It seems like every time you turn your head, there’s a new technological development. You don’t want to get left behind in the technological revolution, as simply put, it could cost you your business. You don’t have to stockpile new tech like you’re in a technological cold war with your competition, but you do need to at least stay in the fight.
All over the world, small businesses are using newer technology to improve their business operations. Even if you have a strong enterprise infrastructure, it may be time for you to make some upgrades to your system. Continue reading to learn more about some technologies that can help your business to run more efficiently.
1. Robots
If you’re a fan of sci-fi, then you’ve seen a movie or two where robots become smarter than their human masters and decide to take over the world for humanity’s own good. But worry not, we’re just talking about industrial automation here, nothing more!
In the real world, people are more worried about robots taking jobs from humans, but the truth is that robots make work easier for those already in the job, and can even create more jobs in some situations. You don’t have to go fully automation-based, but if you have tasks that are too difficult for humans to perform but can be done by a machine, then the right robot could bolster your business. The Cobot is Fanuc America’s take on a robot. It’s a line of industrial robots that work with humans to make the workload lighter, rather than replacing human labor. If you’re going to bring automation into your business, you might as well bring in industrial robots that are employee-friendly.
2. Cloud-Based Security
In case you haven’t heard any tech news in the past ten years, cloud technology is stealing the spotlight for new wave tech right now. You’re probably already running some of your enterprise infrastructure in a cloud storage system, but what about your security system?
You need enterprise-level security for your business, and that’s what Verkada’s cloud security cameras offer. Cloud security cameras and systems give you remote access to your security system and make it easier to catch and fix vulnerabilities to the system on the fly. Instead of saving video surveillance to a physical hard drive or a device like a MicroSD card, the wireless security cameras upload the footage to their own cloud storage system, which is much larger. The video quality does not dip even with continuous video recording, rendering the MicroSD card almost obsolete.
3. Contact Center Software
A technology that has become essential due to COVID is contact center software. One of the benefits of contact center software is that you get all of the services of a call center, without having to build one. Your customer support personnel can work from home using VOIP (voice over internet protocol,) to handle calls on your company’s intranet system, and they’ll also be able to access customer records in order to provide individualized solutions to customers.
The capabilities of call center software don’t stop at telephone support. Some of them are omnichannel systems that allow you to transfer a customer from a live chat online over to phone support, without them losing contact with the agent they met on your website.
4. Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Tracking Software
One of the hardest things to determine is the magnitude of an impact an employee is having on your company. With OKR tracking software, you can track the productivity of your employees and use metrics to see how their performance is affecting your bottom line.
OKR software is capable of much more than in-depth spying on your employees. You can use it to record company objectives and measure your company’s progress in relation to your goals. The software won’t fix your operations or make your employees more productive, but it will give you valuable insight into where your operations are faltering and which employees aren’t helping your company.
5. Mobile Apps
For most people, their smartphones are their go-to device to access the internet. Because everyone is walking around with personal computers in their pockets nowadays, mobile apps have become mega-popular tools for businesses. Having your own app makes it easier for your customers to make purchases from your company and get support when they need it.
