If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us all, it must be that technology is more important to us than we thought. Ok, there’s no question we already valued our mobile phones, but did we ever think they would be our only way to communicate with friends and family? Did school children envisage attending classes from home everyday? Did employees ever think they could give-up the commute and work from home Monday to Friday? We’ve all been forced to embrace technology in ways we never thought would become mainstream. And soon, in business, we’ll have a choice: return to ‘old habits’ or embrace technology for good.
Small Business Benefits
For the small business, there are dozens of online systems and software programs that can automate and streamline the functions of your business. Most will already be using cloud-hosted accounting software that can be easily accessed by the company’s assigned accountants. Many will have shared file storage (like Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint) that can be accessed by employees from anywhere. And some will have company-wide collaboration tools (like Slack or Microsoft Teams) to keep everyone in-touch with everyone else, both inside and outside the business.
Regardless of where your business is along that road to digitisation, there are benefits to be had through improved efficiency and team cohesion!
First Steps with the New Normal
From offices in every sector, to supply chains and warehouse operations, there are technology solutions out there for every business. To point you in the right direction, start by asking yourself the following questions:
- What do I already do well?
- What do I spend too much time on every week?
- If one task could be taken away from me, what would it be?
Hopefully, the answers to these questions will give you some indication of where to focus technology in your business. Take the first step today!
