Technology has had a profound effect on the way we operate in every aspect of our lives — from the way we communicate, to the way we run our homes and the way we shop. Perhaps one of the most significant changes comes into play outside of our personal lives. While we might not realise it, the effect of technology in business continues to shape the way in which we work and organisations operate.
As an example; for any business with a supply chain, investment in technology is essential. We’re all aware that the modern consumer has demands that simply wouldn’t have been met twenty years ago. In retail we’re now accustomed to click and collect, same-day delivery and one-hour delivery time slots and VR apps that let you check how that mirror would look on the wall before you buy it. These are great conveniences, but the pressure for retail businesses to remain competitive is enormous.
In a B2B environment, technology now means that any disruption to the supply chain can be quickly resolved as businesses have access to real-time data and can scenario plan in advance to anticipate a host of ‘what ifs’. Despite the fact that legacy processes, such as a reliance on spreadsheets, still holds many organisations back from reaching their full potential, others are investing in the best technology available to digitally transform both the customer-facing and, often neglected, back-end processes.
Not only does technology affect business outputs and processes, it has also changed the workplace and the way we, as employees, function. We can work from home, get paid on demand, leave the desk and tuck ourselves away when we need a few quiet minutes to concentrate and manage our pensions, annual leave and payslips on an app. Cloud computing, fintech and developments in IT mean that some companies don’t even need an office anymore. Forward-thinking fintech companies, such as Hastee Pay, offer services that mean for those of us feeling the January pinch there is no longer a wait for payday.
At the rate technology has been evolving over the last few years I expect a blog on this topic next year will be entirely different. Will robot assistants be serving us drinks while we work away on a beach in the Caribbean before meeting our clients on the other side of the world via hologram? Maybe. Check back here in 2020 to find out.
