Companies invest in technology due to increased growth and expansion. This is due to the need for better service delivery and an increased customer base. Integrating an old automation system to a new one may not be entirely easy and error free. Marrying the two systems of automation may not be easy to make them deliver the expected solutions without causing gaps.
This lack of a clear combination between the two systems creates a vacuum in the system. This integration island may result in data loss, errors and poor productivity. With this vacuum, your company may experience the following gray areas:
- Wrong entries
If you use an older system to enter a customer’s request and a different system to process the order, chances of capturing the wrong data or mixing it up are very high. With this mix up, deliveries may end up at the wrong address. This may cause you losses and customer complains. It could also cost you penalties and fines.
- Poor customer ratings
Failure to integrate the two automation systems could result to poor customer ratings. For instance, if you enter wrong delivery addresses for a consignment, you could end up delivering it to the wrong address. You could also send the wrong package to the wrong customer. This will in the end give your company a poor customer rating.
- Data loss
A vacuum in the system can result to data loss. When the two systems fail to merge seamlessly, the result can be disastrous. If you are dealing with financial records, a simple error in data can wipe the financial history of your customers. This would spell doom for both the company and the customers.
Imagine a customer visiting a financial institution to find out their account balance but they cannot be provided with the information due to loss of data. This would cause panic and distrust.
- Reputation
When gray areas in merging system affect the way business is run, a company is likely to suffer reputational risk. The company’s image will be affected and this can cause poor public image. If customers are always complaining about your company due to system related issues, the corporate image of the company is affected. This will affect the company’s bottom line in the long run and reduce profit margins. To avoid these hitches, proper integration of Automation Systems is crucial. This will make operations easy and fast.
- Poor productivity
Lack of proper system integration will result in redundancy and poor performance. This is caused by performing the same tasks manually and transferring the same data to the new system. The same role may also be performed by two different people at different levels. The end result is poor performance and low productivity. It can also result to frustrations in the workplace. This will create negative energy which is a recipe for poor performance.
- System vulnerability
Failure to seamlessly integrate the automation systems can leave your company exposed and vulnerable. A weak point within your system will be a perfect bleeding ground for cyber-attacks. When this happens, confidential company information will end up in the wrong hands. When integrating your systems, it is important to ensure all weak points are sealed. This ensures you have a robust system that can flawlessly deliver the needed solutions for you.
- Website Failure
The older type of system does not allow customer interaction and support. However, with the evolution of technology, companies are shifting towards versatile types of systems that can accommodate customer interactions. This means that a customer can log into the system and enjoy the services they are looking for in your company without the support of the company’s staff.
However, failure to integrate the new and the old automation system properly may create errors. A customer’s request may fail to go through, resulting to them visiting your offices or making endless calls in an attempt to complete the request. This negates the whole purpose of introducing the new system in the first place.
To ensure your integration of the old and new system is flawless and gives you the desired results, consulting established IT firms to support the migration and integration of your system will save you trouble and deliver the desired solutions.