Technology has permeated every sphere of modern day life, from commerce, to communication, to socializing, the influence of modern technology cuts across all aspects of life. Business owners and entrepreneurs who do not invest in technology risk missing out on lucrative and profitable opportunities. For example, the use of cloud computing technologies has become the norm of storing and accessing small business data on the go. Here are some of the top benefits of taking IT investments seriously:
Automate Business Processes
Businesses should aim to deliver products and services to their customers within the shortest time possible and at minimum cost. On this font, information technology improves business processes as well as employee efficiency by automating certain processes. For example, you can set up IT systems that are capable of running queries on your business’s database, creating quarterly reports, tracking the progress of business projects, monitoring social media accounts, and sending email newsletters, among other functions. If you were to hire employees to carry out all the aforementioned tasks, you would end up with a huge wage bill.
Work Remotely
Information technology generally makes it easier for employees to work remotely from virtually any location within the Internet civilization. According to figures published by Global Workplace Analytics, the number of employees who telecommute in the US is more than three million. The ability to work remotely is particularly important for employees who have to meet clients outside the office because such employees may occasionally need to access important client data remotely.
Reduce Operating Costs
The days when IT departments required huge budgets in order to purchase and deploy hardware or software solutions are long gone. As such, a business can easily set up IT infrastructure without spending a fortune. For example, a business can use Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) rather than purchasing and installing in-house software solutions. At the same time, cloud-computing technologies do not require expensive and unwieldy hardware. All you have to do is choose a cloud computing service provider of your choice, pay the required fees, and start using Infrastructure-as-a-service (Iaas), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), or Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) platforms.
Competitive Advantage
Businesses and organizations that leverage the power of information technology have a significant competitive advantage over rivals who do not invest in IT. One way you can outsmart your competitors is by using data analytics software to derive meaningful insights from information gathered from clients. Useful insights you can gain by taking this approach include consumer sentiment, buying trends, and even pricing strategies used by rivals. Another area that has gained a lot of popularity in the corporate world is business intelligence (BI). This involves the use of IT tools to carry out predictive analytics, data mining, complex event processing, online sentiment analysis, business process modeling, as well as prescriptive analytics.
Store and Protect Business Data
Information technology also involves storing and securing crucial business data. You can create virtual vaults to hold client information as well as protect the same from black hat hackers. Internet Crime Complaint Center figures show that cybercriminals carried out more than 300,000 attempts to access individual and company data in 2011. To ensure that this does not happen to you, you should encrypt your business data and secure any wireless networks within your business premises. Other information technology aspects that you can employ to keep hackers at bay include installation of firewalls, antivirus software, and setting up virtual private networks.
Information technology is no longer a preserve of a few businesses with large financial resources. As such, you can use IT to give your startup a competitive advantage over rivals, reduce operating costs, enable employees to work remotely, and automate repetitive business processes. Technology and software solutions from www.nicus.com make it easy for a business to expand in tandem with the customer base.