New technologies are multiplying and shaping the way we live at an ever-faster rate. In just three decades, we have seen society transforming and creating new habits. Today, we can barely think about what our lives would be like without smartphones, the internet, and connectivity.
Technology has become an ally of man in many ways, and this has provided us with agility, efficiency, and greater access to information. However, these benefits are far from being limited to personal life only while promoting greater relevance to the corporate world.
With that in mind, here we have listed 5 technologies that are revolutionizing SME processes.
Technologies for Businesses
There is no denying that the expansion of internet access is one of the major drivers of this technological revolution that is taking place in the world. The use of smartphones and computers came to make several work processes more economical and also facilitated work in the home office, where many SMEs are already adhering to the remote work format, thus cutting office costs. Software that helps with service processes, communication, logistics, transactions, are great sources for optimizing company resources. However, it is important to remember that new technologies can bring risks and opportunities; it is up to the company to understand the best way to use them.
Here, check out our list of the technologies that are most revolutionizing and bringing efficiency to SMEs.
Internet of Things (IoT)
Internet of Things refers to a technological concept, where there is a huge network of devices connected and talking to each other over the internet. Some examples of the use of the Internet of Things in our daily lives are in house lamps that can be controlled using your cell phone, the air conditioning that is activated 5 minutes before the individual arrives home, and so on.
This technology in SMEs can be used in several ways to bring efficiency, mobility, and productivity to different business processes. The technology can be applied to simplify production chains, get to know your customer better, and even manage energy consumption.
Use of Chatbots
Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, NLP, Automation Tools, and Machine Learning are still very technical content and commented on in large cases, which seem not to be the part of small companies.
However, these solutions are not only available to large corporations. An example of technology that uses all these solutions is Chatbots, which can currently be used in any type of business. Chatbots have helped many SMEs to optimize and automate customer service, customer service, marketing and sales channels, and other areas. Among the main advantages of using this technology for SMEs are:
- Sales growth
- The various services performed at the same time
- Calls can be made instantly and 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Use of Artificial Intelligence
- Cost reduction
- Integration with several service channels, such as WhatsApp
Blockchain
Certainly, one of the most revolutionary technologies on this list and which has become well known due to the growth of Bitcoin, is Blockchain, a technology created to end third-party intermediation in a transaction. It is a decentralized way of sharing and storing information. Blockchain is already considered by many experts as a technological market trend.
For SMEs, Blockchain can bring more security to business data, processes, and transactions. Company information can be stored in a 100% secure and unalterable way. Currently, companies from different niches already use Blockchain, as brokers, insurance companies, consultancies, logistics, and food companies.
Cloud Service
Cloud Service is nothing more than an online data storage service. This technology for SMEs can offer mobility, flexibility, sustainability, data security, and greater autonomy for the IT team. Besides, the technology greatly reduces the cost of storage hardware and local servers. SMEs can make big savings with complete virtualization of the IT infrastructure. Expenses that would be applied to equipment, assembly, installation location, and electricity are reduced almost entirely with this technology.
Help Desk Platforms
A help desk platform can be described as a customer service tool where one of the main functions is to be omnichannel, that is, to centralize the services of several communication channels, such as Chabot’s, social networks, telephone, and e-mail. This technology can be used for SMEs that seek to develop or make the service and communication processes more assertive and efficient.
Through this tool, it is possible to perform a better administration of the team of attendants with customers, prioritizing, and optimizing the flow of service and organizing the contact queue.
Wrapping up
Of course, not all companies have the ability to acquire the same technological resources as others, but luckily, different options adapt to the size of the organization, its nature, and most importantly, its investment capacity. Another point that must be taken into account is that technology is continually innovating, so your investment does not end as soon as it is acquired, so it will require the renewal and updating of equipment and systems from time to time.
However, having the support of technological resources has been shown to reduce operating costs and decrease the possibility of losses. It is also very important to train the employees so that they have mastery of the tools that are provided to them and take full advantage of all the benefits of technology.