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Moving to the cloud can be scary prospect if your company has been against it for some time. However, one of the lessons from the current coronavirus pandemic, is that it has forced many businesses to become agile— by adopting hybrid and work from home (WFH) policies which, by extension, encompasses some of today’s cloud computing technologies like; WebEx, Zoom and Microsoft Teams to name a few. And, with many of today’s IT experts on board with cloud computing—it will be much easier to make sure your applications environment is running efficiently and your company is optimizing its benefits.

The primary forms of cloud computing are:

  • Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS): In this scenario, businesses rent servers, storage and networking infrastructure in a cloud environment.
  • Software-as-a-service (SaaS): With SaaS, businesses access the applications they need over the internet and pay for what is required.
  • Platform-as-a-service (PaaS): Organizations access a development platform for building or rolling out proprietary software and services.

Here are 3 ways small and businesses can benefit from cloud computing in 2022:

  1. Application Administration-Small and mid-size companies can take advantage of cloud computing technologies without the need to purchase and maintain their own IT infrastructure, helping to conserve their IT budgets. That’s particularly attractive to businesses that can now access advanced technology previously out of reach.  And, if you are an executive at an organization that produces and uses any type of data set, you will be enamoured with the benefits cloud analytics. Cloud analytics is data collection, tracking and analysis that happens on systems hosted in the cloud, rather than in rather than in on-premises (for example on your company’s server) systems.
  2. Turnkey Provisioning and on-Demand Scalability-Embracing cloud computing will change a lot of things for the better, including costs, security, accessibility, and maintenance. But it doesn’t change your core service level requirements. Businesses should not compromise on their technology needs—delivering on performance, scalability, availability, reliability, and security, all of which when deploying a cloud computing solution.
  3. Growth, Scalability and a Unified Approach From Anywhere-Cloud applications like ATSTimeWorkOnDemand offer powerful capabilities on-demand with near-limitless flexibility. These resources are available as needed for scaling up or scaling down, without any need to purchase, set up or maintain any of your own servers or other resources as your needs shift with growth.

To aid productivity, your organization can use the application to summarize and analyze data quickly for real-time insights. Additionally, cloud computing ATSTimeWorkOnDemand offers ready-to-use programming components that allow developers to build new capabilities into their applications, including innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT).

Cloud computing trends demonstrate how this technology is changing the way businesses operate and how they allocate their IT budgets. Significantly, public cloud users (who share computing resources) no longer have to purchase and maintain hardware and other infrastructure or manage IT upgrades and software patches — that responsibility now falls on their cloud vendors. This leaves businesses and their IT teams able to focus on core business objectives like innovation, new product or service offerings and hiring new talent. It also helps to level the playing field for growing businesses that had been unable to afford the steep price tag of advanced technologies they can now access through a subscription.

As we approach 2022, the adoption of cloud will continue to accelerate as more small and mid-size businesses embrace the advances in cloud computing power, scalability and flexibility that cloud-based systems deliver. In the end, this will provide IT departments with more time to focus on core business objectives like innovation, and other initiatives.

About ATS

ATS offers a broad portfolio of time and attendance solutions that streamlines the collection, calculation, and reporting of employee hours for workforce management and eliminates the manual tasks of payroll preparation, increasing efficiency and reducing errors in corporate payroll departments.

Thousands of organizations across North, Central and South America and Europe- including more than half of the Fortune 500 – use ATS TimeWork OnDemand, Workforce Planning, Employee Scheduling HR and payroll solutions to manage their workforce. ATS cloud services offer rapid deployment, support services, software updates, and enhancements; and consulting and training services.

If you are considering a time and attendance for your business, chances are you are being bombarded with an array of choices. As you consider your options, one of the more fundamental decisions you will need to make is whether to select a hosted solution (that’s based in the cloud) or one that’s installed locally on your company’s Server.

