor answers this question says a lot about how seriously they’ve thought it through.

Who owns it when something breaks or changes? Features tied to third-party models can shift behaviour when those models are updated. That’s a support question, not a technical footnote.

So, What Should You Actually Do?

What Should You Actually Do?

The ones worth being cautious about are using AI language mainly to justify price rises, paper over product gaps, or match a competitor’s latest press release.

Your business deserves sharper questions than that. Ask them. The vendors with real answers won’t mind.

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How BPA Platform Transforms Finance Teams into Revenue Drivers

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 20:10:56 GMT

Automation in finance plays an important role for an organization and is a key driver for moving the company forward. With the right automation tools, finance teams can directly impact the bottom line, accelerate cash flow, and unlock new growth opportunities. BPA Platform empowers finance professionals to transform from cost centers into profit generators, delivering measurable revenue impact across every financial process.

From Cost Center to Revenue Engine: The Finance Transformation

Traditional finance departments focus on expense management and compliance. But forward-thinking organizations are leveraging finance automation to drive revenue growth. BPA Platform enables this transformation by connecting financial processes directly to revenue outcomes, turning every automated workflow into a growth opportunity.

When finance teams eliminate manual bottlenecks, they don't just save time—they accelerate revenue recognition, improve cash conversion cycles, and enable faster business decisions that capture market opportunities. This strategic shift positions finance as a competitive advantage and primary driver of company growth.

Finance Automation with BPA Platform

Cash flow is the lifeblood of revenue growth. BPA Platform's finance automation directly impacts your company's ability to generate and collect revenue by streamlining critical cash flow processes:

Automated invoice generation reduces billing cycles from days to hours
Intelligent payment routing accelerates customer payment processing
Real-time payment tracking eliminates revenue recognition delays
Automated dunning processes recover revenue faster from slow-paying customers

Poor credit management doesn't just create bad debt—it destroys future revenue opportunities. BPA Platform's credit control automation protects revenue while enabling growth:

Real-time monitoring identifies customers before they become collection problems
Automated workflows prevent revenue leakage from account management gaps
Integrated communication tools maintain sales relationships during collections

BPA Platform transforms financial reporting from a backward-looking compliance exercise into a forward-looking revenue optimization tool:

Real-Time Revenue Analytics

Automated data consolidation provides instant revenue visibility
Dynamic dashboards identify revenue trends as they happen
Predictive analytics forecast revenue opportunities and risks
Automated variance analysis highlights revenue optimization opportunities

Strategic Decision Acceleration

Automated reporting eliminates month-end delays that slow business decisions
Real-time profitability analysis guides revenue-focused resource allocation
Instant scenario modeling evaluates revenue impact of strategic options

Core BPA Platform Solutions That Drive Revenue

Journal Entry Automation: Revenue Recognition Acceleration

Manual journal entries create dangerous delays in revenue recognition. BPA Platform's automated journal processing ensures revenue hits the books immediately when earned; eliminating month-end revenue recognition bottlenecks, enabling faster financial closes and more timely business decisions.

Expense Management: Maximizing Profit Margins

Every dollar saved in expense processing flows directly to profit margins. BPA Platform's expense automation doesn't just cut costs—it amplifies revenue impact. Expense savings from automation can be reinvested into revenue-generating activities, creating compound growth impact.

Intercompany Management: Scaling Revenue Across Business Units

Growing companies often struggle with intercompany transactions that slow revenue recognition and create compliance risks. BPA Platform enables seamless revenue flow across business entities eliminating intercompany transaction delays that prevent timely revenue recognition and business unit optimization.

BPA Platform for Revenue-Driven Finance Transformation

The most successful companies don't just manage finances—they leverage finance automation to drive revenue growth. BPA Platform provides the tools, integrations, and insights needed to transform your finance team from a cost center into your company's most powerful revenue driver.

Your digital transformation starts with one conversation—and the sooner it begins, the sooner you gain the competitive edge. Contact Fisher Technology to discover why organizations across North America trust us to deliver automation solutions that drive efficiency, agility, and growth.

BPA Platform: Bridging On-Premise and Cloud Systems Together

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 14:48:46 GMT

Organizations struggle with a fundamental challenge: their critical business data lives in two worlds. Essential systems remain on-premise for security and compliance reasons, while new cloud applications promise enhanced functionality and scalability. The result is often data silos, manual processes, and frustrated users who can't access the information they need when they need it.

BPA Platform recognizes this reality and delivers what organizations actually need: a single integration and automation platform that works seamlessly across Cloud, On-Premises, or Hybrid environments without forcing businesses to choose just one deployment model.

How BPA Platform Addresses Hybrid Integration Challenges

Modern enterprises operate in a complex ecosystem where legacy on-premise systems must work harmoniously with cloud-based applications. This hybrid environment presents unique challenges including data synchronization, security concerns, varying communication protocols, and the need for real-time connectivity.

Organizations require solutions that can maintain data integrity while enabling seamless workflows across both environments. BPA Platform addresses these challenges through:

Tasks & Steps Framework - BPA platform provides the ability to build flexible automation processes with logical building blocks using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
Comprehensive Tool Library - BPA platform includes tools used to create steps within a task, providing functional building blocks that interface with common technologies, systems, and applications across cloud and on-premise environments.
Secure Integration - BPA Platform integrates cloud-based, on-premises, or hybrid hosted business systems using end-to-end AES 256 security with double encryption to protect business data and transactions. This security-first approach ensures that sensitive data remains protected regardless of where it travels.
Flexible System Architecture - BPA platform can be deployed on-premises or as an iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service). It uses client software to design tasks, a server for connectivity and processing, and a data store for data and tasks.
Multi-Protocol and Format Support - BPA Platform empowers you to bring all your data workflows together, supporting a wide variety of file formats and protocols including XML, CSV, JSON, HTTP, SMTP, OAuth, and more to drive your business forward seamlessly across different systems and applications. This comprehensive protocol support ensures that virtually any system can be integrated without requiring costly custom development.

For organizations looking to optimize their hybrid IT architecture, BPA Platform's cloud integration solutions offer a proven path to success, combining the reliability of on-premise systems with the scalability and innovation of cloud platforms.

Benefits of BPA Platform

BPA Platform delivers comprehensive integration value through key capabilities that address critical enterprise needs:

Reduced Development Time and Costs - BPA Platform significantly reduces system integration development times and costs while supporting integration with any data source. The platform provides flexibility to maintain, configure, and adapt data synchronization as business requirements change.

Universal Connectivity - Connect to any SaaS or on-premises application or system through an extensive library of pre-built connectors and business process automation tools. This eliminates integration limitations and reduces implementation time.

Scalable Architecture - Multi-instance architecture ensures reliable performance with multiple integration processes running simultaneously. Enhanced fault tolerance maintains system stability and business continuity.

Flexible Processing - Support for both real-time processing and batch data integration handles different business requirements within a single platform, from immediate data synchronization to large-volume reporting tasks.

Enterprise Security - Powerful authentication, access control, and data encryption protect sensitive information throughout the integration process, ensuring compliance with regulatory and corporate security requirements.

These benefits deliver immediate ROI through faster integration development, improved operational efficiency, and reduced maintenance overhead while positioning organizations for long-term integration success.

Hybrid Integration Excellence with BPA Platform

As organizations advance, the need for flexible, secure, and scalable integration solutions becomes increasingly critical. BPA Platform empowers businesses to achieve true hybrid integration, seamlessly connecting systems and applications across both cloud and on-premises environments.

Designed to support a multilayered, enterprise-wide technology architecture, BPA Platform enables complete interoperability between your existing tools and future innovations. This not only solves today’s integration challenges but also provides a resilient foundation for growth, adaptability, and the adoption of emerging technologies.

By choosing BPA Platform, organizations position themselves for long-term success — with the agility to support evolving business models and ever-changing market conditions.

Ready to Transform Your Integration Strategy?

For organizations looking to optimize their hybrid IT architecture, BPA Platform's comprehensive integration solutions offer a proven path to success, combining the reliability and control of on-premise systems with the scalability and innovation of cloud platforms. Whether you're supporting multiple applications across multi-cloud environments, enabling digital transformation initiatives, or ensuring compliance with industry regulations, BPA Platform delivers the secure, flexible connectivity your business needs to thrive.

Ready to discover how BPA Platform can transform your organization's integration capabilities? Contact Fisher Technology today; we can assess your current environment, understand your business objectives, and provide you with a clear roadmap to integration success!

Our Opinion on Ai: A Tool, Not a Magic Wand

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 20:46:36 GMT

It seems like everywhere you turn—from coffee shop conversations to boardroom meetings—artificial intelligence dominates the discussion. As someone who's spent years in the technology industry, I've watched this wave of Ai enthusiasm with both excitement and a healthy dose of realism.

The AI Conversation Everyone's Having

There's no denying that Ai has captured our collective imagination. Social media feeds are flooded with ChatGPT screenshots, businesses are scrambling to integrate AI solutions, and investors are throwing money at anything with "Ai-powered" in the pitch deck. The enthusiasm is infectious, and frankly, some of it is well-deserved.

Working in technology, I've been hearing countless questions from colleagues and partners about how they can leverage Ai to transform their operations. The questions range from the practical "Can Ai help us automate our customer service?" to the almost magical "Can Ai solve all our efficiency problems?". This spectrum of expectations tells a story about where we are in the Ai adoption curve—somewhere between realistic optimism and unrealistic expectations.

Ai's Real Role in Technology

Here's the thing about Ai that I wish more people understood: it's incredibly powerful, but it's not omnipotent. In the technology industry, Ai serves as an amplifier of human capabilities, not a replacement for human judgment and creativity.

The most successful Ai implementations I've observed across the industry have been those where Ai addresses specific, well-defined problems. For example, companies are using machine learning to optimize supply chain logistics, reducing waste and improving delivery times. Others are leveraging it to automate quality control processes, catching defects that might slip past human inspection. Many businesses are also deploying Ai-powered phone systems to handle initial customer inquiries and schedule meetings, eliminating the need for expensive answering services while freeing up employees to focus on higher-value client interactions.

A Powerful Assistant, Not the Whole Team

This brings me to my main point—Ai is an assistant. It’s sophisticated, intelligent, and powerful, but not a standalone solution. Too often, I see businesses approaching Ai as if it's the missing puzzle piece that will magically solve all their operational challenges. The reality is messier and more nuanced.

Successful Ai implementation requires the same fundamentals as any other technology project: clear objectives, quality data, proper infrastructure, and ongoing maintenance. You need to understand your current processes before you can improve them with Ai. Most importantly, you need humans who understand both the technology and the business context to make Ai work effectively.

Looking Forward Realistically

As we continue to navigate this Ai revolution, I encourage business leaders to maintain a balanced perspective. Embrace the possibilities that Ai offers, but approach them with realistic expectations and solid planning.

At Fisher Technology, we're excited about the future of Ai and its potential to drive innovation across industries. But we're equally committed to helping our clients understand that Ai's greatest value lies not in replacing human judgment, but in augmenting it.

The conversation about Ai will undoubtedly continue to evolve, and that's a good thing. As the technology matures and our understanding deepens, we'll find even more creative and effective ways to harness its power. Just remember: Ai is a powerful tool in our technological toolkit, but like any tool, its value lies in how skillfully and thoughtfully we use it.

Empowering Everyone through BPA Platform's Automation Tools

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 20:59:24 GMT

Automation has become essential for organizations seeking efficiency and competitive advantage. BPA (Business Process Automation) Platform provides powerful tools that streamline operations across departments, empowering employees at all levels to accomplish more with less manual effort.

Warehouse Management Transformation

Warehouse operations rely on precision, speed, and real-time visibility—BPA Platform delivers all three by seamlessly integrating with your existing warehouse management systems. By automating inventory tracking, order fulfillment, shipping notifications, and stock reconciliation, the platform eliminates tedious manual processes and reduces the risk of errors.

Additionally, it can trigger automatic reordering when stock reaches critical thresholds, synchronize picking, packing, and shipping to cut down fulfillment time, and generate actionable performance analytics to identify bottlenecks before they disrupt operations. With BPA Platform, your warehouse team can focus on value-added tasks and exception handling, driving both efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Support Ticket Resolution Acceleration

BPA Platform empowers customer service teams by automating key aspects of support ticket management. Through intelligent routing based on predefined rules and content analysis, tickets are automatically assigned to the appropriate specialists, reducing response times and ensuring consistent, high-quality support.

Issues are prioritized according to customizable business logic, while automated status updates keep customers informed every step of the way. The platform also integrates with knowledge bases to suggest solutions for common problems, enhancing both agent efficiency and customer satisfaction. With comprehensive performance reporting and pattern analysis, BPA Platform not only improves resolution times but also delivers the insights needed to continually refine support operations.

CRM Enhancement for Deeper Relationships

When integrated with CRM systems, BPA Platform empowers sales and marketing teams to build deeper, more personalized customer relationships. Automated data enrichment pulls insights from multiple touchpoints, creating comprehensive customer profiles and enabling precise segmentation. Timely alerts for follow-ups and renewals ensure sales teams never miss an opportunity, while intelligent lead scoring streamlines qualification efforts.

Marketing campaigns benefit from behavior-triggered communication flows and synchronized data across departments, resulting in a unified customer view. The outcome: improved conversion rates, stronger forecasting, and more effective, personalized engagement at every stage of the customer journey.

ERP Integration for Operational Excellence

BPA Platform transforms fragmented ERP systems into a unified, agile ecosystem by seamlessly connecting data across departments like finance, HR, procurement, and production. By eliminating duplicate data entry and automating key workflows such as financial reconciliation, reporting, and approval routing, the platform reduces errors, improves compliance, and accelerates processes like financial close. With real-time data flowing between modules, leadership gains comprehensive visibility and actionable insights to drive smarter, faster decision-making.

Transform Your Business Today with BPA Platform

Don't let manual processes hold your business back any longer. Fisher Technology can help bring the full power of BPA Platform to your organization, customized to your unique processes and integration needs.

Contact us today for a personalized consultation and discover how our automation solutions can drive efficiency, reduce costs, and position your business for sustainable growth in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

The Power of iPaaS: Streamlining Business Integration

Sat, 22 Mar 2025 00:45:58 GMT

When your business uses different tools and softwares that don't communicate, critical information can get lost and workflows can break down. This blog explores how Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) solves this problem by connecting your essential business applications.

We'll cover why iPaaS is the best choice to help businesses overcome common challenges, the key benefits of implementing an integration platform, and a look at BPA Platform's specific iPaaS capabilities. Keep on reading to discover how the right integration strategy can transform scattered data into a powerful, unified business resource.

Why iPaaS?

Data visibility across an organization is crucial for improving efficiency, seizing new opportunities, and identifying potential threats. In the past, businesses operated within a single system, but today, the vast array of available software has led different departments to adopt applications tailored to their specific needs.

While these tools enhance departmental efficiency, they also contribute to data silos, where critical information is stored in separate locations. This fragmentation can disrupt sales and accounting processes, hinder collaboration, create inefficiencies, and increase the risk of data errors.

