Today not only large corporations and big companies make lot of efforts to go green but even smaller corporations and medium sized businesses are putting their best foot forward in terms of going green. It has to be admitted that many companies in the beginning were using ‘going green’ as their marketing tool to project themselves as an environmentally responsible company. Today however thankfully there is a noticeable shift in the trend. Many companies today are making genuine efforts to help the environment and to leave as small a carbon footprint as possible. Many companies are becoming increasingly responsible in this area.

One of the most effective ways of going green is by using dynamic forms or digital forms instead of paper forms. It is not enough just to add notes such as, “Think of the environment before you print this email.” and “Don’t print this email unless you really need to.” Though such efforts are to be appreciated, they are just passive approaches. You need to take a more proactive and positive approach towards going green and that is the need of the hour. If your company uses a lot of surveys or questionnaires or any other form of information gathering as any part of your business for which you are currently using the conventional paper and pen method, then here is your chance to take that proactive step towards going green.

The whole idea about the ‘going green’ concept is using less resources. When we use digital forms, we will reduce the amount of paper that we use in our operations, this will contribute towards reducing the number of trees that are cut every year and reduce the carbon that is emitted into the environment. That is not everything, you will also use less electricity because you will not need a large team of back office executives processing your forms, and the list of green benefits continues.

When you choose to go green by using digital forms, the benefit is not only to you but also for your budget and profit. Except for the initial setup costs, you will save a considerable amount of money month after month and year after year. This will bring down your overhead costs dramatically. Isn’t this what every company is trying to achieve? Here again, is your chance for cost cutting. Here in this case going green also has an element of selfishness but in the good sense. Going green by the use of web forms, PDA forms and digital forms after all creates a win-win situation for you. When you have nothing to lose but have everything to gain, do not hesitate to make that shift in your organisation.

igroup exhibited on stand 40 at the Civica show, which proved a huge success. igroup would like to thank everyone who came especially to visit us and to all other delegates who we spoke to. Civica, who specialise in consultancy and software held their annual conference on the 27-28 January 2010, where igroup launched Dynamics Forms 2010 and talked to key members of the public sector on enterprise mobility. The Conference brought together customers and experts from across the many sectors, which provided a forum to share knowledge and ideas and to learn about how to successfully balanc the demands of service delivery and efficiency to their employees'.

82% of housing departments and associations have stated that mobile working is a priority for them in 2010, yet only 38% have a mobile working strategy in place.

 Integration with other IT applications is the main bug bear faced by housing departments in developing a mobile working strategy. Applications such as Micrsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be intergrated with a mobile IT solution, such as Dynamic Forms. However, according to the poll, the greatest benefits in implementing a mobile working strategy are to provide flexible and innovative ways of working for housing staff (33%) and higher service to citizens (36%).

Housing associations face immense challenges (NHF, 2009). These range from being able to generate tangible savings in 2010, improving ways of working for staff and enhancing service for citizens. Housing associations are coming around to the idea that mobile working strategies can deliver innovative, yet practical, ways of solving these challenges.

An example of mobile working initiative is to give field staff handheld devices to carry out updates on repairs and timesheets while they are out visiting customers which are logged on completion. Immediate benefits in achieving efficiency improvements.  In addition to reducing levels of manual data entry, fuel and inventory costs will decrease and there have been significant gains in productivity.

Visit igroup at the premier IT exhibition in social housing on the 17 – 18 November, Olympia, London.

IT in Housing Exhibition is the UK’s largest and most highly acclaimed housing technology exhibition.

The exhibition, which forms the focal point of the National Housing Federation’s IT in Housing Conference, is now in its 10 year, and offers delegates and visitors an excellent one-stop opportunity to explore the latest innovations, products and services from 80 leading ICT suppliers to the housing sector.

Visit igroup Ltd to experience demos of Dynamic Forms, and talk to our team to discuss your mobile IT needs.

Entry to the exhibition is free of charge.

}  The use of mobile devices is growing exponentially as companies look for new ways to support a workforce that requires easy, wireless access to forms and other documents in the field.

}  Without a solid investment in current business technologies, you can’t compete effectively in a global marketplace. }  Companies struggle to define a mobile IT strategy. }  They also find it difficult to identifying the right set of tools for managing mobile IT (MDM).}  Companies tend to start with the technology and work backwards from there, trying to solve business problems.

}  Finding the right option is imperative.

}  We are in an ‘info-centric’ era as we focus our IT plans and strategies around information rather than the computer.

What should a Mobile IT strategy look like?

}  Mobility should be at the core of any and all IT strategies going forward.

}   Increasingly distributed operations.

}   Hopefully Reduce legacy infrastructure costs.

}  Think through operational issues before finalising a strategy - management, support, security.

}  Pick the best toolset for the job, but keep growth in mind.

}  Handhelds will replace PCs for many but expect continuing evolution for the foreseeable future.

}  Build teams regardless of the physical distance between team members. 

Competitive Advantage from Strategy

}  The theme is one of continuous connectivity, where we can access data anywhere.

}  The main competitive advantage remaining today for any business, irrespective of industry, is the ability to obtain and act on information ahead of your competition.

}  Your ability to get information into the hands of people who need that information, and enable them to act on and interact with that information before the competition does, is what's going to make a difference in terms of business success.

Overview

}  The value that mobility brings to an enterprise is well known. It's difficult to imagine how an enterprise cannot benefit from access to information at any location at any time.

}  The company should ensure investments in mobile IT fulfil the desired objective of contributing to evolving the IT infrastructure to higher levels of enterprise mobility.

}  An enterprise mobile strategy should ensure that:

}  The fast-changing technology landscape does not result in investments becoming redundant.

}  The existing IT infrastructure can be leveraged to provide mobile solutions.

}  Implementation of mobility does not affect the performance and functionality of existing critical enterprise IT systems.  

A feature-packed high performance GPS handheld

Productivity and patient care could be improved by remote IT access for community health workers.

Is it the end of the clipboard in hospitals?

Mobile technology for community health workers could increase productivity by a quarter, reduce travel time by a third, and improve patient care, according to the results of an NHS trial.A three-month pilot run by Nottinghamshire Health Informatics Service allowed community clinicians and therapists to securely access clinical systems and patient records on the move.Electronic versions of NHS forms were downloaded on staff’s PDA, to enable them to complete patient forms remotely. Such forms and patient records can be completed off-line and in remote locations. User’s  were given PDA’s to carry out their daily patient checks.

iGroup’s ‘Dynamic Forms’ can assist the NHS, as the device allows real time access allowing nurses to respond to referrals while on their rounds. Using a paper system, if a patient requires a blood test, they must wait until a nurse comes off their rounds to see the note. The nurse can receive the request and respond immediately.

"Because a quicker blood test means a quicker diagnosis and quicker treatment, people can get out - and no one wants to be in hospital," said Salford staff nurse Jenny Quilliam.The results of the trial showed the potential for a 25 % increase in productivity, reduction in travel times of 32 %, with the potential to reduce commuting by 50 %.On average 96 % of patient notes were completed on the day - without mobile working, there is typically a delay of up to 48 hours as workers report back to the office to write up notes.Users perceived an average of 70 % improvement in facilities to do their job.

‘The mobility trial has helped to transform the way community clinicians and therapists work,’ said Stuttle.‘Users have access to real-time information, enabling them to plan their day better and have direct contact with colleagues and hospitals. This solution is helping to deliver the highest quality care for patients.’

With iGroup's solution, ‘Dynamic Forms’, which will help increase productivity in the NHS and reduce travel times, as well as giving maximum ROI will mean to end of hospital clip boards.