Most of the largest businesses today keep up with the drastic changes in the world. One of their top secrets for cementing their position at the top is staying updated when it comes to business trends including deploying the latest technologies for businesses.
A classic example of acompany that went bankrupt because it failed to innovate is Kodak. Kodak sold millions in the 1990s as it was the top camera brand back then. They successfully created a hype that went on for years using their popular “Kodak moment” catchphrase. However, technology developed dramatically, and digital cameras were born leaving Kodak behind with nothing left but a declaration of bankruptcy.
Ironically, it was Kodak’s researchers that first came up with the digital camera concept in the 1970s. Their mistake was that they dismissed the idea of creating a digital version of their classic film camera and let the others leverage the technology.
Let’s now look at Starbucks. This 1970s-born coffee company has grown bigger until its global presence and people still can’t get enough of its products. While the best selling point of Starbucks is its aromatic and addicting coffee blends, the company invested in several technologies to make its customers keep coming back for more.
Starbucks invested in apps that they believed will boost customer experience. And they were right because their mobile payment and gamification apps helped the company recover from the great depression and eventually engage more coffee drinkers.
Technology adoption in business refers to the acceptance and integration of new technologies into existing systems or the creation of a new one. It is about using technology to its full potential in the process of adapting to changing needs of consumers.
Different organizations like startups and established organizations react to innovation differently. They can be very enthusiastic about embracing new technology or they might not find it significant enough. The technology adoption lifecycle describes the adoption or acceptance of a new product or innovation in a classic bell curve.
Adopting new technology is essential for organizations focusing on faster deliveries, reduced spending, and enhanced user experience. It has become highly essential as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced them to reconsider their strategies.
The situation is even concerning for businesses that have been working for decades using legacy systems.
Small Businesses and Technology
To some people, technology trends sound “expensive.” The price of innovation is one of the reasons why many businesses prefer traditional strategies. While it’s true that some technologies require a big budget, there are other innovations that even small businesses and startups can afford and still deliver results that lead to their growth.
The use of technology is one way that a small business can stand against big companies. The simple use ofmobile appsfor rewards programs can bring more revenue in a month. The secret is designing the best rewards program and developing a user-friendly app.
Let’s look into the other reasons why businesses, big and small, should start adopting new technologies.
Reasons to Use New Technologies in Businesses
Regardless of the size of your business, technology will bring diverse benefits to your company.
We listed down the most important reasons why you should invest in new technology to make your business successful in this modern world.
1. Efficient Communication with Customers
Communication between a company and consumer is an important ingredient for a profitable business transaction. In the past, businesses could only leverage telephones and snail mail to respond to their customers who can’t be physically present at their offices. This process took days before deals were successfully closed.
Nowadays, communication is almost instant through social media and app messaging as well as emailing. Thanks to the new generation phones, all these are possible while putting an end to the slow-moving and less safe postal mailing.
Phone calls remained, but the beauty of smartphones is that customers and companies can now talk via video call. This offers better engagement as companies can attend to their customers’ needs without the customer visiting the store thus increasing the chance of selling.
Also, this is most helpful today as the Covid pandemic still poses danger to brick-and-mortar shopping.
2. Technology Streamlines Workflow
Today, everything on the business side is fast-paced. Businesses that aren’t able to employ the right technologies in their operations cannot keep up with the pace of others that are using different technologies to streamline their processes.
A basic example is communicating with clients. As mentioned, businesses used to send important documents through snail mail until fax messaging happened. When email services emerged, they also made sending video, audio, and PDF files possible through the computer, tablets, and other smart devices.
That said, technology provides businesses with the best tools to improve work processes while saving time and money.
3. Technology Enhances Collaboration Within a Team
Technology breaks barriers between workers.
For example, a construction site is a place where technology can connect members within a team as well as enable cross-functional communication between various departments.
On a construction site, there’s usually the main team which is subdivided again into different teams depending on their assignments. There are also subcontracting teams hired according to their specializations. With so many people working at the site, without proper collaboration, their work quality can be compromised.
