All you have to do is look back roughly 30 years to get a sense of business before the contemporary digital age.
Before the advent of the internet, businesses had to do things the hard way. If you wanted to reach out to customers, you did so via traditional ad campaigns – a costly and slow process. If you wanted to improve operational efficiency, you had to hone in on every issue individually, manually tweaking your process and tracking the results until you saw improvement. And disruptive innovation? It was a pipe dream for entrepreneurs whose ambitions outmatched the pace of technological advancement.
It can be easy to take business technology for granted. It’s such an integral part of how we operate. However, reminding yourself of technological advantages can renew your dedication to them, allowing you to embrace technology more thoroughly and effectively in your business.
Nowadays, services like ServiceNow Power BI integration help track personalized metrics, KPI, and overall team performance in real-time by scheduling refreshes and also visualize team contribution to the overall result. And that can really help with business.
If you’re looking for a reminder of the power and potential of technology in business, you’ve come to the right place. Here are (just a few of) the many benefits.
Efficiency, Productivity, and Automation
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It’s hard to overstate technology’s role in shaping operational efficiency and productivity. CRMs, accounting software, workflow automation apps, time management tools, project management platforms, automatic file sharing services – individually, these solutions target specific inefficiencies and smooth them over. Used in chorus, they can vastly improve a business’s productivity.
Connectedness and Communication
Most readers will remember the “water cooler” days of business, when information spread informally, incompletely, and slowly. Thankfully, strides in communication technology have tightened the screws of internal communication and connection. The rise of business communication platforms like Slack, Zoom, and Trello has made it easier for managers and team leaders to delineate tasks, disseminate pertinent information and manage employee frustrations.
And then, of course, there’s external, customer-facing communication. Technology like social media hasn’t replaced traditional advertising, but it has certainly made it easier for companies to reach customers directly, automatically, and (relatively) inexpensively.
Disruptive Innovation
Technology hasn’t just shaped internal processes and customer-facing practices; in some cases, it has upended entire industries. When thought leaders get their hands on new technologies, they have the power to fundamentally alter how things work, adding value that consumers didn’t even know was there.
Regan McGee, founder and CEO of Noble (itself a fantastic example of disruptive innovation in action), summed it up best in an interview with Superb Crew: “Anytime you bring innovative technology to the table that can make the process easier, it will be viewed as disruptive.”
And More
Productivity, communication, and disruption are gigantic benefits of technology in business – but they represent the tip of the iceberg. A list of business advantages could easily include:
- Customer Service: AI-powered chatbots, robust CRMs, and touchpoint management platforms elevate customer service, allowing businesses to optimize their interactions with customers/clients.
- Transparency: Big data and blockchain, in particular, help businesses remain transparent.
- Security: We’ve come a long way from brick-and-mortar file cabinets and easy corporate espionage. Modern antivirus, firewall, DLPs, and intrusion detection solutions make companies secure.
- Onboarding and Training: Centralized and engaging digital training tools have improved the onboarding process, ensuring lower turnover rates and boosting new hire satisfaction rates.
Is your business using technology to its highest potential? Embrace a digital mindset to unlock new productivity, communication, and innovation avenues.