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) provides a cloud-based solution that seamlessly connects, automates, and manages applications, systems, and data across business environments. By replacing traditional middleware with a standardized approach, iPaaS delivers cost-effective integration capabilities.

How does iPaaS work?

iPaaS is a cloud integration platform that creates a centralized ecosystem for managing data workflows. The platform offers pre-built connectors and automation tools that seamlessly link applications, services, and databases. With iPaaS, businesses gain a unified view of their integration landscape, allowing them to control and modify data flows across their infrastructure. As organisations grow, iPaaS scales effortlessly; new systems and services can be connected without significant cost, and custom functionality can be implemented to meet evolving business needs.

The Advantages of iPaaS

Reduced costs: Saves costs by automating integrations, reducing manual processes, and improving operational efficiency, which minimizes IT expenses and resource allocation.
Reduced resources: Reduce the amount of time and number of personnel concentrating on system integration and data migration.
Improved scalability: Easily add new applications and tweak business processes as the business grows.
Centralised management: Once central ecosystem to manage data, integrations, processes, and workflows.
Improved decision making: With access to real-time data across an organisation, employees and management can make better decisions to help improve efficiencies.
ROI: iPaaS can help businesses drive company revenue and go to market quicker.

BPA Platform’s iPaaS Solution

BPA Platform’s iPaaS tool capabilities include:

Drag and drop integration between cloud-based and on-premises systems and applications so that system integration steps are visually represented within a wider automated process.
Innovative transformation functions that can be dragged onto the mapping area to change the data between inputs and outputs.
RESTful web service integration by removing the need for bespoke development.
SOAP web services integration
Support OData and SData services

Transform Your Business Integration Strategy with iPaaS

As businesses continue to navigate the complexities of digital transformation, iPaaS solutions stand out as essential tools for maintaining competitive advantage. By breaking down data silos and creating seamless connections between applications, iPaaS empowers organizations to harness the full potential of their data. The result is not just improved operational efficiency, but also enhanced agility to respond to market changes, better customer experiences through integrated data flows, and ultimately, accelerated business growth.

Ready to eliminate data silos in your business? Contact Fisher Technology today to learn more about how BPA Platform's powerful iPaaS capabilities can transform your integration challenges into competitive advantages. Don't let disconnected data hold your business back!

Data Synchronization with BPA Platform for Enhanced Business Efficiency

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 16:01:16 GMT

Imagine this: your sales team closes a deal, but the customer data doesn't reach your CRM in time. Or worse, your inventory system fails to update immediately after an online purchase, leading to overselling. These scenarios can spell disaster for businesses striving to deliver seamless operations and exceptional customer experiences. This is where data synchronization becomes a game-changer.

This blog explores the importance of data synchronization, how BPA platform facilitates it, and the benefits it unlocks for businesses looking to operate more efficiently and grow. If improving your processes and staying competitive are your top goals, this is for you!

The Importance of Data Synchronization

Businesses today run on data—customer information, inventory details, financial transactions, and more. But having data isn’t enough; it must move across systems to empower decision-making and ensure operations flow smoothly.

Without data synchronization, businesses face challenges like:

Delayed decision-making due to outdated or incomplete data
Inefficient processes , with systems unable to “talk to each other”
Customer frustration caused by errors like incorrect stock availability or billing

Take this as an example: A retail business might have separate systems for online orders, in-store sales, and warehouse inventory. If these systems don’t sync, customers might order an item online, only to be told it’s out of stock later—a poor customer experience that can negatively impact your business. But how can you achieve this synchronization without overhauling your entire tech stack? That’s where BPA platform comes in.

Understanding the Role of BPA Platform

BPA platform is a robust solution designed to streamline and automate repetitive tasks, including data synchronization between disparate systems. It serves as the glue that connects your software applications and ensures they exchange information seamlessly.

Here’s how a BPA platform enhances data synchronization:

Unified Integration : BPA platform connects various software systems—CRMs, inventory tools, ERPs, and more—so they exchange updated information without manual intervention.
Event-driven Processes : BPA platform has event-triggered synchronization, meaning data updates whenever an action occurs (e.g., a customer places an order).
Scalability : BPA platform can handle synchronization needs no matter how large your data volumes grow, making it ideal for scaling businesses.

Benefits of Data Synchronization with BPA Platform

Now that you understand the importance of data synchronization using BPA platform, let's explore the significant benefits it can provide.

1. Improved Operational Efficiency

Data synchronization saves countless hours of manual work by automating the process of transferring data between systems. This reduces redundancies and allows employees to focus on high-impact tasks rather than administrative ones. With everything moving in sync, the outcomes are faster processes and smoother operations.

2. Better Decision-making

Business leaders make critical decisions daily, and outdated or incomplete data can compromise these judgments. Synchronization ensures stakeholders have access to up-to-date data at all times. When everyone operates with the same, accurate data in hand, decision-making becomes faster and more precise.

3. Enhanced Customer Satisfaction

Customers today expect flawless experiences across all touchpoints. Real-time synchronization ensures they aren’t disappointed by errors such as stock issues or pricing inconsistencies. A positive customer experience builds trust, loyalty, and brand advocacy.

4. Reduced Errors and Costs

Manual data entry and delayed updates come with the risk of errors—mistyped numbers, mismatched records, and conflicting updates, to name a few. These errors can lead to costly setbacks. By automating synchronization with BPA platform, businesses significantly reduce these risks while saving money.

A Pathway to Business Efficiency

Data synchronization facilitated by tools like BPA platform, is no longer a nice-to-have—it’s a necessity. Businesses that implement this technology experience enhanced operational efficiency, improved decision-making, and happier customers, all while setting the stage for future growth.

If achieving these results is your goal, there’s never been a better time to start optimizing the processes behind your business. Don’t leave your success up to chance—explore how BPA platform can transform your data management processes for good. Contact us today to discover how we can help drive your business forward!

A Guide to Business Process Automation in Retail & Ecommerce

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 19:56:17 GMT

From managing inventory to processing sales data, repetitive manual tasks can drain employee time and increase the risk of costly errors. Whether you operate a brick-and-mortar store or an eCommerce platform, these challenges can impact productivity and profitability long before your product reaches the shelves.

Business Process Automation (BPA) offers a game-changing solution by eliminating the need for manual data processing. BPA Platform automates essential retail tasks such as updating product information, generating sales reports, and handling returns, allowing employees to focus on more strategic responsibilities. By reducing operational costs, minimizing human error, and streamlining workflows, automation empowers retail businesses to process sales and manage critical data more efficiently—all without employee intervention. Keep on reading for more details!

What is a Business Process?

Business processes refer to a series of interrelated tasks or activities performed within an organization to achieve a specific goal or deliver a desired outcome. They represent the systematic way in which work is organized, executed, and monitored to ensure smooth operations and efficient resource utilization.

Business processes can encompass various functional areas such as sales, marketing, finance, human resources, operations, customer service, and much more. These processes often involve the flow of information, materials, or services across different departments or individuals, following predefined rules or guidelines. They can range from simple tasks to complex workflows, and their optimization is crucial for enhancing productivity, quality, and overall organizational performance.

Automated Business Process Examples

So what types of business processes can be automated? Well, the list is endless and is dependent on the type of business or company structure that it is going to be applied to, and the specific needs, goals and challenges of the organization.

Business process automation provides the ability to carry out and fulfill business processes without human intervention. These processes can cover a wide variety of business activities, tasks or workflows, ranging from order management and financial reporting, to data monitoring and critical notifications. Likewise, automated workflows can be used across a variety of industries and functions, from customer service and marketing, to finance and HR.

Here are some common examples of business processes that can be automated:

Invoice processing: Automating the invoice processing workflow involves capturing invoice data, validating it against predefined rules, routing it for approvals, and generating payment notifications. This automation can streamline the accounts payable process, reduce manual data entry, and improve accuracy.
Order fulfillment: Automating order fulfillment involves integrating systems for order capture, inventory management, order processing and shipping. Automated workflows can help track orders, update inventory levels, generate shipping labels and send order status notifications to customers.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Automating CRM processes involves capturing and managing customer data, tracking interactions and automating communication workflows. This automation can help in lead generation, sales pipeline management, customer segmentation and personalized marketing campaigns.
Performance reporting: Automating performance reporting involves collecting data from various sources, aggregating it, and generating reports for analysis. Automated reporting can save time, provide real-time insights and enable data-driven decision-making.
Expense management: Automated systems can capture expense data, validate it against policies, route it for approval and streamline reimbursement processes, saving time and reducing errors.

Why BPA Platform is the Right Choice

BPA Platform provides the tools needed to quickly and easily build automated processes that are unique to the way a business works. It allows for changing business environments by providing the flexibility for automated processes to be adapted or completely re-written to meet new conditions.

BPA Platform also provides a powerful and flexible workflow automation solution for managing and monitoring the flow of work within an organization, ensuring that business rules are adhered to and administration is removed. It permits users to receive and authorize multi-level workflow jobs, regardless of the device and business system the workflow starts or ends within, and creates an audit trail for complete peace of mind.

Additionally, BPA Platform makes it extremely easy to automate any number of data management alerts and notifications for a host of different scenarios. They can be sent automatically in response to predefined conditions or events and be used to notify customers, partners or administrators of important, informative or critical system events.

BPA Platform can monitor business systems for key data changes (to business rules) and automatically send email or SMS business alerts to both internal and external recipients when needed. They can be generated based on specific business events, such as stock level notifications, sales notifications, delivery alerts, service alerts, credit control notifications, support team updates or warehouse alerts.

Ready to Automate your Business?

Business Process Automation (BPA) is transforming the retail industry by streamlining operations, reducing costs, and minimizing errors. By automating essential workflows—from inventory management to performance reporting—retail businesses can save time, improve accuracy, and focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences. With the flexibility and robust functionality of BPA Platform, your business can adapt to changing demands and achieve greater efficiency.

Ready to unlock the potential of automation for your retail operations? Contact Fisher Technology today to learn how BPA can elevate your business processes and drive lasting success.

Leveraging BPA Platform for Digital Transformation

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 15:36:43 GMT

Digital transformation is a broad and complex process, and navigating it successfully requires the right tools and strategies. That’s where BPA Platform comes in. This powerful platform is designed to help businesses drive digital change efficiently, from automating processes to streamlining workflows and improving decision-making.

In this blog, we’ll explore how you can leverage BPA Platform to accelerate your digital transformation and achieve measurable success.

Why Digital Transformation Matters

Digital transformation isn’t just about adopting new technologies; it’s about reshaping your business processes, culture, and customer experiences to thrive in the digital age. The right strategy can improve efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction, and foster innovation. However, getting there requires a clear roadmap—and the right tools.

Key Components of Digital Transformation

Establishing very clear business transformation objectives
Identifying where current business processes do and do not align with these objectives
Validating that the business transformation objectives and proposed transformation changes will deliver the desired business benefits
Executing a controlled rollout program
Monitoring and reporting on digital innovation achieved against the expectations set out during the validation stage

Benefits of Digital Transformation

Automating processes in daily operations such as order management, fulfillment, invoicing, cash collection, and expense approvals enables businesses to eliminate manual data inputting and each system can utilize real-time data. This will boost the capacity of a business, as staff and business processes become quicker and more efficient. It will also enable businesses to redeploy staff to higher-value tasks to help the business grow.

With full integration between systems, every department will have access to the most up-to-date information, which will enable them to perform their jobs better as well as explore new growth opportunities and improvements to procedures. This is particularly relevant for the marketing department which will be able to analyse all the data available to deliver effective campaigns and content that customers are looking for. Much of this can also be automated, thus improving response times and making sure that the message is timely and relevant.

Digital Transformation Challenges

Knowledge

Most businesses–regardless of size–struggle with the strategic planning aspect of business transformation. In too many instances, businesses rush out and purchase business systems badged with ‘digital transformation’ with no clear objective, process-aligned plans, validation, or rollout, monitoring, and reporting plans.

Existing Systems

It’s important to understand that business transformation does not necessarily mean new systems. In many instances, software integration, process automation, or portal creation will enable you to leverage your greatest assets: your existing processes, data, people, and systems.

Available Budget

The availability of a budget is often the number one challenge you could face, but it really shouldn’t be. If you have planned your automation and digital transformation initiative correctly, this should remove any budget objections you may face. If the business benefits exceed the initial investment there really cannot be a case for not pursuing a business transformation strategy.

Using BPA Platform to Transform Your Business

BPA Platform offers a comprehensive solution for organizations looking to automate and optimize their operations. Here’s how it can support each stage of your digital transformation:

Identify and Validate Your Goals
Before diving into any transformation effort, it’s important to understand your objectives and validate your approach. The platform provides real-time data and insights to help you align your transformation goals with tangible outcomes.
Create and Execute Your Plan
Once you've identified your priorities, BPA Platform empowers you to design and automate workflows that integrate seamlessly across your organization. Whether you’re automating repetitive tasks, enhancing customer interactions, or improving back-office operations, the platform ensures that execution is streamlined and scalable, making the entire transformation process more efficient.
Measure and Report on Success
A key part of any transformation journey is tracking progress and measuring success. BPA Platform allows you to define and monitor critical KPIs, so you can assess how well your digital transformation is progressing. With built-in reporting tools, you can easily track performance, identify areas for improvement, and ensure that your transformation is delivering the expected results.

Getting Started with BPA Platform

Embrace the power of automation, optimize your workflows, and unlock new levels of efficiency and innovation. BPA Platform is your partner in driving sustainable digital transformation across every aspect of your business.

By leveraging BPA Platform’s capabilities, you can not only survive the digital revolution but thrive in it. So, what are you waiting for? Start transforming your business today!

Automated ERP Integration with BPA Platform

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 19:22:42 GMT

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are deployed to consolidate diverse business processes, such as finance, human resources and supply chain into a unified platform.

However, many businesses install and use multiple third-party applications and business systems to perform certain tasks or operations. ERP integration is therefore essential to facilitate real-time communication and data sharing between these systems and across departments, breaking down silos and enhancing collaboration.

In this article, we delve into the core concepts of ERP integration, exploring its significance in optimizing resource utilization, improving communication across departments, and providing real-time insights for informed decision-making.

What is an ERP System?

At its core, an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system functions as a unified database that facilitates seamless communication and collaboration between different departments. This integrated approach eliminates data silos, where information is isolated within individual departments, leading to a more holistic view of organizational data. ERP systems are designed to break down traditional barriers, fostering collaboration and enhancing decision-making processes.

The architecture of an ERP system typically consists of modules, each catering to a specific business function. These modules can include finance and accounting, human resources, procurement, manufacturing, and some of them incorporate sales, and customer relationship management. The modules work in harmony, sharing a common database and ensuring consistency and accuracy of information across the organization.

One of the key features of an ERP system is its ability to automate and standardize business processes. By defining standardized processes within the system, organizations can ensure that operations are carried out consistently and in accordance with best practices. This standardization not only reduces the risk of errors but also enhances operational efficiency by minimizing manual intervention.

ERP systems often include reporting and analytics tools, allowing organizations to gain valuable insights into their performance. These tools enable the generation of real-time reports and dashboards, providing management with the information needed to make informed decisions. The ability to access up-to-date data empowers organizations to respond promptly to changing market conditions and make strategic adjustments as needed.

