Adaptation of modern technology is a must for all businesses, regardless of size, age, and target market. However, not all businesses are open to the idea of making investments in technology, primarily because of a limited budget.
Investing in technology comes with risks, but small to medium businesses (SMBs) can quickly be left behind by their competitors if they refuse to adopt certain types of technological innovations. Not sure what kind of tech investments are a must for your business? Here are some of the most critical that you should highly consider.
GRC software
Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) refer to the strategy with which an organization uses to manage all three. Proper GRC management is crucial to avoid the legal consequences of non-compliance, which can be devastating for any business. To make this essential part of the business easier, there are software solutions such as ServiceNow risk management that help businesses manage risks and make compliance easier.
Cloud computing
If your business still isn’t on the cloud in 2021, you’re missing out on a lot of benefits and possibly even hindering your own growth. Moreover, you are probably risking something disastrous like data loss or a cyberattack on your company.
Cloud computing allows your business to enjoy the following advantages:
- Reduced costs
- Faster deployment
- Improved collaboration
- Automated software integration
- Data security and recovery
- Mobility
- Unlimited storage capacity
- Scalability
The better news is that cloud computing can be affordable, which means that even small businesses can be on the cloud without a huge chunk of investment.
Mobile accessibility
More than half of global web traffic in 2020 came from smartphones, meaning that making your website mobile-friendly is a must if you want to drive that precious traffic.
Make your business website mobile-friendly and ensure that key features are present on mobile devices. Doing this does not need to be incredibly expensive (an understandable worry of SMBs). Content management websites already have mobile-ready technology that will allow you to build your mobile-friendly website for an affordable cost. That said, there is no good excuse for a business to not go mobile, especially when more than half of web traffic comes from mobile devices.
Collaboration tools
If there is one thing that the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us, it’s that work-from-home setups can work even better than in-person environments. However, there are still many challenges with working from home, and communication is one worth noting.
Having an effective collaboration tool will make it easier for your employees to connect with each other in real time. It will also help address communication issues that are brought about by the lack of in-person contacts, such as misunderstandings or mistranslations. Hence, it is always a good idea to invest in a collaboration tool (VoIP, IM service, project management software) that will ultimately increase productivity and motivation.
Cybersecurity
Many SMB owners make the mistake of thinking “it won’t happen to me” when talking about cyberattacks, when in fact, they are more at risk of cybercrime because of their vulnerability. Don’t think that cybercriminals won’t target your business because you’re a small fry–they target you because of that exact reason: lack of cybersecurity resources resulting in increased vulnerability.
Invest in h2 cybersecurity software to reduce your vulnerability to attacks, as well as minimize the fallout if ever a cyber-attack does happen. On top of that, employ basic security measures like using VPNs, encrypting confidential data, enabling two-factor authentication, and regularly scanning business computers for malware. If you have the budget, it is also a good idea to hire an internal IT specialist (or a consultant if you can’t hire an internal employee) that will manage your business’ most critical security points.
Automated marketing
In marketing, there are repetitive tasks that take a lot of time and effort to do. This includes sending out emails, posting on social media, and finding out what customers want. Automated marketing aims to eliminate these tasks and improve a business’ efficiency, as well as help boost sales by targeting customers and offering them the right products based on their history.
If your business is too bogged down by repetitive marketing tasks, it may be the right time to invest in marketing automation software. Not only will this kind of tech help generate more leads and increase brand awareness, but it also frees up employees to do more important marketing tasks.
Investing in these types of tech can open up more opportunities, increase your efficiency, improve your security, and catalyze your business’ growth. It doesn’t matter if you are an SMB or an enterprise–adopting technology is crucial in ensuring your place on the market, especially now when it is clearly volatile.
