Cutting Edge Communications Firm Captures 10% in Lost Time with Autotask Professional Services Automation Software
20 June 2005
Mindshare Interactive Campaigns, LLC, an interactive communications consulting firm, based in Washington, DC, has taken a large bite out of inefficiency by implementing Autotask Professional Services Automation Software to manage its business processes.
Shabbir Safdar, Chief Technology Officer of Mindshare Interactive Campaigns, says, “With a company like ours, time is literally money. Every time something is done and it is not recorded, we’re losing money. Whenever we have to manually resolve redundancies instead of growing our business, we’re again losing money. We recapture 10% of our time that we would otherwise lose without Autotask. 10% is a lot. On some projects it's the difference between making and losing money.”
Since 1997, Mindshare has worked around the world with many of the leading corporations, associations, non-profit organizations and governmental entities to accomplish complex objectives. Mindshare helps clients cost-effectively communicate messages that drive action and build lasting relationships with key stakeholders. To do that, Mindshare has lots of projects, large and small, that it must execute for clients. Some are 20-minute tasks, and some are 20-month projects.
Previously, Mindshare used a patchwork of software solutions to manage the business: a CRM tool (Salesforce.com) for sales, a help desk tool (BigWebDesk) to manage small and unexpected projects, and Microsoft Project for managing small to large projects and resource allocation. The problem was that the CRM tool wasn’t integrated with scheduling; the help desk and project management software didn’t talk to each other; and none of the software tools captured time adequately for billing. This necessitated awkward work-arounds, redundant data entry, and considerable wasted time.
To replace disconnected stand-alone software tools, Mindshare chose Autotask, a web-based suite of professional service automation tools. With Autotask, CRM, project management, scheduling, resource management are all integrated. Whenever data is entered – whether it’s for CRM, project management, service desk, or billing – it all goes into the same place and Mindshare can access it from anywhere.
Safdar adds, “We use Autotask to track people as prospects. As soon as they become clients, we can migrate them into project management and immediately see what resources are available to serve them. From there, we can track and manage all of our time, expenses, and relationships. We can easily pull billing information out and into QuickBooks to generate invoices.”
“Not even small tasks fall through the cracks anymore, and we always have a real-time snapshot of our business. We can instantly see how much work is in the pipeline and what resources we have to do it.”
About Autotask Corporation
Autotask (http://itservices.autotask.com/request_info.htm?source=nr6) is an innovative, web-based business platform that automates the key functions of any professional services organization. While Autotask is used in a wide range of industries, it has become the #1 business productivity package for IT Service Providers. Autotask helps companies to run their business better by integrating customer data, project information, and service tickets all in a single database that is used for time capture, billing, reporting, and business management. A recent survey of Autotask customers revealed an average increase of 15% in captured billable time, and an 85% reduction in paperwork and data entry associated with time-tracking and billing. Autotask is web-based, accessible via any PC, anywhere, at any time, and integrates seamlessly with MS Outlook, QuickBooks, and a number of Managed Services software applications.
Source: PR Web
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