At the onset of World War II, Germany’s Panzer tanks clearly outclassed the horseback cavalries of neighboring nations. This is but one illustration that technology is power.
What is true in warfare is often true in business as well. For example, manufacturers that utilize robots produce goods faster and with better and more consistent quality than manufacturers that employ mostly human workers.
Despite the power tech can provide, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Kansas City and the rest of Missouri can be apprehensive about adopting new IT solutions and/or upgrading what they already have. The factors that hinder IT optimization include:
- Cost – Hardware and software add to their overhead and may not even contribute to the bottom line.
- Lack of technical expertise – IT solutions can have steep learning curves and may be prone to causing downtime if mishandled.
- Fear of unnecessary complexity – Instead of making operations more efficient, IT may only bog it down.
- Obsolescence – The breakneck speed at which innovations are developed make it difficult for SMB owners to invest in IT without developing the fear of missing out once better tech comes along.
To get over these hindrances, SMB owners and managers must focus on the benefits their businesses will enjoy when they step up their tech game:
Enhanced employee productivity
When PCs take a while to boot up, apps and websites are slow to load, and programs grind to a halt or make machines crash altogether, so much productivity is lost. Imagine being unable to process orders, stalling projects, and losing hours and hours of unsaved work — so much money lost in trying to save money by not investing in tech!
Nowadays, firms don’t have to own every piece of IT equipment that they use. Some IT providers rent out PCs, servers, and other machines so that businesses can use the latest and best machines for their operations without having to cover the entire cost of these items. Managed IT services providers can help revamp existing IT infrastructures and manage these for their clients. Additionally, cloud service providers essentially rent out their computing and data storage resources to their clients.
Greater ability to serve customers
Don’t have customer service agents? No problem! Just pre-program chatbots to help people out with their basic queries.
Need to increase sales? Go beyond taking phone-in orders by accepting online orders as well.
Can’t fulfill food orders because all your delivery personnel are out? Use courier apps to expand your delivery capacity.
Because of innovations in tech, there are more and more ways SMBs can serve customers — you just need to find the ones that fit your business best.
Tighter data security
SMB owners and managers would be sorely mistaken if they believe that cybercriminals only target large businesses. In fact, it’s precisely because small firms protect themselves less from cybercrime that they become low-hanging fruit for hackers.
For instance, many small firms are still using old operating systems (OSs) like Windows 7 that no longer receive vulnerability patches. This means that cybercriminals will meet little to no resistance when they discover new vulnerabilities in the OS. Companies that think that they’re saving money by not upgrading their machines to Windows 10 may end up losing much more money from data breaches as a result.
Other SMBs may focus their cybersecurity efforts on the periphery of their network. They use firewalls and antivirus software, but they fail to consider data security when cyberthreats have already infiltrated the network perimeter. They need network monitoring tools that detect unauthorized data exfiltration, as well as backup and data recovery strategies in case their data stores are locked by ransomware, deleted, or tainted.
Businesses of all sizes in Kansas City and beyond rely on Umbrella for all of their IT needs. Discover how your company can benefit from our services by scheduling a FREE consultation with our IT experts today.