Business competitiveness is at an all time high today and every company must do all it can to keep ahead of the competition because falling behind means losing customers, profits, and potentially your entire business.
Fortunately, new technologies are constantly being introduced into the marketplace that can help companies to become more efficient and effective. They are also increasingly easy to implement into an organization giving companies no reasons to pass on them.
The key is to find the ones that can make the biggest impact for your organization. Following is a list of some of the most effective new business technologies for you to consider.
Product Design
Product manufacturing requires that companies develop prototypes of their product before it goes into production. This process allows the company to physically handle the product and test it for comfort, size and feel. Previously, developing these prototypes was an expensive and time consuming procedure requiring a long lead time and delays caused by small changes that had to be implemented in the product before it went to production.
3D printing systems have had a dramatic impact on prototype creation. These systems can be housed at your place of business and offer a range of benefits for companies including:
Speed and Quality – 3D printing systems offer an ability for companies to have their prototype created the same day it Is conceived. These prototypes are high quality and can be modified easily and quickly.
Higher Quality Designs – The 3D printing process gives in house design, engineer and production teams an improved collaboration, to iterate and test-fit designs. This leads to better designed products and fewer redesigns.
Protect Company IP – Protection of company intellectual property is critical for businesses. A 3D printing system positions a company to secure their designs and keep their valuable product and manufacturing information away from unauthorized parties and competitors.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity remains an important and challenging area for most businesses. Businesses today must protect their vital data against all sorts of hackers and other bad characters who aim at compromising their computer systems and exploiting this data. Cybersecurity is a complicated area particularly due to the fact that employees now utilize their own devices to connect to company computer systems. These unsecured online connections can allow for viruses, Trojans and other software that creates an ability for hackers to infiltrate and exploit the computers. As this scenario grows in frequency, companies have continually looked for better ways to protect their data.
In the world of cloud computing where much of a company’s data is housed on computers managed by large data centers, much of the direct security of data is often handled outside of the business. This has led to both exposure and liability for companies.
Today’s trend in cybersecurity is to not only focus on prevention but also on lightning quick detection and responses. This strategy demands a dual approach which includes on-site and Saas/Cloud solutions that collectively create a fast action security net. These nets are flexible and self-adjusting, and add artificial intelligence elements to get smarter over time.
Marketing and Customer Service
Artificial Intelligence has emerged as a critical tool in business marketing. This breakthrough technology allows companies to personalize their marketing offerings and to increase the effectiveness of locating new clients and lead acquisition as well. The technology is also a key to tomorrow’s customer service efforts. Because the technology can get smarter and more effective over time it is a tool that threatens to replace humans in many marketing and customers service positions.
The use of these new and effective tools can position a company to excel in today’s competitive business environment.