Using BPA Platform for ERP integration

One of the primary benefits of using BPA Platform for ERP integration is its ability to overcome the challenges posed by diverse IT landscapes. In many organizations, different departments may operate on specialized systems, each with its own data formats, protocols, and communication methods. BPA Platform acts as a unifying force, providing a common language and framework for these systems to interact seamlessly.

BPA Platform also enhances the agility of ERP systems by making it easier to adapt to evolving business requirements. As organizations grow or change their operational processes, it simplifies the integration of new applications. This flexibility is particularly valuable in dynamic business environments where the ability to quickly incorporate new technologies or respond to market trends is essential.

Unlock the Full Potential of Your ERP System with BPA Platform!

As organizations continue to embrace digital transformation, integration platforms remain a key enabler for successful ERP integration, promoting collaboration, efficiency and innovation across the enterprise.

If you’re ready to take your ERP system integration to the next level, Fisher Technology is here to help. Reach out to us today to learn how we can assist in optimizing your ERP integration with BPA Platform for maximum efficiency and business success.

Revolutionizing Business Efficiency with ERP and CRM Integration

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 18:32:25 GMT

Companies are constantly seeking tools that can streamline operations, improve customer satisfaction, and ultimately drive growth. Enter ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems—two powerful technologies that, when integrated effectively, can revolutionize business efficiency.

Many businesses operate with ERP and CRM systems in silos. While each system provides its unique advantages, combining them can unlock substantial benefits. This blog explores the integration of ERP and CRM systems, highlighting its importance for seamless business operations and offering practical insights on executing a successful integration strategy.

Introduction to ERP and CRM Systems

ERP and CRM systems serve distinct yet complementary purposes within an organization. An ERP system is designed to manage business operations and facilitate data flow between different departments. It handles functions like accounting, supply chain, manufacturing, and human resources, providing a central hub for company data.

On the other hand, CRM systems focus on managing and enhancing customer relationships. They are essential for tracking customer interactions, sales processes, and marketing campaigns. A well-implemented CRM system can help businesses nurture leads and convert them into loyal customers.

Despite their individual strengths, ERP and CRM systems often operate separately. This separation can lead to inefficiencies, such as duplicated data entry and missed opportunities for cross-departmental collaboration. Integrating these systems can address these challenges, offering a unified approach to business management.

The Benefits of Integrating ERP and CRM with BPA Platform

Streamlined Data Management

Integrating ERP and CRM systems creates a single source of truth for data within an organization. Instead of maintaining separate datasets, integration allows for centralized data management. This reduces the need for redundant data entry and minimizes the risk of errors.

Furthermore, streamlined data management facilitates better collaboration between teams. Sales, marketing, and customer service can access the same up-to-date information, ensuring everyone is on the same page regarding customer interactions and business processes.

Improved Customer Engagement

ERP and CRM integration empowers businesses to provide superior customer experiences. With a comprehensive view of customer data, companies can tailor their interactions to meet individual needs. This personalized approach fosters stronger customer relationships and increases satisfaction.

Additionally, integration streamlines communication between front-end and back-end operations. When a customer questions delivery times or product availability, support teams can quickly retrieve accurate information from the ERP system, providing timely and accurate responses.

Enhanced Analytics for Informed Decision Making

Integrated ERP and CRM systems offer powerful analytics capabilities. By consolidating data from various sources, businesses can gain deeper insights into their operations and customer behaviors. These insights are crucial for making informed decisions and developing effective strategies.

Advanced analytics also allows for predictive modeling and forecasting. Businesses can anticipate future demand, allocate resources efficiently, and plan for growth. This proactive approach helps organizations stay ahead of competitors and adapt to changing market conditions.

Best Practices for Successful Integration

A successful ERP and CRM integration requires careful planning and a well-defined strategy. Before embarking on the integration process, organizations should conduct a thorough assessment of their existing systems and workflows. This evaluation will identify areas that need improvement and set clear objectives for the integration.

Next, creating a detailed project plan is crucial for managing the integration process effectively. The plan should outline specific tasks, timelines, and responsibilities, providing a roadmap for the implementation team. Regular progress reviews and adjustments to the plan can help keep the project on track.

Lastly, it's essential to involve key stakeholders from different departments. Cross-functional collaboration ensures that all perspectives are considered, leading to a more comprehensive integration strategy that aligns with business goals.

Work with Fisher to Transform your Business!

The integration of ERP and CRM systems is a game-changer for businesses seeking seamless operations and enhanced customer experiences. By streamlining data management, improving customer engagement, and harnessing advanced analytics, organizations can achieve greater efficiency and competitive advantage.

If you're ready to take your business operations to the next level, consider integrating your ERP and CRM systems with BPA Platform. Fisher Technology offers expert guidance and solutions tailored to your unique needs. Reach out today to schedule a meeting with our sales team and discover the potential of seamless business integration.

Integration Solutions for Business Growth

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 16:19:07 GMT

A key part of adapting to today’s digital landscape is seamlessly integrating different business softwares and systems to optimize operations and boost productivity. This is where BPA Platform comes in; with its cutting-edge tools BPA Platform can revolutionize your business. Whether you're a new entrepreneur or seasoned business owner, mastering these tools can transform your operations and pave the way for success.

The Role of BPA Platform in Business Operations

The use of BPA Platform is becoming increasingly vital as businesses strive for efficiency. This platform enables organizations to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up valuable resources and allowing teams to focus on strategic initiatives. But what makes BPA Platform truly invaluable, is its ability to connect disparate systems and data sources seamlessly. This connectivity ensures that data flows smoothly across the organization, eliminating silos and enhancing collaboration.

For businesses aiming to stay competitive, integrating systems through BPA Platform is no longer optional—it's essential. By using various tools, companies can automate processes, reduce manual input errors, and improve decision-making through real-time data access. In essence, BPA platform lays the groundwork for digital transformation, providing a robust framework for innovation and growth.

Enhancing Connectivity for Your Business

Selecting the right integration for your business is a crucial step in optimizing your operations. However, with so many options available, it can be overwhelming to decide which ones best suit your needs. Here's a guide to help you make informed choices.

First, assess your current systems and identify any inefficiencies or bottlenecks. Are there processes that could benefit from automation? Are there data silos that hinder collaboration? Understanding these pain points will help you determine which integration is required to address them.

Next, consider how BPA Platform will seamlessly integrate with your current systems. As your organization grows, your integration needs will evolve, and BPA Platform is designed to adapt alongside you. By enabling smooth connectivity across various applications, BPA Platform ensures long-term compatibility and optimal performance, empowering your business to scale efficiently and effectively.

Finally, evaluate the ease of implementation. Opt for integration that is user-friendly and comes with comprehensive support and documentation. This will minimize disruptions during the integration process and ensure your team can quickly adapt to the new systems.

The Transformative Impact of BPA Platform

BPA Platform is the key to unlocking the full potential of your systems and data, driving efficiency, innovation, and growth. With increased connectivity, businesses can eliminate data silos, ensuring that information is accessible and actionable across the organization. This transparency improves decision-making and strategic planning, enabling businesses to stay ahead of the competition.

Increased connectivity also facilitates better customer experiences. By integrating customer-facing systems, businesses can provide personalized and timely interactions, fostering loyalty and satisfaction. By leveraging the power of integration, businesses can unlock new opportunities and propel themselves toward success.

Leverage the Power of Integration with Fisher!

BPA Platform offers businesses the tools they need to achieve seamless integration and unlock their full potential. By understanding the tools available and choosing the right integration, businesses can streamline operations, enhance collaboration, and drive growth.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to transform your business. Reach out to Fisher Technology for integration solutions and take the first step toward a more connected and efficient future.

Automate Everything with BPA Platform: Empower Your Workforce

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 15:12:19 GMT

Staying ahead of the curve requires more than just innovation—it demands efficiency. Manual processes can be a significant drain on resources and are a common source of errors. Enter BPA Platform, designed to automate every aspect of your business, transforming how you operate, and empowering your workforce like never before. BPA Platform is the backbone of modern business efficiency; it automates manual tasks, streamlines workflows, and ensures real-time data synchronization across all systems.

Why Automation is Crucial for Business Innovation

In the quest for business innovation, BPA Platform plays a pivotal role by driving efficiency, reducing costs, and minimizing errors. Additionally, the automation that it provides allows employees to concentrate on high-impact activities that foster growth and creativity. Below we explore the top three reasons why leveraging automation through the BPA Platform is vital for your organization.

Increased Efficiency - When businesses automate routine processes, they streamline operations by eliminating time-consuming and repetitive tasks that would otherwise consume valuable human resources. With the help of automation, organizations can achieve more in less time, accelerate their project timelines, reduce operational bottlenecks, and enhance their responsiveness to market changes.
Reduced Costs - Automation plays a transformative role in reducing operational costs by drastically decreasing the reliance on manual labor. This shift away from manual tasks not only speeds up operations but also minimizes the risk of human error, which can be both costly and disruptive. Furthermore, the cost savings generated through automation enable businesses to reallocate resources more strategically.
Fewer Errors - Human error is an inherent part of any manual process, but its impact can be mitigated through automation. BPA Platform plays a crucial role in this by automating a variety of repetitive tasks. By handling these routine tasks with precision and accuracy, BPA Platform minimizes the risk of errors, improves the quality of work, and enhances customer satisfaction by reducing mistakes.

The Scope of Automation with BPA Platform

BPA Platform transcends traditional automation by offering a comprehensive solution that encompasses various facets of business operations. Key areas where BPA Platform's automation proves essential include:

Routine Tasks: BPA Platform automates daily operations such as email sending, file transfers, and report generation. This enables employees to dedicate more time to strategic initiatives, fostering a culture of innovation.
Alerts and Notifications: BPA Platform automates alerts and notifications, ensuring timely communication across all levels of the organization. Whether it's notifying a team about a project update or alerting management about a critical issue, automation ensures no message is missed.
Workflows: Effective workflow management is essential for optimal organizational performance. BPA Platform automates the creation, monitoring, and enforcement of workflows, ensuring that each process adheres to established protocols. It manages complex authorization levels specific to business rules and departmental structures, which enhances compliance, minimizes bottlenecks, and boosts overall efficiency.
Automate Data Input and Synchronization: Manual data input is a massive drain on resources and is easily rectified with BPA Platform. BPA Platform automates data transfer in real-time, ensuring seamless data flow and synchronization across all business systems. This real-time synchronization enhances data accuracy and availability, enabling better decision-making and operational efficiency.

Empowering Your Workforce with Fisher Technology

BPA Platform is more than just a tool—it's a catalyst for business innovation. By automating routine tasks, enhancing data synchronization, streamlining information distribution, and improving workflow processes, BPA Platform empowers your workforce to focus on what truly matters.

Ready to join the ranks of forward-thinking businesses that are leveraging automation? Reach out to Fisher Technology to schedule an introductory call. We can't wait to show you how BPA Platform can help you drive efficiency and empower your workforce! Let's take your business to the next level together.

BPA Integration Platform: Seamlessly Connect Your Enterprise Applications

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 20:48:08 GMT

Integration with BPA Platform: Seamlessly Connect Your Enterprise Applications

Businesses have become increasingly reliant on a myriad of software applications to manage their operations. From Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, each tool serves a specific function but often operates in isolation. This can lead to fragmented workflows, duplicated data, and inefficiencies.

Enter BPA Platform—a game-changing solution designed to seamlessly connect your enterprise applications. Below we explore the challenges of integrating enterprise applications, highlight the features and benefits of the BPA Platform, and discuss why this platform is a must-have for your business.

The Challenge of Integrating Enterprise Applications

Integrating multiple enterprise applications is no small feat. Many organizations grapple with systems that fail to communicate effectively, leading to data silos and operational bottlenecks. This can hinder productivity and delay decision-making processes. Understanding the root of these integration challenges is the first step towards crafting a cohesive and efficient digital infrastructure.

• Fragmented Workflows

One of the most significant challenges businesses face is managing fragmented workflows. When different departments use various software applications that don't communicate with each other, it leads to inefficiencies and errors. For instance, your sales team might use a CRM system, while your finance team relies on an ERP solution. Without seamless integration, transferring data between these systems becomes a manual and error-prone task.

• Data Duplication

Data duplication is another common issue. When information is stored in multiple locations, it complicates data management. Imagine updating a customer’s contact information in your CRM but forgetting to do the same in your email marketing tool. This inconsistency can lead to communication mishaps and a poor customer experience.

•Inconsistent Data Reporting

Inconsistent data reporting can hinder decision-making processes. Different applications may store data in varied formats, making it difficult to compile comprehensive reports. This lack of unified data can lead to misguided business strategies and missed opportunities.

The Need for a Seamless Solution

As organizations strive for efficiency and accuracy, overcoming the challenges posed by disconnected systems is key for success. By adopting BPA Platform, businesses can address the following challenges head-on, providing a cohesive and robust framework for all their integration needs.

• Streamlining Operations

A seamless integration solution can streamline operations by ensuring all systems communicate effectively. This eliminates the need for manual data entry and reduces the likelihood of errors, freeing up valuable time for your employees to focus on strategic tasks.

• Enhancing Data Accuracy

Accurate data is the backbone of any business decision. An integration platform ensures data consistency across all applications, providing a single source of truth. This not only improves data accuracy but also enhances the reliability of your business reports.

• Improving Customer Experience

A seamless integration solution can significantly enhance the customer experience. When all your systems are interconnected, customer data flows smoothly from one application to another. This enables personalized interactions and timely responses, boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Features and Benefits of the BPA Platform

BPA Platform offers a wide range of features designed to make enterprise application integration effortless and effective. By leveraging advanced technologies and intuitive interfaces, this platform provides businesses with the tools they need to bridge the gaps between disparate systems. Below, we delve into the key features and benefits of BPA Platform, demonstrating how it can transform your business operations and drive success.

• Benefits for End Users

The BPA Platform offers numerous benefits for the end user, significantly impacting their day-to-day operations. One of the most prominent advantages is the substantial amount of time saved through automation. By automating recurring tasks and processes, businesses can free up employees to focus on more strategic, high-value activities. This not only increases productivity but also reduces the potential for human error, ensuring that tasks are performed consistently and efficiently.

Operational bottlenecks, which often plague many businesses, are effectively addressed with the BPA Platform. By streamlining workflows and ensuring seamless integration between different applications, the platform eliminates delays that occur due to manual intervention or system inefficiencies. Furthermore, BPA Platform offers significant improvements to internal processes. This leads to better decision-making, as timely and precise information is readily available. In essence, the BPA Platform not only optimizes current processes but also provides a scalable foundation for future growth.

Benefits for Technical Consultants

Intuitive Graphical User Interface: BPA Platform boasts an intuitive graphical user interface that simplifies the integration process. With clearly defined windows and icons, consultants can easily create automated processes using a drag-and-drop feature. This user-friendly interface makes it accessible for consultants of all technical levels.

Pre-Built & Generic Web Service Connectors: BPA platform offers pre-built connectors that allow rapid integration with little coding required. These connectors are designed to facilitate quick and easy connections between popular business applications. The platform also provides generic web service connectors; these connectors are designed to be versatile and adaptable, ensuring that they can seamlessly integrate with a wider range of business applications. This flexibility ensures that the platform can meet the unique needs of your business.

