BHI: Embracing Google Workspace and AppSheet to transform the workplace
4266
Of your peers have already read this article.
4:30 Minutes
The most insightful time you'll spend today!
In the last two decades, BHI, once a small construction company in Vernal, Utah, has expanded its operations to dozens of industries in over 25 states. But while the company grew, its technology trailed behind. File sharing and emails both ran off a single server. Editing a document was a grueling undertaking that required an employee to VPN in, patiently download the file, edit it, then upload it again—all from a job site with a limited internet connection. Acknowledging the need for better technology, BHI adopted Google Workspace and AppSheet and transformed its business to be more innovative, productive, and profitable.
Rebuilding collaboration and productivity
BHI first looked to replace its archaic email and file-sharing systems. They found that Google Workspace—as a proven and popular collaboration solution for remote teams and a familiar, preferred platform that most employees use in their personal lives—was the clear choice. BHI migrated its 500 employees to Google Workspace in less than a week. Productivity immediately soared, since employees could collaborate more easily with Google Workspace’s products and access them from any device, from anywhere—even at the construction sites.
For instance, the contract writing process drastically improved with Google Workspace. Version control had always been a struggle—as employees circulated a draft contract from one computer to the next, versions became unruly and randomized, untracked changes popped up, and files went missing. With Google Workspace, the pre-construction, legal, and finance teams can all edit and track changes of a contract from wherever they work. Version control has become a thing of the past, as everyone is always working on the latest version.
By adopting Google Workspace, BHI decentralized its operations and began collaborating in real time across over 150 job sites. Management and IT gained new insights into challenges that they may never have uncovered nor confronted without a cloud-based productivity tool. The IT team also saw an opportunity to overhaul the methods of their deskless workforce, which accounts for 90% of the company. This deskless majority needed to connect directly to the data that influenced, impacted, and comprised their work. They also required more streamlined processes. AppSheet provided the answer to the workforce’s needs, enabling IT to create applications that simplified key tasks so mobile workers could get their jobs done faster and better.
For example, one BHI client required extensive inspections multiple times a day. Before using AppSheet, a BHI inspector would perform the inspection, return to a computer, record the results from paper to a spreadsheet, copy and paste them into a formatted report in a Google Docs, convert the Doc to a PDF, and email the final inspection report to the customer. This manual process took two hours to complete. Now, using AppSheet, the inspector inputs the results on their mobile device while performing the inspection. As soon as the device connects to the internet, it automatically updates the database with the inspector’s inputs, adds the inspection results to a preformatted report built-in Google Docs, and emails the final report as a PDF to the customer. With AppSheet, BHI shortened this inspection process from two hours to six minutes, saving over $50,000 a month in labor. “With Google Workspace and AppSheet, BHI has turned into a digital company with real-time data allowing for real-time decisions, collaboration, and transparency in a decentralized environment,” says
Johnny Hacking, Director of IT.
An easier software choice for faster results
BHI also found that building apps with AppSheet is much easier than using other solutions, such as developing with low- or full-code tools or purchasing third-party products. Because AppSheet is a true no-code platform, anyone can learn to build and maintain apps. Since adopting AppSheet, the BHI IT team has become so proficient with the platform that they have eliminated the company’s previous backlog of software needs. Now, when a new site opens up, IT proactively works with the site managers to understand its unique requirements in order to build a custom app. Start to finish, scoping, and building this site-specific app typically takes less than a week—compared to months with traditional development platforms.
IT team members aren’t the only BHI employees building apps. As Hacking explains, “We have people that aren’t in IT, and when they have an idea we say hey, log into AppSheet, build it out, and then we’ll help out with some final touches on it.”
Empowering employees outside of IT to build AppSheet apps has benefited teams across the company. For example, one team on a solar farm construction project needed to perform inspections of an array of specialized technical equipment with which IT was not familiar. In this case, the solar team, being the subject matter experts, simply built the app according to their specifications. All IT had to do was jump in at the end to help finalize the app—the final product was completely customized to the solar team’s very specific needs. This highlights the benefits of no-code development: on-the-ground experts build and prototype job-specific apps and IT puts the finishing touches on the functionality, all while keeping guardrails in place.
Using Google Workspace and AppSheet also simplifies BHI’s reliance on third-party software. “Our company divisions are so diverse that they each require different software,” says Hacking. “Plus, if we buy a third-party software, we still have to customize it by getting other software, because they don’t play well together. By replacing this software with AppSheet apps, we save a lot of money. And it’s easy to integrate those apps because on the back end, they’re all connected to Google Sheets.”
