Archive for August, 2020

Field Service Management – Microsoft a Leader in Gartner’s 2020 Magic Quadrant.

August 24th, 2020

Gartner has positioned Microsoft as a Leader in its 2020 Magic Quadrant for Field Service Management. Positioned as a Visionary in 2019, this new, improved position as a Field Service Leader reflects our ability to execute and completeness of vision. Products evaluated include: Microsoft Azure IoT (Hub and Central), Microsoft Power Platform (Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate, and Common Data Service), and mixed-reality (Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist).

Field service technology is evolving at an accelerated pace, that is significantly impacting how we work, what we work on, and how we best serve our customers. As technology speeds forward creating greater efficiencies, it promotes cutting edge technologies into the mainstream. These technologies not only streamline processes and reduce costs, they also differentiate a service organization from the pack. It is these differentiators that have elevated Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service as a driving force within the field service community.

Dynamics 365 Field Service capabilities
Many of the field service capabilities Gartner highlighted are pivotal in providing world-class customer care. Microsoft pioneered cutting edge technologies that have led to the development of rich features that empower technicians and increase productivity, optimize resources, and enhance customer satisfaction—together helping FSOs to quickly realign operations to strengthen business continuity while building resiliency within a changing economic landscape.

Azure IoT Hub and Azure IoT Central.
With the addition of Azure IoT Hub or Azure IoT Central, field service is transforming the costly traditional break-fix model to a proactive and predictive service model. By combining IoT diagnostics, scheduling, asset maintenance, and inventory all on the same platform, field service organizations (FSOs) can reduce downtime by diagnosing problems before customers are even aware there is an issue. Connected Field Service lets you address issues faster by remotely monitoring devices, and the service data can help in making better decisions around dispatching technicians with the right experience, availability, and location to the customer.
Power Platform including Microsoft Power BI, Microsoft Power Apps, Microsoft Power Automate, and Common Data Service.

Use Power BI’s intuitive data visualizations, Excel integration, and customer data connectors with the next generation Field Service mobile app.
Empower technicians with an easy-to-use mobile experience to view: assigned jobs, and to record work performed with” photos and video captures, bar code scanning, and digital signatures.

They have information when visiting remote destinations without internet connectivity. Power Automate is easily integrated to create flows to improve process automation and the Common Data Service can securely store and manage data used by business applications. App makers can then use Power Apps to build rich applications using this data.

Mixed reality apps including Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist.
Mixed reality is a combination of augmented, virtual, and real world, where the user can interact with all views.

Mixed reality is creating a tsunami of change within the field service landscape since the advent of COVID-19. FSOs face unique challenges balancing the health and safety of technicians while maintaining business critical functions and continued support of customer needs. Dynamics 365 Remote Assist leverages mixed reality to access information and experts from anywhere, contact-free, by using Microsoft HoloLens and Android or iOS devices. Onsite workers can share real-time views of a repair, share knowledge and related documents, and perform inspections and audits to help accelerate the process.

Dynamics 365 Field Service capabilities are mapped to three distinct pillars: proactive service delivery, resource scheduling, and ensuring technician success.

In April, release wave 1 provided enhancements aligned to these pillars. New feature capabilities included a preview of AI-based suggestions for IoT alerts and incident types, and shared ongoing enhancements to resource scheduling and optimization capabilities.

What’s ahead for Field Service
Release wave 2 coming this October, will add more intelligence to Dynamics 365 Field Service iwith a new dashboard for monitoring key KPIs.

You will be able to automatically send customers work order satisfaction surveys using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Voice.

FSOs will have the ability to quickly capture, and accurately calculate work order completion metrics—even metrics like a Broken Promise %. :

Proactive service delivery. Asset hierarchy and functional location, productivity enhancement for complex entities such as work order, and extended integration with Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management.
Resource scheduling. Optimizer embedded in next-generation schedule board, predictive technician travel time based on traffic patterns, and enhancements for skills-based matching and travel outside working hours.
Technician success. A new mobile app based on Power Apps enhancements, a technician locator for end customers, and virtual onsite inspection capabilities.

