Archive for September 2011
Technology plays a vital role in business. Over the years businesses have become dependent on technology so much so that if we were to take away that technology virtually all business operations around the globe would come to a grinding halt. Almost all businesses and industries around the world are using computers ranging from the most basic to the most complex of operations.
Technology played a key role in the growth of commerce and trade around the world. It is true that we have been doing business since time immemorial, long before there were computers; starting from the simple concept of barter trade when the concept of a currency was not yet introduced but trade and commerce was still slow up until the point when the computer revolution changed everything. Almost all businesses are dependent on technology on all levels from research and development, production and all the way to delivery. Small to large scale enterprises depend on computers to help them with their business needs ranging from Point of Sales systems, information management systems capable of handling all kinds of information such as employee profile, client profile, accounting and tracking, automation systems for use in large scale production of commodities, package sorting, assembly lines, all the way to marketing and communications. It doesn’t end there, all these commodities also need to be transported by sea, land, and air. Just to transport your commodities by land already requires the use of multiple systems to allow for fast, efficient and safe transportation of commodities.
Without this technology the idea of globalization wouldn’t have become a reality. Now all enterprises have the potential to go international through the use of the internet. If your business has a website, that marketing tool will allow your business to reach clients across thousands of miles with just a click of a button. This would not be possible without the internet. Technology allowed businesses to grow and expand in ways never thought possible.
The role that technology plays for the business sector cannot be taken for granted. If we were to take away that technology trade and commerce around the world will come to a standstill and the global economy would collapse. It is nearly impossible for one to conduct business without the aid of technology in one form or another. Almost every aspect of business is heavily influenced by technology. Technology has become very important that it has become a huge industry itself from computer hardware manufacturing, to software design and development, and robotics. Technology has become a billion dollar industry for a number of individuals.
The next time you browse a website to purchase or swipe a credit card to pay for something you just bought, try to imagine how that particular purchase would have happened if it were to take place without the aid of modern technology. That could prove to be a bit difficult to imagine. Without all the technology that we are enjoying now it would be like living in the 60′s again. No computers, no cellular phones, no internet. That is how important technology is in business.
Technology today is used in business everywhere, easily bringing the world and all of its knowledge to seekers as fast as the click of a mouse. Information can be simple acquired virtually trouble-free through the use of computers, televisions, mobile phones, fax machines, printers, digital cameras and other accessible devices. Over the years technology has become very user-friendly, simple Jane and average Joe can quickly learn how to manipulate modernized technology.
The use of computers can sustain a large paper load, its function and data base keeps track of every role in a company to include:
Meetings and Scheduling Financing Banking Transaction Translation Stocks Business Monitoring Ordering Spread sheets Inventory Records Communication Promotion and Marketing Networking and Relaying Information Advertising Collaborations Calculation Integration Analysis Business News Research
Computers come equipped with the use of several management programs that can make business to-dos possible such as keeping a record of and calculating employee hours and salary. Computers possess large folders that catalogue dates and events with great capability of storing, sending, copying, collecting and saving detrimental Intel for your company. Computer software technology allows company owners and managers to oversee a broad range of strategic functions that directly influence business-related results.
Technological advances have simplified every task involved in business merging many resources to one location that satisfies the user. Replacing the typewriter, books, letters, envelopes, the post, the rolodex and address book. Instead of lengthy processes that cost time and money like mailing a letter, individuals can now receive immediate response via e-mail. Development, management and design are all functions pre-delivered in a business PC. Other benefits of using this convenient form of technology include:
Controlled and supervised access within your company for staff Security clearance levels with password(s) Increased productivity Quick relay of information Distribute(s) business initiative(s) Capitalizes on secure investments Assists in scheme development Job tracking Planning and logging
Technology gives owner/operators ample opportunity at their convenience to investigate the competition and ensure that they possess the products consumers’ desire. In comparison to decades ago, modernized technology is responsible for the enhanced improved performances a company has to offer its clientele.
Businesses run smoother. Operate with maximum advantages. Make better use of time and money.
The use of workplace technology has rapidly matured over the years. If the technology is sophisticated or more complex employers should offer training. If workplace technology is the main involvement of the company, employers should consider staff that is familiar with Microsoft Word, Excel, word processing, spreadsheets, the internet and e-mail. Also reflect on attaining an accounting software program suitable and easy to work with for the company. More innovations to consider include:
The use of headsets, cell or cordless phones for mobility. Laptops and other mobile, removable technology for accessibility. Voice mail also for accessibility anywhere in the office or at home. The use of extensions. Separate phone lines for calls and fax for efficiency. Digital know how for marketing purposes.
