Many CEO’s are now Embracing Technology!!!

Information technology (IT) is an undeniably important part of any modern business that wants to maintain a competitive edge. Chief Information Officers and Chief Technology Officers are gaining more and more authority at the Executive table, and according to Computerworld, 43% of these executives intend to increase their IT expenditures this year.

Automation, virtualization, mobilization… the ways in which technology is helping businesses to do more while spending less never end. But the IT field is no doubt a complicated one; advancement is accelerating, and often as soon as you have been acclimated to applying a ground breaking technology to your business, a better version of it is available on the market. Research is time-consuming, and the particulars of any new IT system are usually complicated, but it’s clearly worth it: 84% of CEOs in the US say that digital technologies deliver ‘quite high’ or ‘very high’ value in operational efficiency gains (PwC 2015 US CEO Survey). To ensure that you spend your time and money wisely, keep track of the following five technology trends and how their advancements can help your business:

Cloud Capability

Applications of Cloud technology are vast and have seemingly no downside for businesses. Hosting your email, network and servers through the Cloud allows for greater access and flexibility for collaboration, as well as dependable redundant backups, and less requisite physical hardware. Whether it’s Microsoft’s OneDrive service or the more consumer-based Google Drive, investment in Cloud computing is necessary for any business that wants to keep up in its industry.

Mobility

According to Computerworld’s survey, the area in which executives expected to cut the most spending this year is hardware. With new policies like B.Y.O.D. (“bring your own device”), companies are allowing their employees to use their own mobile devices to get more work done on-the-go. To be a worthwhile investment however, strong Wi-FI signals and secure networks are a must.

Security

“86% of US CEOs are concerned about cyber threats and data security” – PwC 2015 US CEO Survey

While it may not be nearly as exciting as the first two entries in this list, it’s no doubt the most necessary. Digital security — especially in light of access-providing tech like Cloud computing and mobile platforms — is an expected part of any legitimate business’ IT infrastructure. Hacking is only becoming more prevalent, and as businesses host more and more of their customer’s sensitive data in the Cloud, they have be trusted that the entire process is secure. Victims of data breaches commonly suffer stock plunges and irreparable brand damage, so don’t be cheap with your digital security investments.

Business Analytics

Every single byte of data that a company possesses is worth more than simply a record. Each email, order invoice and other stored file is an opportunity for you to identify a trend in your business’ practices. Services such as enterprise analytics, data mining, and business intelligence platforms allow companies to analyze their data to find opportunities to cut waste and expedite tasks. The more you know about your own company, the better you can facilitate its performance, so instead of simply storing it away, put the data to work for you.

Application Advancement

“50% of US CEOs worry about new industry entrants from the Technology sector disrupting their business” – PwC 2015 US CEO Survey

New applications are released at a greater speed than any other entry on this list. As your customers become more aware of technology advancements on the consumer side, they’ll expect your business to keep up as well. Where not too long ago customers would look to place orders through your website instead of calling in, now they’ll want to place orders through your mobile app instead of going to your website. If you don’t have a mobile app available to them, they’ll just move on to one of your competitors that do. Investing in new applications allows you to provide a modern service to your customers so they don’t have to find it somewhere else.

“We can see technology coming into every part of the customer experience, in the store, driving efficiency in our delivery system, and there’s many ways how we can access the customer for marketing purposes. We just continue to find more and new and interesting areas that we can apply technology to, and it all has a terrific return on investment.”

—J. Patrick Doyle, president and CEO, Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (PwC 2015 US CEO Survey)

Please don’t keep your Albany business stuck in the past! Investing in technology can increase your productivity and lower your costs, so start today. To learn more about tech investment and to keep up to date with IT advancements, contact PNJ Technology Partners today at (518) 459-6712 or info@pnjtechpartners.com.