It’s a known fact that technology does not stand still. It is constantly evolving, allowing us more and more to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness, reach and expansion in our businesses on a global stage.
Technology enables you to support your clients; your business and partners connect, engage and interact with markets worldwide, remotely and instantly.
Thanks to Covid-19, the world has sparked creativity, and businesses have embraced innovation and found solutions to problems others use as an excuse. On a day to day level, embracing technology is essential to your business and its growth.
Recent technological advancements have made our lives easier. In business at a base level, it is easier to conduct day to day operations and save time, as many of us have discovered through Zoom, Google Teams, and we now see the emergence of such platforms on new apps. Think how far we have come from the days of pre-internet, analogue telephones and telex machines.
In yesteryear, businesses worked at a snail’s pace compared to today. Instead of writing a letter, you can write an email; instead of travelling, you can set up video conferencing in your home or office. Covid-19 has also forced us to look at how we conduct business, whether travelling to an office or working from home. Companies are looking towards hybrid versions of employment.
Understanding its primary benefits will form a solid foundation for growth before exploring how technology enables you to expand in far-reaching corners of the world.
1. Technology improves communication
Excellent communication leads to satisfied clients, effective business partnerships and successful growth. You can use a range of various software and applications for business communication. Understanding your needs is essential in selecting the right tools to ensure optimum communication. Telephone services are the best for immediate feedback as they offer quality voice, understanding of intonation, and reduce the misunderstanding that emails can often cause.
Video conferencing and instant messaging are other communication tools used for global reach. Technology has also created social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, allowing businesses to reach others worldwide. As technology moves ahead rapidly, communication becomes more convenient and cost-effective.
2. Technology improves efficiency
Technology improves efficiency in businesses. Advancements in robotics and AI help companies provide better services and handle repetitive tasks precisely. For instance, in some industries, Chatbots replace customer representatives and are programmed to answer common customer enquiries.
3. Online data security
Cyberattacks are commonplace online, posing enormous threats to businesses. Sophisticated computer-generated threats are pervasive, seeing hackers using advanced methods to hijack into networks and accounts. Developers, however, keep coming up with cybersecurity defence systems to protect businesses from these cyber threats.
It is vital to download and install a good VPN to ensure your data is protected. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) generates a private network and a secure channel for your computers and devices. Install firewalls, malware and anti-spyware software as tools to detect any threats in the system and stop them in their tracks.
4. Technology increases business capability
Technology increases the ability of a business to reach more clients in less time. Now they can serve clients in other countries by using emails, social media, and video conferencing tools.
Your business flow no longer requires bricks and mortar for success and growth. If you are consistent in marketing, you can use technology more than was possible years ago. The sweet spot is that technology is fluid and forever evolving.
5. Technology delivered cryptocurrency
Technology birthed Blockchain technology and Cryptocurrencies. The most popular cryptocurrency in the digital market is Bitcoin.
Like fiat currencies such as the US dollar and British pound, cryptocurrency is slowly becoming accepted as a medium of exchange. Cryptocurrency’s encryption makes it difficult to tamper with, and its technology has enabled companies worldwide to make secure payments.
Technology plays a huge role in businesses today: lower efficiency, slower communication, less audience reach, and more localised interactions would be the norm without technology.
With a solid foundation in understanding the role of technology in business, let’s explore how technology influences your business growth and expansion.
The world is open to all, and businesses continually leverage new markets with substantial opportunities.
As an entrepreneur, it is crucial to dream big; after all, you want to make a difference in the lives of others. Sharing your message, product and services on a global stage is part of that vision. Often you will ask yourself, ‘Where do I start?’ but shift the lens and ask, ‘Who and what do I know that can support my vision?’
Expanding into new and foreign markets is mind-boggling, but it becomes easier to embrace technological systems that support expansion. It takes research, due diligence and trust to move forward, so assuming it is vital to your success, find ICT companies that can be relied upon to support your business, no matter the industry.
One study showed that 81% of companies consider technological progress the main change factor for the next five years. 50% of the world’s leading manufacturing companies invest in IT applications and infrastructure to help them be more flexible and agile. It is vital to understand that technological change reshapes business growth and expansion. It will only deepen as artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, and cyber-physical systems take the digital revolution to another level. Finding technology that companies can turn to help them overcome the challenges of expanding to and within new markets is crucial.
In its most entire understanding, technology is the capability that leads to outcomes, whether tangible or intangible. Technology is not new; it is different. Each advancement in human history is closely related to technological advancement, specifically with the history of energy. Yet, the emergence of the printing press towards the end of the Middle Ages incited the Renaissance, which eventually led to the first recognisable techno-economic revolution of the modern age. This era was better known as the Industrial Revolution and characterised by the mechanisation of the cotton industry and building of canals, waterways, and waterwheels. Since then, specific critical trends associated with technological progress have become clear:
• Large technological footprints continue to increase beyond imagination, verified by bigger container ships and aeroplanes, taller constructions and dam walls, and space-age scientific experiments like the International Space Station, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) the Hubble Space Telescope. Contrastingly, technology also becomes smaller and increasingly manifests at the nanoscale. Think about DNA sequencing and its applications in the medical and agricultural industries.
• A different principle of operation categorises each technology era. Consider the sequence of competencies, starting with manual energy, followed in succession by fire, steam, and electronics, and lately characterised by the conjunction of biotech, infotech and nanotech.
• As technology evolves, it becomes more precise and efficient. From the simple capabilities of stone tools to the pinpoint accuracy of a laser, of GPS navigation and digital competencies in general, there is steady progress in accuracy and efficiency.
• Due to the fusion of these features, technology also becomes more expensive yet more omnipresent.
Future-focused leaders, in conclusion, strive to become technology-fluid. Their vision means they attend to the following priorities:
• They realise that technology is all-pervasive and powerful and that the current transition to robotics, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing requires them to take action.
• They actively pursue strategies to ethically source technology assets and respect the privacy and dignity of all living things, including environmental health. Once these technological assets are retired, recycling them into streams representative of their industries.
• They pursue Integrated reporting to inform all stakeholders thoroughly, including technological impacts, and they remain conscious of immediate technology priorities. Such as the need for digital control, focus is on social media strategies, all-inclusive data and privacy protection ethics and practices, and exploration of data monetisation strategies.
The global solutions offered by technology are requisite to expand internationally, and by choosing the right technology tools to power your international expansion, you’ll soon find the world is at your fingertips.
Carve your path as a global business by embracing the power of technology, and as a future-focused leader, prepare for the emergence of the new Metaverse.
