The rise of field data digitization isn’t a question of “if” but “when”. Environmental and construction firms across the globe are making the switch at a rapid pace, and it makes sense. Ditching paper forms means more efficient data collection and organization, saving both time and money while future-proofing your business. But learning how to digitize field data the best way can be confusing.
Choosing to stick to paper is a decision to let your competition get ahead, and let’s face it – very few firms will be using paper forms 10 years from now. So, the dilemma ultimately comes down to deciding between developing custom in-house software versus utilizing dedicated platforms.
How to Digitize Field Data
While internal solutions may seem appealing at first glance, platforms like QNOPY offer a wealth of advantages to firms who are looking to go digital with their field forms:
- Cost Effectiveness
- Specialized Support
- Proven Track Record
- Speed of Deployment
- Scalability
- Security and Compliance
- Continual Improvement
- User Experience
Let’s dive deeper into how to digitize field data the right way…
Cost-Effectiveness
Developing custom software from scratch can be incredibly expensive. The investment isn’t just in the initial development; ongoing maintenance and updates add to the total as well. In contrast, platforms like QNOPY operate on a subscription basis, providing a more predictable and often much lower investment over time. With no need for heavy upfront development costs, organizations can allocate their resources more efficiently.
Specialized Support
Custom software requires a team of specialists not only for development but also for maintenance and troubleshooting. These specialists can be hard to find and more expensive to retain. QNOPY, on the other hand, provides tailored 24/7 customer support and service. We have a dedicated team ready to assist with any issues and can create and customize any form to meet specific needs, ensuring a seamless experience without the need for in-house expertise.
Proven Track Record
Choosing a custom software approach is not without significant risk. It’s a challenge to find talented engineers – and an even bigger challenge to find engineers who understand the niche requirements of field data collection. QNOPY brings a long history of success, building thousands of field data forms for a variety of environmental and construction projects. Our platform is time-tested, with a rich portfolio of successful implementations. It’s likely that we have built forms for your exact use case before.
Speed of Deployment
Time is of the essence in any business operation. Platforms like QNOPY allow for quick deployment of digital forms because of 1) our expertise 2) our existing form templates and 3) a simple training and onboarding process. You may not have a team that knows how to digitize field data efficiently. We understand the nuances of your project, we understand your terminology, and we have thousands of forms that we’ve built in the past that can help accelerate the build time. Our solutions are ready to go when you are, enabling rapid digitization of field data collection with minimal downtime. Training field workers and employees on a complicated clunky homebuilt solution is a daunting task no one wants to do. With QNOPY, we have a wealth of resources for users and offer free training for your team that makes the implementation process surprisingly fast.
Scalability
As businesses grow, their software needs to grow with them. Custom software can be rigid, requiring significant redevelopment to scale up. QNOPY is designed with scalability in mind, easily accommodating the changing needs of your business and projects without the need for extensive redevelopment.
Security and Compliance
Building a secure and compliant custom software solution is a complex task that requires ongoing vigilance. QNOPY takes security seriously, with built-in features that protect sensitive data and ensure compliance with industry regulations. All data is encrypted at rest.
Continual Improvement
The digital landscape is always evolving, and keeping custom software up to date can be a never-ending battle. QNOPY is continually improved with the latest features and best practices in digital form management, keeping you at the cutting edge without additional effort OR cost on your part. Have a suggestion for improvement? Talking with one of our customer success engineers can make that desire a reality in no time with no additional costs.
User Experience
Finally, the end-user experience is paramount. Custom software may not always prioritize user experience, leading to clunky, hard-to-use interfaces and ultimately poor adoption rates in the field. QNOPY is user-centric, touted as having the easiest-to-use interface in the industry. It’s designed to make life easier for field workers, ensuring high adoption and satisfaction rates.