It’s Not If – It’s When: Key Technology Advancements That Will Impact Your PS Organization

To excel with professional service automation, it’s crucial to be proactive and stay up-to-date with the latest IT and process trends. We must continually analyze the emerging developments that are transforming the industry. This article identifies and discusses advancements that are enhancing profitability, scalability, and efficacy for all businesses, including professional services organizations.

Understanding these valuable insights will take your project and change management to the next level.

AI-Powered Resource Allocation

We’ll begin with one of the hottest topics, AI. Top Step believes AI will have noticeable impacts on PSA in the not-too-distant future.  Many organizations are already leveraging its capabilities – think ChatGPT and other simple tools like this.  An example of where AI will impact PSA is the area of resource management, where project requirements and resource availability can be optimized with AI-powered features to guide users through complex decisions and trade-offs.

AI may be able to allocate resources more effectively, but only when trained and appropriately directed. The same can be said for other PSA decisions. Imagine if companies could implement PSA with effective prompt and management techniques for their AI-assisted systems to properly outline, infer, provide a recommended action plan, and communicate based on these data-driven insights.

It’s important to remember that AI-assisted decision-making still needs to be tested and measured thoroughly, so this is not something we will see immediately, but know it will be coming.

By working with PSA consultants such as Top Step, you can properly identify the gaps between your models and the PSA system now and in the future as these new powerful automation features start working into products like NetSuite OpenAir.

Blockchain for Enhanced Security and Transparency

Blockchain is a digitally supported system that offers advancements in technology and security. Although it is primarily known for its cryptocurrency derivatives, blockchain remains one of the most promising trends, and PS organizations should take notice of its benefits.

Blockchain is a distributed and decentralized database that securely records and verifies transactions across multiple participants, ensuring data integrity and protection.

Intermediaries or central authorities do not need to be used to verify transactions, allowing for a quick and agile approach to most projects. Nevertheless, the increased integrity and protection reduce the risk of fraudulent activities while also increasing transparency.

Finally, data tampering is made extremely difficult with the implementation of blockchain technology. Once a transaction or input is recorded, it cannot be altered or deleted retroactively. This delivers a high level of confidence, integrity, and authenticity of your data can be preserved and made into an invaluable asset.

This technology may not become a direct feature of a PSA, but it certainly will become a part of most financial systems. Either way, it is something to be aware of and where this is headed, as it does impact the financial operations which are integrated with most PSA systems.

Gamification of Project Management

Gamification, as a concept, is one of the most discussed trends (right after AI) in the PSA space. Gamification is the process of turning an idea or project into a reward system, much like the scoring of various games. Gamification introduces an exciting way that promotes healthy collaboration and motivates your team.

Gamification in the PSA space can be best deployed into your project management process. Using leaderboards, rewards, and point systems, you can tap into the innate human desire for competition and achievement. This can increase your organization’s performance and can solidify professional relationships within your organization. Team members are encouraged to work together, support each other and achieve project goals on time and accurately.

We recommend turning project-related tasks and milestones into challenges with an increasingly valuable rewards-based system that is valuable to your team members but does not go overboard. It may be worthwhile to look for gamification in other areas of your organization to evolve standards and cross-team competition.

When implementing project-management tools such as NetSuite’s OpenAir, customization of the product can be used to achieve some elements of gamification. This will allow your organization to move towards gamifying aspects of your project management process.

Personalized Customer Experience through PSA

As the world becomes increasingly digital and serviced through online tools, it is essential to assess the role of personalized experience as part of your competitive edge.

While things such as efficiency and pricing can be quantified and measured, personalized service is more of an intangible experience that your customers, staff, vendors, and stakeholders can relate to.

With OpenAir, you can identify patterns, trends, and preferences and track the effectiveness of these interactions during each step of the process. Personalization of your service offerings is not just a nice-to-have feature – it drives much of the satisfaction your customers have with your organization.

Your business can use this PSA system to create personalized customer experiences, innovate service offerings/packages, and improve upon already existing ones. By recognizing the importance of the personalized experience in your PSA system, you can exceed expectations, drive retention and even foster an environment that invites loyalty.

A Step Ahead with Top Step

This list contains just some of the advancements and key trends and becoming integrated into many businesses today, including the PS industry. By looking forward, you can make decisions on where to invest in emerging technology and trends, determine the impact they’ll have on your business, and when it will be the right time to leverage these evolving areas.

At Top Step, we have accumulated over 15 years of implementing and deploying NetSuite’s OpenAir to get you the most out of your PSA tools. With our knowledgeable consultants, we are here to guide you through implementation, deployment, project management, financial management, and more as you harness the power of emerging trends and existing structures.

Contact us today to learn more about the Top Step difference.