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Our time is precious and staying focused is vital to remaining efficient at work and in our personal lives. The average employee spends up to half of their working week simply replying to emails, according to a recent study. To produce our best work and maintain a healthy work-life balance, we need help. Software innovations can help our productivity and efficiency, but only if we are using well designed software. In this article, we explore some truly innovative software solutions to boost efficiency, strengthen security, and inspire creativity.
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Selecting Transformative Software
New software developments can help us to increase efficiency and productivity, but only if we choose the right software for our needs. Automation is supposed to make life easier and reduce friction. By selecting only the most effective and proven software, we can benefit from its help and not simply become bogged down by more apps and software programs that provide little value.
To find software that truly works for us, we need to establish what outcomes we need, and that the options we are considering are truly innovative software that can change our lives for the better.
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Innovation Defined
There is a difference between software that is innovative, and software that is simply new. Software innovations should truly transform the way we do something, or eliminate the need to do it at all. To define whether a software product will be truly valuable to your work and life, it should meet some of the following criteria:
- Address real-world issues: Nobody needs a solution to a problem that didn’t previously exist. For software advancements to really make a difference, they need to solve problems that truly cause inefficiency on a daily basis.
- Offer practical solutions: Using software to help with a problem should either offer a real and actionable solution, or eliminate the problem altogether. Solutions offered that require more equipment, investment, or staff than we have available are also not effective for making us more efficient. The right software will work for you where you currently are in your life and business.
- Seamlessly integrate into daily life: To improve our workflow and daily work-life balance, any software we use needs to be user-friendly, reducing friction in our work day. Rather than add tasks to our lists, we should barely notice we are using it after a time, as it saves us work during our day.
- Keeping a steady workflow: It takes an average of 23 minutes for us to refocus after being interrupted during a task. Using software to create intuitive workflow solutions helps us to stay on task, reducing lost time after interruptions.
- Support personal and professional development: Efficiency and developing good habits often go hand in hand. Truly efficient software helps our day to run smoothly and helps us to develop positive habits. These good habits are beneficial to both our work and personal lives and help us to achieve the work-life balance we desire.
- Be supported by research or expert testimonials: Solutions that work are tested and proven. By researching the claims made by software developers and reading the opinions of experts in the field, we can spot the innovative game changers in a sea of mediocre offerings.
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Top Software Innovations
Software developments, including AI innovations are changing the landscape of a working day for many successful companies. Some of the most dramatic changes can be seen in the following departments:
AI Project Management
Most of us engage in project management to some degree in our work, even if we are not professionals. Project management tasks can easily create black holes of lost time and a constant supply of interruptions.
As one of the most problematic areas of life and work, this is a prime example of where a superior software tool can be game changing. An innovative solution with over 100 million users, Monday.com uses advanced automation to enhance productivity. Innovative project management solutions like Monday can enhance the working day by:
- Drastically reducing manual scheduling
- Providing predictive insights to help you plan for likely outcomes
- Improving remote collaboration
- Prioritizing work in advance
- Reducing miscommunications and forgetfulness
- Eliminating some needs for outsourced calendar management
- Developing smooth workflow and eliminating procrastination
Creative Design Tools
The digital age demands a constant supply of graphic, design, and visual social media content for companies to stay relevant and convey their messaging to a wider audience.
When we are not blessed with an endless supply of creative ideas, and often have very little time to create the design elements of our work, integrating AI design tools can completely change your day’s workflow, while remaining true to your brand consistency.
A truly innovative technology such as Canvas’s AI integration can automate hours of design, social media, and marketing work. Speeding up design and social media tasks, future thinking software like canva.com can:
- Create stunning graphic designs in seconds
- Automatically resize content for different social media platforms
- Reduce the cost of outsourcing design services
- Free up time to experiment with new creative strategies
- Actively compete with companies with higher budgets
- Produce bulk content with ease
Secure Communication Platforms
As many of our communications move to online models, security must remain a high priority for both companies and individuals. As both internal and external communications within a company are at risk of being breached by hackers, paying attention to the quality of communication platforms we use is vital in the fight for security.