For the few third-party software products that BHI hasn’t been able to replace, they’ve used Apps Scripts to import the software’s data into Google Sheets, so that their data all lives on one platform. Overall, BHI has been able to free up 10% of its total IT spend by replacing third-party software with Google Workspace and AppSheet apps.
Company culture transformed by technology
“Because we’ve used Google Workspace and AppSheet and it’s been so successful, people are very willing to use them,” Hacking says. “And for a construction company to gain so much trust in these platforms in such a short period of time—that’s huge. Now we’re at the point where employees are asking, ‘What else can we do?’”
Adopting Google Workspace and AppSheet has not only made BHI more productive, but also transformed the company culture. Employees feel empowered to be more innovative and are constantly seeking ways to improve. Simplifying employees’ work has led to a direct boost in morale.
The role of IT has also transformed. As Hacking explains, “In just three years of using these technologies, IT has gone from being support overhead to being proactively brought to the table to take part in the business strategy.” Increased IT visibility and culpability has helped solve business problems and led to increased profitability.
BHI continues to find new ways to leverage Google Workspace and AppSheet to improve business. In response to COVID, they created a timesheet app that allows employees to clock in without touching a device. Most meetings are now held virtually using Google Meet. Fleet maintenance and repairs are all managed with apps. And, of course, the company has better data and insights than ever. As Hacking puts it, “We’re continuing to stay on the cusp of innovation because of Google Workspace and AppSheet.”
3921
Of your peers have already watched this video.
15:11 Minutes
The most insightful time you'll spend today!
Communication in G Suite: The Future of Gmail, Chat, Meet, and More
Let’s take a step back and acknowledge the sudden shift that many of our businesses and employees have recently faced in the workplace.
A lot of people, who for a really long time relied on physical office space and infrastructure to both communicate and collaborate, have had to shift how they work and quickly. The crisis at hand has become a massive catalyst to remote, distributed and flexible work. And almost 3/4 of CFOs actually predict that these changes will permanently affect how companies choose to work moving forward.
While we’re well into this new reality, I want to quickly recap a few ways we’ve adapted to try to make this change to flexible work easier on people and organizations. First, we made premium Meet features available to all G Suite users, which meant that every customer, from schools to startups to small businesses to large enterprises, could leverage larger meeting sizes, live streams, recordings, and more.
In this video, find out more about how Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) is changing the future of work.
Now on Mobile: Manage Your Google Cloud Support Cases Anywhere, Anytime
943
Of your peers have already read this article.
2:30 Minutes
The most insightful time you'll spend today!
We’re excited to announce that Google Cloud Support is now available as Public Preview* in the Google Cloud mobile app.
View and manage Google Cloud Support cases
We understand how important it is to be able to access and collaborate on Cloud Support cases. As such, we’ve made it easy for you to manage your cases via the mobile app. There is no need to log in to the mobile browser, search for a proper website, and navigate to the place where you need to be. Your Cloud Support cases are now available at your fingertips.
In the Google Cloud mobile app, simply navigate to “Cloud Support (preview)” from any screen by touching your profile picture.
With just one touch you can see the list of all your support cases and easily dive into their important details.
Create Google Cloud Support cases and take action
Not only can you easily view and manage your existing Cloud Support cases, you can also create new ones on the fly with the Google Cloud mobile app.
Seamlessly browse case comments to see the full history of the support case, and respond to the case with new comments.
Download the Google Cloud app today
The Google Cloud app is a powerful tool for managing your Google Cloud environment on the go, and it just got better. To summarize, we’ve added Cloud Support cases to our mobile app, which lets you:
- Read existing conversations with the Google Cloud Support Team
- Respond to Google Cloud Support cases
- Create new Google Cloud Support cases
These new features are available for you to use today in Public Preview. Download the Google Cloud mobile app from Google Play or the Apple App Store to try it out. Check out the Google Cloud app documentation to learn more about what you can do on-the-go. If you have any feedback, we would love to hear from you — simply click on the “send feedback” button in the app to share your experience.
*Preview – This product or feature is covered by the Pre-GA Offerings Terms of the Google Cloud Terms of Service. Pre-GA products and features might have limited support, and changes to pre-GA products and features might not be compatible with other pre-GA versions. For more information, see the launch stage descriptions.
