Why Software based Data Governance Matters?

A modern organization, whether it is a business or a public sector department, face new challenges in surviving in a global world with increased calls for transparency and accountability towards stakeholders.

• The growth of the internet and competition from overseas has required organizations to maximize efficiencies, seek ways to automate activities, and reduce non-essential business costs. 

• A more transient employment forces coupled with a retiring management force has required organizations to devote more resources to training and has raised issues with internal compliance with important and evolving business policies.

• New governance regulations, including privacy acts, data retention laws, and increase scrutiny following in the wake of recent corporate scandals has added to the woes of many small businesses and public sector organizations as they face new reporting requirements and demands for more transparencies on internal operations.

Traditionally, organizations have relied upon dedicated department managers and employee training manuals to oversee business processes and to manage group workflows.   Paperwork, manual approval processes and redundant efforts were commonplace and record keeping and data often existed in multiple forms and in multiple places.  These practices, for the reasons mentioned above, are no longer sufficient.  This is where a technology and software based management solutions play a role.

Modern Needs require Modern Solutions.

For organizations concerned with whether they are able to compete in a global economy and keep up with increased regulations and business challenges, they need to look at how they operate and ensure they have the required systems in place.   

The three primary areas that separate the top performing organizations from others is can they adhere to the following activities.

1. Enforcing Business Policies and Automating Workflow

2. Centralized and Secure Data Management

3. Reporting Outcomes

These three principles do not replace good marketing plans, strong customer service, or quality of product and services, but rather serve as a framework upon which organizations will be able to maximize their common business activities and leverage their own internal strengths while avoiding unproductive activities. 

Instead of relying upon management to oversee these, the optimal solution is to ensure that the software and common tools accommodate these processes and work across the board. 

How The Fdata Business Suite (FBS) satisfied these needs:

The Fdata Business Suite  (FBS) is a database application and software solution designed for organizations that have identified organizational inefficiencies in how they operate and require a flexible solution that can accommodate their unique needs.   It is a suite of business tools, invoicing, contract management, case management and more that can either work alongside or replace other business solutions.  It is designed as server based centralized solution that users can access either through a web browser or through a faster and more comprehensive desktop software program that is easy to deploy. Each user can have a customized screen, with different fields, access to different information, and different sets of available tasks according to what is needed for their specific role. 

 For business, it offers a comprehensive solution to common business practices. 

Enforcing Business Policies and Automating Workflow.

Organizations have diverse teams with countless numbers of individual responsibilities that depend on each other to succeed.  Ensuring that a manager signs off on a budgetary proposal, or that a service technician performs an exact series of steps is a common practice.  Each organization sets up internal procedures, guidelines, and processes.  Sometimes these exist within a training guide, or have a set of forms that are passed from desk-to-desk.  At times, some of these checks and balances can seem very tedious and wasteful, but they are often at the heart of managing an organization.  Some organizations in trying to enforce processes hire teams of managers whose role is purely oversight, redirecting limited resources that would be better utilized gaining new customers or servicing existing ones.

Fdata has realized that instead of hiring another manager to enforce these processes it makes much more sense to implement enforcement mechanisms and workflow procedures directly into the software so as to automate common procedures and enforce organizational compliance. 

At the heart of the FBS, is a business process manager, which can oversee and control how each component of the software works.   Unlike traditional “macros” which may automate some aspects of a user’s tasks, the FBS business works across an organization and enforce business processes in each component of the software.  

Prior to implementing an advanced FBS solution, (FBS can also be implemented out of the box for later automation) Fdata’s project managers will meet with key members of a organization to undertake a review of their common business practices and organizational procedures, and capture how data or task move throughout an organization.  Once workflows and processes are determined, these are added to a central task manager that can automatically assign activities to different users.  Permissions and authorizations can be built into a common task so as to enforce compliance with any business rule. 

For instance, in a recent FBS implementation for a online university’s contract management solution, multiple levels of signoff from program administrators as well as budgeting authorities were required prior to hiring a subject matter expert to run a course. A workflow was created to track each stage of a contract, digitally store signed copies, and alert decision makers at each stage.  With hundred of unique contracts passing through the organization, the software ensured that each one was tracked, approved in a timely matter and centrally stored.  Individual were still required to review each contract, but the language was standardized and the process was automated so that each signoff could appear within a list for appropriate users and financial information was exported directly into a system.

Another recent implementation required for a foster home placement organization arose out of the need to automate screening processes and to ensure government regulations were complied with.  The organization had ongoing issues where foster homes were being overcrowded and regular on-site checks were not always being performed.  The business process manager was customized to ensure than no child could be places in a home until all background checks were filled and flags were implemented to limit each foster care home to two children unless a supervisor approved a temporary placement. 

