Deloitte Asia Pacific Technology Fast 500

DataPro Solutions is excited to have been named as one of the top 500 technology firms in this year’s Deloitte Asia Pacific Technology Fast 500.

The Index is based on the companies with the biggest revenue growth over the past three years.

New Zealand ranks 5th overall out of the nine countries in the Index, with fifty companies overall. DataPro Solutions entered the Software sector, which outranked all other sectors with 145 companies in the Fast 500 ranking; however only 13 of these were from New Zealand.

Pre-Empting Disaster

The September 4th earthquake in Christchurch highlighted gaps in risk-management for a number of companies.

Many businesses still have critical business information stored on paper, while others fail to consistently back-up their online data. Walls tumbled down, buildings were too dangerous to enter and access to offices holding vital computers and files became in-accessible.

Many businesses lost all their customer and supplier records and are struggling to operate.

If we were to get another shake or similar disaster – how would your business cope?

DataPro Solutions can't help with jangled nerves and collapsed buildings, but we can help with ensuring you can still operate by having access to your client records and important operational data.

Why back-up?
But why back-up paper? It cannot get deleted or corrupted.

True, but it does burn, get lost and in the event of an earthquake it can be condemned as part of a building and be deemed irretrievable.

At the very least if your organisation does rely on paper it should be scanned and stored electronically and then regularly backed up.

Information of vital importance to the running of your business should preferably be entered into a database. The database should allow authorised staff to conduct easy searches, edit and view the information that is relevant to their role.

Databases also need to be backed up and stored somewhere very safe – away from your office.

How safe is ‘very safe’?
‘Very safe’ is not the glove box in your car or a drawer in a desk. ‘Very safe’ is somewhere not on your premises and preferably not even in the same city. It needs to be somewhere fire proof, earthquake proof and very secure.

In the past this presented a real problem as each organisation typically had to buy extra hardware, people had to be trained to carry out the procedures and cover arranged when they went on holiday. Thanks to the advent of broadband internet and data compression technology this has all got a lot simpler and cheaper. There are now a number of online backup services that will backup all your data and store it somewhere safely and securely over the internet without you having to do anything.

At DataPro Solutions we use Nexus (www.nexusdata.co.nz) to back up all our client databases. We also ensure that we can retrieve and restore those backups if required; after all there isn't much point in doing backups if you can't easily get to it!

Survive or fail – which are you?
While no-one would wish an earthquake or similar fate to befall anyone – think about how your business would really cope if the unexpected happened.

Business back-up and disaster recovery solutions can range from simple and cheap through to complex and costly – you need to choose the option that meets your organisation's operational needs.

If your business can survive for a couple of days without its IT systems then you don't need a top of the range 'flick a switch' and it’s all back on again system. However if your business does rely on real-time information and communications with customers, suppliers and staff then this is money well spent. At the very least you should be able to sleep at night knowing that your transactional data is being backed up and is safe.

Don't wait until disaster strikes and realise it’s too late.
For advice on how we can help you with a customised database to support your data and business contact David on 03 376 4525 or email david@datapro.co.nz

Who Do Your Customers Trust?

Research company Satmetrix has shown that much of the £14 billion UK companies spend on advertising would be better spent on delivering a higher quality customer experience. Nearly a quarter (24%) of customers claimed to have switched suppliers, mainly due to unfair fees / charges, poor product or service quality and rude or uninterested employees.

They claim only 2% of respondents trust advertising the most as a source of information when choosing a product or service, but almost half (49%) see personal recommendations from friends, family or colleagues as the most trustworthy source of information. Over seven times as many people (15%) trust consumer opinions posted online than trust advertising.

Almost two thirds of consumers (64%) look to other consumers to guide their purchase decisions – through word of mouth, informal comments online, or formal feedback processes, such as through customer satisfaction surveys.

Helen Shorthouse, Customer Insight Manager at DataPro Solutions adds, “Customers usually don't leave a company because they have been actively stolen by a competitor, they tend to leave because they feel unloved by their existing supplier. We shouldn’t take our customers for granted and need to ensure we constantly delight them. Not only will this keep existing clients, but it means they will also tell their friends and colleagues.”

DataPro Solutions can help your business through:
• Customer satisfaction surveys
• Adding the Net Promoter Score (NPS) to your existing survey – likelihood to recommend and the reason for the score
• Setting up regular communications with your clients (email or direct marketing) which are tailored to their needs and use of your product or service
• Setting up a CRM (customer relationship management) database to help you effectively manage your relationships with your clients or members

To find our more call us on 03 376 4525 or email info@datapro.co.nz

Would you Recommend DataPro Solutions?

“How likely are you to recommend DataPro Solutions to your friends / colleagues?”
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is an indication of customer loyalty and likelihood of doing business with us again and is measured by taking the number of detractors from the number of promoters. DataPro Solutions scored an NPS of 48 in our own customer satisfaction survey. This tells us we are doing some things well, but have room for improvement.

