There are many challenges that businesses face today that technology can help them with. You can see some of these “quick fixes” here.
There are many technology issues businesses face today – including cybersecurity threats, privacy issues, infrastructure management problems, and keeping up with emerging technologies. You almost need an entire team dedicated to only these concepts to stay ahead of it all. When IT audit and internal audit leaders and professionals are surveyed, researchers discover this is important to almost everyone today because technology can help solve numerous issues.
IT Security and Privacy
As a business owner you should prioritize data security today. Regardless of the size of your business, your clients must feel comfortable that you’ll safeguard their private information, or they won’t give it to you. When this happens, you run the risk of losing business – which is why you can’t afford to take any risks here. You must find a hosted desktop, hosted exchange or online backup provider who’s fully qualified to meet your needs while also following industry guidelines. Finance Monthly says with technology’s dynamic nature and the critical risks that are related to security and privacy today, it’s great to see greater involvement by IT audits. This is notable because many IT projects tend to run over budget and behind schedule. When this happens it’s difficult for your business to achieve its desired objectives. With an IT audit, your mindset transforms into one where you’re in control, which is very advantageous to you.
Fraud Monitoring
There are several technologies you can use to protect your business from fraud. These include:
- A positive pay system helps your bank catch any fraudulent checks.
- QuickBooks’ audit trail report tracks each user’s entries, modified transactions, voids, and deletions so you can quickly scan for any unauthorized changes or deletions in the program.
- Fraudulent charges on your credit card reports can be spotted by downloading and reviewing them closely.
- Monitoring email and web browsing history will help you quickly recognize any unauthorized activity, but make sure you comply with what your employment law attorney recommends so you don’t get in trouble for “invasion of privacy.”
- Online purchase history reports help you know about every item that’s been shipped to you so you can identify anomalies and suspicious shipping addresses.
Infrastructure Management
There are several issues businesses face here, which technology can help them with. They include:
- Weak computing platforms are now a thing of the past since fast, inexpensive computers now exist.
- Data acquisition problems are solved by using more sophisticated computing resources with huge data sets.
- Having large amounts of data to work with is solved by using distributive systems.
- Inefficient data storage architectures are no longer a concern when using the cloud.
- Data analytics are improved by choosing a system consisting of a standards-based framework that facilitates easy data transfer between different tools and layers.
- Improper networks and connectivity issues no longer occur when application services can be migrated to other hardware.
Cloud Computing
There are many uses for cloud computing. For instance, phone business systems for small businesses are now available on the cloud. These are very beneficial in many ways, including:
- You can take phone calls at any time, from anywhere.
- This is much less costly than a traditional phone service.
- There’s always a professional there to help you when an issue arises.
- You’ll only pay for as many phone lines as you need, but you can quickly and easily add new ones in the future.
Regulatory Compliance
There are two major technologies that can help you with regulatory compliance. They are:
Blockchain:
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple are growing at such an outstanding pace that many in the financial sector are shocked. With blockchain you can make sure that your cryptocurrency is safe both now in the future because nothing will enter your business’ ledger without first passing through a cryptographic problem.
Cloud computing:
Being both inexpensive and flexible are two of its greatest advantages as it helps you take responsibility for your data – something that’s especially important when you’re growing your business.
Resource Management
When it comes down to managing your resources, there are a few common problems every HR team encounters. These are easily fixed with technology once you know what they are. They include:
- Staying organized is easier when you have a good HR platform that handles things like payroll, benefits, onboarding and time off tracking for you.
- Managing productivity is made easier with a self-service intuitive technology solution.
- Not having enough time means you need mobile capabilities.
- Having a limited budget requires you to be more cautious with your choices.
Technology Integration and Upgradation
Green Cloud Hosting says many of the challenges that small businesses face today revolve around technology. This is because it’s become an indispensable part of business over the past few decades. We use it for everything from researching business ideas, to finding funding and clients, and keeping in touch with everyone. Essentially this has transformed our laptops and desktops into the heart of our business. Considering how essential technology is here, we can’t fail to recognize its important role in helping our businesses grow and achieve sustainable growth. Small business owners can’t afford not to embrace technological change and use it to their advantage today. They can use it to:
- Save time
- Streamline your business processes
- Be more productive
By improving these key parts of your business, you’ll find that you have more time to focus on business growth overall. Technology will help give you this time.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
While disaster recovery is important since it helps you resume work, something that’s even more important is business continuity. This will help you prepare for even the smallest of disruptions before they happen. Collectively coined as BC/DR, there are two sides to this coin that you can’t ignore. You need to make plans that include dealing with supply chain logistics, paying attention to the information technology you use, and also focusing on systems recovery. Of course, these are only the basics and you’ll need to dig much deeper as you create a plan that works for your company.