Data Mapping & Transformation Tools: One of the standout features of BPA Platform is its customized mapping capabilities. This feature allows you to connect different data sources and then read and/or write data between them to ensure better data accuracy and analytics, helping to improve decision making and business management.

Integrate with Fisher Technology

The BPA Platform provided by Fisher Technology stands out as a versatile and powerful solution designed to address the challenges of integrating enterprise applications. Its pre-built connectors, advanced API connections, and intuitive graphical user interface make it an invaluable tool for businesses looking to integrate and automate. Whether you're looking to integrate your ERP and CRM or your eCommerce and payment gateway, this platform has you covered. Ready to transform your business with seamless integration? Reach out to us today for a demo and discover how BPA Platform can revolutionize your operations.

Unleashing Efficiency: A Deep Dive into BPA Platform 2024

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 20:06:05 GMT

In an era where digital transformation is the driving force behind organizational success, businesses are constantly seeking innovative solutions to streamline their operations and enhance efficiency. Codeless Platforms, a trailblazer in business process automation, has once again raised the bar with its latest offering – BPA Platform 2024. This cutting-edge solution promises to revolutionize the way businesses automate their processes, allowing for seamless integration, increased productivity, and improved decision-making.

Codeless Platforms - Pioneers in Business Process Automation:

Codeless Platforms has been at the forefront of the business process automation (BPA) landscape for years. The company is renowned for its commitment to delivering user-friendly, agile, and scalable solutions that empower organizations to automate complex workflows without the need for extensive coding. The BPA Platform 2024 is a testament to their dedication to innovation and addressing the evolving needs of businesses.

Key Features of BPA Platform 2024:

Codeless Automation:

One of the standout features of BPA Platform 2024 is its continued commitment to codeless automation. This means that businesses can design, deploy, and manage automation processes without the need for intricate coding skills. This democratizes the automation process, allowing business users to take the lead in optimizing their workflows.

Enhanced Integration Capabilities:

In a digital landscape characterized by diverse applications and systems, seamless integration is paramount. BPA Platform 2024 offers enhanced integration capabilities, enabling organizations to connect disparate systems effortlessly. Whether it's ERP, CRM, or third-party applications, the platform ensures that data flows seamlessly across the entire organizational ecosystem.

Real-time Data Synchronization:

The importance of real-time data cannot be overstated in today's fast-paced business environment. BPA Platform 2024 facilitates real-time data synchronization, ensuring that decision-makers have access to the most up-to-date information. This empowers organizations to make informed decisions and adapt swiftly to changing circumstances.

Advanced Workflow Automation:

BPA Platform 2024 takes workflow automation to new heights. The platform allows businesses to design and automate complex workflows with ease. Whether it's invoice processing, order fulfillment, or customer onboarding, the advanced workflow capabilities empower organizations to optimize processes for maximum efficiency.

Multi-instance Architecture:

In the cutting-edge BPA Platform of 2024, the multi-instance architecture stands out as a pivotal feature, revolutionizing the efficiency of business processes. This innovative approach allows organizations to host multiple instances of BPA Platform on a single server, offering a streamlined and expedited onboarding experience for customers. The multi-instance architecture not only optimizes resource utilization but also enhances scalability, allowing businesses to adapt seamlessly to evolving requirements. This design empowers enterprises with the flexibility to allocate resources efficiently and cater to varying workloads, ultimately bolstering overall performance and responsiveness. With BPA Platform's 2024 multi-instance architecture, organizations can achieve heightened operational agility, making it a key element in modernizing and elevating business process automation.

Cloud, Hybrid or On-Premises:

In the dynamic landscape of BPA Platform 2024, organizations are presented with versatile deployment options, namely Cloud, Hybrid, or On-Premises solutions, reflecting the platform's commitment to adaptability. The Cloud deployment option offers businesses the agility and scalability of a cloud-based infrastructure, allowing for rapid scalability, reduced maintenance burdens, and enhanced accessibility from anywhere in the world. Meanwhile, the Hybrid deployment model provides a flexible blend of both on-premises and cloud solutions, catering to organizations with diverse needs or specific compliance requirements. On the other hand, the On-Premises deployment option ensures maximum control by hosting the BPA Platform within an organization's own infrastructure. This comprehensive array of deployment choices in BPA Platform 2024 empowers businesses to align their automation strategies with their unique IT ecosystems, compliance considerations, and operational preferences, fostering an environment of innovation and efficiency.

Codeless Platforms' BPA Platform 2024 is a game-changer in the realm of business process automation. By combining codeless automation, enhanced integration capabilities, real-time data synchronization, advanced workflow automation, intelligent decision-making, and comprehensive reporting, the platform empowers organizations to achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency.

As businesses continue to navigate the complexities of the digital landscape, BPA Platform 2024 stands as a beacon of innovation, offering a holistic solution to streamline processes, boost productivity, and drive sustainable success. It's time for businesses to embrace the future of automation.

Fisher Technology stands as the trusted North American Distributor for Codeless Platforms, the innovative minds behind BPA Platform. With an 18-year journey, we've proudly represented Codeless in the USA and Canada, extending our support to customers in South America. Specializing in collaboration with VARs, particularly in the ERP space, we've partnered with industry leaders like Sage, SAP, Microsoft 365, Salesforce, HubSpot, Infor CRM, and prominent ECommerce platforms such as Shopify, Magento, Woo Commerce, and BigCommerce.

Visit our About Us page to discover the inception story of Fisher Technology. Founded by Paul (Founder & CTO) and Nicole (Chief Everything Officer), our journey began with the mission to recruit Reseller Partners for BPA Platform. Witnessing growth and evolution, our focus expanded from Infor CRM (formerly known as SalesLogix) and Sage 100 (formerly known as Mas 90) to SAP Business One, MS Dynamics 365 (formerly NAV and Dynamics CRM), reflecting the adaptability and maturity of BPA Platform. As our product evolved with the web service toolset, we embarked on an exciting era, carving a niche in integration with many software applications including; eCommerce, ERP, marketing automation, CRM, 3PL, and Invoice automation systems. Join us in revolutionizing business processes with seamless connectivity and efficiency.

How to Choose an Integration Partner

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 15:45:00 GMT

Choosing a good integration partner is crucial when embarking on a digital transformation project.

Choosing a good integration partner is undeniably crucial for the success of automating your business processes when embarking on a digital transformation project. Here are some key factors to consider when selecting an integration partner:

Expertise and Experience: Look for a partner with a proven track record of successful integrations. They should have experience working with the software solutions that you use and possess the technical expertise required for seamless integration. You can also check if the Partner works with Value Added Resellers (VAR’s) who sell and maintain your software, collaboration with those Partners can save time and mitigate a steep learning curve and time lost on learning the intricacies of an unfamiliar system.

Industry Knowledge: For an integration project to be successful it is not essential to understand your industry and its specific challenges. A good integration Partner will have a wide range of customers from all types of industry that they work with. An Integration Partner who ensures that they do good discovery and proper scoping will be able to uncover any niche or compliance requirements, so they can deliver a robust solution, incorporating best practices that meet the business needs.

Customization and Flexibility: Integration solutions should be tailored to your unique business needs. A good partner will offer customizable solutions and the flexibility to adapt as your business evolves. When evaluating an integration Partner, check out whether the solution they will deliver is accessible to you. If it is a black box beware that any changes, even minor changes, will always need the integration partner’s assistance, which can be frustrating for you and expensive! Another important question to ask is if the solution is built using either open source or proprietary software, and whether your team can learn how to use the software, make easy changes or even complex additions to the integration. Not all companies have the resources internally to maintain an integration, if that’s the case for your business then those considerations will be different than the ones for an organization that does have those resources.

Technology Stack: Ensure that the partner's technology stack aligns with your existing systems and future goals. Compatibility and scalability are key considerations here. If the integration Partner is doing custom development, find out what technology is being used, and make sure that there is more than one person who has knowledge of the way this integration will be built.

Communication and Collaboration: Effective communication is vital for a successful integration project. The partner should be responsive, transparent, and capable of working closely with your team throughout the process. Communication and collaboration are particularly important during the design and scoping phase of the project. The integration Partner should listen to your needs as well as share their experience and guide you on best practices. You should not be forced to change your internal business process because an integration solution only works in one way!

Project Management: A well-structured project management approach is important. Look for a partner with a clear plan, milestones, and a process for issue resolution. Many software development companies use collaborative Project management tools that give you the customer insight into the progress of the project, time being spent and a way to document the status, queries that may arise and any requests for changes. Larger companies often use Project Management software internally anyway, your integration Partner should be willing to use your project management tools, if that is your requirement.

Support and Maintenance: Integration is an ongoing process, and post-implementation support is crucial. Ensure that the partner offers reliable support and maintenance services to address any issues. Find out if the support team is onshore, near shore or offshore. Response times can be delayed if support is not handled within your time zone. When companies offer offshore support, make sure that there will be no language barriers.

Scalability and Future Proofing: As your business grows, your integration needs may change. Choose a partner that can accommodate future expansions and technological advancements.

Cost and ROI: While cost is a factor, focus on the overall return on investment (ROI) the integration partner can deliver. A partner that can streamline processes, increase efficiency, and drive revenue growth will provide your business with a strong ROI. By adopting integration and being able to eliminate the need for repetitive manual tasks and eradicate errors from manual data entry, your business will see the dollar savings and the value from your investment very quickly.

Security and Data Privacy: Integration involves sharing sensitive data between systems. Confirm that the partner follows robust security practices and complies with data privacy regulations. If the integration is fully hosted by the integration provider, ensure that you know who is managing the hosting and that they have a good reputation. If the integration can be self-hosted, check out the system requirements, and address any concerns you have about security before any software is implemented in your environment.

Innovation and Problem-Solving: Look for a partner that can bring innovative ideas to the table and has a reputation for solving complex integration challenges. You might not want to be on the cutting edge of new innovations, so make sure that any innovative processes that are being suggested have been tried and tested.

Training and Knowledge Transfer: A good partner will empower your team with the knowledge and skills needed to manage the integrated systems effectively. During the sales process find out how easy it is to use the software, what skills are needed, and how knowledge transfer would take place. Be mindful of the challenges you may face if there is no way to be self-sufficient (as cited in the paragraph about Customization and Flexibility above).

Remember that selecting the right integration partner is a critical decision that can impact your business operations and success. Take the time to thoroughly evaluate potential partners and choose one that aligns with your goals and values. Integration is not easy! Embarking on Digital Transformation for your business needs to be thought through in depth and be carefully evaluated to ensure that it will meet the business needs now and in the future.

Authors Note: These blogs ideas were originally generated by Chat GPT. I wanted to see how accurately it could respond to the question I posed about “How to choose an integration partner”. Although the answer was good it seemed a bit wooden, apparently Chat GPT cannot learn my voice or writing style (I asked it and its not something that is possible for it to ever learn). Chat GPT does not (yet!) have the knowledge that I have gained in my role as an integration Partner for more than 8 years, apart from what it can find a disseminate from the internet. It was easy to use Chat GPT to coalesce my thoughts on the subject and hopefully (we both) didn’t miss anything key. Hopefully, with my editing Chat GPT’s voice and my own have merged into one and you the reader have had a seamless reading experience! Do you agree? Feel free to comment.

17 Years of Fisher Technology!

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 21:02:40 GMT

As the 17th Anniversary of our 8 Suitcases and A Dream story approaches, I have been reflecting on the journey that my husband, our children and I embarked upon that cold February morning in 2006.

I’m not in the habit of dwelling on the past, however, I do believe that you should acknowledge milestones, and today marks another one for my family and Fisher Technology.

Time passes so quickly, and I can’t quite believe that it is time to be writing another post reflecting on 17 Suitcase days! 17 years since a family of four boarded a plane at London Heathrow, weighed down with excitement and 8 suitcases to start a new life, embrace a new culture and create from scratch our Distributorship with BPA Platform (TaskCentre as it was called at that time).

Yet here we are in 2023 celebrating this milestone! We have learned so much from our years building Fisher Technology, the Fisher team, and the Fisher difference.

Two years ago, on this Anniversary I shared some thoughts about some of the reasons I was grateful that still resonate strongly today;

• The opportunities to make our dreams of living and working in the US a reality.

• The growth of our Partnership with Codeless Platforms and all their team, who we now consider to be a part of our extended family.

• Thankful to all our Resellers Partners, who were open to work with us, open doors for us and together bring automation and integration to aid their customers businesses.

We built our business based on trust, hard work, and integrity. When we look back on the road we have travelled we can be proud of all our achievements. I am so grateful that our family backed up our plans 100%. We all took a giant leap, we moved away from close family, friends and everything familiar, travelling new roads, learning different ways of doing business, growing our skills and expanding our horizons. Suitcase day (February 9th) 2006 was the day we set out on our adventure.

Heartfelt thanks to all those who have been with us on this journey. Happy 17th Birthday to Fisher Technology. We are ready to keep rocking in 2023!

Follow our story and check out our original '8 Suitcases and a Dream' blog here !

P.S. Are you following us on LinkedIn yet? That is the best way to stay connected with us on a daily basis! Like, comment and share all of our posts!

4 Critical Considerations When Selecting a Cloud Platform

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 18:54:51 GMT

As the trend towards cloud service continues, making certain you pick the right cloud platform(s) is a critical factor to long-term success. Cloud has become much more than outsourcing IT or software as a service. Use of the cloud has become an integral part of the way companies transact their business, design their processes and adapt to a changing marketplace.

So how do you select the right cloud platform for your company? A defined selection process that looks at the outcome from a business perspective using technology and partnerships as key considerations.

Define Business Outcomes

The answer always starts with your core business vision, mission and plan. Start with the Why! Some common reasons company’s choose cloud include:

The burning platform – Many companies are forced to move because their server operating system is no longer supported by Microsoft or their business management system was acquired and is being neglected.
Need to improve efficiency – Outdated “legacy” software restrict a business process to work the way the system does. For example, a distributor using older software is forced to pick pack and ship by the order as opposed to grouping orders by location or better yet routing pickers based upon picking efficiencies.
Cut costs – Many companies think moving to the cloud will cut costs. Cost evaluations are hard unless the direct cost savings are obvious. In small to mid-sized businesses the cost justification is often the reduction in IT personnel headcount. The true costs and benefits of the cloud can be hard to quantify without some pretty sophisticated analysis, but the savings are there to be had.
Cyber attack – Unfortunately the cost and risk of cyber attacks and cyber insurance are increasing. Several surveys estimate that 60% of small businesses are unable to survive six months following a cyber attack.
Improve business agility – Agility refers to the ability to adapt to changing economic or environmental circumstances. The COVID pandemic drove many companies to the cloud to support remote working. Although that phase of the pandemic is mostly behind us, a cloud platform should provide the flexibility to expand or contract, integrate and connect your business from anywhere to anywhere at any time.

These outcomes should be expanded into SMART goals. Specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-bound goals specific to your organization. The objective create the guiding principles for the SMART goals. The objectives and goals drive the selection process which becomes the How.