Here are 5 areas to consider when deciding between a cloud-based or on-premise time and attendance solution:

Accessibility
Today, more than ever, more employees are working remotely, and need to access information quickly. The advantage of a solution like ATSTimeWorkOnDemand, is that it’s a better choice for accessibility and, one of the biggest selling points for a cloud-based solution. And, while some on-premise solutions, can be accessed through VPN services, they can be limited and not ideal for up-to-the minute reporting capabilities.

Cost of Ownership
ATSTimeWorkOnDemand Cloud solution costs much less upfront than an on-premise solution. The set up and run times for ATSTimeWorkOnDemand are also much quicker to deploy than an on-premise system —because you can start using the service right away once subscription is paid. When using an on-premise system and its time for an upgrade, your company’s IT must then redeploy the system across the various users’ computers and re-implement various customizations and integrations that your business installed on your previous software.

System Performance
ATS cloud-based time and attendance solution provides real-time data that can be accessed via the Internet 365 days of the year 24/7. That means your employees can see accurate information on laptops, smartphones, and tablet devices—all without extra setup fees or ongoing costs. ATSTimeWorkOnDemand Cloud delivers better performance than on-premise solutions.  ATS software architecture is designed from the ground up for maximum network performance, which means, better availability than a traditional, on-site software solution and, also offers optimized performance that can adapt to your organizational needs.

Updates and Enhancements
ATSTimeWorkOnDemand is continually receives updates so you can be sure you are always using the latest, most advanced version of the application. In contrast, while an on-premise software can be customized, those customizations are tied to your current software deployment and are not easy to re-implement with future versions, thus leaving your company with an outdated software.

Software Maintenance
Using ATSTimeWorkOnDemand solution means you do not have to worry about updating or maintaining hardware or software, because ATS will handle that for you. Spending less time and money on maintenance and updates means you can allocate those resources elsewhere. However, when using an on-premise solution, your company responsible for maintaining the hardware and software, as well as backups, storage and recovery. This typically requires an IT staff, which can be difficult for smaller companies to manage with a limited budget.

Bottomline: Which one is better? That will depend on your unique business needs—but more and more businesses are shifting to cloud-based software because of the upfront cost savings, accessibility, reliability and convenience it offers.

To learn more about deploying a cloud-based time and attendance solution you can reach us at: 866. 294.2467. To download a demonstration, go to our website.

The shift to the cloud is here and there’s not stopping it. In fact, the perception of cloud computing applications has changed dramatically over the last several years. In short order, most of our software applications in the foreseeable future, will accessed only through the cloud.

However, solely relying on the technology to facilitate better day to day operations for your business might not yield the results you are expecting. There are, however, several factors involved in the deployment of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications—that are sometimes overlooked, yet they play a vital role in the overall success within an organization.

There are numerous ways to improve the effectiveness of your cloud deployment. Here are three tips that will help you match your company’s reality vs perception.

Plan Accordingly-The amount of time it takes your workforce to adapt to the new solution might be longer than you think, so provide them with ample notice and do not expect a quick user adoption. Human beings, by nature, do not like change. Changing the habits of people, is no small undertaking. A well thought-out and executed project plan will minimize the change management hiccups, and help you maximize end-user adoption. 

Let the Experts Guide You-Successful time and attendance cloud deployment and training covers not only system-related topics, but also best-practices and business processes. It takes into consideration each function’s unique organization structure processes and training needs.  ATS deep industry expertise guides employees and users alike — at all levels of the organization — through new functions and processes.

Software Deployment is a Journey -ATS TimeWorkOnDemand is a journey, not a destination. Your organization will evolve as you begin to understand the product, and your processes should evolve along with it. On-going and post-live support is critical to your company’s enduring success, and accordingly, you should plan on spending several months fine-tuning your application with incremental changes. Having the resources to make small changes quickly helps drive faster end user adoption and will help to accelerate your return-on-investment (ROI).  

ATS TimeWorkOnDemand is the leading cloud-based time and attendance application that’s used by mid and large enterprises across Canada, the US and other parts of central and south America. ATS TimeWorkOnDemand helps businesses streamline payroll and increase workforce productivity.