Ahead of the curve
Most field service organizations typically consist of a “boots on the ground” labor force making service calls and often ordering cticila needed parts and rescheduling site visits to complete the repair.

FSOs are transforming and this business model is changing for the better. FSOs are evolving into profit centers by redefining their business model to a proactive service delivery, supported by leading edge solutions like Dynamics 365 Field Service, with rich features that optimize resources and empower technicians to succeed.

(Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product, or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.)

Contact Synergy Software Systems for more information and see this site for demo videos. https://dynamics.microsoft.com/en-us/field-service/demo/

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Posted in Construction Software, Corporate Perfomance Management, Dynamics 365, Education, Healthcare, Hospitality, Microsoft, schools, Technology

SnapLogic and Data Interchange for iPaas and EDI

August 20th, 2020

SnapLogic and Data Interchange have joined forces to bring together market leading iPaaS and EDI solutions
SnapLogic provides the #1 Intelligent Integration Platform.

The company’s AI-powered workflows and self-service integration capabilities make it fast and easy for organizations to manage:
– all their application integration,
– data integration,
– API management,
– B2B integration, a
– data engineering projects on a single, scalable platform.

Hundreds of Global 2000 customers — including Adobe, AstraZeneca, Box, Emirates, Schneider Electric, and Wendy’s — rely on SnapLogic to automate business processes, accelerate analytics, and drive digital transformation.

This new partnership will combine SnapLogic’s award winning Intelligent Integration Platform, with Data Interchange’s cloud based EDI solutions – Web EDI, and DiNet –to enable forward-thinking customers to drive internal digital transformation processes from a central platform, providing self-service integration up to ten times faster than other existing technologies.

Robert Steiner, CEO, Data Interchange commented:

“A partnership between SnapLogic and Data Interchange is a win/win. Many organisations not only have the need for strong and reliable integration systems, but they also need a good EDI partner with state-of-the-art functionality and their own VAN. Combining SnapLogic’s self-service iPaaS platform with our own self-service cloud based EDI platform and VAN provides customers with everything they need,”
“Working with SnapLogic has also enabled us to expand our market reach and capabilities. Integration is not only about application to application communication but also about automated data flows and supply chain management.”
Through the new partnership customers will be able to combine the trading world of EDI, including communication protocols like AS2 and OFTP, as well as a VAN, with a modern JSON, API-first platform. This ensures customers are able to push forward with their transformation initiatives using a single augmented, integrated platform covering EDI, data integration, AI/ML, application integration and streaming. Taking this approach means more re-use, reduced IT debt, faster time-to-market, and increased transformational agility with deeper and wider connectivity.

Roger Coles, Channel and Alliances Director EMEA at SnapLogic commented on the partnership:

“EDI has become increasingly important within organisations today, as they seek to streamline processes and automate various functions with the business. So we are excited to be announcing this new partnership with Data Interchange. By combining our two best-in-class solutions we will be able to provide a combine offering which we feel will be well received by our customers thanks to the unrivalled depth and breadth of functionality Data Interchange provides through its EDI solutions.”

If you need a faster and more robust way to develop, manage and maintain interfaces, with pre-built ‘snaps’, ETL, and streaming data callus ot learn more: 0097143365589

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Posted in Corporate Perfomance Management, Dynamics 365, e procurement, General Synergy News, Healthcare, Hospitality, HR and Payroll, Infor Financial solutions, Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics Ax, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Project Management, RPA and DMS, Security and Compliance

Return to work after COVID-19 lockdowns, Microsoft free Power Platform solution.

August 19th, 2020

As an aid to businesses looking to reopen and return to work following COVID-19 lockdowns, Microsoft released a free Power Platform solution.
Organisations looking to safely navigate these uncertain times need to protect the health of their workforce and also ensure that business is able to continue as normally as possible. Microsoft’s new solution helps businesses to reopen responsibly, monitor intelligently, and protect continuously with several solutions for a safer work environment.