Computers and technology enable businesses to function more effectively, run efficiently, respond to the public quickly, manage time, money, expenses, debt, credit, capital, investments etc. Companies experience password protected secured programming, expand operation(s), test pilot programs, prepare for company growth etc. It is now possible to keep and send records with the ability to reduce waist and reserve spending.
Information Technology and the move to a computerized infrastructure model are bringing great changes to many industries. Often it is the CIO of the company who escort this fundamental shift in the business revenue stream. Leading others through modernization, revolutionize and transformation means you must be able to make changes yourself.
Forget about asking whether technology drives business or business drives technology. Stop perturbing about whether or not technology is strategic. Silence all the confusions about how advance this technology is to that technology. In technology, there are numerous questions that if you have to ask, you probably already know and don’t like the answer. A more satisfying line of inquiry is how much of your technological horsepower is actually being used to turn the wheels of innovation.
Some people says that Technology drives business modernization, novelty, success & Innovations that opens up new doors of opportunities, improves the company’s performance on the whole, sharpens the company’s market intelligence, and makes new things possible for the clients. Another school of thought is that the Business Drives Technology, as such integration is about assisting business to facilitate their profitability by utilizing technology and other resources available to the enterprise. But realistically speaking, the driving force comes from the CEO and CIO of the company, who both endeavor to leverage technology to its fullest potential.
In a society that has become entirely dependent on computers and immediate communications, technology is becoming the heartbeat in the process of office design as decisions on layout and services. Some aspects of technology, like the computer animation & communication, are highly visible demonstration devices. But more of it is in the largely unseen infrastructure, with the emphasis on sophisticated wiring and smart communication devices to provide for an ever greater flow, and on communications and power facilities to keep operations running through almost any anticipated calamity.
In the modernization of the today’s businesses, Common business drivers include; Mergers and Acquisitions, Internal Reorganizations, Application and System Consolidation, Inconsistent/Duplicated/Fragmented Data, New Business Strategies, Compliance with Government Regulations, Streamlining Business Processes. To achieve the success in the accommodation of these business drivers, the sturdy and smart input would be required from both the parties i.e. the business as well as the technology.
In a company, you could cover every surface in your office with how to manage change. But one aspect of change management that often dodges IT Managers is how to better influence corporate colleagues. If information technology drives business decisions, the IT executives must communicate and be persuasive with other department heads on key project management issues.
Strategic planning for Information Technology is one component of an overall company vision for success. This psychoanalysis facilitates IT professionals to successfully define short and long-term goals and ascertain the resources necessary to apprehend such goals. To ensure success, the strategic plan should be developed in a thorough but rapid manner, consist of a brief, succinct compilation of analyzed data, and provide opportunities by which additional planning and analysis can occur.
Several important benefits occur as the result of a successful strategic IT plan. First, employees are provided with an understanding of how their role fits in with the overall company structure. Also, this planning allows managers to realize additional opportunities for growth and success. Finally, important relationships between technology investment and positive outcomes, such as increased market share, are revealed.
It’s now become the industry dilemma that IT people need to know more about business. They need to understand the disciplines and the lingo of business process management, business performance management, customer relationship management, supply chain management, financial management, human resources management, operations management, etc. Lacking that knowledge, communication with business people and understanding of business requirements will forever be troubled.
On the other hand the Business people should also drive their efforts to know more about information technology. As with all communication and relationship issues, this is not a prejudiced problem. Just as IT people need to become more business-oriented, business people need to be more IT-oriented. They need to understand the roles and relationships among the many different kinds of technology upon which their information systems depend, and they need to understand the dependencies among those technologies. Business people need to have a working knowledge of the technology stack as it affects their capability to get information, perform business analysis, and make informed business decisions.
Beyond the relatively straight-forward needs of business becoming IT-oriented and technologists becoming business-oriented, there lies a new challenge. We must develop common understanding and shared perspective of value, an issue that is both a business concern and a technology consideration. When business and IT have different meaning and outlook for value, conflicts are certain to arise.
Business and IT organizations often have two evidently different perspectives of value. IT expert generally take a data-to-value approach. Where Data produces information, information enhances knowledge, knowledge drives action, action produces outcomes, and favorable outcomes deliver value. Business management typically uses a goals-to-value system. Business drivers and goals determine strategies, strategies drive tactics, which in turn produce results, and positive results produce value.
Effective business/IT relationships are ultimately a question of alignment. New IT skills, new business skills, and new perspectives that sets the stage for business/IT alignment. But it doesn’t assure alignment. To achieve genuine association there are several things that must be done; some by IT, some by the business, and some collectively.
Conflicts between business and IT organizations have existed from the very beginning of automated Information Systems. We have accelerated in so many ways both in business and in technology. However, the problem still pestilences most of the businesses. The Business/IT crack must go away. The cost is high; the value is null; and the barriers that it crafts grow bigger each moment. The problem can be fixed, and the time to fix it is now!