ATS provides organizations a complete Workforce Management, HCM Cloud Computing Solution —that drives digital transformation and, improves business agility while meeting both current and future business requirements.

To learn more about ATS TimeWorkOnDemand, go to our website. You can also register for one of our bi-weekly webinars or download a demonstration. And to reach an account executive, call: 866.294.2467.

With the ubiquitous of connected devices in many of today’s businesses and a workforce, that has increasingly become used to cloud applications, deploying your time and attendance solution in the cloud, has many advantages in an Internet of Things (IoT) era.

When compared to aging traditional on-premise implementations, a robust multi-tenant cloud application, like ATS TimeWorkOnDemand provide greater agility. An ATS time and attendance solution deliver best-practice services including encryption, and redundancy—valuable for the array of connected devices.

If your business has multiple locations, each currently running different systems, then moving to a single, cloud-based time and attendance like, ATS TimeWorkOnDemand software solution allows you to reduce payroll errors and increase workforce productivity. Using a cloud-based solution means that your IT team are not bogged down with running updates and server patches; instead, they can focus on productive activities.

Scalability is key advantage when deploying ATS TimeWorkOnDemand. Throughout deployment ATS will work with you and your team to help eradicate manual processes and increase efficiencies. Leading industries will continue to embrace the advanced analytics to propel their future growth. Whether you move to the cloud or not, it is important that you are aware of the immense value it can bring to your business.

Interested in the cloud but still wondering if it’s the right solution for your organization? Go to our website and download a demonstration and you will see why many of today’s leading organizations prefer the cloud over traditional software deployment. You can also register for one of our bi-monthly webinars, and to speak to representative in your region, call 866.294.2467.

The acceptance of the cloud has been growing steadily and that’s in large part to its many benefits, including; flexibility, low financial outlay and scalability. Some companies dip their toe in the water by simply moving core elements of their time and attendance into the cloud, while others are choosing the middle ground of a hybrid cloud environment, which keeps core time and attendance functions on-premise while also utilizing a variety of multi-tenant public cloud systems to manage certain parts of their business.

Some C-suite executives including finance and HR, at times, need convincing when it comes to the cloud, and if their past experiences with a cloud solution, have been less than stellar — asking them to give a cloud-base solution another chance might be an uphill battle.

In a published article for CFO.com titled The Cloud: A Better Expense Model Roy Golding, does a masterful job in espousing the virtues of the cloud and its inherent benefits.

“Cloud asks businesses and their finance leaders to reevaluate some long-held approaches to IT and how it is accounted for. Traditionally, any time an organization wanted to make a significant technology change, the CFO needed to ensure the long-term business model supported the investment. Making heavy capex investments up front — think expensive data-center hardware — always brought with it the risk that the hardware wouldn’t be fully utilized down the road.

The Benefits Of The Cloud Is Undeniable So, Don’t Get Left Behind

In contrast, cloud offers the flexibility to move technology resources and to not be tied into one big investment at the beginning of a new project or business. Software-as-a-service (SaaS), for example, removes the need for businesses to install and run software and applications on their own hardware within their own physical infrastructure, which also removes the associated expenses. In this operating expense model, instead of taking a large cash hit on the P&L statement right away, the company can pay for the service over time as it gradually grows the investment.

In the past, if IT teams needed additional hardware, software, or connectivity resources at certain times of the year — for seasonal reasons, perhaps — the investment to cover that requirement may have resulted in over-provisioning after the busy period ended. And a double hit resulted — the company subsequently owned depreciating technology assets that weren’t being used most of the time. This approach has never been popular with CFOs, but before the arrival of the cloud there was little alternative.”

If your organization is still on the fence about the cloud, you can always start small and grow with it. For example, with ATS TimeWork OnDemand Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) you can easily increase or decrease capacity to cost-effectively handle peak demand.  And, because the configuration with ATS TimeWork OnDemand configuration is less complex, you don’t high-value implementation team members thus– helping keep deployment costs down.