What does the solution include?
Location Readiness – Determine the risk level of opening your offices based on the numbers of new virus cases, fatalities and safety supplies in the surrounding area.
Workplace Care Management – Maintain employee safety by recording new virus cases among your staff and identifying potential hot spots.
Employee Health & Safety Management – A self-service app for employees to check in, answer questions to determine eligibility to enter a facility, and say how they are feeling about returning to the workplace.
Location Management (coming soon) – Keep your locations open safely with tools for monitoring occupancy, health supplies and safety procedures.
What do I need to do to install the solution?
Sign in to your Power Apps account and create an environment
Install the ‘Return to the workplace’ Power Apps solution package
Install and publish the Power BI Location Readiness dashboard
Install and publish the Power BI Facility Management dashboard
Configure the apps and security roles
All of the solution files and additional documentation are available here https://powerplatform.microsoft.com/en-us/return-to-the-workplace/get-started/

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Posted in Uncategorized

Microsoft’s storage compliance within Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform be aware.

August 19th, 2020

Microsoft’s storage compliance within Dynamics 365 and the Power Platform has operated to date primarily on a trust basis.
From 10 August 2020, the first restriction for those tenants over their limits comes into effect.

It is little surprise that Microsoft have begun to enforce storage compliance and it is important for businesses to ensure they are under their own quotas should the need to restore or copy data arise.

Further enforcement restrictions may be put in place in due course, so it is better to be aware of any issues now.

What is the restriction?
For administrators looking to copy or to restore an environment, this will no longer be possible if the tenant is over its storage quota.

The ability to be able to restore from backups is a key feature of the Power Platform Admin Center, particularly after any important data loss, so it will now be important to maintain storage levels under the quota to ensure this feature remains available.

How can you check my current storage levels?
Administrators can access the Capacity page of the Power Platform Admin Center via this link or by browsing to Resources>Capacity within the Power Platform Admin Center itself. From here, you will be presented with two diagrams; te first showing the current Storage Capacity Usage:

and the second showing the Storage Capacity By Source:

This table shows how your available storage is calculated and will vary depending on the licences your organisation has purchased.

I’m currently over my storage quota(s) – what can I do?
There are two routes to take when it comes to managing storage:
1. Delete unused data that may be unnecessarily taking up storage space. Microsoft have their own guide on how to achieve this but it is important to proceed with caution to prevent the deletion of business-critical data.
2. Purchase additional storage.

Clients of Synergy Software systems with existing support agreements who need assistance with reviewing their storage quota or wish to discuss the purchasing of additional storage, please get in touch. 0097143365589

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Posted in Dynamics 365, Security and Compliance, Technology

Dataflex? CDS? Project Oakdale? Dynamics 365 and Teams

August 19th, 2020

Due to an existing trademarked product called Dataflex, Microsoft has been forced to drop the use of the name. (14 Aug 2020)
Dataflex is now temporarily called Project Oakdale and Dataflex Pro is back to being called the Common Data Service. Once Microsoft has decided on new names for the product, I will issue a further update. So what follows is correct to the technical features but the nane will change again).

( In July 2020 Microsoft launched Dataflex, a relational database that lets business developers create, deploy, and manage Power Platform apps and chatbots without leaving Microsoft Teams. There are huge benefits to this.

Dataflex Pro was a rebranding of the Common Data Service, which is included with a paid Power Platform license. It hit general availability four years ago and has since introduced support for Dynamics 365 and Power Apps. Dataflex Pro is the same data platform, but there are some additional premium features, which power the Dynamics 365 products, as well as the premium Power Apps licenses. Microsoft Dataflex was built on top of the Common Data Service (CDS) some time ago, and recently Microsoft announced that the Common Data Service has now been renamed to Microsoft Dataflex Pro.)

