Small businesses rely on technology today more than ever, and it can have an effect on the way that a business operates. Many businesses when they are just starting out have significant deficits in available capital to purchase new technology so they develop processes that require significant employee time, which of course is costly, especially when there is technology available that can automate those tasks. Today, we’ll discuss how integrating new technologies can provide more organizational confidence and suggest some options that won’t necessarily break the bank.
Technology Improves Operations
If your business has been functioning well without the use of technology, you might be skeptical how much time and money new technology can save you. After all, if you’ve got this far without it, how can you benefit from having to change all your policies and procedures? The answer is by redirecting efforts. Today, much of the technology that you can implement has options that allow you to automate tasks. Some, like a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform can present literally dozens of automation options. This automation can significantly cut down on the mundane and repetitive tasks that employees undertake. If you can reduce the procedural demand on your employees, they can focus on revenue-generating activities rather than business maintenance.
Speaking of Your Employees
The biggest beneficiary of new technology is always your workforce. With better, more dynamic tools, they can produce better work and produce a better product or service. Obviously, businesses that are good at what they do have a better chance of landing more sales and cultivating better customer relationships. By investing in technology, you are effectively investing in your employees. In fact, many younger workers will flat out refuse to work in companies that have antiquated technological resources.
The Effect on Your Customers
Every customer your business has expects to get value out of your offering. They need to be able to communicate with you. Companies that do this best, often find more success; not just because their customer support is better, but because they are constantly working to produce better products and engage with their customers. Happy customers keep coming back, so spending some time considering how to integrate technology to make this possible is a win for your organization.
Technology Every Business Needs
Let’s go through a few technologies that every business can use to give their organization the shot in the arm it needs.
Communications
Improving your business’ communications infrastructure can have multiple benefits. If you haven’t already, switching to a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) system that can utilize your business’ Internet connection to fuel your organization’s telephone needs. There are also a myriad of features that you can choose from that the telephone company simply can’t offer. Beyond your business phone system, tools that employees can use to collaborate more effectively, such as instant messaging (or better yet, dedicated collaboration apps) can boost productivity and improve your business from end-to-end.
Productivity
If you want your business to be more productive, you need to give your employees access to tools that will help them meet that goal. Not every business can provide their employees new laptop computers or smartphones, but there are other options out there that are more cost-effective. There is a lot of business software out there that not only could improve your business, but it is available as a service in the cloud for a small cost per user. Utilizing cloud-based productivity platforms can get you the enterprise-level software in a manner that eschews the large upfront costs of hosting and managing the application in-house.
Cybersecurity
The threat landscape is getting more and more arduous every year. There are literally billions of phishing attacks that result in over 80 percent of the world’s successful cyberattacks. The more frequently your employees are confronted with them, the more likely your business is to be breached. Since it typically takes months to discover a data breach, a successful phishing attack can be ongoing for all that time while you’re oblivious. There are plenty of advanced tools to combat cybercrime such as antivirus and spam protection; as well as investment in comprehensive employee cybersecurity training that can help you avoid the major headaches that come along with a cyberattack.
Investing in your business’ technology not only gives your staff the tools they need to be more productive, it also can make your whole endeavor more efficient. If you would like to have a conversation about how your business can fit in some new technology, give Business Solutions & Software Group a call today at (954) 575-3992.
