IN FLUENCE
Technology
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TECH TRENDS BUSINESSES CAN’T
AFFORD TO IGNORE
t can make for confusing times. All that bewilderment aside, though, these fast-developing advances also create opportunities that can help small and medium-sized businesses become more competitive – if they understand how to seize them. “Technology exists today that at one time was available only to large corporations with huge technology budgets,” says Chris Hoose, an IT consultant who works with small businesses. “Every year, technology becomes even more accessible to companies of all sizes.”
WITH TECHNOLOGY EVOLVING AT SUCH A RAPID PACE, SOME BUSINESS OWNERS ARE LEFT DIGITALLY DISORIENTED AS THEY TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHICH OF THE LATEST INNOVATIONS THEY NEED TO INVEST IN AND WHAT THEY CAN IGNORE.
Hoose says businesses that want to stay on top of their games should make sure they invest in these technological trends, if they haven’t already:
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The Internet of Things. Many Internet of Things-connected devices, such as smart refrigerators and thermostats, are designed for home use, but there
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are also applications for small businesses, Hoose says. Some examples: smart locks use digital keys that can’t be lost or stolen and log a record of who uses a door and when; RFID tags on merchandise can prevent theft and auto-
FLUENTIAL JULY / AUGUST 2019
matically update inventory; and mobile-card readers can replace cash registers.
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Artificial intelligence. Don’t be fooled into thinking that AI is something only the big organizations can afford to use, Hoose says. “It’s making inroads into technologies accessible for businesses of all sizes,” he says. “AI can help you offer increasingly personalized experiences to customers by maximizing your time and automating manual tasks, like data entry.” AI also can be used to improve decision making, Hoose says. Essentially, AI will help you take that jumble of data most businesses have and analyze it in a way that allows you to make better-informed judgments on the actions you need to take.