Define Cloud Strategy

As described in a LinkedIn Article regarding OnPremise vs. Cloud , we are all in the cloud and on-premise! Going cloud does not mean flipping a switch and poof our business is now digitally transformed. At I-BN we have identified three core cloud strategies:

Cloud Connected – Critical business systems remain on-premise but are connected to cloud services to optimize their efficiency and effectiveness of your on-premise or hosted technology solutions.
Hybrid – Re-platforming your critical business systems onto the best platform for your technology and business strategy. Hybrid cloud offers an incremental approach to digital transformation by incorporating the best of cloud with proven solutions
Cloud First – A cloud first strategy puts the cloud at the center of your business. Going cloud first requires selection of the right cloud platform for your business and redesigning your business processes to take advantage of that platform

There is no one size fits all solution to a cloud strategy. A number of different factors must be considered:

How core is technology to your business? A kitchen cabinet manufacturer may use sophisticated equipment for building their cabinets, however, technology is rarely their core competency. Alternatively, a high-tech company which develops software for computerized machinery often lives and breathes technology.
Is technology already disrupting your industry? You don’t have to be a taxi company to feel the disruptive impact of an Uber or Lyft. Many industries are feeling the Amazon or Wayfair effect from large online players eating into margins. Best Buy is a great example of a company that turned its brick-and-mortar stores into an advantage while embracing digital transformation.
How adaptable is your company to change? Just because you are interested in going cloud, doesn’t mean your company can turn on a dime. Small and mid-sized businesses are often thought of as nimble and easy to change when compared to huge corporations; however, this is not always the case!

Often companies take an incremental approach to digital transformation, moving from cloud connected to hybrid before embracing a cloud first strategy.

Evaluate Cloud Platforms

There are three general cloud platform types:

Public Clouds are typically very large pools of IT infrastructure, partitioned and redistributed to multiple “tenants.” Most are sold based upon resource consumption with discounts for guaranteed minimums over longer terms. The most well-known public clouds include Amazon’s AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud
Private Clouds are resource pools which are dedicated to a single customer or group. Often managed private clouds are offered by niche service providers specializing in a type or specific of application or by an IT consultancy which builds clouds as a service. These are quite often described as Dedicated Clouds.
Hybrid Clouds blend aspects of public and private clouds. Typically, a hybrid cloud will have some components shared amongst several private clouds. This can include the Windows Active Directory service or backup facilities.

There are no hard and fast rules for what type of cloud platform is best, but rather characteristics that can be described as benefits and constraints

The cloud platform should be selected to maximize the business benefit based upon the cloud strategy. 

Cloud Connected – When the core business systems are on-premise cloud connections could be provided by the publisher of those business systems or connected via integration platforms in the cloud or on premise. Many of the services being connected are served up by public clouds. 
Hybrid – When the core business system is in a Software as a Service (SaaS) application is in a proprietary cloud, other systems may be in the cloud or on premise. 
Cloud First strategy often results in a multiple - Cloud strategy with a central orchestrating cloud.

Cloud Integration Strategy

It is becoming increasingly rare to see all cloud services delivered from a single platform.

Mail is outsourced from a hosted Exchange server to Microsoft 365 or Gmail
Tax services are offered by a cloud like Avalara rather than from within the software
Payroll services outsourced from within the ERP to a specialized HR or PEO platform
E-Commerce sites are hosted at a specialty hosting firm and not a web server managed by internal IT.

How do you maintain a “single version of the truth” when data is outsourced in a multi-cloud world? Strategies include:

Follow the ERP Lead – When a company uses a platform provided by the Software as a Service (Saas) application, like Sage Intacct, NetSuite or Salesforce, that platform typically offers their tools on their on proprietary platforms. Other core applications like SAP Business One, Acumatica and SageCRM offer a choice of publisher or partner platforms, but also provide “Certified” integration solutions.
Integration Platforms – Often called Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) companies like Dell Boomi or  BPA Platform  are used as a common connector to one or more clouds or cloud services. These tools have built in connectors to platforms like Shopify, Magento, etc. in a store like fashion Microsoft Azure Logic Apps and SAP Business Transformation Platform (BTP) also provide similar functionality optimized for their cloud platforms.
Custom Development – There are a number of tools designed for Extraction Transformation and Loading (ETL) of data. Using an ETL tool you can connect anything and add logic in the middle to create custom solutions. An ETL tool can be housed on premise or in the cloud.

iPaaS platform often can serve as custom ETL tools in the cloud, and typically have more built-in connectors and more limitations.

Conclusion

Every business has unique business processes, management styles, and competitive advantages. Similarly, each company should design their cloud operations to optimize their processes, compliment their management style and maximize their competitive advantages. Partnering with I-Business Network, you can leverage our 20+ years of experience turning the internet into a competitive advantage to optimize your cloud experience.

About the Author

You can contact Gary here:
gfeldman@i-bn.net

The ERP Effect

kiara@fisher-technology.com (Kiara Walker) — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 16:26:07 GMT

ERP Effect on Small Businesses...

Often, we believe that ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning) are meant only for large-scale businesses. Enterprise is right there in the name; however, ERPs can also help small businesses.

In this edition of Fisher Findings, we focus on ERPs impact on small business and what that could mean for your organization. So, what is the point of an ERP? Why is it critical to have this as part of your business?

ERP, or Enterprise Resource Planning refers to software designed to gather and organize daily business data through one system. They help manage a multitude of business aspects from planning (resources and financials), accounting, distribution, and everything in between.

Not So Small Challenges

For a small business, an ERP can be used as a management tool to handle internal inventory practices, and maintain employee productivity. ERPs can help organize core processes of a business into one system. Changes in business strategy grant small businesses access to resources in order to keep up with big enterprises. Without an ERP, small businesses can face many challenges.

What makes a business with no accounting software switch to a full-fledged ERP system? Typically, operations are spread across multiple programs instead of one central location, leading to a disconnect between front and back-end systems. Lack of communication between employees, inconsistency of information shared, and losing time focused on manual entry also contribute to a decline in company productivity without an ERP.

But what's the alternative to an ERP for small businesses? Some companies currently use singular accounting products like QuickBooks to manage sales, conduct payroll, or get ready for tax season. ERP systems allow you to manage all your company’s assets beyond finances.

Organizations might also consider manually revamping existing business processes and mitigating pain points in accounting, finance, and other departments before making the switch to an ERP. If your business is continually slowed down by broken or outdated processes that are causing inefficiencies and keeping your business from progressing, then it’s time to think about investing in an ERP system.

Timing is Everything

Because each business has their own set of processes and difficulties, it can vary on the right time to move toward an ERP. Typically, when you notice that challenges begin to accumulate into an inability to meet, or even streamline processes like eliminate purchasing errors and lowering operational costs.

Have you considered preemptively determining when your business should switch to an ERP before challenges begin to overwhelm daily processes or employee workflow? For example, if you find it hard to meet customer demands, ERPs can help the manufacturing process by collecting data from accounting, order management, and sharing information amongst other departments.

Businesses that lack an ERP typically suffer from inefficient, outdated and costly operations. If a small business resonates with any of these challenges for a prolonged period of time- it’s time to start planning the next steps.

Is an ERP best for all business types?

Now that your business has decided that it's the right time to get an ERP, a small business should also assess if the ERP fits into their particular vertical.

Do you ever wonder where ERPs thrive the most? Manufacturing, healthcare, construction, real estate, and a few other sectors have the most traction when it comes to using ERP software in their respective industries. Because ERPs make business operations easier to maintain, modernizing business models and resources also become more manageable. It’s important to note that any organization that needs a management system would benefit from ERP software, including small businesses.

No business is too small for an ERP.

“Are you looking for an ERP integration solution to reduce the time and costs of bespoke development? Or are you looking to reduce employee administration and operational costs to drive company performance and revenue by extending the capabilities of your existing ERP software through application extensions? ” - Penny Process

Remember, with an ERP you can add integration functionality even if your are a small businesses.

It's important to take into consideration specific business goals when deciding to move to an ERP. If you think your business is too small for an ERP, you might want to reconsider!

FACT: About 75% of small businesses actually use ERPs for their business operations! ⑴

The Fisher Difference

For small businesses, there’s many benefits to switching to an ERP. Fisher Technology can help connect you to partners that specialize in ERP's who can share the benefits, and what it would look like for your day-to-day business operations. In addition once your ERP is in place (or even during the planning phases) we can work with you to define any automation and integration that will ultimately deliver the best solutions for your challenges.

An ERP integration solution allows you to reduce the time and cost of bespoke development. With BPA (Business Process Automation) Platform you can aim to reduce employee administration and operational costs to drive company performance and revenue. How? Simply extend the capabilities of your existing ERP software through application extensions such as WMS (Warehouse Management Systems), CRM (Customer Relations Management) or ECommerce.

That is where BPA Platform comes in. More than just offering a piece of software, Fisher Technology and our Partners provide unparalleled service, and consulting that not only gets your automation started, but optimizes and enhances your existing processes.

Our next blog in the Fisher Findings series will focus on managing your supply chain, stay tuned for updates!

P.S. Are you following us on LinkedIn yet? That is the best way to stay connected with us on a daily basis! Like, comment and share all of our posts!

⑴ https://www.geniuserp.com/blog/why-small-businesses-need-an-erp-system

Head in the Clouds: Floating toward Cloud-based Solutions

kiara@fisher-technology.com (Kiara Walker) — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 18:38:11 GMT

Should I stay or should I go...

Within the ERP eco systems, a push toward cloud-based solutions from on-premise has been in recent time accelerated. Rapid growth and development from legacy and new systems are growing the number of available options for those looking to leverage a cloud infrastructure. But it leaves us to wonder- why now and what could it mean for your business processes going forward?

When you imagine cloud-based solutions, we don’t necessarily mean stratus or cumulus ones but instead a new way to manage solutions in real-time from any location around the globe, even a beach! Cloud based solutions refer to using a network of solutions connected to the internet and grants you the ability to access services from anywhere via the internet. Businesses are starting to step away from the hassle of dealing with on-premise solutions and on-site maintenance. With products like SAP S4 Hana and Sage Intacct, it is becoming increasingly popular to move toward cloud-based solutions for several reasons.

Cost
Security
Accessibility
Reduced Risk

“You know what's unique about Fisher Technology? Whether or not you decide to stay on-premise or explore the opportunities of a cloud-based solution, our experts will guide you through all options for your BPA Connections and help you figure out the best next steps” - Penny Process

Why the Switch?

As mentioned previously in an earlier blog, it is no secret that businesses are not too fond of dealing with on-premise issues and on-site server maintenance. After switching to the cloud, there are a far less tasks to worry about. While directly handling on-premise solutions may seem like an advantage, that's not always the case. Employees may end up spending more time on maintaining servers, updating software, or creating backups instead. Additionally, there may be certain system requirements needed for on-premise servers and, in all likelihood, need an IT services team to keep systems running at peak efficiency.

Thinking about switching to the cloud? It's important to advancing your business goals when determining which solution best fits your needs. Take time in exploring both the advantages and disadvantages of integrating. Here's a few key points to keep in mind :

What do cloud-based solutions mean for you?

It is important to address the elephant in the room…Yes, I’m looking at you, on-premise solutions. With the great migration to on-cloud, there becomes less of a roadmap for products like Sage 100 or 300 as well as SAP Business One, the predecessors to Intacct and S4 HANA.

Security and control play a factor in whether a company decides to switch from an on-premise solution to a cloud-based solution. In an on-premise environment, enterprises retain all their data and are fully in control of what happens to it, for better or worse. Companies in certain industries with extra privacy concerns are more likely to hesitate to leap into the cloud before others because of this reason.

In a cloud-based environment, the validity of ownership of data is one that many companies – and customers, tend to have doubts about. Unexpected errors or system outages can render your software unusable, meaning during that time you may not be able to reach valuable information and data.

Because the software does not often run on allocated hardware, this makes local hardware requirements significantly lower. Additionally, maintenance of the hardware and software is also carried out automatically by the cloud provider. Software updates are installed automatically. Those advantages significantly reduce the workload for the company's IT department (if they have a department at all, and they could choose to outsource IT entirely).

The Fisher Difference

We challenge you to look at what a cloud based solution means for your day-to-day business operations. Can you avoid manual entry and avoid critical business errors by optimizing your workflow?

Regardless of whether you are using an on premise system or and in-cloud solution, the bottom line is that BPA Platform will fit perfectly into either environment. For existing customers, we want you to know that Fisher Technology is here to help you move toward a system that works for your business process. If you currently host an on-premise environment, we encourage you to see what your future may look like if you decide to stay with your existing configuration or explore the possibility of moving to a cloud-based solution. Whether it is ease of use or convenience, those using a cloud-based system should know that there are numerous features accessible to use through BPA Platform, we’re here to connect with you and demonstrate which ones best suits your needs in any environment of your choosing.

That is where BPA Platform comes in. More than just offering a piece of software, Fisher Technology provides unparalleled service, and consulting that not only gets your automation started, but optimizes and enhances your existing processes.

P.S. Are you following us on LinkedIn yet? That is the best way to stay connected with us on a daily basis! Like, comment and share all of our posts!

Our Website Journey: A Year in the Making (Finale)

kiara@fisher-technology.com (Kiara Walker) — Mon, 02 May 2022 16:04:05 GMT

Getting to the How

A few key things I took away from this journey must be the importance of time management and content planning. I always wanted to be aware of how much time and effort went into each piece of the puzzle and equally divide my time to ensure that we accomplished everything we hoped for during this journey. When it came to content planning, it was crucial to tell a story rather than just feature dumping on our audience. Once you help them imagine the experience, everything else falls into place.

“Seeing how our audience is positively reacting to the new website and social media rebranding is exactly what we wanted for this process. The analytics are clear as day and let us know that people are buzzing about Fisher Technology and BPA Platform. We definitely want to keep up this momentum and let our customers enjoy the journey with us.” - Kiara Walker

By the Numbers

Since launching the website in December, we have noticed a significant increase in overall traffic, a decrease in our bounce rate and an increase in our qualified leads. In the new year we’ve made it our goal to maintain and manage the growth we’ve been seeing on both our social media and website.

On average in 2021, our bounce rate sat steadily above 80%, peaking at 91% in some quarters. Since the launch of our new website in December 2021, we have now brought that average just under 50%. It’s important to maintain a low bounce rate or at least trend downward because it means that more visitors are staying on our website for a given amount of time. The longer they stay, the more they discover what Fisher Technology has to offer and even helps narrow down any questions they may have about us or what solution works best for them.

Speed Reading

Regarding time spent on our website, prior to the new launch we typically saw visitors spend 20 to 30 seconds on our website. Our previous layout and website information didn’t abide with the 7-second rule nor tell potential clients who we were or even what we did. That is why it was crucial for us to revamp the website, especially our home page, to tell a story that paints a clear picture of why BPA Platform is the best solution for their business processes. The new average time spent on our website post revamp is nearly three minutes per session.

