Welcome to the March 2021 PNORS Group Newsletter. 
Out of Everything Bad Comes Something Good
We have all heard this saying and sometimes it does take a while to see the good in a particular situation. You have received many emails from me about COVID-19 and how we need to adapt how we work to suit the situation.
From a holistic perspective, what you have not heard me say is how the past year has impacted the PNORS Group overall. It is important to note that we have NOT changed our strategy due to the coronavirus. However, due to the disruption of the pandemic, many of the strategies we are working on have benefited from some of the trends emanating from the necessary changes to business as usual.
COVID-19 has given the world a pandemic, however it has provided the PNORS business with unprecedented opportunities. Let me give you some examples.
Pacific Commerce business has been very busy. In some months the number of Business-to-Business (B2B) electronic trades has increased by as much as 30%. As business realise the benefits of B2B eCommerce, the Pacific Commerce implementation and delivery team have never been busier with many implementations on the go, helping our clients improve their processes and reduce costs.
WilldooIT has also benefited, The solutions we provide enable our clients to use Business to Consumer (B2C) eCommerce and we are well aligned to support existing clients and help new clients in this space. In addition, while we have clients in New Zealand and South East Asia using TIMMSanywhere, we have now managed to expand into North America.
Netway. The need to help our clients who work from home and ensure their Cyber security is best practice is uppermost in our minds. While we have not seen a great deal of new business from this, we have initiatives in place to help existing and new clients.
Datatime. Working remotely has increased the need to reduce paper documents. Datatime is extremely well placed to help our existing and new clients with their Digitalisation needs.
Having an aligned strategy is one thing; but I am most grateful to all of our staff for their great efforts in contributing to the business. They are the most important part in the delivery of the services we provide to our clients to improve their business.
I trust you will enjoy reading this Newsletter.
Please look after yourselves and I thank you for your support.
Warm regards
Paul Gallo
In this issue
Hybrid Office Environments are here to stay. What the future of work will look like. (McKinsey Report).
Business Continuity Planning is vital to securing your business.
PEPPOL e-Invoicing. Latest news and developments.
Hybrid Office Environments are here to stay. What the future of work will look like. (McKinsey Report)
2020 was a year of change. Through necessity, performing the traditional 8-hour working day from a physical business address quickly shifted to a flexible work from home model. The way we do business has changed.
"The McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) estimates that more than 20 percent of the global workforce (most of them in high-skilled jobs in sectors such as finance, insurance, and IT) could work the majority of its time away from the office—and be just as effective. Not everyone who can, will; even so, that is a once-in-several-generations change. It's happening not just because of the COVID-19 crisis but also because advances in automation and digitization made it possible; the use of those technologies has accelerated during the pandemic." (Source)
As employees across the globe are returning to the office in varying capacities, businesses are adopting a hybrid office environment. Whist this model is not new by any means, innovations in areas such as collaboration and cloud-based technology have fast-tracked this change to business as usual.
We will no longer assume that for optimum productivity, employees need to be physically in the office every workday. This shift will require a change in how business leaders consider a new representation of business as usual; redefining the optimum working environment and reviewing the technology tools and resources required to run a business efficiently and successfully.
To be prepared for the new norm of the hybrid office environment, many businesses continue to significantly invest in Unified Communications and Cloud-based business management systems, and re-structuring IT infrastructure.
Are you prepared?
If you would like to speak to one of our Solutions Consultants to discuss how you can set up your business for the future of work, please click here: Speak with a Solutions Consultant
If you would like some assistance with your hardware, software or general advice about establishing your business for a hybrid work environment, please contact us for a free consultation.
Business Continuity Planning is vital in 2021.
Business resources and IT networks are stretched and more susceptible to threat as we face uncertainty with the continuing effects of the global Coronavirus pandemic, and the resultant shift to incorporate remote and virtual business environments. To top it off, 2020 was one of the worst years on record for cyber security breaches.
The events of 2020 highlighted the importance of maintaining an up-to-date Business Continuity Plan (BCP). A plan to provide the structure to ensure mission-critical business operations remain functional, and the elimination or mitigation of risks during times of short and long-term disruptions to your business. These risks may include hardware and software failure, human error, spam, viruses and malicious attacks, as well as natural disasters such as fires or floods.
"Continuity plans will move out of PowerPoint and into the real world.
Events will be planned and rehearsed through wide-scale, real-world simulations, and refined. Continuity of operations will increasingly rely on enabling the workforce to work from home amid future potential lockdowns." - KPMG (Source)
A major part of any continuity plan is to ensure that employees have the knowledge and training to allow them to continue to perform their roles through any event with as few disruptions as possible. Technology should be at the forefront of this plan. The plan needs to be tested and rehearsed to ensure understanding and compliance.
Communication to employees and stakeholders are the bookends to a robust plan and will ensure smooth adoption when and if the plan becomes operational.
It is crucial you not only have a continuity plan in place, but that it can be quickly accessed, implemented and, most importantly, that it is suitable for your business. A business continuity plan made entirely of boilerplate language or copied word-for-word from an internet source is not a continuity plan. The fundamentals are often quite similar, but it is the specifics that change from business to business. Thus, it stands to reason that every business needs a continuity plan tailored to how you operate. Plan for everything.
As the adage goes: Hope for the best, plan for the worst. This type of thinking is vital when it comes to writing a comprehensive business continuity plan. After all, we all hope we never need to use our continuity plans but, if needed, we sure will be happy we have them.
Although IT infrastructure is only one element of a Business Continuity Plan, we invite all our clients to reach out to our highly skilled Solution Consultants to discuss your existing plan or to assist in developing a new one.
Please click here to schedule a meeting.
PEPPOL e-Invoicing latest news and developments.
Pacific Commerce nominated as PEPPOL Government Panel Partner
As you may be aware, the Australian Government has invested $3.6 Million in PEPPOL e-invoicing.
Pacific Commerce is one of the first Australian accredited PEPPOL Access Points in Australia and has been appointed to the PEPPOL Government Panel, supplying services to all Government agencies whether at Federal, State or Local level.
PEPPOL (Pan European Public Procurement Online) is a standard to automate the sending of e-invoices to customers. Financially backed by both the Australian and New Zealand governments, it is set to become the new way for both large and small companies to communicate financial documents electronically. By the end of this year, all Australian government departments will be able to trade with their suppliers via PEPPOL e-invoicing with the promise of being paid in 5 days instead of the current 30+ days.
PEPPOL is a significant development for anyone supplying to the Australian Government. Read all about it here.
With the Commonwealth mandating e-invoicing for all agencies and expecting 80% of invoices being received electronically by 1 July 2021, we recommend beginning your transition as soon as you can to ensure that there is no disruption to your business processes. Please call Martin Eley on 0403 585 171.
WilldooIT is excited to announce first Odoo ERP module to implement the new PEPPOL invoice automation standards.
Over the past few months, the development team at WilldooIT have been working closely with Pacific Commerce’s PEPPOL team to design and create the world's first PEPPOL application for Odoo users.
Through this application, suppliers to any Australian and New Zealand Government departments will be able to submit their invoices directly without any further integrations or API’s.
This is a significant milestone for all Odoo users as the fully integrated solution will make sending an invoice as simple as clicking on a button and without requiring the services of an additional PEPPOL Access Point.
If you have any questions about PEPPOL or our integration with Odoo please do not hesitate to contact us.
We would be pleased to chat with you should you require additional information on any of these topics or any IT requirements your business is considering. Please email us: hello@pnors.com.
Suggestions on what you would like to see in future PNORS Technology Group Newsletters would be most welcome. Please contact us: hello@pnors.com.
