What Technologies Should Businesses Prepare For?

As the holiday season we just survived shows us, new technology can be a really popular topic, especially for consumers. Businesses, on the other hand, have a lot of their excitement tempered by how much of a risk new tech presents - something could just as easily be a game-changer for their operations as it could prove to be a major source of problems that ultimately creates huge issues.

Let’s discuss a few such technologies that small-to-medium-sized businesses will soon need to consider as options.

Blockchain

In fairness, blockchain has been around for a few years now. Have you ever heard of Bitcoin, or other cryptocurrencies? These were once the most well-known uses of blockchain technology, but now blockchain is being featured in more and more places. App developers are currently using it to make their software simultaneously more secure and transparent.

Blockchain is a distributed ledger system that encrypts any transactions made within it, creating a permanent record. Each and every transaction creates a new block in the chain, even if that transaction is just altering a prior one. A system like this has many applications for a business, like increasing the security around their accounts receivable process, allowing contracts to remain transparent, and to keep their supply chain management organized - and that’s just the start of what it will someday be able to do for businesses of all sizes.

Business Process Automation

Efficiency is the name of the game today, which means that many businesses have turned (and are turning) to automation. As the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence grows in popularity, automation is starting to become more realistic in more applications, which has led to improvements in Business Process Automation (BPA) and more businesses becoming motivated to adopt it.

BPA makes sure that the information employees need is both available to them and ready for them to use. With the help of AI, machine learning, and other strategic smart technologies, the capabilities of businesses have increased, they have become more efficient in their operations, and they have tighter control over their data.

Collaboration

Thanks to the technology available today, collaboration is a crucial part of many of today’s workplaces. Between Google’s G Suite and Microsoft Office 365 for productivity, Slack and other apps for communication, and the assorted conferencing tools now available, there are far more options than ever to enable collaboration.

Furthermore, in a way very similar to how business process automation works, collaboration tools that interlace different departments (such as customer resource management solutions and other software) allow you to access information and put it to use more efficiently and effectively, allowing your business to function that much more intelligently.

Are you interested in putting some of these tools to use? We can help. Call SCW at (509) 534-1530 to learn how the right solutions can provide the efficiency you seek!