Business technology: What it is, and why we need it

These days, most businesses have an online presence and depend heavily on technologies to maintain continuity of business operations. And while technology used in modern business environments is something that we don't often consider, if put in the spotlight at this very moment, could you confidently explain what separates business technology from other technology, and why business technology is so important? 

Business technology is ubiquitous but often unnoticed; essential but often taken for granted. In this article, we'll talk about what business technology is, the type of technology businesses need, the advantages that business technology offers, and the things we can effectively manage in our business by using business technology. 

What is business technology?

Try picturing a business in 2024 succeeding without technology—can't do it, can you? Whether you're taking advantage of technology to boost productivity, monitor your sales performance, or simply provide high-quality products and services, the power of business technology is not to be underestimated.

But what is business technology, anyway? 

Simply put, business technology refers to any system or electronic object that's designed to help working professionals...well, work. Business technology can take the form of dozens of things such as a personal computer, printer, or software application. So long as that thing is helping people stay organized, focused, and efficient, it's more likely than not considered business technology.

The types of technology that businesses need

No two businesses are the same—even if they operate in the same niche—so the types of technologies one business may need may not be as essential to another.

#1: Online collaboration technology

If your business needs to boost its productivity levels, you need to invest in online collaboration technology. With collaboration technology, you no longer need to worry about delays between issues arising and holding meetings to arrive at solutions. 

In the past, businesses may have had to deal with setting up, coordinating, and executing in-person meetings to address new issues. Online collaboration technologies provide businesses and their employees with the flexibility necessary to immediately tackle issues.

Online collaboration technologies are especially important for businesses that have both in-person and remote employees. High-quality collaboration tools often provide features that are immensely powerful for hybrid workforces that need to stay in the loop at all times, such as project forums and pages, as well as project documentation to ensure everyone remains in the loop at all times, no matter where they're located and working from.

There are a handful of well-used business technologies that are indispensable regardless of your industry vertical, and even these traditional business tools can be modified to accommodate hybrid or remote workforces. A PDF SDK, for instance, allows ordinary PDF documents to be modified and processed directly within existing third-party company workflows.

#2: Business communication technology

Another type of technology essential to consistent and high-quality performance in any business is communication technology. Businesses in a wide array of industries rely on communication technology to bring performance up a notch or two as well as to reap a number of other benefits. 

Likely among the most well-known and best-understood of these benefits is the advantage to marketing and advertising that communication technology offers: Businesses can use social media accounts and strategies such as email marketing to engage with their audience base and more effectively market and promote their products and services.

Additionally, communication technologies for businesses can go a long way toward improving the way a company manages and collects its data. Data collection and management can become much more efficient with the help of business technology, and this efficiency gives companies the edge they need to start performing better and ultimately achieve their business communication objectives.

#3: Business productivity tools

As is the case for the two technology types we've covered so far, business productivity tools are essential if you want to improve your operational efficiency, regardless of the industry in which your business is operating. The thinking behind this pretty much goes like this: The more productive people are in the workplace, the more motivated everyone's going to be to get more stuff done and treat customers better. 

This thinking held particularly true when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak; customer spending during the outbreak of the pandemic dipped, and businesses pounced on the use of productivity tools to compensate. 

Now, in 2023, many more businesses have realized that productivity tools can improve how well employees collaborate, streamline workflows (especially when compared to a more traditional pen-and-paper approach), help prioritize accurate reporting and tracking, and much more.

The advantages of using technology for business

Thanks to business technology, the world has watched as global trade continues to expand, positively impacting worldwide commerce as a whole. IT infrastructure is continuing to evolve and become more sophisticated, which in turn encourages more individuals and companies to create solutions for even smaller businesses to tap into business technology and reap the benefits.
As business technology becomes more widely accessible to a greater number of businesses, the advantages that are tied to this technology become more apparent. 

The advantages of business technology include: 

1. Greater business agility

Business technology allows even smaller businesses to maintain agility and flexibility, allowing them to stay abreast of evolving market conditions. This makes it easier to accomplish things such as improved product development, faster product launches, and more advanced product and service features. 

2. Better collaboration and coordination

Staff coordination and collaboration can greatly benefit from business technology thanks to better organization. In particular, systems such as VOIP and conference calls as well as collaboration tools like G Suite or Asana cultivate a better work-life balance for employees and improve overall business efficiency.

3. Bigger streams of revenue

As technology solutions continue to evolve for businesses, new opportunities to generate new revenue streams present themselves. The burgeoning number of e-commerce retailers, for example, makes it easier for salespeople to go after a wider base of potential customers. 

Conclusion

Business technology has come a long way in recent years, and businesses—regardless of their industry—would do well to adopt online collaboration technologies, business communication technologies, and business productivity tools to remain competitive, maintain the ability to stay abreast of changing market conditions, keep in-person and remote employees in the loop, and ultimately release better products and services. 

We hope this article has given you some inspiration to find new technologies that may benefit your business, your employees, and your customers.