I’ve been pottering along here at Nyfty for a couple of months now and, as well as being Chief of Staff, I'm also self-appointed Head of the NPD (Nosey Parker Department) so it's only natural that I needed to find out a bit more about the origins of Nyfty and the stars of the show - THE BOTS.
Having worked with Matt Edwards, Nyfty’s Co-Founder, for several years previously and knowing how much he loves a cuppa and a chat, I sat him down, popped the kettle and my listening ears on and got the skinny on Nyfty.
If you are new to Nyfty, or just want to know more about the basics, feel free to grab your very own cup of coffee and join us. (Please note: Matt is a super enthusiastic, sweary person so I’ve edited accordingly - you’re welcome.) Here we go…..
The Birth of The Bots
First up, Matt filled me in on the first Bot Drop. Turns out Nyfty started out as a voice app - tell it something, and it would log it in Procore. Then it went one step further - what if Nyfty could talk to other people for you, doing the bits of your job you don’t really like doing? And what if it could actually reach out to the right people, ask them a question, understand their response, put that info into the Procore reports you already use and only bother you if there are issues? Potentially the best work mate you've ever had? Correct.
So Nyfty isn’t a voice app anymore, it’s not even an app, but it can ask lots and lots of questions and then compile the answers for you. You just log in to Procore and see what’s been done while you were doing other stuff.
Nyfty has collaborated with Procore users over the last few years, so there are lots of configuration options that will fit with your current processes and even enhance them. If it doesn’t fit, Matt wants to know about it and will get it sorted, fast. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back on this one. I thrive on monitoring Matt’s to do list!
What do you mean “No More Apps”?
Matt explained the whole “No More Apps" thang. Nyfty’s whole philosophy is built around getting technology out of the way and not adding yet another app or silo of data. There are so many apps being used on site these days, people get sick of downloading new apps or creating new accounts but pretty much anyone can and will reply to a simple text message, that’s one reason Nyfty is text based.
But this is where it gets really cool, because Nyfty is text based and understands plain English, it can figure out what data needs to go where in Procore then asks follow-up questions if data is missing. Every single bit of data goes into Procore where it’s compiled into the reports users rely on, like the Daily Construction Report.
So by combining very accessible text messages with an intelligent AI that knows who needs to do what, when, you can automate a whole bunch of processes that involve humans. If only the rest of life could be that simple, am I right?
Are the Bots easy to wrangle?
If they are that good, surely the Bots are going to be a pain in our technical butts to set up and use? Well not according to Matt. The Nyfty Bots are super quick to set up and easy to use. IT skills aren’t required to get started as Nyfty is really intuitive. One Nyfty customer rolled them out on all of their projects (more than 30) overnight.
There’s no complicated integrations, you simply log in with your Procore account and Nyfty accesses your project info to configure the Bots, so within minutes the Bot can introduce itself to users and guide them step by step. Nyfty also writes all of your information back into your Procore project. Boom, boom and boom.
If you do get stuck though, the chaps behind the scenes will talk you through any issues you are having and get you sorted.
So if a Nyfty Bot had a Resume what would it say?
Nyfty is your little robot helper who will update your Procore data while you are doing something else. A great self-starter and all-rounder who excels at working unsupervised and has awesome attention to detail.
The Nyfty Bots are designed to manage themselves and will just get on with things, unless they identify an issue, then they will flag this with you via a text message.
Oh and Nyfty is very much a people-bot. Users engage quickly and easily with it because they don’t have to download anything, scan their face or fill in a form, they just have to respond to a text. Users love Nyfty so much that after they have used it on one site, many recommend it at the next site they work on.
Matt will vehemently deny this, but I actually believe he created the Bots in my likeness!
Is this how The Terminator started out?
There's currently no proof that Nyfty Bots are planning world domination nor do they want to steal your job. They will simply help you with some of the tasks that you are not that fond of doing, leaving you with more time to do other stuff.
Having Nyfty is like having a great little right hand person to help you out. The Tattoo to your Mr Roarke, the Boyle to your Peralta, you get my drift. Who doesn’t want one of those?
Are you ready for the Bots?
Well that’s that in quite a large nut shell and I’m off to wash up the cups and rinse out the tea pot until next time. Keen to know more or have a try of the Bots? Just click here and have a go. A trial is completely free and we promise we won’t hammer you with sales calls.
Or if you want your very own Chat with Matt, feel free to make a time in his calendar here. He’ll try not to swear too much. Probably won't succeed but he'll give it a red hot go.