It doesn’t matter what business you are in. You need technology to run it. Everybody does.
It’s not enough for a modern business to only sell their own goods and services, they must utilize digital tools to do so.
These technologies are vast and incorporate things such as software, payment systems, and electronic devices. All of those things need protection, and the network they are on needs to be protected too.
Does that make your company a tech company? Consider this; if your technology isn’t working does that impact your business greatly? Maybe even shut it down? Yeah, that means your company is a tech company.
There are some interesting statistics regarding the cost of downtime too. I personally think the “averages” they give are unrelatable to most small businesses since the statistics include giant enterprise companies. I will just leave it as saying there is consensus that the impact of downtime has a large cost associated with it.
This is true for your business as well as others, and it is all based on the fact that technology is the backbone of every company these days.
These are the 8 reasons why technology is the backbone of every modern company:
1. Technology Is a Critical Part of Business
2. Customers Expect an Excellent Digital Experience
3. Employees Need Devices to Drive Productivity
4. AI & Automation Help Companies Stay Competitive
5. Information Is Being Generated at a Rapid Pace
6. Vendors/Suppliers Are Leaving Legacy Systems Behind
7. It’s Difficult to Grow Without Tech Innovation
8. Business Continuity Needs
1. Technology Is a Critical Part of Business
Most companies can’t function without their technology. Software, databases, and interfaces are at the heart of nearly every business – from farming to retail.
Downtime is costly. Not only do you have lost money from overhead costs but also lost money from missed revenue. How much will that cost you? The go-to formula for estimating it is $427 per MINUTE of downtime for a small business and $9,000 for a large one. Multiply your downtime minutes by this rate to estimate what it costs you every time you experience downtime. Want something a little more customized? Try this downtime calculator for something more dialed in for your business.
Of course, not all businesses and industries are equal in this regard. Banking and Finance, Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Media Communications have HUGE costs associated with downtime. Their price tag is around $5 Million per hour. That’s a staggering rate.
2. Customers Expect an Excellent Digital Experience
What makes customers choose you over your competitors? Is it a better product? Is it better pricing? Nope. It’s better customer experience. Customer experience tops the priority of business importance at nearly 46%, far exceeding product at under 34%, and pricing at a meager 20.5%. People want better experiences and gravitate towards businesses that provide them.
This isn’t just in “customer service” either. This bleeds through to every facet of your business, with a major impact on the digital experience your company provides.
Some examples:
- Website Navigation
- Checkout Experience
- Appointment Scheduling Ease
- Shipping Notifications
- Helpfulness of Online Chat
- Response Time from Customer Support
- Ease and ability to contact your company via social media
To keep up with modern customer expectations, you need to implement technology to ensure smooth digital interactions.
3. Employees Need Devices to Drive Productivity
How much can your employees get done without a computer or similar device? For most companies in offices, the workstation is where the majority of work gets done. It allows access to data, keeps workers connected, and is the hub for productivity. When devices don’t run well, productivity drops.
4. AI & Automation Help Companies Stay Competitive
Work smarter, not harder as they say. The way this happens in the modern work world is through Automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Automation integrated within your technology allows more to get done with less.
Key events that trigger actions can be implemented in virtually every aspect of your business. From sales to finance, and public relations to cybersecurity.
Some automation stats to chew on, when Salesforce is automated teams close 30% more deals. Marketing conversions increased by 77%. Accounts Payable automation improves invoice processing by 10%. Automating social media posts saves 6 hours per day. AI in cybersecurity detects phishing attacks 70% faster than without.
Tools are getting better by incorporating AI into the mix as well. AI can customize a customer experience, make implementations faster, and identify patterns in work that would otherwise go unnoticed. Expect to see more of these tools coming in the next few years.
5. Information Is Being Generated at a Rapid Pace
Have you ever looked at just how much information your company generates? Imagine if that was all on paper and you had to file it? The rows of file cabinets would be vast. Thankfully most data is generated digitally these days, and the trees thank you.
However, the ease of that generation has removed barriers and allows us to go even faster. Accessing that data, keeping it organized, preventing data sprawl, and making it all searchable requires a great deal of technology that you probably can’t live without.
6. Vendors/Suppliers Are Leaving Legacy Systems Behind
Legacy systems are those old systems that have been outdated. Sometimes legacy systems hang around for a while for the sake of compatibility, but eventually they all get weeded out. How many stores can still accept checks? (and if they do, I guarantee the checker hates processing them).
Similarly, could your business interact with your vendors or customers with legacy systems only? Meaning, totally offline. No, because they are technology-based companies just like yours. They require email for communication, and documents to be digital. There are still some industries where legacy systems like fax machines still exist (such as legal or medical) but even then digital counterparts are still pushing those out.
7. It’s Difficult to Grow Without Tech Innovation
There are only so many hours in a day. You can’t always get everything done, physically or mentally. Computers have exponentially increased what we can do and the speed and accuracy of how we do it. That stands true to this day and continues to be the trend.
Current digital transformations of businesses revolve around the cloud. Cloud computing allows for data access, application hosting, and the ability to expand your technology in an affordable manner. It’s near impossible to grow your business without factoring in these digital tools. The best companies review their technology roadmap and plan for these changes which only empowers their growth.
8. Business Continuity Needs
Continuity is just as it sounds, it’s “continuation.” What does it take to keep your business in motion and continuing to function despite any crisis? This includes backup, but it’s more than that. It’s planning for disaster and what the recovery steps are.
A storm or power outage might make your building unusable. Is your data hosted there or in the cloud? A cyber attack might leave you locked out of your systems. Can you shut it down and spin up a recovery to keep your business running? No matter what it looks like, disasters happen. Technology is the only solution for not shutting down.
What does your technology innovation look like?
Your company is a tech company, because every company today is. Our reliance on technology to productively run our businesses can’t be bypassed. How does your tech stack up? Do you have everything in place you need for today? What about a roadmap for tomorrow?
If you have any questions regarding any of your technology, feel free to reach out for a free consultation.