Developments in technology have completely reformed the modus operandi of organizations. It has made their business processes streamlined and highly integrated. This is especially true for small and medium-sized businesses. Even large sized businesses can now be managed by a few people, through the use of Information technologies (IT).
These businesses can now carry out tasks with lightning speed and smoothly too, and even get a better result than they were getting, thanks to technological innovations. It begs the question, is your business utilizing the impact of technological tools? And if you are still skeptical of the importance of IT tools for your business, this article will highlight 5 ways information technology has affected business operations.
There are lots of reason why you need IT in your workspace, and according to SMB group, only 27% of small businesses have not integrated IT support, and only about 53% of small businesses own a website according to Brain Statistics.
5 Ways Information Technology has Affected Business Operations.
1. Automation of several business processes.
The trend towards improved automation of several business processes has increased through the years. This has brought about an improvement in efficiency and has also dramatically increased workflow.
IT has helped to develop better automated processes for small and large scale businesses. This has not only reduced operating costs, but it also saves time too. Time saved may be used to focus on other activities, which significantly speeds up business processes.
Processes such as billing, metrics monitoring, customer data collection, specific process monitoring, can now be easily automated, and of course, there are many automation programs for this.
2. Working remotely
The use of information technology allows remote access to your company’s network. This gives employees the opportunity to do their work even when they are not physically at work.
This mobility has many advantages. Because of the benefits, it is now very popular among businesses. In fact, according to a report by the US federal government resource, about 47% of employees can work remotely.
3. Productivity
One of the first purposes for the use of IT in the office was because of the fact that it holds potentials to cause an increase in the productivity of all involved, leaving us more time to do even more. Mobile apps, for instance, save 725 million annual hours of work for small business employees, according to CNBC. In fact, the use of computers, tools and the internet, has changed the workplace we used to know. This has reduced data processing costs and now, there is relative ease in the manner which a large amount of data can be processed and transferred between different departments within an organization.
4. Cloud computing
Cloud computing solutions reduce the workload of small businesses by at least 42% according to Microsoft. With cloud computing, large and small businesses can transfer part of their business operations to third-party servers that can be accessed over an Internet connection. This doesn’t only allow variable data packages, it also promotes rapid mobility and expansion without the fear of downtime, data loss or crashes. This has also allowed small businesses to access various resources that may have been too expensive for them in the past. It creates an enabling environment where these small companies can compete with bigger brands with more funding.
5. Cost reduction and increase in functionality
Two elements have been brought together here to create a better “buyer market” for software solutions for businesses. The first is the hardware and software needed to create these software solutions. They have become increasingly user-friendly and cost-effective. Second, the number of tech experts and entrepreneurs who can make use of these tools have grown exponentially. The application of this development, for instance, is proven when a backend inventory system which may take a multi-million dollar company about a year to complete, a few years ago, will take new college graduates a few weeks to put together with the use of IT tools. These solutions now come at an affordable rate, and they are simple enough, so much that businesses no longer need to employ dedicated staff for these services neither do they need to sign a long term contract since there are cheap and easy to use tools and people willing offer these services using the tools available.