We wanted to drive home how easy and effective BPA platform was from the moment you set eyes on the new website. Email was also a key tool used to reach out to our audience and remain transparent about our transformation process. In our final quarter of 2021, prior to launch, our open rate was just under 25%. We’ve seen a nearly 10% increase in our open rate since launch, meaning that more people are taking the time to view our blogs and other email-based content.

In Summary

One of the challenges we faced with the previous website was the lack of qualified leads we’d receive. Often, potential leads would visit our website but not necessarily be in the right place or mistakenly make their way to our site when looking for other Fisher brands. We even had leads that would interact with our HubSpot bot but not understand how automation and integration could work for their company and business needs. Revamping the website allowed us to create an environment that was clear and presented information in a way that helps refine our target audience and bring in more qualified leads that know more about what we do in this industry.

Overall, since launch and the months that followed, we’ve seen more qualified leads come in via the website and know exactly which next steps they want to take with Fisher Technology. We now have a beautiful website that tells a story of how we can elevate businesses with integration rather than just feature dumping very technical information. More time spent on our website means more time with the right customer.

So What's Next?

If the last few months have shown us anything, it's key to set realistic goals and turn mistakes into lessons. I found it important to make informed decisions on the direction of changes to the site, or even blog topics based on research on the latest trends or helpful advice I'd receive from Joel. Not only would I apply these decisions to the website and I can use my newfound skillset to further promote and help Fisher Technology grow. Going forward, I see a lot of potential growth for Fisher in terms of building our social media presence, attending more in person events, and organizing a podcast. Stay tuned as I write more blogs monthly on unique integration themed topics!

We have a couple of exciting things in the works that we can’t wait to share with you. First being the upcoming SMB conference in Orlando later this month where we’ll be hosting a mini session on Day 2 at 2:30 pm EST at Stage 2, on what integration means to us. Look out for information from us about Sage Summit in Dallas this June!

P.S. Are you following us on LinkedIn yet? That is the best way to stay connected with us on a daily basis! Like, comment and share all of our posts!

Our Website Journey: A Year in the Making (Part 2)

kiara@fisher-technology.com (Kiara Walker) — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 14:30:05 GMT

Getting to the How

In case you missed it, Fisher Technology launched our revitalized website December 2021 with the sole purpose of giving existing and potential customers and partners the opportunity to get to know the real us. It was crucial to break down our extensive knowledge surrounding BPA platform and divide it into simple sub pages that allow visitors to find exactly what they need without having to sift through information that may not be as pertinent to them at that moment.

But why go through this? Why go from almost 40 pages to only 9 ?

“It's been a year since our marketing team brainstormed the first ideas, designs, and ultimately the direction we wanted to take our brand in and with the finished product in our hands, one of the best feelings is being able to look back at all the achievements, challenges, and highlights of building our website and telling a story from the ground up...” - Kiara Walker

Our previous website followed industry standards at the time which consisted of cramped, text-heavy pages made rather than the breathable, template style of layouts we see today. Back then, our goal was to work on using SEO to bring in more traffic to the website and grow our audience by incorporating many landing pages which were targeted by SEOs key search terms ranking our pages higher. Since then expectations, SEO best practices and design elements have changed to focus on being more content driven with simpler, yet eye catching elements. Now, design techniques such as including plenty of white-space, a cohesive color palette, utilizing relevant CTA's, and a responsive design that can adjust to a multitude of devices.

The Power of Storytelling

Originally, websites were geared to deliver information and have since been transformed to tell stories that visitors can resonate with.

We know what our product is capable of but really showing our audience how intuitive it is was something we originally lacked. To just to find a specific piece of content on our old website would result in clicking through about five to six pages of noise before getting to what you needed, this became a top priority. Tackling and completely revamping the content you see on our new site in tern making it easier to find the information you need.

Opportunities:

Redeveloping our website allowed us to take the time to assess what needed improvement. Then we worked on turning mistakes into strengths we can build upon as Fisher Technology continues to grow. One of the major issues we faced on our previous site was something our team likes to call “feature dumping.” whereby the previous pages listed how the software accomplished the integration on a technical level. It meant that there was a clear lack of information on what tooling was built into BPA and the services that Fisher Technology offered that helped us stand out amongst our competitors.

The Approach:

Part 1: Condensing

I wanted our new website to fully tell the story of Fisher Technology and how far it has come in the last 16 years. I spent weeks gathering ideas on layout design, figuring out the best way to display content, narrowing down how many pages we wanted to have on the site, and condensing years of information into key points that would best help our customers and partners navigate to find exactly what they were looking for.

Part 2: Visualization
I was a bit nervous at first but more excited to build our website from the ground up and give Fisher Technology a fresh look and feel. Once I gathered enough ideas on how I wanted the website to look, I then took the next few weeks drafting potential page layouts via InDesign and incorporating techniques I had researched.

We wanted to take an innovative approach to the website by incorporating visuals to help us tell our story. On the previous version we realized how heavy the text was and wanted to circumvent our content. From the beginning of this journey, we wanted to include animations that gave our audience a visual gateway into key pillars of BPA Platform such as how the notifications and alerts function works and demonstrate how simple that process was just from the palm of your hands.

It was also important for us to give the face of Fisher Technology a familiar, but updated look, hence why we took the time to revamp the one and only- Penny Process.

Why we chose to step away from a HubSpot Site – the search for the right partner

It was so insightful to be able to have the opportunity to connect with Chris Vendelli and the team at StudioPFG. They were extremely helpful when it came to the execution of the website, and we worked with them to take my website drafts and rewritten content and translate it to the finalized product we see today. In switching to Studio Vendilli, we gained access to a range of prebuilt widgets and tools that allowed us to fully customize our website just as we wanted. In HubSpot, the user-interface for editing the website left much to be desired and often presented more challenges than solutions. However, being able to live edit and publish on the fly are key things that sold us in partnering with Chris and his team.

You can check out Studio Vendilli here .

They were incredibly helpful in walking us through the site tools and sharing tips on how to truly make it our own when it comes time to maintain and update the website as we continually grow. It was like being on the behind-the-scenes tour of a feature film and seeing all the intricacies of what it takes to build the sets and go over lines before the curtain rises before your audience.

In the next part of this series, I'll cover my key learning experiences, initial success of our website as well as what's next for Fisher Technology.

Our Website Journey: A Year in the Making

kiara@fisher-technology.com (Kiara Walker) — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 16:54:32 GMT

New Beginnings

When you buy a new car, there is nothing quite like that “new car smell.” It defines the new car, and it is something we enjoy for months after the initial purchase. That is the exact feeling I have with the Fisher technology website, which I played a significant role in its creation and roll out.

“There has been nothing in my career more rewarding than going through that process from day one and is one I will carry with me throughout my career. “- Kiara Walker

In the months following the original brainstorming session, I spent a lot of time reviewing new industry standards. I discovered what approach’s other companies in a similar line of business had been doing on their sites, and what approach to take with our own. In this first part of this series, I will take you through the first few stages of our website creation journey and share some of my thoughts and findings.

What did we notice?

To start with, I looked over the rolling analytics of our “old” website and saw some trends starting to emerge. We noticed that our target audience was not being reached in the ways we had hoped, and there was immense room for improvement. Finetuning our marketing strategy for the new website became a high priority.

On average, on our previous website visitors would spend no more than 25 to 30 seconds on our homepage before exiting. Making it increasingly difficult to get our message across to our target audience. We also knew that we needed to home in on the quality of the leads coming to our site, not just the number of leads. Redevelopment of our website allowed us to narrow down qualified leads and pave a straightforward way for potential clients to connect with us directly.

This led to us having our initial brainstorming session where we were able to establish these clear goals.

Key goals:

Combat high bounce rates.
Lengthen the amount of time spent on our website.
Increase the number of qualified leads we received.

Reduce and Redevelop

We wanted to reduce the number of pages it takes to get to a particular topic or section of our website. We had an extremely high number of pages and repetitive content that would benefit us if it were reduced to a manageable amount and cut straight to the key points we wanted to make. This is because we follow the “Seven Second Rules.” Simply put, we have seven seconds to gain the attention of the reader before they lose interest and click off.

Within that seven second window we needed to establish who we are as a company, what we do, validate that they are on the right site for their needs, and give visitors a way to easily contact or engage with us. It was crucial to make our homepage efficient enough to abide by the rule.

We additionally implemented new techniques that had not been used before on our website such as simple, yet effective design. Animations from the very beginning of this journey, we knew immediately that we wanted to use animations to further help guide our story along, straying away from our previous use of the feature and text dumping and transitioning to a more visually adept way of storytelling.

It was important for us to pivot in a direction that lessens the amount of time it takes to find key information such as BPA Platform (Business Process Automation). Telling the story of BPA was the backbone of this process. It is more than just software, Fisher Technology provides unparalleled service, and consulting that not only gets your automation started, but optimizes and enhances your existing processes.

In the next blog, I will share the reasons why we ended up switching over to Studio V, and what benefits we saw by departing hosting our website with HubSpot.

My Cancer Journey, A Story From Our Owner

Fri, 19 Nov 2021 19:26:00 GMT

The month of November is also known as #Movember, a movement created to raise and increase awareness of men’s health issues, most notably related to prostate and testicular cancer. #Movember follows the better-known breast cancer awareness month of October. But arguably, where women are more open about discussing such health issues, men are traditionally much more reserved. The #Movember movement serves to get guys to open up and be more aware.

This year, #Movember has taken on a very personal significance. In July, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I was lucky, as my early diagnosis allowed me to have surgery that completely removed the cancer, and I am now cancer free. All I need to do is recover from the surgery and in my case, the ensuing complications that arose. But that’s a whole other story.

The point here, is how I came to get my diagnosis, and that’s where awareness is so key.

I am fortunate to have a primary care physician that monitors me every six months and does routine blood work. Over the last three visits, he saw that my PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) had been steadily rising. It wasn’t over the top of the range, but it was going up. He said, “get it checked,” and sent me to a urologist who performed a relatively quick, though not very pleasant biopsy. Then the pathology report came back and confirmed my fears; my prostate was cancerous. Once diagnosed I was referred to the Urological Oncology team at Celebration Hospital near Orlando. By October, I’d had a radical prostatectomy and I am now cancer free.

Prostate Cancer is very, very common; second only to skin cancer (in men). In fact, according to the American Cancer Society, one in eight men will get it in 2021. That’s over 248,500 cases. Of these, 34,100 men in will die. Prostate Cancer is the second most deadly cancer, second to lung cancer. One man in 41 will die from it. But many diagnosed cases are very treatable if detected early enough, often with excellent outcomes. 3.1 million men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer are still alive today.

And this is my message. Men, be open and proactive about your health, particularly around those parts that you hold so dear. Get yourself checked regularly. Go see your PCP and get your PSA checked regularly. Do a basic examination of yourself and look for any misshapes in your testicles, just as women do to check their breasts. Don’t be ashamed to do this. Talk about it with your buddies. But pay attention to it. This is the key purpose of #Movember.

So, what can you do?

Three things: spread the word, please. Share this message. I am not seeking notoriety; I just want men to be aware and to act. Second, go to https://us.movember.com/search/?q=Delray+beach and donate. Why this team? Simply because when I needed EMT’s to transport me to the hospital last week, these were the ones that took me. These guys at the Delray Beach Fire and Rescue Department @DelrayBeachFire are simply amazing, and this is my way to say thank you!

And third, make a statement guys. Grow some whiskers.

The New Normal: How We've Adapted

kiara@fisher-technology.com (Kiara Walker) — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 17:25:29 GMT

As we hit the half way point of the year, it’s more than safe to say that 2020 is truly one for the books. When you take a look back at all that’s transpired since March till now, we couldn’t have imagined that this year would’ve turned out this way. In the midst of a global pandemic, we’ve become accustomed to the “new normal” of social distancing and conducting business remotely. More importantly, we’ve learned the importance of maintaining relationships and effective communication during these trying times.

As a family business, Fisher Technology has always prided ourselves on upholding the Fisher Difference . Even when transitioning to work from home, our team quickly adapted to the new realities of this pandemic to ensure that our customers and Partners receive the care and personal touch they expect and deserve.

Small Business Communication

It’s crucial to be proactive with your team to collaborate on projects and meet deadlines, especially with the implementation of work from home policies. Without question, safety is a top concern to many organizations, including our own. At Fisher, we’ve learned how to set daily agendas, maintain weekly strategy meetings, ask for guidance, and overall keep communication constant and flowing. Doing so limits errors that may arise from not being in-person together. Have a burning question or just want to share ideas? It gives you peace of mind to be able to know that you’re not alone while you work because your coworkers are only a Slack message or Zoom call away.

Support

#AloneTogether is a hashtag that’s become familiar in the last few months and serves as a reminder that even when separated physically, we can still be there for one another in other ways. Even since joining the Fisher Technology team last September, I’ve always felt supported and appreciated. But now, more than ever, and especially throughout this pandemic, I’ve gained a support system that I know I can count on. There’s a certain level of professionalism and personal touch that you just can’t get anywhere else but at Fisher. Our small team allows us to be nimble, detail-oriented, and driven toward positive results.

What's New?

So, what’s the Fisher team been up to during quarantine besides back-to-back Zoom calls and bottomless cups of coffee? In case you’ve missed it, in late April 2020, the latest version of BPA was launched, hosting a variety of new features:

New HTML Pro Tool
Retrieve text Message Tool
200+ Feature Enhancements
New API

Our blog detailing everything new with BPA 2020 can be found here .

Look out for our next blog update on ‘How Cooking is a Business Process Too!’

Reflections on our First 15 Years at Fisher Technology

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 17:17:50 GMT

As the 15th Anniversary of our 8 Suitcases and A Dream story approaches, I have been reflecting on the journey that my husband, our children and I embarked upon that cold February morning in 2006.

I cannot believe that 15 years have passed since we boarded that airplane, with our dreams as our constant companion on that long (and very boring) flight. As I look back, I reminisce on all that we have accomplished over the years and all of the opportunities that came our way.

My overwhelming emotion as this Anniversary approaches is one of gratitude.

The blog would go on for pages if I listed all the reasons why I am so grateful here. However, I wanted to share some of my key takeaways of what I am so grateful for, on this milestone Anniversary:

The opportunities to make our dreams of living and working in the US a reality.

The growth of our Partnership with Codeless Platforms and all their team, who we now consider to be a part of our extended family.

Thankful to all our Resellers Partners, who were open to work with us, open doors for us and together bring automation and integration to aid their customers businesses.

That we have been able to grow financially every year since we started.

And most importantly to all the members of our team, their hard work, their collaborations, and the spirit they bring to work every day. Fisher Technology would not be where we are as a Company today without each of them and they are a big part of our #FisherDiffrence

None of us knows what tomorrow will bring or what direction our lives are going to take. Would I have taken the leap that I did in 2006, knowing then what I know now?

ABSOLUTELY!

I am looking forward to celebrating with my family and our Fisher family our 15th Anniversary on February 9th. I will look back and remember the time when all we had was 8 Suitcases and a Dream!

Thank you to everyone who has helped us on this wonderful ride. Happy 15th Birthday Fisher Technology!