The power of the cloud is undeniable so, don’t leave your organization behind. Still not convinced? Find out how ATS TimeWork OnDemand Enterprise Cloud Solutions can deliver the speed and resources necessary to quickly validate and realize solid ROI.

To learn more go to our website. You can register and join the ATS Workforce Analytics team for this week’s webinar, How Businesses Can Use Analytics To Achieve Profitability. And, to speak to an account executive, call: 866.294.2467.

Keep current with ATS:

According to Webopedia, “Cloud computing is a type of computing that relies on sharing computing resources rather than having local servers or personal devices to handle applications”.  For many businesses the traditional way of accessing information involves accessing applications downloaded on a physical computer or server in their building.  In the world of cloud computing, businesses can access the same kinds of applications, but this time they do it through the internet.

When you update your LinkedIn status, you are essentially using cloud computing. Do you pay any of your your bills or access any app by phone? If so, you are in the cloud. Many small and large businesses rely on cloud computing to solve their business challenges. And, this type of technology has become a competitive advantage, for many smaller companies, who previously saw large corporations deploy cloud applications with a great deal of success.

But why are so many businesses now moving to the cloud? Simple, the benefits of the cloud helps improve cash flow and increases workforce efficiency. Here are some additional benefits:

Scalability
Smart CIO and IT Managers who have done their due diligence have embraced the cloud. Many of them are now encouraging their CEOs to deploy the cloud over on-premise solutions. For example, cloud computing allows you to scale up or down based on your needs. This unprecedented level of agility can give businesses using cloud computing a distinct advantage over their competitors.

Improve Cash-Flow
Business executives are not fond of tying up a lot of their capital in IT projects and they should not have to. With a cloud computing application like ATS TimeWork OnDemand, the pay-as-you-go, subscription-based model eases cash flow. And, the quick turn-around time of database set up, and deployment, is sure to make most naysayer business executive embrace the cloud computing.

Access 24/7, Anytime, Anywhere
With an Internet connection, regardless of where you are, you can access ATS TimeWork OnDemand. The beauty of cloud computing means, you are not restricted with which device you can use; whether it’s a Smartphone, tablet or workstation you can still access the cloud.

Any of the benefits mentioned is enough to convince many business executives to give cloud computing some serious consideration. And after talking to customers who are using ATS TimeWork OnDemand, we are pretty sure they will make that move.

You might also like:

Keep an open mind when deciding if the cloud is right for you

A leap of faith can help your business leverage the benefits of the cloud

Are HR leaders really embracing the cloud?

Keep current with ATS:

Benefits Of Cloud Computing? There Are So Many, Where Do We Start?

It’s Thanksgiving Day across Canada and if your payroll or HR personnel are wondering how they are going to assign the holiday pay to employees to eligible employees then your company, is behind the proverbial “Eight-Ball”.

In an article by Jon Hyman for workforce.com, titled, “8 Things You Need to Know About Holiday Pay” it lists some common questions that many companies still ask today about holiday pay for its employees. We selected three out of the eight that can be applied to both Canada and the United States. In no particular order they are:

“Can we require employees to work on holidays? Because holiday closings are a discretionary benefit, you can require that employees work on a holiday. In fact, the operational needs of some businesses will require that some employees work on holidays (hospitals, for example).

Can we place conditions on the receipt of holiday pay? Yes. For example, some employers are concerned that employees will combine a paid holiday with other paid time off to create extended vacations. To guard again this situation, some companies require employees to work the day before and after a paid holiday to be eligible to receive holiday pay.

If an employee takes a day off as a religious accommodation, does it have to be paid? An employer must reasonably accommodate an employee whose sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance conflicts with a work requirement, unless doing so would pose an undue hardship. One example of a reasonable accommodation is unpaid time off for a religious holiday or observance. Another is allowing an employee to use a vacation day for the observance”.

