What can AI do for your GovCon?
Project management, regulatory compliance, timekeeping, and so much more.
Government contractors (GovCons) are only starting to scratch the surface of how AI can help them deliver better project outcomes as well as win new work. Here are just a few of the ways AI can help your GovCon change the way it does business.
How can GovCons benefit from AI?
AI can benefit GovCon firms in various ways. It can improve operational efficiency by automating repetitive tasks and guiding users through processes. AI can also assist with data quality by detecting errors, mismatched data, or compliance issues.
AI can help executives make better business decisions by providing insights on resource allocation, opportunity pursuit, and hiring. Utilizing AI empowers GovCon firms to streamline their processes, increase profitability, and gain a competitive edge in the industry.
There are various forms of AI
Here’s how GovCons can leverage some of the more popular kinds to improve how they do business.
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Generative AI
Generative AI is mainly used for generating proposals or marketing materials. This can be useful for business development purposes.
As technology continues to advance, there may come a time when generative AI could be used in GovCon for tasks such as proposal writing or even contract management. With the use of natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms, AI could assist in creating high-quality proposals based on past successful ones or help identify potential red flags in contracts.
This could potentially save companies time and resources, allowing them to focus on other important tasks.
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Analytical AI
Analytical AI is something our market industry finds intriguing. This form of AI can analyze and provide insights from large sets of structured and unstructured data, a capability as valuable in the GovCon market as it is in any other modern business.
When AI is combined with Machine Learning on historical customer data, it can recognize patterns, determine cause and effect relationships, and uncover meaningful takeaways. This can be hugely beneficial for GovCons looking to maximize the usage of billable employees.
AI could be used to analyze data from past contracts and identify patterns that could help predict the success of future contracts. This could also be applied to employee utilization and project management, helping companies allocate resources more efficiently and increase profitability.
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Virtual assistants
Virtual assistants, such as chatbots or voice assistants, are becoming increasingly popular in the business world. They can streamline processes and provide quick answers to common questions, freeing up employees' time for more significant tasks.
For GovCons, virtual assistants could be used to assist with proposal submissions or contract management, providing real-time updates on status and deadlines.
AI-powered virtual assistants could also help government contractors stay on top of compliance regulations and alert them to any potential issues. This could be especially useful for companies that work on multiple contracts with different government agencies, as it can be challenging to keep track of all the various requirements and deadlines.
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Robotic process automation and recommendations
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) automates redundant and tedious tasks using Machine Learning and algorithms. It can be used for business rules, data validation, and automating repetitive tasks. RPA also helps with compliance by detecting and alerting on behavior or reporting that could be problematic in a compliance audit.
RPA could be used to streamline processes such as invoice and expense management or contract renewals. This not only saves time and resources but also reduces the risk of human error. Additionally, AI-powered recommendations could help government contractors make more informed decisions by providing insights based on past data and market trends.
FAQs about GovCon AI
Without quality data, AI systems won't function effectively. Unanet understands this and provides features that ensure data integrity and readiness.
Unanet GovCon ERP serves as a comprehensive, connected, and project-based database, which can be a firm's single source of truth. However, the quality of the data is essential for effective AI analysis.
Unanet GovCon ERP has current and planned features that focus on data quality to ensure that firms' data is AI-ready. For example, data governance and data profiling could help identify, and rectify any discrepancies in the data. This would ensure that AI-powered insights and recommendations are accurate and reliable.
It’s not likely today, but it IS likely that your job or contract will be taken by someone using AI. AI is often perceived as a job killer, but in the GovCon industry, it's not about replacement. Instead, it will aid individuals using it. The GovCon world is a relationship-based industry that values human connections. AI can assist in understanding trends, automating repetitive tasks, and detecting issues in data entry or operations.
The full impact of AI on job roles is yet to be seen, but it's clear that AI can help companies scale and be more productive. With the integration of AI, companies can focus on building and maintaining relationships with clients and partners while AI handles the more tedious tasks.
There shouldn’t be a fear of jobs being taken over - rather, imagine job roles evolving and becoming more efficient.
Unanet GovCon ERP customers are already benefiting from AI-related features in the product. The next steps would be to develop firmwide AI policies and ensure a trustworthy and secure data source for building and training AI applications.
Unanet Data Lake is available and in use by Unanet GovCon ERP customers today, providing a reliable data source for AI applications.
AI in Unanet GovCon ERP today
Unanet GovCon ERP already offers AI-enhanced and Smart Technology features that are in use by customers. These features include receipt character recognition, automating expense filing by extracting values and vendors from receipts and assigning categories.
The Automated Analyst ensures data accuracy and compliance across the ERP. AI-powered recommendations for expense allocation and project planning are already available to Unanet GovCon customers.
As more data is collected, the recommendations will become smarter in providing insights and anticipating business needs.
What we're imagining for tomorrow
Unanet GovCon ERP is planning to expand its AI capabilities to improve data quality and daily work-life activities. The future features include a data assistant, an AI-powered virtual assistant that guides users in following proper business processes and minimizing data errors. A data steward, another AI-powered virtual assistant, will retroactively identify and fix data quality.
Unanet GovCon ERP continues exploring the use of AI for predictive analytics and forecasting to assist in resource planning and project management.
With these future capabilities, Unanet GovCon aims to help companies optimize their operations and stay ahead of the competition. Embracing AI with Unanet is the key to staying ahead in the ever-evolving GovCon industry. We want to continue making Business Easy for you and your teams.