Thursday, April 1, 2021

Leveraging Technology Part 2


 

Last week we looked at what technology is and the different types of technology available out here. We also went further to discuss what impediments stand in the way of people being able to embrace technology. 

In this week's segment, we look at the upsides of embracing technology and what you are likely to lose if you don't either as an individual or a company. 

Read on to find out more. 

What are the benefits of embracing Technology?

Global analysis by Deloitte shows that companies using AI predictive data analytics and other technology tools are more successful than those who don’t. These companies enjoy 18% higher revenue and 30% greater profitability.

Tech augments human roles by taking up their menial, repetitive tasks while leaving workers to focus on the more creative, flexible and selective aspects of their jobs. We just need to learn how to collaborate with machines. While AI delivers speed, efficiency and mass data analysis, humans will add emotional depth, wisdom and nuance. (Jessica Marchant, People management, 2019.) This increased efficiency means more time is freed up and money is saved to be deployed in other endeavors. (Matthew Warner, Blockpass 2019)

AI can help in sourcing for candidates in HR departments through the use of AI driven CV formulation software in order to reduce the time demanded of recruiters and candidates. It also helps in mitigating against conscious or unconscious biases.

New technologies are essential to fostering economic growth, meeting human needs and protecting the environment. (Calestous Juma)

Embracing technology can help your company operate at its maximum capacity in many different ways. It can be a differentiating factor when it comes to beating your competition. It also makes it easier to store and organize vast amounts of data which if kept physically could take up acres of space. In this era of lockdowns and restricted movement, communications technology is allowing people to hold virtual meetings with ease and collaborate virtually from anywhere in the world. What this also means is that businesses can also serve clients from anywhere in the world and they will have a seamless or almost seamless experience.

Embracing technology will also keep you longer at your job as an employee. The more comfortable you are around new technology, the longer you are likely to stay on. A failure to adapt could mean the need to replace you with someone who is more comfortable around tech. Just like companies can collaborate on projects, individual employees too benefit from this kind of tech on projects they are working on. It is possible for people from different continents to work on an issue and resolve it from wherever they are because of the possibilities created by tech. (Jon Hauer, 2019)

For businesses, tech also gives you the benefit of a strong industry presence. Being present both on and offline goes a long way in helping you stay front and center in the minds of industry stakeholders. Apple is a dominant player because they have learnt to leverage on R&D in building their products. As a business do you have R&D ingrained into the way you do things?

New technology can be a game changer if you want to disrupt an existing industry. The proper application of new tech can position you in a place where you are able to challenge the big boys of your industry and win. Tesla’s story is testimony that this is doable. While there are many automobile manufacturers who would have had enough resources to do electric vehicles, Tesla saw the gap and ran away with the prize. What prize is there in your current industry that you can run away with if you innovate right?

Embracing new, relevant Technology guarantees business success in the long run. While the initial cost of setting up might be steep, if well thought out, new tech can more than pay for itself quickly.

Technology enables better customer service through improved processes and even security of data stored in your systems. There are a ton of technologies you can use to improve your customer’s overall experience.

Technology makes it possible to standardize products. While human hands can introduce a degree of error, products made by robots have an almost guaranteed consistency no matter how many times the robot does it. That automation has the advantage of uniformity and consistency.

Disadvantages of Resisting Technology.

Instead of protecting jobs, the reluctance in embracing new technology has resulted in curbing innovation, reducing job creation and restricting industry growth.

When a company fails to innovate and evolve, it suffers setbacks like loss of money and time as a result of inefficient processes. Those who thought the dotcom bubble was a passing wind have in some cases failed to ever catch up to this present day. That has meant a loss of dominance in the market they used to rule. We can also see it in the switch from feature phones to Smartphones. It is clear that the dominant players in the smartphone market were not the biggest in the season of the feature phones. Whatever happened to the likes of Nokia and Motorola? They are no longer the giants they were back in the days and that has meant a heavy loss of market share and thus revenue. Product obsolescence is a reality companies live with. (Petersen, 2019)

When customers don’t see an effort to make things better, you are likely to lose them in the long run.

It stifles your ability to expand and explore larger markets as a business. 

A failure to embrace technology also holds companies and individuals back from achieving their full potential. The same way embracing it creates new possibilities, resisting tech results in you not being able to take advantage of efficiency, convenience and so much more brought about by new technology. (Richter &Sinha, 2020)

There is also the issue of waning industry influence (Petersen, 2019.) This failure to embrace technology can lead to a decline in the influence a company once held in its industry. This has implications on its image and contributes to a difficulty in attracting the best talent and even funding. Worst of all is when competitors know about it because they can then use it against you for a long time.

Low morale among employees. A stagnant organization dampens the drive of employees which thing affects performance and brings about talent flight. This is because of the perceived lack of growth and opportunities to expand their skillsets. Simply put, an organization that doesn’t embrace technology punishes itself in the long run.  

Resistant employees can create a disruptive working environment due to conflicts with management and also spread their sentiments to other employees.

What other benefits of technology can you think of? Any regrets you have had for failing to embrace tech in the past? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. 

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