Scaling Your Startup: Strategies for Optimization and Growth
2877
Of your peers have already read this article.
2:30 Minutes
The most insightful time you'll spend today!
Reboot your Startup with our technical guided series
At Google Cloud, we want to provide you with the access to all the tools you need to grow your business. Through the Google Cloud Technical Guides for Startups, leverage industry leading solutions with how-to video guides and resources curated for startups.
This multi-series contains 3 chapters: Start, Build and Grow, which matches your startup’s journey:
- The Start Series: Begin by building, deploying and managing new applications on Google Cloud from start to finish.
- The Build Series: Optimize and scale existing deployments to reach your target audiences.
- The Grow Series: Grow and attain scale with deployments on Google Cloud.
Additionally, at Google we have the Google for Startups Cloud Program, which is designed to help your business get off the ground and enable a sustainable growth plan for the future. The start of the Build Series delineates the benefits of the program, the application process, and more to help your business get started on Google Cloud.
A quick recap of the Build Series
Once you have applied for the Google for Startups Cloud Program, there’s so much to explore and try out on Google Cloud.
Figuring out a rapid but solid application development process can be key to many businesses in reducing time to market. Furthermore, learning what database to use to handle application data can be tricky. Deep dive into our Firestore video which walks through how Firestore can help you unlock application innovation with simplicity and speed.
We then move on to a deep dive into BigQuery and how it can help businesses. BigQuery is designed to support analysis over petabytes of data regardless of whether it’s structured or unstructured. This video is the goto video for getting started on BigQuery!If you are someone looking to run your Spark and Hadoop jobs faster and on the cloud, look to Dataproc. To learn more about Dataproc and how this has helped other customers with their Hadoop clusters, click the video below to learn all things Dataproc related.
Next, we find out what Dataflow can bring to your business; some advantages, sample architectures, demos on the console, and how other customers are using Dataflow.
We also talked about Machine Learning, starting from selecting the right ML solution to Machine Learning APIs on cloud to exploring Vertex AI. Following that we look into API management in Google Cloud and how Apigee helps operate your APIs with enhanced scale, security, and automation.
We ended the series with the last two episodes focusing around security deep-dive and using Cloud Tasks and Cloud Scheduler.
Coming up next – The Grow Series
Dive into the next chapter of this multi-series, with our upcoming Grow Series, where we will be focusing on growing and attaining scale with deployments on Google Cloud.
Check out our website and join us by checking out the video series on the Google Cloud Tech channel, and subscribe to stay up to date.
See you in the cloud!
Download the Forrester Study to Explore the Benefits of AI for IT Operations in Cloud Environment
7112
Of your peers have already read this article.
1:30 Minutes
The most insightful time you'll spend today!
Organizations are currently modernizing their businesses in order to meet the increasing complexity of today’s business landscape. In effect, business leaders must evaluate the best way to mitigate the challenges which plague their cloud operations, all while meeting customers’ growing expectations around digital experience (DX) through agility, automation, and proactive incident avoidance.
In this commissioned study, “Modernize With AIOps To Maximize Your Impact”, Forrester Consulting surveyed organizations worldwide to better understand how they’re approaching artificial intelligence for IT operations (AIOps) in their cloud environments, and what kind of benefits they’re seeing.
Within this July 2021 study, you’ll see that AIOps systems and principles are here to help. It covers how AIOps increases efficiency and productivity across day-to-day operations, and how businesses are taking note. In fact, 91% of respondents have implemented AIOps to address at least one cloud operations issue, and expansion is set to skyrocket. Those that wait to act, risk losing out on the efficacy of their cloud investment and falling behind their more efficient competitors.
As you can see in the image above, there is a plethora of great information in this complimentary study. So, if you’re looking to enhance your cloud operations and/or adopt AIOps within your organization, be sure to download this free study today.
Google Cloud’s Virtual Appointment Scheduling Tool (VAST) Helps State of Arizona Recover from Unemployment Situation
6558
Of your peers have already read this article.
2:00 Minutes
The most insightful time you'll spend today!
When the world was forced to go primarily online, state governments also faced the reality of needing to provide community services without the health risk of meeting in person. Old systems that relied on interpersonal contact could not keep up. An unprecedented number of displaced workers swamped every unemployment system. The capacity challenges weren’t limited to state labor departments either. Everything from birth certificates and marriage licenses to apostilles and court system services that could usually be handled by a simple walk-in had to be scheduled in advance. Both internal and external communication suffered.