Enforcing business policies directly within the software ensure that proper steps are taken, and can save organizations thousands in efficiencies.

Centralized and Secure Data Management 

At the heart of a modern organization is the data it collects and stores.  These are client contacts, sales transactions, notes, employee activities, information and more.  Some organizations already use shared databases for some of their activities, but the modern organization must ensure all knowledge and information is accessible across an organizations, securely stored, and protected.  The notion that one should not keep all of their eggs in one basket can actually be counterproductive. It is much easier to control access to information and ensure data integrity if it is stored in a single location that can be properly archived, backed up (the backups should be stored securely elsewhere), and accessed only by those with appropriate credentials.

FData Business Suite is built upon an Oracle database that stores all of the information securely, encrypts data, and has permissions at each level of the storage.  Changes to the data can be tracked, so if a member of an organizations staff tries to change information that should not be changed, the system can record that information for later auditing.   Recent government legislation including Sarbanes-Oxley in the US and other laws already require many of the largest corporations to keep all records securely, but any organization should have proper procedures in place. 

FBS not only stores information, it also manages carefully a series or permissions and checks that govern who can use this data.  For instance, while it may be advantageous for a company executive or an account manager to see all records on a client, a service technician at a company may only be privy to information of a specific case.  One employee may require read only access to certain dataset while another may only be permitted to add notes to an open case.  Securing each aspect of a record and use allows a single repository of data to be used across an organization. 

All information and data used by an organization can be stored directly within the FBS if desired.   Attachments such as scanned contracts or templates for legal documents can be attached to a clients record or a service order.  An organization may not even want certain documents to be passed around by email or stored on a laptop in case they may get lost later.  This central repository of information also makes it much easier for an organization to standardized documents and role out revisions at any point. The FBS system, using the document builder, allows organizations to design a template in a Microsoft Office application format such as word and store the template in the system so that any information can be exported in a common format. 

For instance, with a contract management system, an organization may want its legal department to prepare sample contracts with all of the acceptable terms.  A program administrator could input the contacts into the database and choose templates that the system would then populate with the contacts data and export as a Microsoft word document.  Preparing a contract would take minutes and the organization could ensure that all staff are always using the latest revision.  Future templates would instantly be available to all authorized staff directly from their access screen.    

In another case, a large organization uses the FBS solution to manage cross border shipments of merchandize and equipment for tradeshows.  From a single system, the system can instantly generate packing sheets, paperwork for customs, and load-in sheets for staff on the grounds.  The FBS system, by centrally managing all of these documents reduced the overhead that the organization used to have be having to fill out new documents for each shipment. 

Reporting Outcomes 

Organizations that are able to function best are often the ones that can track all of their goals, and instantly generate reports based on their outcomes.   In the past, organizations often struggled with tracking data and being able to expose it to decision makers in an expedient process.  Managers may have devoted a significant amount of time to collecting information from all of their staff and putting that information into acceptable reports. Generating reports and compiling information are essential to provide back to investors, shareholders and government departments.

FBS can instantly generate reports on any activity and present them into any format. Reports can be generated onscreen in a customized dashboard for decision makes to view real time information an all activities.  A service coordinator may be interested in knowing exactly how many repairs are ongoing so as to be able to schedule technician time.  A sales manager may want to see exactly where in the sales pipeline each contract is at so as to generate forecasts and assist struggling sales associates. 

The document builder module allows the system to instantly populate a Microsoft document with any dataset so as to allow organizations to instantly provide appropriate information in a suitable form.   

For instance, an immigrant services society that utilizes FBS is required to provide a specific serious of reports to its foundational funders.  The funders are interested in statistics on how many clients are being reached, what services are being offered, as well as feedback from the client.  This information can be generated from the database instantly into a report for the clients, based on preset fields and reusing an existing template.  The organization doesn’t have to pull any of its staff away from their regular activities to compile these reports.  Feedback recorded in the system once can be generated as needed. 

FBS can also feed data from the system directly into other software systems via an advanced set of input and export interfaces.  For instance, in an implementation of a contract management solution for a University, the system tracks the terms and completion of specific contracts that are then exported directly into an existing central payment processing used by the finance department.

FData Business Suite has a quick return on investment. 

Enforcing business policy, centralizing data, and reporting outcomes in a efficient matter can result in immediate savings for an organization in overhead management costs and increases in productivity.  Relying on technology to enforce data governance principles is far less expensive than hiring a new staff member to perform redundant tasks and can allow team members to focus on profitable business activities.  Avoiding costly mistakes by using software to enforce compliance with regulations and business processes may be invaluable in unforeseen situations.   

Fdata Business Suite is designed to automate these processes in a cost effective matter. As a result, Fdata can add a custom business process, data entry or reports in a quick and cost effective matter immediately or in the future.