Organizations come in all sizes and with it, there are all different ways of conducting business. Some companies choose to spend more time and money on their organization’s IT than others do. This month, we thought we would briefly go through four different tiers of technology investment and what they mean for your business. 

We often talk about how the Internet of Things can create security issues in businesses if not properly handled. While there are some very real threats that can be posed by the IoT in the workplace, there is no denying that it can also serve some very real utility there as well.

It is a legitimate question whether something is actually art if it isn’t created by a human being. That’s before you are exposed to it, however. In fact, an AI created a piece of art that was crowned the winner at the Colorado State Fair. Let’s take a look at AI art in the context of this competition.

For all the events that have made business more difficult over the past several years, you probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that businesses have been more open to change the way they do things if it means that they can meet the demands placed on them by the market. These days, there are some technologies that will be a big part of business headed forward, but you may think that they are out of your business’ price range. Think again. Let’s take a look at three robust technologies and how you can use them in your business.

Manufacturers have long been at the forefront of technology. Today, this trend continues, but with new, innovative tools that are designed to make business more efficient and workers more productive. This technology has helped much of the manufacturing sector despite costs continually rising, supply chain interruptions, and other variables. Let’s take a look at some of the major technology changes that have fueled manufacturers during the past few years. 

Businesses need to adjust their technology to meet their operational goals. Oftentimes, this can be the difference between loads of inefficiency and things going smoothly.  Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to ascertain where your business should spend its capital. Let’s take a look at how you can match your technology with your operational goals.

We live in an era of upgrades. Consider how often people upgrade their smartphone. Do you give the same care and attention to your business’ technology? Oftentimes users ignore the signs that it is time for an upgrade even when they are crystal clear, just saying to themselves, “I’ll get by just fine.”’ This is not the mentality that will help you move beyond your current productivity. You need to be able to identify when older devices are holding you back and take steps toward replacing them with better, more powerful ones.

Before we start, we should identify the parts of the business where IT is typically deployed. The purpose of IT is to make operations more efficient, allow for collaboration, automate simple aspects for cost reduction, protect business against disaster and more. The most important role that IT has in any business is as a worker interface. Most workers today work exclusively with digital systems and when they are deployed with purpose it can provide a standardized working experience where people can get more things done and collaborate more effectively. 

Quibi’s Crash and Burn

In a market already saturated with on-demand streaming services, Quibi offered something at least a little different in its short-form episodic storytelling and big-name casting. It also had quite the financial backing to support it—$1.75 billion in funding. Pair that with a monthly price tag of $5, and on paper, it would seem to be a surefire hit.

Past Flagship Phones

We should start by mentioning that some of the best options are actually purchasing flagship phones from the past couple of years. Most flagship smartphones from 2018 have the same specs as many of the mid-range phones today so they can be had at a budget price point. These devices tend to not only have comparable specs, they typically have superior build quality, run on better processors, and offer a user experience in line or better than the experience they would get on some budget smartphones. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2

Samsung’s major contribution into the folding smartphone market is the extraordinarily expensive Galaxy Z Fold2. While the device is impressive with its two full displays and three camera sets, there are some questions about who this device is for. 

Flagship Phones

The flagship smartphone gets its name from a military nautical tradition where the ship that holds the commanding officer would be the best, strongest, and most capable ship in the fleet. When discussing smartphones, it typically describes the best available device that any manufacturer has released for the year. Let’s take a look at some of 2020’s flagship smartphones:

The IoT

The Internet of Things has been growing incredibly fast over the past five years, but many small business owners don’t know where it fits. That’s because there are tens of millions of devices that could actually serve some purpose for their businesses and basically have buyer’s paralysis or are skeptical that integrating these tools is going to save them money. Here are some ways that the IoT could be used to do just that.

Agriculture

Farms often cover miles and miles of real estate. Traditionally, this makes it more difficult to keep track of everything that is going on around the property. Drones can make monitoring the status of the farm much simpler. With specialized sensors that collect important data, farmers are able to successfully manage irrigation levels, fertilization, and crop spacing, leading to higher agriculture output. Using drones, farmers can also manage livestock much simpler.

What Does “Normal” Mean?

Let’s just come out and say it: as terrible as the pandemic has been for so many, it has also given businesses some very strong motivations to adapt and innovate. Really, most had no choice if they wanted to remain open in the long-term.

This led to many businesses finally adopting the modern solutions that enabled productive and secure remote work and collaboration.

Buying workstations isn’t like buying a new computer for yourself. First of all, it doesn’t have the same amount of joy attached, unless you get a really good deal on bulk machines. It still can be a good time, however. Let’s take a look at some of the basic considerations that you need to weigh when buying workstations for your company.

We aren’t alone in believing so, either. A recent study examined twenty such AI-integrating cybercrimes to see where the biggest threats would lie.  

Here, we’re looking at the results of this study to see what predictions can be made about the next 15 years where AI-enhanced crime is concerned. Here’s a sneak preview: Deepfakes (fake videos of celebrities and political figures) will be very believable, which is very bad.

Making the Most of What You Have

As states have mandated that businesses either close or move operations offsite for the well-being of their employees and clients, many people seem to have been caught off-guard by the duration of these orders. As a result, many businesses have since shifted from a “shut down and wait it out” strategy to trying to do whatever they can—which, for many, is implementing a remote workforce.

What is Data Automation?

In so many words, data automation is the collection and transcription of data using software, rather than the outdated and time-consuming manual processes that were once necessary.

Rather than one of your valuable employees being committed to data entry instead of the other tasks that are better suited to their talents and abilities, data automation utilizes technology to attend to it. As a result, your team can focus on their other responsibilities, while your data is managed more efficiently and accurately.

What is a CRM?

Short for Customer Relationship Management, your CRM is the tool that helps you track the relationships you have with the people you offer your services to, assisting you in developing these contacts into faithful clientele. As a bonus, these solutions generally come with integrations that give you access to even greater capabilities and resources.