The Power of Consulting through Digital Transformation

kiara@fisher-technology.com (Kiara Walker) — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 17:17:51 GMT

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Opening a dialogue to address critical business process challenges can be tough. Moreover, finding the right person to talk to, to address critical flaws can be equally difficult. As our senior consultant Rick Moore points out, "We never learn anything from hearing ourselves talk" and getting to the root cause of a problem may benefit from external help. A good consultant can be a lifesaver, opening up opportunities that address business challenges with a problem/solution outlook that can shape a positive change to Digital Transformation and the related business process.

What is Digital Transformation?

First thing to note is that digital transformation aren't one size fits all. They're the standard for integrating digital technology into all facets of your business and grant you the opportunity to transform how you operate and efficiently service your customers. There is a secret sauce to successful digital transformation and that is not just figuring out what the process is, but also ensuring that the transformation adds value to the business and to the departments affected by this change.

Digital transformation is imperative for all businesses regardless of size and market. The main point is to take advantage of being able to leverage software to evolve and enhance the way that all software applications are being used. In addition, ensuring that departments are not working in silos and promoting interdepartmental synergy.

Consulting in a Digital Transformation

So where does consulting come in? The pace of digital transformation in this country is happening faster than almost anyone can absorb. This drives business processes to change, in many cases faster than systems can be implemented to support them. One of the best things about consulting is being exposed to many different business challenges and the pitfalls that can impact them. Aggregating that knowledge enables one to add value in many different situations.

Key Consultant Characteristics

1. Great consultants are flexible

Great consultants adapt to new environments and project groups easily. Their soft skills and technical expertise allow them to take on their roles quickly and easily to get the job done.

2. Great consultants have great discipline

Great consultants work smart and hard. They know what needs to be done to accomplish the best results in the shortest possible time. Great consultants are problem solvers, tackling any challenge you put in front of them.

3. Great consultants are confident

Great consultants are confident about their skills and expertise. They have a knack for leadership and collaborate well with others, keeping their egos in check. Great consultants will always prioritize company goals and team initiatives.

4. Great consultants are persistent

They don't give up easily. Instead they accept challenges and welcome constructive feedback as a means of learning from mistakes and moving on from them. Consultants are analytical and can turn any negative experience into a positive lesson.

Return on Investments

Most importantly, great consultants want to assure that clients are seeing a return on their investment (ROI). Grounding proposals with measurable outcomes ensures clients feel confident they will see ROI, thus increasing growth and retention. It's crucial to have a team comprised of consultants who can bring a higher level of specialized technical expertise to businesses, and assist with specific challenges.

Fisher Technology works closely with our customers to provide software, and prebuilt solutions, as well as consultation services. Business needs are ever changing and as our partners develop on the technical side, we encourage that they learn from our consulting team, building experience to not only work with the product, but share the wealth of our knowledge with others. Our team will ensure that you have all the building blocks necessary to help your organization improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and facilitate growth.

Interested in scheduling time with one of Fisher Technology's senior consultants? Schedule a complimentary 30 minutes with Rick Moore here.

Announcing Fisher Technology's New Look

Fri, 08 Jan 2021 18:39:15 GMT

BOCA RATON, FLORIDA – Fisher Technology, LLC is proud announce the launch of its new corporate brand identity. Over the next few weeks Fisher Technology will roll out a series of branding initiatives and transition toward a more modernized aesthetic. Included in this press release is a copy of the new brand guidelines. If you’re an existing Partner, please refer to that document. A few noticeable changes you’ll begin to see will start with the rebranding of our logo to all facets of the company including the website, support site, and all social media pages as well as new changes to our color scheme.

Color and font guide.

You can also expect to see drastic changes applied to our Partnership Program with an expected pilot launch in February 2021. We’ll be actively engaging with existing and new partners to build strong, supportive foundations.

Fisher Technology will be introducing a direct line to the company’s marketing department: marketing@fisher-technology.com. This grants customers and partners the opportunity to easily communicate with marketing team members relating to social media, press releases, blogs, and various other branding efforts.

Follow Fisher Technology on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram or visit www.fisher-technology.com.

About Fisher Technology

Since 2006, Fisher Technology has been the North American distributor of BPA (Business Process Automation) Platform Software, formerly known as Task Centre. We seek opportunities to consult with our customers by overcoming business process woes, consolidating time-consuming manual tasks, and developing digital solution sets that optimize business operations, overall increasing productivity, and revenue. BPA platform supercharges on-premise or cloud applications such as CRM, ERPs and eCommerce Platforms.

How can your Connector Sing and Dance?

kiara@fisher-technology.com (Kiara Walker) — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 18:44:07 GMT

In a society geared toward making things simpler, we often seek out technology that can help us tackle manual, time-consuming tasks. There are thousands of applications available on various platforms, whether it is something as simple as an app that helps with daily agenda reminders, a browser extension that remembers your passwords, or even a CRM that helps you stay in contact with customers. What if those individual apps or programs could do more? Is it possible that there is additional functionality that can be achieved outside of those applications?

What Do Connectors Do?

When looking at software that is described as a connector, you discover that the connector is utilized to synchronize data between two systems. Often the synchronization is bi-directional. With a connector these synchronizations are very prescriptive, in what functionality you can connect to, and what information is passed between the systems. Connectors can work extremely well for very simple integration.

Let's Dive In

I always like to think of the analogy of LEGO®. The classic 2x4 block, this piece can be useful, sturdy, and does a great job on its own. But when you start connecting them together, along with other bricks - that’s when the real magic starts to happen. Given the right toolset, you have the ability to turn those individual blocks of LEGO® into true masterpieces.

The difference between connectors and connections is that connectors mainly focus on simple synchronization. Connections made utilizing tools such as BPA platform enable you to not only synchronize data but create a complete workflow process. There are numerous key benefits for using business process automation connections for integration rather than a simple connector. Leveraging this workflow process automation, the integration allows you to have essential logic behind that process. Beyond just copying information, integrations have the ability to tell you exactly what’s going on within your systems and create automated workflow according to your business rules, allowing you to focus on more important tasks. It’s simply removing the need for manual processes and grants insight into your data. Information can be configured specifically to fit your business requirements and you’ll be able to perform integration processes that you didn’t even know were possible. In today’s market, time is one of our most precious commodities.

Thriving on Flexibility

When we think of connectors, we often resonate with their ability to synchronize data between two systems. Often the synchronization is bi-directional. With a connector, these synchronizations are very prescriptive, in what functionality you can connect to, and what information is passed between the systems. Connectors can work extremely well for very simple integration.

Connections made with business process automation on the other hand are more than just connecting the dots, these have more to do with building the right accompanying business process.

Think back to our LEGO® analogy. When separated, the pieces can be useful, sturdy, and full of untapped potential. But once you start connecting individual parts together- that’s when the real magic of integration begins to take shape. Given the right toolset, you have the ability to repurpose those LEGO® pieces into more than you’d expect. That's the difference between a connector and leveraging business process automation connections, that will make your integration sing and dance.

So wouldn’t you want your connectors to do the same thing?

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

kiara@fisher-technology.com (Kiara Walker) — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 19:20:39 GMT

You may have noticed something different about our website... We've gone pink for the month of October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness!

This month is not just about wearing pink to raise awareness for breast cancer, it’s a time to honor the countless warriors who have endured such a trying ailment as well as learn what’s been done to fight back against cancer and educate ourselves on how we can lend unconditional support to those who need it most.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and the second most common cancer overall. It is a leading cause of cancer death in less developed countries and the second leading cause of cancer death in American women, exceeded only by lung cancer.

In the U.S. in 2020, there will be an estimated 276,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed in women and 2,620 cases diagnosed in men, according to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Even if you may not be directly impacted by the effects of breast cancer, there’s a good chance that you know someone who knows someone going through it and wouldn’t be impartial to a little support so they know they aren’t alone in this fight against cancer. Even a little effort can go a very long way.

[Jay and Amanda]

A few years ago, Nicole's nephew, Jay, wrote a rant about cancer. At the time, Jay was 11 when his mother Amanda Turofsky, Nicole's sister, was diagnosed with breast cancer. This beautifully written piece just goes to show how cancer affects not only those who have been diagnosed, but also family and friends who are in the fight against cancer together. Jay's rant can be found here .

Amanda was diagnosed with breast cancer back in December 2013. Around the same time, she began painting and found it to be a quite helpful practice as she endured rigorous treatment. "I found that painting was very therapeutic and it became a medicine for my soul. I was able to immerse myself in the color of the paints, and the imaginary characters that I was creating on the canvas, enabling me to reach another world," says Amanda. Now in remission, she thanks Breast Cancer Care for their amazing support and services that they offer.

Though the mention of cancer can be scary and daunting, it’s important to highlight the many successful tales of strong individuals that have beat this illness and have gone on to share their stories and experiences with others, essentially serving as a beacon of hope for the future.

[Brit in DC]

Fisher Technology is proud to be sponsoring a fundraising effort raising money for Breast Cancer Research Foundation with one of our own. Joel Cannon, a streamer on Twitch, is donating all proceeds from his content and donating 100% of them to Breast Cancer Research. We have decided to match all of the donations 1-to-1 for the month of October. Any additional donations are greatly appreciated and can be made directly to the campaign here.

As we dive further into October, we’d like to share upcoming events in our local and national communities, if you’re interested in getting involved with the cause:

Breast Cancer Awareness Events in Palm Beach County

National Walk for Cancer Events

We encourage you in joining us to help to fund life changing research and crucial services for those in need. You can donate to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation below.

Meet Fisher Technology's Newest Member!

Thu, 03 Sep 2020 17:53:09 GMT

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Fisher Technology is excited to announce the latest member of our team, Rick Moore. Joining the company as a Senior Consultant, Rick carries over 30 years’ worth of experience in software, technology, and automation. Before joining our team, Rick worked client side for several past consulting clients in positions including IT Director, CFO and COO. Prior to that, he worked in both Sales and Consulting with resellers in the Sage and Microsoft Dynamics channels.

Early in his career, Rick focused on Sales and Marketing, working in engineered sales. In that role, he recognized a need and began automating processes, ultimately writing most of the software used in the company.

Two subsequent job changes also led Rick back into automation, ultimately prompting a friend in the software industry to persuade him to work with him selling Great Plains (Now Dynamics).

Over time and as the software market matured, Rick transitioned from focusing on ERP and Accounting to a full-time focus on CRM. Fifteen years later, a few hundred clients and many lasting relationships, a favorite client and CFO offered Rick an opportunity to take on the role of IT Director.

Rick automated and integrated over 200 processes for the company, primarily using BPA Platform (formerly Task Centre), which he had originally sold to them. In his most recent position as COO for another long-term favorite client, he continued relying on BPA Platform to automate processes, provide business driving knowledge, and improve results. His work proved instrumental in helping to position the company for acquisition. Having completed that transaction, Rick is again enjoying work with BPA Platform, looking at innovative ways to bring it to new markets!

Rick’s career has been dedicated to solving business complexities by creating workable, effective solutions for a multitude of ERP and CRM implementations. Collaborating with clients, Rick quickly discovers the need and delivers value to their business through the BPA Platform. This results in providing businesses with the driving tools they need to succeed.

Rick believes his most important professional asset is the ability to adapt his skills to suit the needs of his clients. He has proven his ability to recognize and implement Business Process Automation (BPA) for past clients, demonstrating the versatility and flexibility of the platform for almost any business software. Rick’s experience will be a tremendous benefit to Fisher’s customers and clients. We welcome him to the team and look forward to his contributions.

Meet Fisher Technology's Newest Member!

Thu, 20 Aug 2020 18:02:17 GMT

Fisher Technology is excited to announce the latest member of our team, Joel Cannon. Joel is joining us as a Sales and Marketing Manager.

Joel brings with him 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry along with a knowledge of content development, eCommerce and customer service. Working in a Sales and Marketing role, Joel will be building on his eCommerce and website development skills to strengthen content on the website, and to engage with customers and partners.

At a time where we are seeing significant growth, the addition of Joel to our team, and his experience in Marketing and Sales will provide us additional resources to support and grow our channel partners. - Nicole Laurier, CEO

Building on his technical skills and project management experience, Joel will also be working directly with the technical team playing a pivotal role in our #FisherDifference , and with his experience, bring this culture into every aspect of our business.

I am excited to be a part of the incredible legacy that the Fisher Technology team has built. As someone who is dedicated to people and customer service, I look forward to bringing the Fisher Difference to the forefront of the experience, from initial contact to onboarding. - Joel Cannon

Follow Joel on Linkedin HERE , on instagram @TheBritinDC , and Twitter @TheBritinDC

The New Normal: Ways to Use BPA Platform

Fri, 17 Jul 2020 18:16:45 GMT

With April's launch of BPA 2020 comes a fresh lease on integration and digital transformation. The new and improved interface grants you simplistic, straightforward implementation allowing your business to benefit from quick and easy automating solutions. BPA Platform has been used extensively worldwide to automate business processes across almost every business function from senior management to distribution, and everything in between.

There are well over 200+ uses for BPA Platform at your disposal to uniquely automate business processes, big or small, helping your business to improve performance, boost efficiency, and cut costs.

BPA Platform has been used extensively around the world to automate business processes in nearly every business function you can imagine. The over 200 feature enhancements and improvements definitely make a noticeable difference when building out complex integrations and automation.

There's unlimited examples of how BPA Platform can be used to automate business processes, we've complied a few that can be used in your business, too:

Data Integration & Synchronization

BPA Platform enables your organization to integrate applications, systems, and web services through simplified drag and drop tools.

Workflow & Human Interaction

Rapidly deploy and configure workflow processes with the help of BPA Platform. Workflow and human interaction will meet your companies needs whether it involves a simple authorization form and database write back or a multistage workflow contribution process.

Notifications & Alerts

The Notifications and Alerts feature of BPA Platform allows essential information to be delivered to the right people at the right time. This capability enables organizations like yours to to graphically build and maintain real-time, event driven communications.

Report & Document Automation

The Report and Documentation capability of BPA Platform ensures that individuals receive detailed, current information in any generated report or document. Your business will have access to industry standard reporting tools that make sure reports arrive to you on time- every time.

The New Normal: Cooking is a Business Process Too!

kiara@fisher-technology.com (Kiara Walker) — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 18:33:08 GMT

In spending the last few months working from home and adjusting to the new normal, this newfound time has granted us the ability to pick up on projects and fine-tune skills more than ever. As someone who usually reaches for her phone to order out lunch or dinner, I decided to challenge myself to do the exact opposite and invest time and effort into home cooked meals. But, as our ‘chief everything officer,' Nicole Laurier phrased in it in her original version of this blog post nearly a decade ago- cooking is a business process too!

One of the first things needed to carry out this process is to set down a plan your attack. I’d often look toward online recipes and cooking shows for ideas that best suit what myself or my guest are craving or just aim to try something new altogether.

After compiling my grocery list, it’s time to head to my favorite store and pick out all the ingredients I’ll need. As a Florida native, Publix will always be my go-to spot and thankfully I know the store like the back of my hand, so this process doesn’t take too long. Whatever Publix doesn’t have I can stop at Bravo or Sedano’s to substitute.

