Technology is changing the way we do businesses at a rapid pace. Below are some of the most common applications of technology in workplaces?
Nowadays, technology is ubiquitous in business. For decades it has been a part of work, and in the last decade alone, our reliance on it has skyrocketed. We spoke with a London-based provider of IT support financial services companies have been relying on – TechQuarters – about the various ways in which technology can be leveraged to create a more modern way of working. Below are some of the examples they provided.
- Productivity Software
Productivity is a metric that can sometimes be difficult to measure, but it is certainly possible to create the best conditions for productivity in a business. Using software solutions to improve productivity has been a staple of business for quite some time now. For example, Microsoft 365 is a well-known suite of applications that fulfils a wide variety of purposes within organisations – from communications to file management, co-authoring, and content creation.
Better yet, productivity software has come a long way from a locally hosted program. Modern cloud-based productivity suites can be shared across multiple platforms, ensuring employees have the tools they need to work efficiently no matter where they are.
- Backup & Disaster Recovery
Security is a big part of business, and there are lots of ways in which a company’s data and infrastructure can be damaged. It’s not just about hackers, but damage to infrastructure, or even simple human error can lead to a major problem. This is why backup and disaster recovery is a very valuable application of technology for businesses. Organisations can perform daily, and even hourly backups to ensure their systems, and all of their data can be restored. Disaster recovery involves the use of technology and protocol to optimise the speed with which business operations are restored after a problem occurs.
- Analytics & Intelligence
Data in business comes from all kinds of places. From social media and search engines to the apps and services that internal staff use for their work. This data can be analysed to draw important insights about customers, company performance, market segments, and so much more. Using the cloud to centralise data from multiple sources, and leverage advanced analytics, can be incredibly beneficial to a modern business. Solutions like Power BI and Azure Machine Learning can help businesses apply high-level analytics to vast quantities of data and draw detailed insights that inform their decision making.
- Better Project Management
Projects are a common and effective way for businesses to complete important work by pooling the time and skills of teams and individuals in the company. But bringing people together alone does not guarantee a successful project – it needs to be managed efficiently. According to TechQuarters – and their experience providing IT support Croydon and London businesses rely on – this is where technology can help. Project management software has become very popular over the last decade. With solutions like Basecamp, and Microsoft Project, project managers can connect teams and pool resources efficiently, as well as track progress remotely.
- Digital Marketing
A popular application of technology is with marketing. Social media platforms and search engines are very common tools used by consumers every day, and businesses can leverage the data generated from them to get valuable information about their audiences. What is more, through practices like search engine optimisation (SEO), pay per click (PPC), and social media advertising, businesses can reach new customers and larger audiences through digital channels.
- Digital Communications
Communication in modern business should have no limits. This was something that we learned the hard way during the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic. If a business relies on proximity for good quality communication in the modern era, they have failed. Nowadays, digital communications are ubiquitous in business – email is the oldest example, but instant messaging is also growing in popularity, as are video meetings; and even telephony is being digitised through technologies like VoIP and PBX. According to TechQuarters, the small business IT support London businesses needed from them the most during start the COVID-19 pandemic, was help with establishing digital communications.