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Posted in Dynamics 365, Technology

Dynamics 365 HR and Payroll for the G.C.C. – ask Synergy Software Systems

August 19th, 2020

Microsoft rebranded Dynamics 365 Talent as Dynamics 365 Human Resources.( Dynamics 365 Talent is no longer sold -see our February 2020 post. The Attract and Onboard service will be available until 1 February 2022, or until your contract ends, whichever occurs first. LinkedIn is taking the lead on Talent Acquisition, Learning and People Success applications. Linked Talent Hub is a new applicant tracking system (ATS) that became available on 26 September 2019. LinkedIn Learning and Glint complete the portfolio of Talent Management solutions. Microsoft will offer a migration path to LinkedIn Talent Hub. The initial release of LinkedIn Talent Hub supports customers with less than 1000 employees. Data export tools will be available from within Attract to help customers transition to the Talent Acquisition solution of their choosing. Eligible customers using the Talent Onboard app may continue to use it through 1 February 2022 or until the end of their most recent Dynamics 365 contract or renewal, whichever occurs first. Migration tools will be provided within the Onboard app to help customers export onboarding guides.

Core HR – is now Dynamics 365 Human Resources

The key features include:

A central database for staff, with automatic updates.
The ability to set up and run benefit policies.
Automated absence monitoring and time management tracking.
Full CPD management, including performance reviews, matching competencies to job roles and target tracking.
Creation and delivery of training courses, including analysis of outcomes.
A questionnaire feature for gathering feedback and insight from employees. These are conducted digitally, with responses automatically linking to staff records and triggering suggestions for updating policies and strategies.

When you set up a Dynamics 365 Human Resources account, the first stage is to create an HR strategy on the platform. This will provide the overarching structure for how human capital is managed in your organisation, and includes things like specifying whether processes will be managed by department, by jobs or by positions.

Set up plans to guide day-to-day management of your HR operation through Microsoft Dynamics 365 Human Resources. These might be compensation and incentive plans for rewarding strong performance, or they might be training plans which link development to key strategic goals for the business overall.

An advantage of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Human Resources is how all of the data that is linked to plans is centrally stored and automatically updated. When you create a scheme for staff benefits such as a company laptop, phone or a car, then logging of data about upgrades and replacements is automated. The same applies to company incentive schemes like health insurance or pensions, which saves huge amounts of time in administration data maintenance work.

Dynamics 365 Human Resources supports compliance with employment laws in different jurisdictions. It will, for example, suggest complying with equality and disability laws, making recommendations based on personnel data.

Dynamics 365 Human Resources Employee Self Service allows employees to view and manage their core data via employee self-service. This ranges from the ability to view and manage personal details, bank information and competencies to compensation, leave & absence and benefits taking the load off from HR personnel making sure they can stay focused working on higher priority tasks.

Managers are also empowered to view and handle processes directly from Manager self-service and do not have to reach out to HR to manage tasks such as team’s to manage their team’s leave & absence, performance, to approve relevant requests or to view their team members’ position or compensation related information.

Leave & Absence in D365 HR was recently enhanced and allows HR to configure and manage as many leave & absence plans as needed and specify multiple details for each plan such as accruals, carry over amounts, how and when the balances are calculated and pro-rata rules to name a few. In addition, time off can be requested from employee self-service or manager self-service and the requests can be viewed in a calendar view format making it easy for manager or HR to assess the situation for any given period of time.

The HR team can effectively manage core processes related to hiring, transferring and terminating employees optionally supported by workflows to ensure that any required approvals are obtained before the processes can be finalised. These processes can be also enriched by utilising Task management in the form of checklists to make sure, that any related activities needed to be completed are distributed to relevant parties to action.

Dynamics 365 Human Resources makes it simple to configure compensation programs your organisation needs to support any plans and guidelines to ensure salaries are recorded properly. Any variable compensation such as bonuses or shares can be also easily recorded and managed within D365 HR to store the information in one place for comprehensive reporting and data management.

Performance management in D365 HR offers the ability to configure and manage reviews and goals accompanied by the option to record activities actioned or to be actioned during the review period. In addition, reviews and goals templates can be constructed to support your business and provide managers and employees with a starting point and a guiding framework to follow during the review process. Support each review by a different workflow to ensure the manager’s and employee’s approvals are in place before the review process is finished.

