Supercharge your project and business data with smart/sync

What is smart/sync?

Paul: smart/sync is a highly customisable management Information (MI) reporting service that we’ve developed to enable a single source of truth to report business activity, whether that’s for Sales, PMO and Project Status, or Executive’s. There needs to be one version of the truth for management reporting, not multiple versions of it.

Bradley: smart/sync is our executive reporting service, underpinned by a web application that allows organisations to synthesise, standardise and summarise their data.

How has it come about?

Paul: The more time we spent with our clients, the more we learned how much time (sometimes days) the Project and Programme Managers spent compiling monthly project information packs. Generally, they export data from systems, run through excel formulas, pivot tables and charts, then paste them into PowerPoint. And each PM does it slightly differently each time, too! We knew there was a better, simpler, real-time way to pull information into one place and present it back both effectively and powerfully to those that require it. So, we built it.

Bradley: smart/tasking has set up PMOs for many organisations, and at arrival we always encounter the same problems; multiple systems and data silos with inconsistent processes across the portfolio, making holistic reporting very difficult.

These challenges are typically overcome in one of two ways – implementing standardised systems or wrangling the data together and visualising it using data visualisation software. Neither is ideal. It’s difficult to find single systems that fulfill all of an organisations’ needs and implementing them can be unpopular, not to mention the limited reporting functionality. Data visualisation software avoids some of these issues but needs an industry around it to keep the data up to date and connected. That’s why we created smart/sync.

How is it different from other products on the market?

Paul: Great question! We investigated using marketplace information systems such as Power BI & Tableau. We found that whilst we could use a client’s instance of these tools (if they had that subscription), the specialist skills in data science / Analyst would need to be dedicated to producing these in house. The way see it is that you will have access to key business skills such as Project & PMO expertise, Business & Data analysts to help identify powerful and retrievable data sometimes across multiple systems. So, we see it not just as a management information platform, but a service that presents clear and concise storytelling through beautiful visuals and trend analysis – the power of one truth provided in real time without the effort. You simply can’t get access to that level of skill and care from a mass market product.

Bradley: We think we’ve created the best of all worlds in smart/sync. It allows organisations to keep using the systems they’re used to and enjoy high quality visualisation without the excessive overheads of data collation.

Who is it for?

Paul: It’s for any business, big, small and anywhere in-between; those who are struggling with presenting and understanding what their data is trying to tell them. From executives who wait for someone to compile reports (why should they?), to sales managers seeing how their sales are progressing against their targets. In this modern age of technology, clients, suppliers, businesses want smarter, slicker believable power data to make their decisions from. You don’t need to be or have a “go to” IT person in your business. Tech is advancing at such a fast pace, however it’s still people that make decisions, and those decisions require a single source of truth, in one place, at any time.

Bradley: For me I’d say it’s as simple as: it’s for organisations that are struggling to understand themselves.

How does it work?

Paul: All you need for smart/sync is internet access and a browser. There is multi factor authentication (MFA), so access is controlled, and your data is securely encrypted. We take care of hooking into the data repositories and retrieving the data that’s required for our clients’ reporting needs. Not only that, but you’ll also have access to our tech and business specialists, so you don’t need resident IT experts in your business to manage environments. That’s all about us. Lastly, it’s very affordable with monthly service plans providing access to different levels of product features & expertise. We really love it when we present our client’s information back to them in smart/sync for the first time, it’s like we’ve turned the lights on!

smart/sync is a three-tiered managed service offering starting from £1200 + VAT for a 12-month contract. For more information, please contact Paul at smartsyncenquiries@smarttasking.com.