Small Business
8 Reasons Every Company is Now a Technology Company
Whether you sell shoes or run an accounting firm, you need technology to operate. Today's companies are not just in the business of selling their own goods and services.
Whether you sell shoes or run an accounting firm, you need technology to operate. Today's companies are not just in the business of selling their own goods and services. They also must master various types of digital tools, including software, payment systems, computers, Wi-Fi networks, and mobile devices. If that technology is not working, it can impact a business significantly.
Ninety-eight percent of surveyed organizations say that just one hour of IT downtime costs more than $100,000. The reliance on technology means that every company is now, in many ways, a technology company. This is true no matter what products you sell or services you provide.
What Makes Technology a Backbone of Any Business?
1. Technology Is a Critical Part of Business. Even farmers use technology to check commodity prices, sell livestock, and keep their books. Most companies could not operate without their software or the databases filled with important information they depend on daily. IT downtime is so devastating for this very reason. The ransomware attacks on global meat producer JBS and Colonial Pipeline required both companies to halt operations and ultimately pay their attackers to resume business. Without the technology that has become a normal part of daily operations, many companies would be forced to close.
2. Customers Expect an Excellent Digital Experience. Customer experience came in first in a survey of top business priorities for the next five years, with nearly 46% of respondents listing it at the top of their list. If a customer has just one bad experience with your company, they will likely go elsewhere. In a digital world, those experiences often involve navigating your website, the checkout process, appointment scheduling ease, shipping notifications, the helpfulness of online chat, response time from customer support, and the ability to contact your company via social media. Meeting consumer expectations means investing in technology across all of these touchpoints.
3. Employees Need Devices to Drive Productivity. How would employees work productively without a computer, tablet, or mobile device? These devices keep staff connected to each other and to customer data, enable communication, and are how much of the work in offices gets done. When they do not run well, business productivity suffers.
4. AI and Automation Help Companies Stay Competitive. AI and automation help organizations move faster. AI can personalize a consumer shopping experience. Automation can help sales teams close 30% more deals and improve conversions by over 200%. To stay competitive, companies must integrate technology tools with AI and automation capabilities and know how to use them well alongside existing solutions.
5. Information Is Being Generated at a Rapid Pace. Companies generate information digitally at an enormous pace. Files, documents, and customer records are largely digital now. Keeping track of all that information and making it searchable requires technology skills and infrastructure.
6. Vendors and Suppliers Are Leaving Legacy Systems Behind. Think of the vendors you rely on to run your business. Could you interact with any of them using only offline methods? In most cases, the answer is no. The companies you depend on are also evolving into technology-reliant organizations and leaving behind legacy systems like fax machines and paper documents. You need digital means to interact with them effectively.
7. It Is Difficult to Grow Without Technology Innovation. People are limited by what they can mentally and physically accomplish in a day. Computers and technology have exponentially increased that capacity, handling much of the processing and manual work. The cloud is often credited with leveling the playing field for small businesses by allowing them to leverage technology affordably. It is difficult to continue growing your business without the smart use of digital tools and a regular review of your technology infrastructure.
8. Business Continuity Needs. Business continuity is about keeping your company running despite crisis events. One natural disaster could severely impact a physical location and everything in it. But if you are storing data in the cloud and using cloud software, your business can continue to operate from anywhere. Companies that are not employing backup systems are at significant risk. Technology solutions create the ability to operate remotely and increase overall business resiliency.
What Does Your Technology Roadmap Look Like?
Using technology securely and to its fullest can be a full-time job. The team at Cyber One Solutions can help take that burden off your shoulders. Contact us today to schedule a chat about your technology goals.