The future of business is heavily influenced by the technological advances made nearly every day. There are so many technological advances happening right now that business is constantly transforming to keep up with the current trends and influences. technology has completely transformed the position of small businesses by allowing them to compete with larger organisations. By using new technologies, small businesses remain relevant and hold advantages over their much larger counterparts. Small business owners should be embracing new technologies as it allows their business to become more streamlined and geared for growth and success.
There are so many ways business is being transformed through technology but four main areas that are really set to influence the future of business are:
Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things (IoT) is undoubtedly a massive technology advancing change affecting business and basically, the entire world. IoT allows for communication between networks and devices and can help in the processes of your business and servicing your customers. With connected devices comes increased process monitoring and information collection to ensure your business is running smoothly at all times and when there are issues they are found and dealt with quickly. Increased communication through connected devices also helps internal practices to happen smoothly and with increased productivity.
IoT can also help with automation within your business, to learn more about automation, continue reading below.
Automation
Automation is the future of business, without a doubt. It improves practices within businesses of all sizes dramatically. To remain competitive it is time to automate the processes that are able to be automated in order to focus on the more important and changing processes or tasks that cannot be automated. By opening up your business to focusing on the more important and bigger jobs for your business, it helps you stay competitive and stay ahead regardless of the size of your business. You can automate so many different practices to ensure your business can run as smoothly and as streamlined as possible.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
Artificial intelligence is predicted to absolutely transform business. AI has allowed business to have more targeted and effective marketing campaigns. AI is predicted to have massive impacts on social media in the future. AI will soon be used to create landing pages, websites and advertisements. It is specifically helpful for small businesses as it reduces the need for so many staff to get these tasks completed.
Security
As more and more of business is conducted online, security is so increasingly important for businesses of any size. Cyber threats are constantly there online. Especially when your business is small, security is crucial if you hope to stand a chance against the threats constantly present in the online world. Increased security access and functions are going to ensure that the future of business stays secure even for the smallest of businesses. Incorporating these strategic security practices will be crucial as the business transforms.
Security can also cover data protection and preventing data loss. Incorporating cloud technology is your business is going to be absolutely imperative as the future of business transforms. Why risk being behind the game by not having this technology within your business processes. It prevents the risk of data loss and issues and keeps you competitive even when there are issues that arise. Having that added security for your data is so beneficial and will only continue to increase in importance as the future of business continues to transform.
The future of business was a topic we learned about during BGA 2018 earlier this year. Peter Ryan from Inland Technology gave a presentation on the topic and helped the attendees understand where business is going and what they need to be doing to stay relevant and up to date in the business world.
There is a concept that business is the one thing that will never change, but that simply is not true, what worked years ago doesn’t have the same impact today, just like what is working today is going to have the same impact in years to come. You need to continue to understand the trends, changes and advances in business in technology to remain competitive and effective in this industry. Embrace what is coming in your business and you will remain relevant and competitive. Fail to do so and you may get lost in the race.
