Business and Technology: The Good and The Bad

Technology is a necessary part of every business. Whether you use a cash register to ring up your sales or your office workers use computers, technology is part of everyday life, and businesses would be unable to succeed or stand out from the competition without it. But, of course, there are pros and cons to technology in business. 

Overall, small businesses use technology to become more efficient and save money. The growth of your business depends on your ability to use technology to your advantage. However, using technology in a way that’s not efficient or effective can negatively impact your business. This article will discuss the good and bad of technology in business. 

The Good: Benefits of Technology for Businesses

Many businesses know they need technology to run their businesses. However, technology can help businesses grow and succeed in many ways, including:

Increased Mobility 

Technology allows businesses to become more mobile for customers and employees who are always on the go. Thanks to technological advances, customers can have more information about their products wherever they are. Additionally, employees can work almost anywhere in the world, as long as there’s a reliable internet connection and they have the right equipment. Virtually every business has become more mobile thanks to technology and its convenience for businesses and consumers. 

Technology has made a huge impact on daily life for individuals, and businesses as well. Employees may have their gaming set up made to perfection, but some of the technological advances in gaming also have benefits for offices. From microphones to establish clarity while speaking with clients, to comfortable chairs. Technology has advanced to make software for business processes, but also virtual meetings, and ergonomic office furniture. 

Increased Efficiency 

Technology can increase efficiency by automating repetitive tasks. All departments can automate some aspects of their daily activities, such as scheduling appointments, sending emails, scheduling social media posts, and even IT functions, such as data backups. 

Additionally, top-level executives can improve their efficiency but using technology to find products and services for the company. For example, a CEO can find and buy product liability insurance and other types of business insurance online while simultaneously looking for new vendors. 

More Communication 

With technology, people can communicate wherever they are and at any time. Through workplace apps, such as Slack, email, texts, and phone calls, employees, stakeholders, and business leaders can communicate about projects. These apps also provide more opportunities for communication. For example, not too long ago, people within an office would have to pick up a phone and make a call to communicate with someone else on another floor. However, now, these individuals can instantly send messages to each other via their cell phones, desktops, or tablets, so there’s no reason to wait on the phone to ask a question. 

Collaboration Opportunities 

Businesses need their departments to work together on various projects to ensure efficiency and accuracy. Technology allows coworkers to work together on just about any project, including documents, forms, and other tasks, without creating new documents or using a printer. Instead, workers can use Google Docs or Spreadsheets to start projects and pass them through departments easily without getting up from their desks. 

This form of collaboration allows teams to work together without the need to physically be together, which can improve efficiency and productivity because it decreases delays. 

Better Marketing

Technology allows for data-driven marketing and digital marketing that’s more cost-effective than traditional marketing methods. For example, with technology, you can build and track a website, advertise online, and invest in social media marketing and influencer marketing, all of which you can measure. 

With more data to back up your marketing decisions, you can save money on your marketing and advertising strategies to invest more into the business. 

Improved Hiring 

Millennials and Gen Zers want to work for the most innovative companies. They also prefer to work with businesses whose values align with their own. Remember, these individuals have been working with technology their whole lives, so it’s important to find ways to integrate technology into the workplace that will help you attract and retain millennial talent. 

The Bad: Disadvantages of Technology in Business

Businesses need technology to thrive, so it will never disappear from offices or workplaces. It will likely continue to drive growth. However, technology can come with disadvantages, especially when used improperly or becomes a source of distraction. 

Costs

Once you’ve invested in technology and your employees have started integrating it into their everyday work lives, you’ll need to continue to pay for that investment. Technology doesn’t last forever, and new versions of the same product have better features every year. When deciding which technology is right for your company, always consider the needs of the employees. In some cases, your employees will only need computers to perform basic functions, so spending all of your technology budgets on just one type of equipment is unnecessary. 

Lost Productivity

While technology can improve productivity, it can also decrease it. This is because your employees rely on technology, which means they need it to complete their work. If the internet goes down or a computer breaks, your employees might not be able to accomplish their work. Additionally, technology can be distracting. For example, someone working on a computer might choose to check their social media pages instead of working. 

Additionally, some of the apps you use for communication can become distractions. For example, someone using Slack might have to deal with hundreds if not thousands of Slack messages a day, all from people expecting immediate responses. In some cases, too much communication can be a bad thing. 

Security

Using technology to store data is an easy way to increase security and ensure data doesn’t get lost. However, data stored via technology can be breached. For example, emails can increase your business’s chances of getting viruses, while hackers can hack into your customer’s data and steal their credit card information. However, many IT companies can help you secure your data to protect your business and customers from losing their valuable data to cybercriminals. 

Final Thoughts

You can’t throw away your technology and hope to improve your business operations. However, technology, when used improperly, can make employees less productive while putting security at risk. All of the disadvantages of technology can be prevented. For example, you can write a technology handbook for employees to ensure they are effectively using the tools they have instead of getting distracted. While technology will always have costs associated with it, it’s important to find the right technology for your business needs.

Karan Jain

Born in the family of entrepreneurs and have inherited the same. Started building applications in order to pay for my tuition. Later founded a tech company, marketing agency, and media outlets.