What we’re doing well
You tell us you like our professional friendly approach, with our staff rating highly. You say we are good at understanding your needs and taking a partnership approach, as well as being good value for money.

DataPro Solutions has always focused on having a personalised approach and customising our work to meet clients’ exact needs and this appears to be working.

How we can do better
Areas that we need to focus on centre around our documentation - in particular invoicing, proposals and reports. We hope that you continue to see positive changes in this area over the coming months as we put more detail on the invoices and improve the layout and look of some of our other documents.

We also got some suggestions for improvements on project management and this is an area we are seeking to address, in particular around communicating timelines.

Are we making a difference to you?
We also asked how the work DataPro Solutions does for our clients helps your business.

The majority of our clients say DataPro Solutions has really made a difference to their business - increasing efficiencies and saving time. A number say our work has provided insight, saved money and helped in making business decisions.

Thank you once again for your feedback. We look forward to continuing to help you all make a difference in your business.

If you have any further comments or suggestions about DataPro Solutions, please let us know – call Glenn on 03 376 4525 or email glenn@datapro.co.nz

If you would like to run a customer satisfaction survey call Helen on 03 376 4525 or email helen@datapro.co.nz

Microsoft .Net

DataPro Solutions aims to deliver database solutions that are easy to use, maintain and provide great value for money. While historically we have worked with Access solutions, we now develop most of our applications as web based solutions using Microsoft .Net.

What are the Benefits?
There are a number of benefits to clients of web based solutions using Microsoft .Net, including:

Robust and secure

• We store your data in a SQL Server database, a very robust and stable database platform which is far less prone to the data corruption that Access databases can experience
• Performance is vastly improved compared with Access

Cost management

We can host the solutions that we develop for you on our secure servers with the following advantages:

• Changes in your IT environment won’t affect the availability of your database solution
• You don't need to invest in a lot of costly technology, all you need is a PC and a web browser to access it
• No requirement for Windows and Access upgrades and licensing – saving you time and money
• We can quickly and painlessly provide support and enhancements
• We manage your database backups regularly and thoroughly, meaning you don't have to

Flexibility

• Your database can be accessed by anyone you authorise, regardless of their location
• No limit on the number of users

For advice on how we can help you with a customised Microsoft .Net database contact David on 03 376 4525 or email david@datapro.co.nz 

Is it Grumpy Where You Are?

Grumpy or moody colleagues are the biggest workplace irritants, a survey by Opinium Research has revealed, with 37% saying they find it hard to work when co-workers are sulking, grumpy or irritable.

A close second (36%) say they are frustrated by computer breakdowns in the office, with colleagues who gossip or indulge in backstabbing annoying 19% of staff.

Other things we find irritating about our work-places include people speaking too loudly on the phone, overbearing health and safety rules, dirty toilets and bad heating or air conditioning.

A number of people have even quit their jobs as a result of these irritants.

In 2008 an online poll found workers loudly munching their way through bags of chips was the most annoying office sound, followed by the sound of a hot drink being slurped loudly and annoying mobile ringtones.

Do you know what your team think of your workplace?

We run employee surveys for a number of our clients, on one-off or an ongoing basis. Talk with us now if you would like to get some feedback from your team – call Helen on 03 376 4525 or email helen@datapro.co.nz for more information

Car Free Day

You may not know it, but 22nd September was World Car Free Day and the team at DataPro Solutions joined in. It was a cold, crisp and beautiful day in Christchurch and the team walked, bussed and cycled in; even Glenn left his beloved car at home and walked into work along the sea-front.

Christmas

The DataPro Solutions office will be closed over the Christmas holidays from 24th December, reopening on 10th January 2011. A skeleton staff will be available for support during the break – please contact 03 376 4525.

We wish all of you a very merry Christmas and a restful summer break and look forward to working with you all in 2011.

Introducing Prospero

The Team at DataPro Solutions is pleased to introduce Prospero, a customer satisfaction survey tool which has been designed specifically for the motorhome industry. It will be rolled out to other sectors next year, so let us know if you're interested.

Improve your customer experience – increase profitability

1. Quick and reliable customer feedback
2. Reporting
3. Action focus
4. Benchmarking

Prospero supports you and your team to provide a great service to your customers and grow your business profitably.

Prospero includes:

• A customer satisfaction survey – specifically designed for motorhome customers
• Online reporting showing what your customers say about their experience and identifying key areas for improvement
• An annual summary report
• Benchmarking information for you to compare your results against others in the industry

Easy to set up and ready to go within days of signing up.

Download the Prospero brochure here

For more information about Prospero, or to discuss a fully customised solution phone 03 376 4525 or email helen@datapro.co.nz

Guide to Save Money and Energy

A new guide for tourism businesses has been launched by the Tourism Industry Association. It features short case studies from operators around New Zealand and shows simple ways to save energy and money, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars annually.

You can get the guide by clicking here
 

Want to Know More?

To find out more about anything we’ve talked about, or to give us feedback - call Glenn on 03 376 4525, or email glenn@datapro.co.nz

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