Technology made it possible to connect all the employees and teams through collaboration apps – these are usually installed on smartphones and tablets that each construction worker has. Through the app, the members can see what tasks are being worked on or accomplished thus enabling everyone to stay updated on the project’s progress.
Through the app, workers are also able to know if any task is assigned to them as some tasks can only commence after others accomplish their own work.
The overall result is better collaboration results in a more organized process that eliminates disputes between different teams and costly errors.
4. Technology Offers Unbreakable Protection for Business Assets
There are different technologies used by businesses today to protect their assets. Since assets can come in digital and physical forms, successful businesses are investing in both digital and physical security.
Digital data saved in the company’s network are vulnerable to hacking and malware attacks. This is whyadvanced antivirus software, encryption software, machine learning, and AI are continuously being developed to stop cybercriminals from stealing or destroying a company’s intellectual property.
Likewise, physical assets may include new machines and devices as well as servers. These investments can be secured in a biometrics-locked room that can also be monitored by high-definition CCTV cameras and alarms.
5. Technology Delivered Analytics Tools
A company’s research capacity is important for it to come up with products/services that are relevant to the customers’ needs. In order to help businesses to stay relevant despite the continuous change in consumer trends, technology made a way to develop accurate analytics tools.
Analytics tools increase the research capacity of businesses. Using the data on Google, which is the ultimate go-to for consumers when finding products or reading reviews about the product they want to buy, businesses can see what questions are often asked by shoppers and what products are being researched.
This way, businesses can adjust their marketing strategies to appear to consumer searches or get an idea of a new product or service to develop.
New Technologies Used by Businesses in 2021
Now that we know how implementing new technologies in a business can help increase profits, improve processes, and grow company operations, it’s time to look into some new technologies worth investing in.
1. Cybersecurity
Everything can go to waste when assets are not protected. Since the trend in business documentation, collaboration, and communication prompts companies to process them in a virtual space, a sort of cybersecurity technology should be employed.
The most advanced antivirus software today, developed by world-leading brands like AVG, Norton, Kaspersky, McAfee, and Avast has features that meet the most stringent security standards and fight the newest threat of viruses and malware that are used by hackers.
Encryption is also one way to add a layer of protection to your documents saved online as well as on your office computers. Bigger businesses are also using machine learning and AI to detect abnormal activities in their network as well as attempts of hacking.
2. Artificial Intelligence + Machine Learning + Behavioral Analytics
Machine learning (ML) andartificial intelligence(AI) are utilized by CRM analytics tools to know more about consumers.
They provide more accurate and valuable data than traditional methods on consumer behavior, wishes, and expectations.
Businesses can then leverage this information and improve their services and products to provide the best customer experience.
3.Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality
Speaking of customer experience, nothing beats first-hand testing of products and services in convincing consumers to buy products like new technologies like Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR).
Customers don’t want to waste their money. That’s why they need to know about the product or service before they finally purchase it. In order to give them the best preview of a service or product, some businesses are already using Augmented Reality (AR) and virtual reality to bring products and information to life.
For instance, Nike has been using a VR app to let their customers see what a pair of shoes will look like on them even without shopping in their physical stores. On the other hand, numerous training institutes are using augmented reality to give people a realistic and immersive pre-training overview.
4. Productivity Software and Apps
Productivity software and apps should be a basic technology that all businesses should invest in. Since the rise of computers, pen and paper documentation has become a thing of the past. And being on the computer, you’ll need a complete suite of apps for documentation.
Microsoft Office apps are the most popular productivity tools today. The suite provides apps for creating different documents in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. They can be saved in different file formats to suit the requirements of your clients. Also, they now come with other advanced features that help streamline time management and collaboration within and beyond the office walls.
Conclusion
For an entrepreneur who wants his company to stay successful in business and stand side by side with the large companies in the field, investing in new technologies is a must.
Keeping up with the latest technological changes is the key to any successful enterprise.
The right technology can increase your company’s flexibility and profits, streamline operations, help you cope with changes in the marketplace, and hence, keep your company relevant in the eyes of consumers.