Encrypted internet based messaging services such as Signal add an extra layer of security to our vulnerable communications. By choosing to work with encrypted software programs, we can:
- Minimize the risks of data breaches
- Protect employees, customers, and suppliers data as much as possible
- Save money on telephone and SMS expenses
- Communicate internationally with ease
- Transition to internet only communications
Health and Wellness AI Trackers
Our health is directly linked to our efficiency. By improving and monitoring our health we can improve many other parts of life, including work. Software innovations in health technology are changing the game by offering personalized recommendations using your very own unique data. No more cookie cutter health recommendations.
With advanced AI software such as FitBit Premium services, we can:
- Get immediate and personalized health insights
- Receive advanced tracking and health reporting
- Increase fitness goal achievement by 15%
- Provide real time feedback on goal progress
- Monitor and improve our strength training progress
- Gather vital data to share with health professionals
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Industry Impacts
Software and AI innovations are impacting all industries to some degree. Industries leading the way by integrating software solutions are experiencing the most impacts to efficiency and cost savings. Some industries at the forefront of these technologies include:
Tech
As the tech industry itself relies upon complex project management, companies are quickly adopting software solutions to ensure that efficiency and effective communication is employed throughout each project.
Fortunately for users, most advanced AI project management software is developed by companies who rely heavily on new efficiency tools themselves.
Healthcare
Advanced software and automation has some of the most impactful uses in the health industry, with tools for both individuals and healthcare providers.
Alongside AI powered wearable fitness technology to help with preventative care, software innovations are changing the landscape for healthcare companies and providers. By using HIPAA compliant communication software such as ReminderCall, healthcare companies can integrate patient communications with their EHR and EMR systems, creating a smooth user experience for both patients and staff.
As appointment reminders, test results, follow up notes, and refill requests are a daily part of life in a healthcare setting, software can make a huge impact on office efficiency and encourage better health outcomes with improved communication.
Finance
As an industry under constant attack from cyber criminals and hackers, banks and financial institutions are increasingly turning to secure messaging systems to communicate with customers. As email is increasingly compromised by hackers and malware, secure systems instill confidence while ensuring data protection for both customers and employees.
Offering many customer service options online thanks to the advances of encrypted communication and AI software, banks and financial institutions can offer help to customers at any time of day, creating a more forward thinking model in an evermore 24/7 society.
Marketing
Strategic marketing is a vital part of any new or successful business. With AI developed software options, companies can now produce creative design content in minutes. With the increasing demand for content, and reduced or limited budgets, creative software is putting marketing tasks back into the hands of business owners. Saving money and time to be employed in other areas of their business, AI design can keep even small businesses at the front of customers’ minds.
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Starting Your Software Journey
Finding the right software for your business or home is a journey. Once you find the options that work for you, big changes can happen, but it pays to be selective about the software you test out. To find the right innovations for your needs, pay attention to the following before jumping in:
- Assessing your needs: With so many different options available, start with a clear idea of the outcome or benefits you need from an investment in software. A list of priorities helps to narrow down options, and also avoid disappointments.
- Be open to recommendations: Take time to talk to others in your industry, or people who have similar goals. The experiences of people we trust with a product can help us to decide which products we may wish to try.
- Explore options and try out: Many software options will offer a trial period, allowing you to experience the benefits for a period of time before investing. Make use of these testing periods to ensure a new software meets all of your needs and doesn’t have any surprises or problematic bugs.
- Take advantage of training and support: A lot of people do not get the full benefit of software they pay for, simply because they haven’t fully explored its capability. Many software companies offer training sessions, online support, and videos to help users solve problems and enhance their experience. Get the full value of your investment by taking the time to find out what it can do.
- Collect user feedback where appropriate: If your company is testing a new software that includes collaboration or customer communication, collect experiences from a good number of staff or clients before committing to a new investment. Some software options create a different user experience for staff vs customers, or managers vs employees. Ensure your new software is valuable to everyone involved.
- Continue to monitor the industry: Once you are benefiting from your new software innovations, remember to keep an eye on further advancements. Software is developing at a rapid rate, with AI integrations completely changing the landscapes of some industries. By staying in touch with what’s new, you can ensure you are always using the best software option for your needs.
In Conclusion
Software innovations to increase efficiency should offer a seamless user experience without creating more to-do-list tasks or extra friction in the day. From productivity and marketing solutions like monday.com and canva to corporate healthcare innovations like ReminderCall, the world is dramatically shifting to an automated and more efficient model that saves time, money, and stress. With many game changing solutions already available and a world of innovation developing everyday, it has never been easier to increase your efficiency and create a better work-life balance.
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