7 Ways to Identify the Right Technological Upgrade

Reverbtime Magazine

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It’s easy to feel, in a modern business, that a lot of your success rests upon how successful your use of technology is. There are industry-wide examples of tools that can provide a general function, like social media, but you might feel more locked into a specific type of technology depending on the field that you work in.

Following the path laid down before you won’t always be the right answer, but that can open up an overwhelming array of options. Whittling down your options can help you find the technology that will help you push your brand forward. Keep reading to learn more about doing this.

 

1. Audiences Ask for It

The customer isn’t always right – not when it comes to the internal workings of your business. People might think they know what’s best, and that might become apparent through social media interactions and customer feedback, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to the truth. However, the result of the technology you use can be something that customers feel and experience, and having them tell you about their experiences can help inform you about changes you might want to make.

If, for example, you’ve been using AI in your operations, but you begin to have customers report that your output is bland or contains errors, it might be that your use of this tool is too widespread. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to completely pull out of your use of AI, but it might mean going back to the drawing board in terms of how it’s implemented or making sure that a human checks any work that is produced using AI tools before it goes live on your channels.

 

2. Employees Ask for It

Those with a much more thorough understanding of the internal workings of your business, however, are your employees. Sometimes, you have to level their demands or hopes for your acquisitions with what’s financially possible. They might want something you just can’t afford, creating a process where you understand what is needed and work out a compromise that can still lead to a distinct benefit. That element of understanding is important, however, as it can prevent you from rejecting certain options outright because they don’t fit into your budget. If there’s a strong enough reason to include it in the first place, it might well be worth trying to make room.

Part of the reason that your employees might ask for a particular upgrade could be because of the standard set by the industry. If your tools are limiting their work, or they feel as though they aren’t progressing in their careers due to a lack of access to technology, a change could have a profound impact on your output. This might involve looking at AI if you haven’t already, or it could be about overhauling your digital working structure with a Kubernetes migration.

 

3. It Saves You Money

Suppose you are concerned about making technological changes that will cost a lot of money upfront. In that case, a change of perspective might help you see things differently, allowing you to look beyond the initial outlay. After all, a well-placed investment could save you money down the line. This might be something that you’re familiar with through energy efficiency. Getting something installed at home or in the office, like double-glazing, can cost you money, but as it better conserves heating, it means you’re spending less money on heating the interior over time.

Obviously, this is quite literally what you could apply to the workspace. However, in terms of technology, it might better relate to an investment in the cloud. A greater reliance on cloud collaboration tools or back-ups can mean that your business is better protected, but it also means that your team has a much greater degree of versatility in how they work. This might even lead to you adopting an entirely remote business model that affords your employees a higher degree of customization over their work/life balance, perhaps reducing staff turnover. It also might mean that you don’t need to pay for a physical workspace as you once did.

 

4. It Aligns with Your Brand

The technology in question might even make the most sense given the way you’ve marketed your brand up to this point. If, for instance, you’ve taken the opportunity to position yourself as a business that cares about sustainability and climate change in general, technology that reinforces this goal might be in your interest. This isn’t because you’re now accountable to these claims that you made back in the past, and seeing it as an obligation might rob the moment of some of its opportunity. You’re trying, instead, to take your values and work them into your brand – with the goal here potentially leading you to being seen as the sustainable option in your industry.

If you’re torn between different technological options, think about which one makes the most sense in this regard, and that might help to point you in a direction. It won’t always work out this way – sometimes, what makes the most sense for your branding won’t be the option that’s proven to be the most effective for your working structure. There is a balance to consider, but as long as you have a clear idea of the long-term implications of your technology usage – such as avoiding those known to be less sustainable in the prior example – you might be able to navigate ahead successfully.

 

5. Led By Training

The difficulty with some technological acquisitions is having to ensure that your staff members are properly trained to use them effectively. Regarding tools in practical fields like manufacturing, this training takes on an understandable legal requirement where unfamiliar usage could lead to serious injuries.

Still, this gives you the opportunity to carve out a path for yourself by looking at where that training leads – relating it to what kind of skills you know your business needs. If you know that you’ll need to use certain software development qualifications or skills down the road, you’ll want to position your employees so they’re ready to receive that training when the time comes – even if that’s not right now. This gives you the chance to cultivate your talent and develop a staff that is tailor-made to handle your business needs. Promoting from within and delegating to these team members means that you’re giving responsibilities to the people that you know you can trust most of all.

 

6. Work within Your Framework

Even when there are businesses in your industry that seem to resemble yours in multiple ways, it’s worth bearing in mind that your circumstances are still ultimately unique. Your business has a specific framework that comes down to factors like the number of employees you have, the kind of workplace you operate, your managerial style, your target audience, your budget and many other factors. So, if you’re using other businesses as a way of measuring which technology is right for you, this might not be considering every factor. Will that technology be as relevant for you if your business is entirely online while they have a typical office environment? That depends, but it goes to show the kinds of considerations you should be making.

That can be most relevant when it comes to a technological example that should be the right next step for your business. However, if you’re finding that research suggests it wouldn’t be as much of a boon for your business as you’d have hoped, don’t go through with it out of obligation.

 

7. Learn to Say No

That can bring you to a situation where you might feel as though you’re trying to find new ways of technologically upgrading your business just so that you can keep pace. On the one hand, this kind of mentality can benefit you by having you embrace a more adaptable mindset, constantly looking for ways to improve and refusing to stay stagnant. On the other hand, it might also lead to a situation where you’re forsaking what’s currently working for you because you think you need to make a change when it’s not necessary. It’s a difficult balance to strike, as sometimes seeing the signs of stagnation is already an indication that it’s too late, but knowing when to avoid jumping on a technological trend is a valuable skill.

Going back to the example of AI, you don’t have to look far to see examples of businesses incorporating it into their own strategies. It can make for an effective marketing hook – showcasing how their brand has ‘evolved’ through the implementation of this groundbreaking tool. In many ways, that’s what it might function more as, however, a marketing hook. If the technological implementation in question is one that costs you time and money, this trade-off might not be worthwhile. Even if you don’t take advantage of an available tool right now, that doesn’t mean that you never will, but you have to listen to what your market research tells you.

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