Top Tech Tips for Small Businesses

As every small business owner knows, staying competitive within your sector is one of the ways to ensure profitability and longevity. It is of paramount importance that the product or service that you offer meets and exceeds the expectations of your target market whilst being priced competitively.

However, it should be recognized that improving competitiveness in business requires a multifaceted approach. Whilst focus should be given to the product or service that you produce, it is also important to consider the wider organization, your business culture and the behaviour of your workforce.

Today, in 2023, many small businesses recognize a complete picture of productivity and efficiency in the workplace and understand that technology can assist with overall improvements.

In this article, three different types of technology are discussed that are suitable for a wide range of small businesses. Each can help your business to be more productive and more successful in the increasingly competitive global marketplace.

Empower Your Remote Workforce

It should be recognized that millions of workers seek a flexible working schedule that allows either remote working or hybrid models of work to take place. Recent statistics indicate that today’s workforce believes that flexible working policies are the third most important factor in choosing a new occupation (behind salary and promotion opportunities). A forward-thinking firm will fully understand this fact and will offer such working practices to attract the best and brightest base of employees.

However, it is important to note that technology plays a key role in successful remote working that encourages productivity whilst assuring business continuity. Small businesses should invest in key software and IT architecture to enable effective remote working.

Firstly, company systems should be cloud-based so that they can be accessed from a remote location via the Internet. In addition, video conferencing software is vitally important for all staff as it allows quick meetings and the sharing of ideas without needing to be present in a single physical space.

For many small businesses, Webex is an intuitive and effective platform and has proven to be one of the most reliable and popular video conferencing software solutions.

Utilize Microservices in Your Stack

Millions of small businesses rely on a wide range of in-house software to function effectively. However, the old way of building software systems was to make monolithic software architecture, which was difficult to upgrade and maintain.

This meant that when changes needed to be made, it could result in significant amounts of downtime and a loss of productivity. However, modern software systems in business should be constructed using microservices that allow upgrades and modifications to take place only where they are needed. This allows smoother updates and changes to take place more efficiently.

Use Project Management Software

Many small businesses are compromised of small groups or teams of staff who specialize in a certain area of the firm. When projects are undertaken that require collaboration or multi-team working, it is vitally important that all parties are aware of their responsibilities and the overall progress of the project.

The use of project management software that is cloud-based can be a vital piece of tech to enable smooth project flows. Platforms such as Trello provide an intuitive interface that can be quickly updated to reflect project progress and keep track of everyone’s tasks.