Technology is a continuous and a never-ending process. This phenomenon started when the first men made their first stone tools and even as we speak technology keeps making giant leaps. It predates and would outlive every one alive today. Nikolai Kardashev, a soviet and Russian astrophysicist, suggested that two factors drive the progress of civilizations: the technology available and energy usable. This clearly points to the fact that technology is eternally tied to the progress of humankind.
As man makes strides in its technology, it tends to affect all aspects of human existence. People that do not get on board are left behind whiles others that quickly adapt are gain the advantage and reap the benefits that come with those technological advances. This logic holds for all aspects of life, socially, economically, financially and industry/business wise. Technology opens up businesses to a wide array of opportunities.
From efficiency, to reach, to availability and to cost effective methods of executing core processes, technology or the digital space, provides platforms that make all this possible. The digital space is so diversified that there is a piece of technology or tool that can serve whatever purposes you need.
What happens when a business enters the digital phase is that, the business in question gains access to this platform with its multitude of technologies. With this access comes a number of potential benefits which businesses can take advantage. The major benefit that businesses stand to enjoy is the boost to their reach on the market.
As Technology progresses, more and more people are hooked into this same digital space. Businesses can leverage the fact that they share the same digital space with a majority of potential customers or clients and increase the reach of their products and services. From social media platforms and digital marketing tools, businesses all around the world have the ability to reach clients and customers from all over the planet and this loosens the shackles that geographic
limitations carry. Imagine competing with other businesses that have clients all over the world when you have limited your pool of clients to the state in which you find yourself. Your company will obviously be on the low end of the market share.
With increased reach comes increased returns. The more people you reach has a direct impact on how many sales you can potentially make. When your product is reaching 100 people in a day, it means you can potentially sell or render services for a hundred people. This guarantees an advantage over competitors that are not at that moment in the digital space. This also means that
you can connect with foreign investors and potential partner from all over the global digital
space, which can lead to a huge scale up of your business.
The interconnectivity that the digital
space provides creates the channels for seamless communication, both within your business and outside the business. The ability to work efficiently is an added advantage that the digital environment comes with. With the advent of ERP’s (Enterprise Resource Planning software), business processes have become more and more streamlined and interdependent.
It solves the issue of disconnect between the various processes thereby leading to a rise in productivity and efficiency. Imagine a business where the sales team, stores department, purchasing and procurement department are so interconnected that there can never be a situation where a product is out of stock and no one was aware.
What ERP’s do is that, they create a centralised platform that connects all the business processes such that the impact of one process on another process is almost immediately addressed in the other processes. Because of the centralised platform, every department has access to real time and up to date information. Technology as we know it is going to keep evolving, and with every evolution comes new tools which would introduce new dynamics to the way things are done in business world.
Businesses or organizations that refuse to adapt to the changes the digital age brings are going to be left in the dust and would be rendered outdated. Do not be left behind, jump on the digital train and propel your business to the next level.