Dynamics 365 Human Resources allows HR users to schedule courses for which employees can be allowed to be signed up to via employee self-service. Skills and competencies recorded against the course and the course can be transferred to the employee’s record upon completion. HR and Managers can utilise skill assessment and skill to job analysis to see what competencies are needed and potentially missing when compared to required job-related competencies.

Synergy Software Systems has been implementing localied HR and Payroll and T@A systems in the UAE for over 20 years.
Our GCC localised HR admin and Payroll module for Dynamics 365 further extends and automates the core features with extensive workflows, reports and Power Bi dashboards.

Contact us on 009714 3365589

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Posted in Corporate Perfomance Management, Dynamics 365, Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics Ax, Security and Compliance, Technology

Modernise sales with Synergy Software Systems.

August 13th, 2020

Did you know that 55% of sales reps think their company’s sales tools are an obstacle instead of a facilitator?

Technology has rapidly changed the way customers buy. Customers now have more options on how when and where to buy, access to greater amounts of information, and communication channels have multiplied. As the complexity of sales increases, managing the sales process across multiple accounts can be challenging for sales teams. To better manage this complexity and help their sellers get more done, innovative organizations are modernizing their sales productivity.

Sales force automation and AI capabilities enable sellers to better manage lead. These intelligent solutions accelerate deals with an end-to-end, immersive experience for opportunity management; and integration with familiar tools—like Dynamics, Teams, Excel and Outlook—into their workflows to help increase collaboration and productivity.

– Focus on what’s most important and tailor interactions with your customers
– Streamline seller workflows, and get more done with integrations with familiar tools, like Office 365, that make work easier and faster
– Start with a sales solution that meets your needs and grows with your business

All of this means that sellers can spend less time on administrative work and more time meeting and communicating with customers, which leads to better solution design, more deals, higher revenue, and happier customers.

Please contact us to learn more about how Synergy Software Systems can help boost your revenue through modernizing your sales productivity with the latest automation tools.

callus on 0097143365589

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Posted in Dynamics 365, Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Project Management, RPA and DMS, Security and Compliance, SharePoint and EPM, Teams collaboration remote access, Technology

Google music is coming to an end back up your

August 6th, 2020

The message from today’s blog post is “back up your music now,” because Google says it will wipe out all Google Music collections in December 2020.

For most regions, Google narrowed it down to “October.” :

Late August—Users will no longer be able to upload or download music through Music Manager. Pre-orders and purchases will be shut down.
September—Streaming shuts down for users in New Zealand and South Africa.
October—Global streaming shutdown. The Google Music app and website will cease to be.
December—Music collections get deleted.

At the time of the streaming shutdown, the app will have been showing shutdown messages for several months.

To save your music collection go to music.youtube.com/transfer and click a few buttons to start the YouTube Music transfer process. The process is painless, and your Google Music account will continue to work even after the transfer. If you decide you don’t want to use YouTube Music, then you still have access to a ton of download options later, without the looming threat of the Google Music deletion.

A copy of your files isn’t hard to get. The Google Music Manager is a Windows and Mac application that can upload music or download your entire music collection with a few clicks, but as Google said, it wil lsoon stop working The other option is Google Takeout, which will wrap your entire music collection in a zip file and send you a download link. The processing for this can take hours. Whichever option you choose, make sure you do something before December because, after that, there will be no way to recover your music.

Other similar close downs include:
Google Fiber kills TV service, focuses on broadband and YouTube TV
Google gives Chrome OS Apps a shutdown date
Google is killing Google Cloud Print

Play Music since 2011 let users upload thousands of songs to the Internet, for free, for streaming playback on most other devices. It was the primary way to play music on the Google Home smart speakers, and it offered music purchases, monthly streaming radio, and podcasts. Google decided to make a competing music streaming service i- YouTube Music, which is now Google’s favored music app. The merger between the two was originally announced in 2018, and it’s happening. YouTube Music emphasises music videos, and the app has a more modern design. YouTube Music awkwardly blends together your entire 15-year YouTube activity history with your music collection, tossing any “liked” videos and subscriptions that have been algorithmically been flagged as “music” into your collection, and mixing together your YouTube playlists and Google Music playlists. There is no way to stop this.