When it comes to holiday pay, it is unwise to assume and far better to be accurate. Depending on the jurisdiction in which your company operates, holiday pay calculations can be different. Government entities from Alberta to Yukon and other regions across Canada, have statutory holiday pay guidelines on their websites that your company can use.  And, if your company has a collective bargaining agreement, this also has to be taken into consideration. One thing we know for sure is that if you are using an automated time and attendance system, but still have to figure out which employee worked the holiday through spreadsheets, then you are likely using the wrong system. And, as for manual time tracking, it won’t help you help you figure out how to apply statutory holiday pay.

There is no need for your payroll or HR department to be stressed out, if your company is using ATS TimeWork OnDemand. ATS TimeWork OnDemand is a dynamic, and award-wining application that automates the collection, calculation, and reporting of employee hours. This intuitive and robust solution automatically calculates and applies holiday pay based on eligibility and your company’s work rule policies, and leverages collected attendance data so you can minimize unapproved overtime, thus reducing labour costs.  ATS TimeWork OnDemand is supported by powerful analytics tools, and is relied on by thousands of organizations to improve workforce productivity.

Bottom-line, if your HR or payroll manager is using ATS TimeWork OnDemand, they no longer have to worry about manually assigning holiday pay. After all, part of the Canadian Thanksgiving is to witness the colour of the leaves, as they change, eat lots of turkey and spend time with friends and family alike.

To learn about ATS Time and Attendance Solution download, a demonstration or call 866.294.2467.

It’s another Statutory Holiday And Your Payroll Practitioner Is Scrambling, Why Is That?

Keep An Open Mind When Deciding If The Cloud Is Right For Your Business

October 5th, 2016 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Business Intelligence | Cloud Based Time Management Solution | Cloud Computing | Hosted Time and Attendance Software - (Comments Off on Keep An Open Mind When Deciding If The Cloud Is Right For Your Business)

The cloud is slowly making on-premises time and attendance deployment an endangered species. It was only a few years ago when the very idea of a cloud-based time and attendance was met with a heavy dose of skepticism, and especially among companies who had big investments in on-premise solutions. The rise of Amazon, Salesforce, Spotify, iCloud, Google and slew of other cloud-based companies have seen a shift in attitudes, and thus, many business leaders have come to understand and embrace the cloud’s capabilities and its value proposition.

In an article ‘10 tips for a successful cloud plan’ by Brendon Butler for Network World, and in no particular order include;

 “Alignment Workshops
After a company has made a decision to use IaaS cloud computing services, it’s helpful to have a level-set meeting with important stakeholders at the company to get everyone on the same page. Typical groups involved in this meeting would be security managers, finance and procurement professionals, infrastructure engineers, operations workers and third-party consultants. Typically a senior IT manager or CIO leads the process. It’s important to have a clear message to this group of why the cloud is being explored.

 

Know Your Economics
One of the first considerations that will inevitably come up is cost. There is no simple calculation for determining if the cloud will be more or less expensive than on-premises infrastructure; there are too many variables. It’s important to know that different architectural designs will determine cost.

Find Agreement
If you have a faction within the organization that is against the cloud, this will be difficult. Get on the same page and make sure any outstanding concerns are addressed before moving forward. Executive buy-in can help.”

Those 10 tips are very useful and can be adopted by companies thinking about deploying the cloud. With ATS Time and Attendance in the cloud, you get guaranteed levels of server availability and up-time that are difficult and costly to replicate with and on-premise system. From employee data to HR and payroll mission critical core functions, ATS Time and Attendance in the cloud automates more than edge applications. We power entire industries in the cloud.

If your company is debating the benefits of a cloud time and attendance consider the following; ATS Time and Attendance in the cloud cuts out the high cost of hardware including Servers. You simply pay as you go and enjoy a subscription-based model that will not take a chunk out of your cash flow. In addition, the amount of time it takes to configure your company’s database, train users and set up data collectors are reduced by half when compared to an on premise deployment, suddenly that scary cloud-based project isn’t that bad after all.  From employee data to HR and payroll mission critical core functions, ATS Time and Attendance powers entire industries in the cloud.

