How Technology Has Changed Business

Whether you’re a startup or a major multi-million dollar business, there’s no denying that within the last ten years, technology has changed every area of how a business is run. In many ways, advancements in technology have taken strides to level the playing field between small and large business owners. Technology continues to break down doors and knock down barriers in all areas of business, whether you’re a consumer or an owner.

Improved Communication and Productivity

Technology has vastly improved how we communicate within a business setting by making it faster, more efficient, and more integrated than we could have ever imagined. There once was a time where you had to stand and wait for a fax to come in. Or you had to overnight ship a file of paperwork to a coworker who worked in an office on the other side of the country. Not anymore.

Email is the main form of communication for many businesses, as it is fast, extremely cheap, and you can forward and receive additional files attached to each message. There is also a plethora of “instant message” type software used within offices, like Slack, Skype, and Microsoft Teams. And, when scheduling a meeting, video conferencing software like GoToMeeting, Zoom, and Google Hangouts allow for virtual face-to-face interaction. Such technology can also increase productivity. When you want to schedule a meeting with a potential client in a different state or country,  you no longer have to hop on a plane. Instead, just schedule a virtual conference call.

Businesses can also both improve communication and productivity thanks to programs that do more than just make it easy to talk to one another. For instance, tools like JIRA and Basecamp are easy to use and allow coworkers to easily discuss steps for various projects and delegate tasks to each other. This also provides a boost in collaboration to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Broad Range of Customers

Whether you’re a startup, a small business, or a large company, technology allows for all businesses to reach new economic markets. For instance, while startups used to be limited to selling their goods or services in a local market, they are now able to reach regional, national, or even potentially global levels.

Retail websites have become the most common way for businesses to reach new audiences and customers they wouldn’t have been able to sell to before. Consumers are able to access these websites 24/7 and they are relatively low cost for businesses to keep up and running. There is also the benefit of being able to utilize internet marketing with eye-catching web banners and ads that pique new customers interest in your brand and product.

Increased Social Impact

Technology, more specifically social media, allows for your business to achieve a greater social impact as you connect to customers in various ways. Whether it’s through platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or Pinterest, there are numerous ways to get chatting with your customers, no matter where in the world they reside.

Your social impact goes hand-in-hand with customer service. Years ago, your company may have been able to get by with subpar customer service. But now, customers who mention your company on Twitter expect a reply back in less than 24 hours. Whether it’s a negative review on Yelp or Facebook, your business is now able to respond and potentially rectify the problem, as well as ensure the customer remains loyal to your brand or service. Thanks to the internet and social media, a bad review sticks with you and can sway a potential client away and to one of your competitors.

Reduced Business Costs

When it comes to business tasks like record keeping, accounting, and payroll, technology has evolved to help companies reduce their business costs. Technology eliminates the need for manual handling of these tasks by automating them through various programs. These newly automated processes also produce more accurate results and can keep a record of such data.

Additionally, new advancements in technology have made it easy for businesses to access big data analytics applications where they’re able to derive insights from. From this data, businesses are able to make more informed decisions. Plus, the hardware and software needed to analyze data and create various solutions have become increasingly easy to use and afford.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing allows for storing and accessing data and programs over the internet, instead of utilizing a computer’s hard drive. This makes it easy for employees to maintain communications with the company and retrieve and send information from remote locations. When cloud computing is used by businesses, it allows for the expansion and mobility, without the fear of loss of data, downtime, or crashes.

According to a study report made by Oxford Economics, about 54% of enterprises take advantage of cloud computing in an attempt to unveil new business models today. This proves that companies are shying away from the old method of one person getting all the work done. With cloud computing, one of your developers can get an application directly from the internet, and then make moves to improve or alter it so it can match the platform it needs to be applied to.

Be Ready For the Future

No matter what sort of business you operate, the changes in technology have greatly impacted the workforce for the better. It’s up to the leaders within your company to keep up with the evolving state of technology advancements as you can’t afford to compromise when it comes to productivity, communication, and scalability. Technology isn’t going to slow down any time soon, so make sure your business isn’t left behind in a room full of fax machines, typewriters, and file cabinets. Contact Egen to make sure you’re ready for new technology advancements that may be around the corner.