Services; To stay competitive, companies are finding new ways to automate operations, reuse technology, and streamline processes

Smart tech-services companies are coming up with creative ways of automating their operations, reusing valuable technology, and streamlining business processes. The changes not only make them more efficient, they result in more effective services. Services companies are under intense pressure to coax more productivity out of their staffs. Longer term, these new labor-saving techniques are part of the evolution of services into a more mature industry. This work requires new skills. Now companies and colleges are teaching people to understand both business and technology. The new breed of consultant has the skills to quickly complete routine tasks with reusable software programs, standardized work processes, or cookie-cutter services. That shift has services companies scrambling to come up with ways to get more bang out of the intricate systems they create for clients. The trick for services outfits is to automate their operations without alienating their customers.