Technology has always moved at a fairly rapid pace, but I’m sure you’ll agree the past decade or so has been particularly exciting for business owners. With the massive emphasis on more advanced telecoms and technologies that rely on the internet to work, the world of business has been in a feverish stage of evolution. Here, we’ll look at some of the most prominent ways that technology has changed the way we do business.
Impact on Productivity
First of all, productivity. This is the one factor you simply can’t ignore when you think about how far computers have taken us. With the use of cloud tech and various programs and apps for communication, the physical form of the conventional workplace has been completely overhauled. We’re now seeing more and more companies started and run from several devices scattered all over the world.
Cloud computing
Furthermore, cloud computing and big data servers have reduced the cost of data processing enormously. It has also allowed companies to transfer massive amounts of information from unit to unit in a shorter space of time.
Even more physical tech like Android GPS fleet tracking has been found to help companies meet their logistical goals more efficiently. To business owners like you, this all means a more productive workforce, more ambitious quotas, and better profit margins!
On marketing
Another big change, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your perspective, is that tech has made marketing a two-way street. On the one hand, social media has given all businesses a powerful and affordable platform for marketing, which has benefitted countless ambitious entrepreneurs.
On the other, it’s given consumers higher standards, and the expectation that businesses are constantly on-call to answer their complaints and queries. It’s no good to simply release that half-hearted rhetoric about “how much you mean to us” anymore.
Your customers will actually need to experience the care and attention you’re investing in them. Whether you think social media’s good bad or neutral, it’s a factor that all entrepreneurs have to get on board with.
Resourcing
Finally, resourcing. This point ties in closely with how much technology has improved productivity at businesses. Two of the biggest examples are cloud computing and outsourcing. With the launch of the cloud, we’re now able to access a lot of large files, apps and infrastructure requirements completely online; things that all previously had to be stored on physical device storage.
The progress of tech has also made the outsourcing tasks so much easier. Freelancing for things like copywriting, video production and graphic design have become much more popular these days, and combined with platforms like Fiverr and others, business owners now have access to a massive pool of talent which they can draw from.
Before the internet became such a big part of life, outsourcing work was a much more drawn-out process, with freelancers charging extortionate rates. Now, they’re everywhere!
These three factors have completely changed the world of business, and they’re not showing any signs of slowing down. Who knows what we’ll be seeing by 2026?