Information Technology has had a major impact on every aspect of business operations, more than anything else in the history of modern business.
In the post-industrial revolution era, the business world had stayed almost the same, until the advent of Information Technology. Ever since then, it has been transforming at a rapid pace. In fact, the rate at which Information Technology is mutating modern businesses is so fast that companies can’t help but adapt to the rapid evolution, whether they are ready for it or not. This is why it’s important to understand how Information Technology affects your business and how to best utilise it to your advantage.
In this article, we will share with you 7 ways Information Technology has transformed the business world for good.
Information Technology has changed the way organisations operate, optimise their internal resources, and deliver value to their clients and customers. With the help of cloud technologies, companies can become more collaborative, customer-focused, and agile. The digital transformation that came as a result of cloud computing has allowed businesses to make use of third-party servers which are accessible remotely via internet connectivity. This has eliminated the fear of frequent crashes, downtime, and data loss. Not only that, companies that have switched to the cloud are able to scale efficiently and innovate more quickly. As a result, small to medium-sized businesses can now access the kind of resources that were only accessible to big corporations that had far more resources and funding than them.
Small businesses have been able to reach new and developing economic markets with the help of Information Technology. While previously, their sales of goods and services were fairly limited to the local market, businesses can now reach not just regional or national markets, but also international markets. One of the most common ways for businesses to sell products or services in multiple economic markets is through retail websites. Websites offer a low-cost and highly effective business medium that can be accessed by consumers 24/7, whenever they need to purchase goods or services. In addition to this, small businesses can also utilise digital advertising to reach a wider customer base.
It has become easier than ever for small business owners to reduce their operating costs. With the help of basic enterprise resource management software, companies can optimise their efficiency and even automate their back-office functions, such as accounting, payroll and record keeping. It can also help them identify where exactly the gaps lie and discover opportunities for optimisation.
A good majority of work hours and efforts of an organisation’s employees go into communication, gathering information, and collaborating. With this in mind, there has been a rise in collaboration tools and applications that support the needs of growing organisations that want their employees to collaborate efficiently and get more work done. These applications aim to simplify the way we work together, from managing tasks and team discussions to file sharing and storage. Technologies like these help align people and goals in the right direction, and also provide real-time insights into the progress of ongoing projects, helping us become more efficient at the end of the day.
The hardware and software required to develop software solutions are becoming increasingly affordable and easy to use. As a result, the kind of back-end inventory system that used to require plenty of time and resources for large corporations to set up can now be created by a few college graduates (or even dropouts) within just weeks, without requiring a huge amount of resources or funding. Similarly, there are tremendous opportunities for growth available these days, with businesses having access to remote talent and resources to support their day-to-day operations. No longer is it necessary to hire dedicated employees or set up self-managed IT infrastructure, which can cost many small businesses and startups a fortune during their early stages of growth.
Companies were able to quickly transition to the new normal and offer remote work opportunities to their employees during the pandemic, thanks to all the technological advancements that have happened over the last couple of decades. Companies of all types, across various industries, were able to recognise the major upsides of integrating a remote work culture into their ongoing business activities. Subsequently, they were able to ensure that all their employees had access to the required infrastructure and technology to support their remote work. Needless to say, there have been many benefits of this change, including but not limited to increased productivity, saved costs on office space, lower carbon emissions, and efficient business operations.
From point-of-sale devices and chatbots to websites and social media platforms, all offer the capability to leverage business analytics for business growth. Businesses of all sizes have gained the ability to receive insights into user behaviours and track sales conversations on an ongoing basis. This deeper level of business intelligence makes it easier to generate more sales and meet customers’ expectations consistently.
The rapid advancement in the field of Information Technology is not going to slow any time soon. Consequently, businesses that fail to adapt to it might find themselves struggling to keep up with their competition, while the tech-savvy ones will reap the benefits.
If your organisation is serious about achieving the next level of growth and winning its fair share of the market, it’s high time you invested in improving your IT game. To learn more about how you can do this, get in touch with our team of IT consultants today!
