The increasing prevalence of technology in our daily lives and businesses has changed the way we interact with the world. Regardless of your industry, to thrive in today’s competitive business world, embracing new technologies and trends is imperative.
Over half of businesses plan to increase their IT budgets, but with so many advances happening at different rates, you want to make sure you’re investing in the right areas.
Understanding what you should invest in is a time-consuming and challenging task. You need to find out what your competition is investing in as well as what is happening in your market.
Many businesses have trouble finding the best application of budget on new technology, especially if an immediate return isn’t obvious.
Today, the shift of commercial spend to technology is not just a trend but a necessity. It has become one of the key drivers for digital transformation in organisations.
Digital transformation – a new buzzword?
Digital transformation is the process of adapting an enterprise’s business operations to use digital technologies and platforms. It encompasses changing organisational structures, processes, culture, and policies, to leverage advantages offered by technology. By adopting this approach, it becomes possible for organisations to boost performance while lowering costs with greater speed than before.
This shift is driven by the need to upgrade ageing IT infrastructure and to be able to compete with other companies in terms of innovation. But digital transformation also has its challenges. Organisations should be careful to invest in technology that can provide them with the flexibility they need while staying within their budget constraints.
The value of technology for businesses
Scalability and agility are vital to ensure an organisation can withstand the frequent vagaries in market and customer demands.
Good technology investment can achieve:
- Improve existing processes so your workforce is more efficient, minimising costs and improving productivity.
- Increase your business reach so you are connecting with more leads and creating deeper connections with existing customers.
- Promoting greater connectivity with key partners and your supply chain.
- Ensure your company leads rather than follows your competitors
- Plan future growth.
The recent and rapid shifts enforced on businesses by the Covid-19 pandemic are a prime example of how important it is to be able to integrate new technologies swiftly to adapt fast and maintain business continuity. Traditional technologies can hold companies back, or increase their spending significantly, as older hardware and infrastructure begin to require more maintenance or upgrades.
Deciding on technology investments for the future
Technology is the primary tool for organisations to accomplish their business goals. With that said, one of the key challenges that businesses today face when adopting a new strategy is how they will choose which type of technology best suits their needs at any given moment in time.
The choices are not always easy as there are many moving parts involved with selecting a particular solution or process: strategic planning, operational efficiency vs technological advancements, stakeholders, as well as budget considerations. Will digital transformation require you to invest in new technology? It is also important to think about how your on-premise infrastructure will accommodate these changes and how to manage those costs.
Several factors will determine whether a particular technology is the right choice for an organisation or not. It all starts with capabilities. The type of technology that is used has to be compatible with the size and complexity of an organisation, whether it will deliver on business objectives, how often will IT support systems need updating or replacing?
For example, cloud computing is reaping the larger share of budgets as more businesses shift towards cloud-based services and away from hardware to accommodate remote work and the hybrid workplace. It’s also important to consider budget allocations for not only IT but also human resources to ensure new technology is planned for and implemented properly.
The digital transformation process is a fundamental shift in how a business operates, and technology is the backbone of this change. Technology is a powerful tool to save your organisation time and money, increase productivity and efficiency, as well as open up new growth opportunities.
To discover how your business can unlock its true potential and embrace the modern workplace, speak to the team at Lindentech and invest in your future.
