Did you know data collection took place even 1000s of years back? When methods have evolved, businesses haven’t – they are still caught up with primitive paper-based methods due to countless reasons. Interestingly, there’s a super solution to this three-pipe problem – mobile data collection app
Give your teams pen & paper, send them on the field. They collect the data by filling the forms and finally come back to the office with stacks of paper forms
That’s the traditional method of data collection because it’s more of a paper-centric process. Call this method traditional, but not certainly oldest – there’s a reason to it
You can trace back data collection to centuries back, there’s even a story that says King William (England) ordered a survey to find out the population of his subjects & livestock in 1086. Cool
But we aren’t discussing primitive methods of data collection today, in fact, we are doing just the opposite
There are multiple reasons why mobile data collection app has become the silver bullet. Are they easy, are they productive? Yeah, and probably a lot more than that
Yeah, mobile penetration is crazy. According to Statista, In 2018, 82.1% of the United States population used one or more than one mobile device
(The numbers will continue to boom unless mankind decides to do away with technology – the possibility is very remote)
Imagine you have been assigned a task to collect data. There are two options for you to choose from: a complex software application vs a simple mobile app, what would you prefer? Well, the question needs no answer
Taking a cue from mobile penetration numbers, businesses started drifting towards mobile apps to improve productivity or accomplish processes
Mobile apps used for data collection offer a wide range of sturdy features that can be leveraged to achieve an array of benefits (covered later in this blog)
These features are the reasons why data collection on mobile app wins over a mile with data collection on paper forms
Compatibility on a range of mobile devices
Mobile apps as data collection tools are widely popular because of the compatibility they have got to offer. Apps like Axonator can be used on smartphones, iPads since they are functional on both Android & iOS
Rich data capture
If data quality is your problem area, these apps will take care of it – simply because it can do what paper forms cannot. Collect rich data like images, audio, video easily
Capture live location & time just with a tap. Add the signature to your mobile form in the app. What this means is your data quality will see a multifold improvement
QR Code & Barcode
Features such as QR code & barcode-scan can help the teams into asset management, field, inspection, & survey to capture the data without having to type. Just scan the code to fetch the data
Subforms & Child records
One major challenge for field teams is collecting the data on questionnaires with never-ending pages. Collecting data on paper forms is a tedious process – ergonomics take a huge hit!
Mobile forms can be broken into subforms – which makes it easy for navigation & collecting data becomes a cakewalk
Mobile data collection apps even offer the provision of adding child records, meaning multiple records can be added for the same field
Advanced Logics
With paper forms, there are chances that your teams might fill irrelevant sections. But mobile forms can be embedded with advanced logic – which can control the input type, and avoid filling up of wrong sections in the form
Conditional logic like making sections of forms appear/disappear based on the responses submitted can help you rule out the manual errors
Mobile apps can take care of this problem head-on since it offers cloud storage – all the data is safe in the cloud to be accessed at any point in time. No data loss whatsoever
Automation
What paper processes clearly lack is the capability of automation. With mobile apps like Axonator, this is doable. Receive email reports for forms submitted, the data flow from one platform to another can also be automated
Tasks can be auto-generated based on the specific form responses, and be even allocated to the specific team member, without any manual intervention
Ease of use
When mobile apps deliver a great user experience, they drive the productivity manifold. Same holds true with Axonator since it has a UI/UX that teams love to use
Burdening the teams with difficult software or complex data collection tools can cut down the productivity, instead of growing it
Productivity – more forms/surveys completed
Reduced Efforts
A humongous effort is wasted on manual data entry when paper forms are used. Mobile data collection apps will make you stop investing time and effort on manual data entry
When your field teams submit the data on the mobile app, the data will flow into the cloud database, which can be accessed at any time on different platforms
More Efficiency & Fewer Errors
Paper-based processes are downright inefficient and erroneous. They are vulnerable to manual errors. No matter how well you train your teams, paper forms will invite errors
This is completely put to rest by mobile forms app. Axonator offers mobile forms with advanced logic, which makes committing an error almost impossible
Better Decision Making
With strong analytics in place, a business gains actionable insights from the data collected. Axonator has freed up many businesses from repetitive processes, who now spend most of their time on strategic decision-making rather than day-to-day firefighting. Real-time notifications can empower you to be updated at all times
Status-tracking & performance-measuring
One of the major benefits of using a mobile data collection app is that it encourages businesses to track and measure the performance of different projects and team. Just click to pull different reports based on location, projects, teams, and more such parameters. Preventive & corrective actions can be taken easily
Any business using a mobile app instead of paper forms will easily tell you that they are seeing a dramatic drop in office costs
The immediate benefits a business using mobile apps will realize are: fall in paper & print cost, followed by storage & data entry costs
Enhancement in data quality & productivity – which means you can gain a competitive edge without really investing much on this
Speaking of investment, should you get an app developed by third-party app developers or choose a choose an off-shelf software? (here’s a blog that’s dedicated to helping you decide. But if you are interested in knowing the solution directly, below it is.)
Based on Zero/ Low code platform architecture Axonator facility management software is really dirt-cheap. Very affordable. You can build the app all by yourself under hours, and deploy it
Don’t want to build an app? Choose from pre-existing apps that match your needs or write to us at [email protected] for the help
This platform is fully scalable, meaning it doesn’t really matter how many users use it. In case your business grows tomorrow, don’t hesitate to make as many apps you want with your account
This is not just in theory, it is a proven fact that businesses using Axonator are realizing the benefits. It has helped them not just make their data collection process efficient, but also introduce digital transformation
Enterprises have streamlined & optimized their processes that have resulted into automation in a true sense
1. What is Axonator’s MicroApp Strategy?
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