To learn about ATS Time and Attendance in the cloud, download a demonstration from our website. You can also contact us by phone or register for one of our weekly webinars.

keep-an-open-mind-when-deciding-if-the-cloud-is-right-for-your-business

The adoption of cloud software is increasing and is on pace to surpass all previous forecasts. In other words, it is here to stay — and is showing no signs of abating. According to Gartner prognosticators the software-as-a-service (SaaS), in which companies offer software that was designed to run in the cloud will grow about 20 percent by the end of 2016.

Today’s time and attendance decision makers, even the ones that were somewhat uncertain about the benefits of the cloud are giving it a second thought.  Cloud software provides tremendous benefits to applications as basic as accounting systems to cutting-edge solutions like time and attendance.

As more businesses continue to shift to the cloud, they are also selecting a vendor that will ultimately help them streamline costs and, at the same time increase productivity. And while the cloud, offers businesses numerous benefits, one key opportunity for today’s executives, when using these cloud computing technology is having the power of choice with this emerging technology.

ATS Cloud Time and Attendance offers what every business wants: the ability to obtain information in real-time. And, with ATS Cloud Time and Attendance cloud pay-as-you-go model, that means a low initial investment is all that is required to get going, and that includes all the trimmings, like yearly updates, thus enabling customers to take advantage of innovations delivered with the upgrade.

The Evolution and Benefits of Software As-A- Service

In conclusion, the cloud has become a new engine for innovation, and competitiveness. Its ability to improve collaboration, communication and cost-cutting is providing an ever-expanding silver lining for operations across every business sector.

To learn more about ATS Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) solutions, go to our website. You can also download a demonstration or call: 866.294.2467.

 

ATS TimeWork Helps The Energy Industry Control Processes And Reduce Payroll Costs

April 21st, 2015 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Benefit Accruals | Employee Scheduling | ERP | Hosted Time and Attendance Software | Leave Management - (Comments Off on ATS TimeWork Helps The Energy Industry Control Processes And Reduce Payroll Costs)

The energy industry is going through a transformative period, and is facing increasing complexity and greater demands, which is forcing companies to operate in remote and, at times, hostile environments. And if that was not bad enough, the high cost and difficulty of extracting energy is steadily increasing. While trying to overcome all these barriers, the energy industry also has to provide return on investment to its shareholders. So how do you streamline costs and remain competitive?

ATS leading-edge cloud-based time and attendance solution can help oil and gas companies optimize workforce productivity for maximum return on investment.  By leveraging our intuitive workforce management solution, companies can streamline payroll cost and mitigate financial risk, improve attendance and provide a rapid return on investment to shareholders.

ATS TimeWork For The Energy Industry is an award-winning solution that delivers real-time reporting analytic activities that helps to govern and automate the entire process from employee punch to pay. The pay rules library and flexibility allows for 100% automation of rules without costly changes to core code. Hours and wage rule compliance is consistent and automated with alerts when a threshold for violation is approached – providing proactive reconciliation. The solution goes beyond a traditional time and attendance system to provide job costing, accrual benefits, overtime equalization and data integration with; payroll, enterprise resource planning (ERP), human resources management system (HRMS), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM), and more.

Managing a workforce is no easy feat. Today’s growing energy companies require a comprehensive, integrated suite of time and attendance tools. With ATS Time and Attendance, you will be introduce a wide range of the industry’s most compelling cloud-based technology that Now you can proactively help control labour costs, by optimizing your most important resources to drive expansion and profitability throughout your energy related business.

To learn more, join our Time and Attendance LinkedIn group or view a demonstration from our website. ATS has monthly webinars for our user groups and potential customers.

ATS TimeWork Helps the Energy Industry Control Processes and Reduce Payroll Costs