What do we mean when we think about technology? Most people will usually have the immediate association with smartphones and computers. But whilst these particular tools are important, they’re really only one part of the jigsaw. Technology can actually be anything you know that allows you do something better or more efficiently.
It’s an exciting topic in general, but essential for businesses to be successful. Of course, it can help to improve the bottom line, but it can also provide a whole host of qualitative benefits. Think about how much better it is to operate and run a modern factory compared to it’s Victorian-era equivalent. I bet your factory is safe, clean, and beautiful. Not belching out smoke and killing half the workforce in machine accidents before the age of forty.
Point Of Sale
Technology now offers the opportunity to revolutionize our businesses. Take the improvements we’ve recently seen in point of sale technology. Payment processing companies like Visa and Mastercard are now enabling contactless payment. For small transactions, this improves customer experience enormously.
But, investing the latest point of sale technology is becoming more than a customer service issue. Thanks to regulation, it’s also a legal issue. If your equipment isn’t modernized to accept the new EMV standard cards, then you could be held liable for fraud.
Automation
We’re increasingly entering a world in which the repetitive functions are being done by machines. This is the culmination of a process that has been underway for well over a century now. But recently, it has gone into high gear. Machines are now becoming so versatile that they’re gaining the flexibility and dexterity of human workers. They’re able to adapt to new situations and learn bespoke operations without the need for costly programming.
This helps our businesses enormously. For one, it allows us to free workers up for doing the things they do well. Overseeing equipment, manning new product lines and designing new products.
But, it’s not just the physical environment that is being automated; it’s the digital as well. Bookkeeping can now be done in software packages like Wave and Quickbooks, offering savings on accountant fees. And whole servers can be uploaded to the cloud, allowing businesses to share information from any location.
Online Collaboration
As the economy moves from the physical to the digital, online collaboration will explode. In the factory setting, designers need to work together in real time to understand how their product fits together. Perhaps there are overlapping systems that need to be reconciled.
In the knowledge economy, real-time online collaboration is essential. Employees need to be able to share their documents instantly from any location, and allow comments and edits from elsewhere.
This cuts down on so many of the little costs involved in running a traditional office. There’s no paper, no physical movement; reduced need for meetings, quicker, and easier review processes and so on. Plus, if you’re running a business, it gives you far better oversight.
Milo Senalle
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