Connected Services enables SME companies to extend their desktop payroll and HR with an online solution that eases the growing burden of HR managers and payroll administrators by offering users the best of both worlds.
According to International Data Corporation (IDC), it is clear that smartphones and tablets are driving mobility growth.
Pierre Badenhorst, international head of department for Sage Pastel Payroll and HR Africa, says the Connected Services solution includes a Web-based self-service tool that enables employees to manage and maintain their own information online, thereby carrying some of the overall HR administration responsibility.
They are able to make online applications for leave, overtime claims, travel claims, view their payslips and update personal information no matter where they are so long as they have an Internet connection.
Badenhorst adds that employees are also able to access and retrieve payslips when applying for a bond or a loan without having to involve the HR administrator. They can update their personal and banking details at any time which can then be synchronised by the HR administrator to automatically update the payroll system and avoid manual recapturing.
“The adoption rate of online business software for new entrants into the market is increasing, posing the question of how to bridge the gap between the growing trend towards online software adoption and the traditional desktop application users in the same market segments.”
Self Service has workflow capabilities based on the organisation chart or specific workflow orders per online form. Once an employee applies for leave online, an email is sent to the line manager for approval and thereafter the Payroll administrator merely clicks once and the payroll system is automatically updated.
The solution also provides for leave scheduling, particularly practical over traditional December holidays when “skeleton staff” is required, employees can also make use of a leave scheduling tool, as they are able to see which of their team members will be on leave at the same time without having to direct a leave request to the HR manager.
“Interest in demand for and adoption of connected services as a hosted solution is growing in West Africa to the point where we are opening a permanent office in Lagos later this year,” says Badenhorst.
“No IT expertise is required and Sage Pastel Payroll & HR will back up the data for the user company.”
When applying a connected services solution such as Self Service, companies should seriously consider a hosted solution, adds Badenhorst. This guarantees quick deployment at low implementation cost, meaning companies do not have to invest in additional infrastructure to host the online application.
Many experts in the industry believe that mobile Internet usage is projected to overtake desktop by 2014, meaning that globally individuals will access the Internet from their phone, more than using their desktop.
“As mobile Internet usage is projected to overtake desktop usage during the course of next year (2014) the importance of applying mobile technology cannot be overestimated.”
According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast for 2012 to 2017, in the Middle East and Africa there will be 849 226 090 mobile users in 2017.
During the 2012 to 2017 forcast period, Cisco anticipates that global mobile data traffic will outpace global fixed data traffic by a factor of two. By 2017 there will be 5,2-billion mobile users (up from 4,3-billion in 2012) and by 2017 it is estimated more than 10-billion mobile devices/connections will be active.
Automated updates are another example of connected services. This functionality enables traditional desktop applications to seamlessly update over the Internet with minimal intervention from the end-user of the software.
Users no longer need to visit a Web site to download and install updates or CD versions manually as the connected services functionality does it all for them, directly from their payroll software. The days of CD-based updates and disruptive installation and implementation cycles are over.
Pierre Badenhorst, international head of department for Sage Pastel Payroll and HR Africa, says the Connected Services solution includes a Web-based self-service tool that enables employees to manage and maintain their own information online, thereby carrying some of the overall HR administration responsibility.
They are able to make online applications for leave, overtime claims, travel claims, view their payslips and update personal information no matter where they are so long as they have an Internet connection.
Badenhorst adds that employees are also able to access and retrieve payslips when applying for a bond or a loan without having to involve the HR administrator. They can update their personal and banking details at any time which can then be synchronised by the HR administrator to automatically update the payroll system and avoid manual recapturing.
“The adoption rate of online business software for new entrants into the market is increasing, posing the question of how to bridge the gap between the growing trend towards online software adoption and the traditional desktop application users in the same market segments.”
Self Service has workflow capabilities based on the organisation chart or specific workflow orders per online form. Once an employee applies for leave online, an email is sent to the line manager for approval and thereafter the Payroll administrator merely clicks once and the payroll system is automatically updated.
The solution also provides for leave scheduling, particularly practical over traditional December holidays when “skeleton staff” is required, employees can also make use of a leave scheduling tool, as they are able to see which of their team members will be on leave at the same time without having to direct a leave request to the HR manager.
“Interest in demand for and adoption of connected services as a hosted solution is growing in West Africa to the point where we are opening a permanent office in Lagos later this year,” says Badenhorst.
“No IT expertise is required and Sage Pastel Payroll & HR will back up the data for the user company.”
When applying a connected services solution such as Self Service, companies should seriously consider a hosted solution, adds Badenhorst. This guarantees quick deployment at low implementation cost, meaning companies do not have to invest in additional infrastructure to host the online application.
Many experts in the industry believe that mobile Internet usage is projected to overtake desktop by 2014, meaning that globally individuals will access the Internet from their phone, more than using their desktop.
“As mobile Internet usage is projected to overtake desktop usage during the course of next year (2014) the importance of applying mobile technology cannot be overestimated.”
According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast for 2012 to 2017, in the Middle East and Africa there will be 849 226 090 mobile users in 2017.
During the 2012 to 2017 forcast period, Cisco anticipates that global mobile data traffic will outpace global fixed data traffic by a factor of two. By 2017 there will be 5,2-billion mobile users (up from 4,3-billion in 2012) and by 2017 it is estimated more than 10-billion mobile devices/connections will be active.
Automated updates are another example of connected services. This functionality enables traditional desktop applications to seamlessly update over the Internet with minimal intervention from the end-user of the software.
Users no longer need to visit a Web site to download and install updates or CD versions manually as the connected services functionality does it all for them, directly from their payroll software. The days of CD-based updates and disruptive installation and implementation cycles are over.