Five Business Benefits of Mobile Data Collection

Before the rise of mobile devices, field data collection was a tricky task that required numerous different resources. Companies would have to install monitoring and service equipment out in the field, while remote workers would often have to write things down by hand.

However, those days of walking around with a clipboard and manually exchanging information in person are gone. Thanks to mobile devices and document management system (DMS) apps, it’s now possible to collect data from anywhere. Here’s how that helps your business.

1. Reduced costs and environmental impact

Office work isn’t the only thing that should be migrated to a paperless environment. Field work can be migrated too with the ability to complete online forms on mobile devices instead of having to write things down in long-hand or manually copy over data upon returning to the office.

With a mobile data collection solution, field workers can greatly reduce, if not eliminate, the need for paper while also reducing the time it takes to collect data. There’s also a lot less back and forth when everything is connected through the cloud, so that saves money on commuting, too.

2. Decreased administrative burden

Paper, as well as physical data stored on removable drives, can be cumbersome, not only for field workers, but also for back-office staff. Things get even more complicated if staff need to make any changes to those forms. Before long, preparing and distributing any changes to the original data ends up doomed to fail, with data inconsistencies leading to all sorts of problems.

Mobile forms, however, can be stored centrally or synchronized across multiple systems and devices to eliminate the need for multiple data entry, reducing the risk of typos and inconsistencies.

3. Increased productivity and performance

Automating and mobilizing data collection frees up time for more strategic tasks, which boosts the morale and productivity of field workers. People can evaluate their work no matter where they are, and most mobile data collection solutions also work with limited or even no internet connectivity, synchronizing data with the cloud as soon as they’re able.

Field workers can also save time by filling in mobile forms before submitting them for immediate evaluation and feedback. This boosts the quality of the service they can offer by freeing up time to focus on what’s important.

4. Centralized storage and backup

Paper, like removable digital storage media, can get lost or damaged. Digital data is inherently eternal, however. You can store it in any format or any device in any location, which means it isn’t nearly as susceptible to loss, theft, or damage.

Mobile data collection works along with cloud storage systems to keep multiple copies stored online and updated automatically and in real time. Data can be easily and cheaply duplicated and synchronized across multiple systems with multiple fail-safes.

There are also more opportunities to protect your information, such as by using data encryption or multifactor authentication. Together, these features greatly reduce risk and make life a lot easier for security and compliance teams.

5. Improved data quality

If there’s an error at the point of collection, a connected solution will help you identify it quickly, instead of having to wait for all the back and forth between field workers and back-office staff. Data can also be instantly fed into an analytics platform to provide real-time insights to anyone who has access to it.

What’s more, because the collection, synchronization, and storage of data is largely automated, there’s a greatly reduced chance of inconsistencies arising. You can add and customize as many quality-checking tools and procedures as you like, using standardized forms to increase transparency and compatibility.

PairSoft helps businesses take back control over their processes with mobile data capture, smart forms, and workflow automation features they can depend on. Schedule a free personalized demo with us today to find out the full extent of our mobile DMS offerings.