Upon returning home, I lay out all the ingredients I plan on using to prepare my desired dish as well as get out all the pots and utensils needed too. Unless it’s a dish I’ve made before, I usually have the recipe and directions pulled up on my phone or tablet nearby for quick reference and then - I begin cooking.

Once the food is finished and the table is set, the only thing left to do is enjoy the meal I’ve made with family and friends.

So how exactly does the process of cooking play into the intricacies of business? Well, our CEO Nicole explained it best in four simple steps:

Well the first step of cooking was deciding what to cook or in business what process you wish to automate.

The second step was gathering all the ingredients needed through visiting various stores for different items. Many businesses have disparate systems, Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationship Management, Marketing and Email Automation systems, Websites, etc., so in many cases all of these disparate systems need to be connected together to completely automate your business process forcing you to go to more than one place to get the information to build the process.

The third cooking step was preparation, for business process management that would be using the tools to build the process which you have defined in the earlier steps, just like in cooking using the ingredients to create the meal.

The final step of cooking is sitting back and waiting for your guests to arrive. With an automated business process, your task is built, tested, and put into production so that you can forget about what is happening in the background. The automated process will be doing the heavy lifting for you!

Do you know what process you want to automate? Do you know how to define that process? Do you know once you have defined your process how to find the information in your systems? Do you know what you want to automate? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then Fisher Technology has the tools available to resolve the problem. All that’s left to ask yourself is- what do you want to automate?

Software is supposed to make tasks more efficient, but far too often businesses are burdened by the inefficiencies of systems that do not talk to each other. Schedule a consultation today with the Fisher Technology Team!

BPA Platform 2020 is here!

Thu, 23 Apr 2020 16:25:31 GMT

BPA Platform 2020 is live with a beautiful new interface, powerful toolset and enhanced functionality adding to our popular integration and business automation platform.

It looks different. It is different.

The latest version of the widely used integration and business process automation platform launched on Wednesday, April 22, 2020! As well as a redesigned interface and new installation console, the platform now includes an HTML Pro Tool giving users more flexibility when importing and editing email templates and dashboards, as well as a more user-friendly task design center.

The new HTML Pro Tool enables users to import and edit email templates, portals and dashboards via a raw HTML design and layout area. Tables can be created automatically via drag and drop technology, and multiple record sets can be used within one HTML Pro Tool instance. The HTML Pro Tool now supports HTML 5 and CSS 3 styling and has improved handling of Unicode and relative resources for images handled locally within the task step, removing any problems with linked files.

Other key tool updates included in BPA Platform 2020 :

New Retrieve Text Message Tool – ability to receive inbound SMS communications and consume within a BPA Platform task.
Updated Send Text Message Tool – create connections for multiple ToucanText accounts to manage all SMS requirements.
Updated Send Email Tool – can be configured to multiple email servers.
Updated OLEDB and ODBC Database Query Tools – added support for dynamic connections and ability to query multiple databases, all within one task.
Updated Event Log – new ‘audit’ types to aid product management and traceability.

BPA Platform 2020 has a new scalable interface, including zoom functionality to aid in navigation of larger tasks, as well as added functionality to facilitate easier, faster creation and organization of business processes. It is now possible to select multiple tasks to enable or disable them, as well as copy and paste, align or distribute steps.

The Task Browser is now docked. This pane holds data and information related to a task through several tabbed panes. The Task Properties pane display’s the selected step information. This allows users to edit basic parameters of the step and access its global configuration, right from inside the design view. The Help pane will automatically display a context specific article, related to your selected position in the UI.

BPA Platform 2020 now supports Windows Server 2019 and output support for Microsoft Office 2019. The added output support provides the ability to export the Run as Word (Merge) tool, Save File, Run Microsoft Reporting Services and Run Crystal Reports outputs, in Microsoft office 2019 formats.

Curious about how BPA Platform 2020 can supercharge your Digital Transformation?

> Learn More

Why you should use a Shopify and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Integration Expert

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 16:25:33 GMT

In April 2017, when we originally published this blog, there were over 377,500 small and large businesses that had sold over $29 billion on Shopify. Three years later, those figures have dramatically risen and are now over 1,000,000 small and large businesses that have sold over $155 billion using Shopify!

With the growth in eCommerce there has also been a huge growth in the demand for ecommerce and ERP integrations.

Let's take a look at why an ERP integration is such a big deal?

As your business continues to grow, you may think an integration is a just an add-on, perhaps a luxury. However, as your sales continue to increase, and your capacity to accurately and efficiently move customer data from your eCommerce to your ERP runs short, you are bound to make mistakes, potentially affecting current and future sales. At this point, what appeared to be a “luxury” becomes a necessity. Now not all integrations are the same, so choosing the right expert for your needs is more important than you may think.

Go with a Shopify Expert

Connecting key systems that have a direct effect on your ROI requires expert hands and strong attention to detail. Similar to the accuracy needed when migrating your data from Shopify to your ERP, the code that forms the integration needs to be iron-clad to reduce errors and typos. This way, your orders are processed on-time, with the correct data, and fulfilled to its expected standards.

By integrating Shopify with your ERP, you will also be able to:

- Eliminate duplicate data entry
- Synchronize customer records and inventory
- Shorten order cycle time and shipping
- Synchronize customer records and inventory

We at Fisher Technology have been Shopify experts since June of 2016 and we pride ourselves in the services and ERP integrations we have completed for our B2B and B2C clients. Our Shopify and ERP integrations provide a bi-directional integration that synchronizes data between Shopify and your ERP to make sure that our Shopify integration automates the management of key processes according to your rules, making it a customized experience.

We integrate with many ERP's; including (but not limited to) SAP Business One, Sage, Microsoft Dynamics and Acumatica. Our integration toolset, BPA Platform, is very flexible, and give us numerous options to integrate ERP systems. This flexibility enables us to integrate with many on premise legacy systems, that other integrators can't work with. In addition, we have web service capabilities that enable us to integrate with cloud applications, too.

The #FisherDifference is our attention to detail. We analyze your business’ needs, and we help you define your business process. At the same time, we are able to share with you best practices that we have learnt as eCommerce integrators over the past 8 years. We ask questions! Lots of Questions!

We want to learn about your business and who your customers. So we ask questions about whether you work with B2B, B2C, D2C or all of them. We ask if you already have an online presence. If so, are you moving to a new store or staying with an existing one. How much traffic are you seeing? Are you receiving more orders now than in the past? What information do you want shared between both systems?

By understanding your business, your integration will have everything it needs to run like a well-oiled, data-driven machine.

How to get Ready for a Shopify-ERP Integration

If you are still manually adding data from Shopify to your ERP and losing repeat business due to crucial errors in your customer's’ orders, it's time to integrate your Shopify and ERP!

So how do you get started?

Here are a few essential steps to a successful ERP and eCommerce integration:

Plan, plan, plan: Before you begin to take a look at integrating your platforms, you should have a solid plan that your team will agree upon. Plan for any obstacles that might come into play.
Designate an eCommerce/Shopify champion to lead the project: Having someone heading up the project that understands your business rules and internal processes you would like to improve is going to make the project go much smoother.
Define the needs from your store to your ERP: What information will you need from the system to make your sales process more efficient? Why do you want your store to integrate with your ERP system?

Define the needs from your ERP to your store: Will you need to ask for additional customer information when they’re checking out on your website? Is there information that isn’t being captured currently that would help move contacts from being a lead through to procurement?
Ensure inventory data is reliable: Identifying where the gaps are in your inventory data before integrating will give you a stronger foundation for the newly integrated programs.
Review other systems you are using, such as warehouse management or third party logistics, and decide if they need to be integrated? And if they do how will the integration work?

Are you ready to setup your smooth integration? Let's schedule a call to find out how a Shopify and ERP integration can help you and your company today!

Using the Telephone as a Sales Tool: is this Concept Outdated?

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 16:25:30 GMT

Social Distancing has become the ‘new normal’ during the Coronavirus pandemic. Towns, cities, states and countries throughout the world have imposed lock downs to ‘flatten the curve’. As we all navigate this new ‘normal’, it occurred to me that a blog I wrote 8 years ago about using the telephone as a sales tool has become relevant but needed a refresh!

Technology has seen a huge evolution (again!) since I wrote the blog and, while the telephone is not used as much for calling, video conferencing has certainly gained traction and even before the pandemic, it was the go to for meetings rather than a telephone call, or even (when practical) in person meetings.

As the current social distancing protocols do not allow in person meetings, ‘Zoom’ calls have become commonplace and not just in the work environment. An app that we have been using for about two years to transact business meetings has suddenly become the go to for everyone!

In the past 6 plus weeks, Zoom has become the go to for socializing, be it a 10- minute coffee break, a happy hour, a yoga workout, a games night, book club meetings, everyone seems to be getting on board to socialize virtually!

Since we closed the Fisher office so our team can stay safe and work from home, we have encouraged everyone to use their video as much as possible during meetings to ensure we all have some social interaction during the day.

In my experience, conversation flows better when you can see a person, even if the image is transmitted through your computer camera. I also think that knowing you are going to be seen on screen ensures that you get dressed for work even if you are staying home. You may be wearing a collared shirt with shorts but under the desk no one will know!

While all this new technology is great, there are still business challenges when you are trying to drive sales during a pandemic. You can’t just pick up the telephone or schedule a meeting cold! However, you can’t stop working either! When this crisis passes its peak, life should, we all hope, get back to some sort of normal.

Do you want to have a virtual coffee with us?

Let's Talk

I think the solution is to use all the tools that we have available to keep connected. Using the telephone is still a great way to build relationships provided you avoid the pitfalls. If you want to make a telephone call, go ahead, but, don’t call without having a compelling message, just checking-in - is not a good reason to call! I would add a caveat that may be different if you have a long-standing relationship with someone.

Other pitfalls include; pestering a prospect, constantly leaving irrelevant messages and when connecting not listening to what the prospect is saying to you!

By using the telephone to be professionally persistent your genuine prospects will be more willing to engage with you. If used in conjunction with email you have a fast and effective backup that you can use to repeat your voicemail message, which will often ensure that you get a response to the message you leave.

A genuine prospect will get back to you. There are two key reasons you don't hear back: 1) if your prospect is not genuine or 2) you are not presenting your product in a way that pique their interest, in both cases your phone and your email will remain quiet!

Don't give up! You can always stop calling for a few weeks and then try and re-engage at a later stage with a different, more compelling message. If that still doesn't work, then you need to find our if they are genuine.

Never be afraid to qualify or disqualify a prospect. Better to work on real opportunities than chase pipe dreams.

The good news, in my opinion, is that the telephone is still a good sales tool; it’s up to you to make sure you are an effective user! When they answer the phone, you can always suggest next time you talk that you make it a Zoom!

Do you want to have a virtual coffee with us?

BPA Platform for SAP Business One Now Supports Release 10

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 17:25:32 GMT

BPA Platform is a versatile toolset that enables users to create simple alerts and notifications, automated reports and documents, workflow with human interaction and complex integrations.

For many years, we have worked with SAP Business One resellers and their customers who utilize BPA Platform with SAP Business One. Our SAP certified software has specific tools to connect to SAP Business One and ensure database integrity is maintained.

In addition, we ensure that BPA Platform stays current as we know that this is important for SAP Customers who regularly upgrade. They can be confident that our solution will continue to work with the latest version of SAP Business One. SAP recently released version 10 and BPA Platform now supports this release.

What does this mean?

The SAP Integration Tools for SAP Business One have been updated to support SAP B1 release 10. This includes support for SQL (DIAPI) and HANA (DIAPI and Service Layer). Work will be underway soon to support Service Layer for SQL. Look for an announcement late in Q2.

The patched version of the SAP Integration Tools is not currently available on our website, but is available, for customers who are current on maintenance, from us on request. The patched version can be used as a new installation or as an upgrade. If an upgrade, please be sure to refresh the connection schemas.

If you have any questions, please visit our support portal or send an email to support@fisher-technology.com.

If your business uses SAP Business One and you are looking to enhance the functionality to include automation and integration contact us today to learn more about BPA Platform for SAP Business One .

8 Suitcases and a Dream!

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 16:32:18 GMT

8 Suitcases and a Dream

It was cold the morning of February 9th 2006 when a family of four set off on a British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Miami, Florida. With them they carried 8 suitcases that contained treasured possessions and some summer clothes to last them a couple of months until the rest of their belongings would arrive on a container ship.

And in their hearts they carried a dream. The dream of living in the USA and building a business. And the scary reality that this decision would change all of their lives.

This is the story of the humble beginnings of Fisher Technology, LLC. Paul (CTO) and his wife Nicole (VP Sales & Marketing) had been appointed as the North American Distributor of TaskCentre authored by Orbis Software and they were going to be opening an Office in Boca Raton.

They had no contacts in the technology field in North America. All they had were a list of names and contact numbers of organizations who had expressed an interest in learning about business process management.

The initial goal of the business was to recruit Reseller Partners to sell TaskCentre to their end user customers. Over the first year patterns emerged of the markets where the solution fitted well, and Reseller Partners who resold SalesLogix (Infor CRM) and Sage MAS 90/200, 500 (Sage 100, Sage 500, X3) started to sign up.

As time passed and enhancements were added to the product, new markets such as SAP Business One, Dynamics AX and NAV opened up and more Partners from those channels joined the growing list of our Partners.

About 2 1/2 years ago when the web service tool was added to the toolset, we found there was a paradigm shift in focus for our partners and for the customers that they served. Now, we were able to offer integration. This was a totally new arena for us and we soon found a niche with integration between ecommerce and ERP and marketing automation and CRM.

We also found that many of our Partners did not want to get deeply involved in this integration process as it took away from their main focus. So we developed 'out of the box' standard solutions that could be delivered by our in-house team.

When I look back at our journey, I realize how much has changed in the business world. The changes have not just been in the direction of our business; but in the way all business is now conducted. When we started in 2006, cold calling and telemarketing was an accepted way of opening doors, and networking was done at Trade Shows or local business events. Inbound marketing and social media were something that did not exist. Everyone used Blackberries and apple phones had not become ubiquitous! No one talked about apps, Instagram, Facetime, Snapchat, LinkedIn or Facebook - these were still someone else's dreams that had not (yet) taken the business world by storm!

As I look back at all the business connections and friendships that we have made through our Partners and Customers l feel grateful.

I have learned so much by this experience. I have learned that not only do you have to be driven; but you also have to grab opportunities by the hand, extend your reach and come out of your comfort zone, and when you do this with determination and teamwork you can face all challenges head on and with a smile!

How else will you have a story that started with '8 Suitcases and a Dream"? And the next chapter on the journey for Fisher Technology, LLC is just starting to be written!

February 9th is a special date for us, it is the day we as a family celebrate the beginnings of our dreams coming true.

To all our Partners and Customers and the team at Codeless Platforms (Orbis Software Ltd) who have been with us on this journey, we would not be where we are today without all of your partnership, friendship and support. Thank you.

**Update February 2018. 2 more years have passed in the blink of an eye! Orbis Software re-branded in May 2017 and are now known as Codeless Platforms. As part of the rebranding, TaskCentre was renamed BPA Platform and Applications Platform was launched.

Fisher Technology Press Center

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