To meet these challenges, many organizations turned to new technology solutions and innovative approaches.
How VAST helped Arizona get back to work
The State of Arizona had tens of thousands of constituents who relied on pandemic unemployment insurance and would also need tools to reenter the workforce.Tim Tucker, Deputy Administrator of the Workforce Development Administration for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, started preparing in late 2020. He collaborated with Google Cloud and SADA to introduce the Virtual Appointment Scheduling Tool (VAST) to State of Arizona staff members. Using VAST reduced the excessive workload taken on by the Workforce Development Administration as they got Arizona back to work. VAST lets constituents book an appointment, upload documents and forms, and conduct career counseling virtually. This helped constituents move through the system faster so they could successfully reenter the workforce.
That preparation paid off. As of September 2021, Arizona had recovered the majority of the jobs lost during the pandemic. It has also seen one of the smallest percent change in employment compared with pre-pandemic numbers. Even more impressive, Arizona is one of only five states where unemployment claims are now lower than pre-pandemic numbers. Using VAST helped them get people back to work faster and has become a permanent part of their unemployment program.
Bringing streamlined services to the community
To fully realize a solution to the challenges faced by our public sector customers, we focused on three key areas in which we knew we needed VAST to excel:
- Efficient staff allocation
- Streamlined internal meetings
- Confident constituent interactions
We also knew our customers needed to get VAST online fast, and it needed to work with existing infrastructure without requiring a total overhaul. These areas informed the design of VAST’s features and have allowed us to meet the challenges faced by agencies such as the Arizona Department of Economic Security.
Virtual Agent support and integrations
VAST gives constituents 24×7 virtual agent support powered by Google Cloud’s contact center AI virtual agents. Virtual agents are custom programmed to fit the specific needs of each agency and community they serve. It’s easy to add new options and information whenever an update is needed. Virtual agents can be designed to understand the user’s intent and serve up relevant content for a smooth user experience on both ends of the system. Virtual agents run at scale and offer multi-language support, ensuring they can serve everyone in the community. By pairing these with VAST, constituents can experience seamless self-service.
6 week deployment time
Most of our public sector clients needed a solution yesterday. VAST can be deployed rapidly, taking about six weeks from start to finish, which includes everything–even staff training time.
Integration with Google Workspace and Chrome
VAST securely integrates with other Google solutions, such as Google Workspace and Chromebooks. We work to ensure VAST is fully functional within your existing systems.
Collaboration and support
SADA collaborates with each organization to ensure that the design, development, and functionality of VAST align with their needs. SADA specializes in helping public sector customers migrate to Google Cloud.
Analytics
Application administrators have access to analytic data gathered by VAST and options to customize and add additional datasets.This data helps organizations find blind spots in coverage, fix service bottlenecks, and better organize internal resources. Leveraging this data gives organizations the power to make changes, resulting in everything from a smoother customer experience to cost savings.
To learn more about how Google Cloud has supported Arizona during the pandemic, check out this blog on how their vaccination distribution system leveraged Google Cloud to get the vaccine to more people. For more information on how VAST can streamline a customer experience.
More Relevant Stories for Your Company
New Google Research Innovators tackle wide range of challenges
Now in its third year, the Google Cloud Research Innovators program has invited 37 new participants to work with each other and Google experts to accelerate their most promising projects. The program offers select researchers expanded technical and networking support from Google professionals, access to Google’s latest cloud technologies, and additional Google
How This Online Shoe Retailer Transformed Itself by Reducing its Workload by Two Hours Per Day
By offering customers a choice of 30,000 shoe styles at reasonable prices with a straightforward returns policy, Footway has become one of the largest online shoe retailers in Europe. Founded in 2011 and based in Kista, Sweden, the company has grown to become a market leader and four years ago acquired the
Deep-dive into modern OS architecture built for the cloud
Cloud-based technology--and we all know this--has changed how we work. It has meant that we can work securely from any device, any location, anytime. You can be on a tablet, a phone, a laptop, a desktop, and you get to your work. You can collaborate with others in a really
How to Use Data to Tell Compelling Stories and Win New Deals
A picture is worth a thousand words--especially at work. The data we present every day is what helps us drive decision-making in the workplace. But understanding how to visualize a story can be difficult if you’re left staring at numbers sitting stagnant in rows or columns within a spreadsheet. This