YouTube Music is meant to drive up Google’s subscription numbers for the monthly streaming license fee. The app does away with music purchases and will not let you stream your own music to your Google Home speakers without paying the monthly fee. It’s a big downgrade from Google Music, which offered more functionality to people who purchased music. In 2018, Google told Google Music users “nothing will change” regarding YouTube Music’s uploaded music functionality, but now that the feature is actually here, that’s… not true.

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Posted in Technology

Galaxy Note20 and Windows

August 6th, 2020

Tap the power of ‘Your Phone’ and ‘Link to Windows’ to seamlessly connect your Samsung Galaxy phone and apps with your Windows 10 PC. Get notifications, calls and texts right on your desktop. Bring together Samsung’s new devices for productivity with the best apps and services across Microsoft 365, Windows 10 and Xbox to help you across work and play.

Leave your Android phone in your pocket. With the Your Phone app, you’ll be able to interact with it on your PC. So, you’ll be able to make and receive calls and texts, check notifications, and get instant access to your phone’s photos and apps

When you launch an app, it opens in a separate window, allowing you to multi-task and saving you the time and hassle of sign-in or set up. You can also pin your phone’s Android apps to your Windows 10 taskbar or Start menu for quick and easy access, making things like checking out your social feed or ordering your lunch while you wrap up a conference call even easier, without ever picking up your phone.

For the past year, Outlook has served as the app for personal productivity on new Samsung phones. This integration now includes Samsung Galaxy watches, including the new Galaxy Watch3. As the native email app on your most important devices across the Samsung ecosystem, Outlook will help you stay organized and productive. Custom optimization for S Pen will also be available on Galaxy Note20, making it easy to write or ink on photographs from your gallery. And Outlook brings Play My Emails to Android devices , offering a voice forward, hands-free way to listen and respond to what’s new in your inbox so you can get time back in your day.

With OneDrive on Samsung Galaxy phones, you have your important files, documents and photos at your fingertips across devices. You can set your phone’s camera roll to automatically sync to OneDrive with Gallery, so your photos and videos are protected and always accessible. And with OneDrive Personal Vault you can store and protect important files with peace of mind behind an extra layer of identity verification. You can keep digital copies of your passport, ID cards, insurance, taxes and other sensitive files in OneDrive and access them securely on your device wherever you are

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Posted in Microsoft, Technology

Why do data warehouses fail? ask Synergy Software Systems for the latest research report

August 6th, 2020

Organizations are increasing their data warehouse investments, however, the process of identifying and moving data into a data warehouse is not always straightforward.

IT leaders report that organizational and technical challenges are hindering success, according to new research from SnapLogic and Vanson Bourne. This research firm surveyed hundreds of IT decision makers (ITDMs) and recently published their findings.

Key findings:

• Nearly nine in ten (88%) of ITDMs experience challenges trying to load data into data warehouses, major inhibitors are: legacy technology, complex data types and formats, data silos, and data access issues tied to regulatory requirements
• The average enterprise has 115 distinct applications and data sources, with almost half of those (49%) siloed and disconnected from one another
• 89% of ITDMs are worried about those data silos.
• ITDMs report that, on average, 42% of data management processes that could be automated are currently being done manually, taking up valuable time and resources
• As a result, almost all respondents (93%) believe improvements are needed in how they collect, manage, store, and analyze data

Building a data warehouse is one thing. continuously updating it with high data volumes, and rapidly and easily maintaining and updating multiple interfaces with low risk as software updates and business and regulatory requirements change is an ongoing challenge.

Find out how prebuilt snaps, data management tools, data streaming, and low code rapid integration development are supported with an integration platform as a service iPaaS.

Contact us today for a copy of the report and to see demo of Snap logic. 0097143365589

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Posted in Corporate Perfomance Management, Project Management, RPA and DMS, Security and Compliance, Technology