5 Ways Technology Has Changed the Way We Do Business

In technology, it’s not about the last 10 years. It’s about the last 3 years. In the past 3 years, the rate of change in regards to technology has increased drastically. Businesses processes have changed and made organizations more efficient. At the same time, technology has opened lines of communication, allowing businesses to communicate and collaborate beyond borders with ease. Collaboration is the future of business competitiveness as companies become more innovative, connect to people better, and overall act faster in the "flattened" marketplace of today's global, internet economy.

1. Technology has made business faster
It is undeniable that technology has made business move much faster than before. Personal computers and the Internet have revolutionized the way we work. E-mail interactions have replaced memos, phone calls, and faxes. Smartphones can connect you with your entire business network while you are out of the office, allowing you to respond quickly. Workflows and automated tasking systems have cut down on organizational bureaucracy, streamlining operations. Speed, matched with technology, adds flexibility and responsiveness to interactions.

2. Technology has allowed for far-reaching collaboration
The Internet has allowed geographically dispersed teams to virtually meet from anywhere in the world. Conference calling, video conferencing, e-mail, cloud computing, Skype, and instant messaging have flattened the world. Additionally, with social networking sites like LinkedIn, businesses can connect to an even larger business network. The result is greater productivity and a wider blend of talents, abilities, and viewpoints.


3. Technology has flattened the marketplace
In the same way that technology has allowed for collaboration beyond geographical borders, technology has also reduced the barriers to entering markets around the world. This allows buyers and sellers from around the world to connect and do business. Skype, video conferencing, and online translation services help people to communicate and close deals.

4. Technology in business encourages innovation
Don’t like the way something works? Do you notice that customers have a certain need that is not being met? Do something about it. An example is Zillow, a website created by two former Microsoft employees that helps people get through the maze of real estate transactions. When they launched the site, real estate agents were initially against the idea, but now they collaborate with buyers through the website. The two noticed a need for transparency in the market. With the site, they have created a way for buyers and sellers to share information on houses for sale.

As technology advances, the prices are dropping and it becomes more user-friendly. Many people have the tools to design new and innovative software to solve common problems and improve efficiency. Additionally, technology is becoming more accessible to users all around the world, including users in developing countries. The next big thing could be in development at this moment in Rwanda.


5. Technology has changed how we connect and sell to clients
Perhaps the most important change, technology has allowed businesses to connect and sell to clients in new ways, including mass e-mails, blogs, and recently, Twitter. These tools allow businesses to stay relevant in a customer’s mind, and they help prospective customers to find new companies to do business with.

When a prospect learns of your business, the first thing they will do is Google your name. Next, they click on the link to your website to learn about you. The prospect comes to you informed about what you do and who you are. Do you have a plan to capture the business?

Can Your Business Adapt to Change?

“It is not the strongest among the species that survive. Nor is it the most intelligent. It’s those that are most adaptive to change.”

(Charles Darwin)

Change seems to be the only constant in today's global, Internet economy. How can you manage it? How can you keep up with it?

One theme we have noticed recently is the growing importance of social media in a business environment. Social media is opening new avenues to contact, to engage, and to build relationships with current and new customers. In today's Intelligent World, social media is necessary for any business that wants to become a 21st century business. It is one part of how small companies can do so much more that they actually operate as a much larger company... they can "Play Big". However, social media will differ in its importance to your business depending upon what you do and what your goals are.

• What is most important is to know your business vision and your objectives for the next year.
• What is your marketplace currently and what new markets do you need to expand into?
• What are you trying to tell the marketplace?
• What is the personality of your business.. the story you are telling about yourself?
• Who is your target audience and traditionally what do they pay attention to during the day?
• Who is your decision maker of tomorrow, and if different than above how will you reach them?

These are the important questions to ask as you get into social media, which you should do... but which media and how fast depends on these answers.

So to end the week we provide you with the most important links to information we found this week. They are to the point and significant for you.

Also, click here to get information on how we "find the path" for companies to navigate the above questions.

Have a good weekend, take care, and let's talk soon.

Explore the links below to learn more.

Change is inevitable. Here are 7 lessons to get change right.

Is it time for your organization to blog? If not now, then soon! A recent study found that small business blog readership increased by 122%.

Is it time for your organization to Tweet? Maybe Yes... Maybe No!

For businesses that are new to social media, here are some mistakes to avoid.

Witness the power of Youtube - Domino's: How One YouTube Video Can Ruin a Brand

Here is an interesting article that claims the biggest emerging economies will recover faster than the US.

Is your business innovating? Here are some trends in innovation that are paying off for other companies.

What is Informal Learning, and why should businesses promote it? Learn here.

Google’s Wave – described by the developer as “What e-mail might look like if it were invented today” – will redefine collaboration.

It Is A Global, Internet Economy

On December 31, 1999 we talked about the dawn of a new millennium, the Information Revolution, and the importance of IT.

Things have changed since then and changed fast:

• The incredible speed of information exchange
• The vast amount of facts we must know
• The huge scale of a globalized marketplace
• The unpredictable impact of the Internet on business

The immediate and daily impact of these trends on local economies means your business has changed in the last 3 years, and will keep changing again every 3 years... whether you know it or not.

Change is the one constant.

Darwin's statement holds true that it is not the most intelligent, nor the strongest that will compete and survive... it's is those who are most adaptive to change.

What is overlooked as well is that it is a global, and it is an internet, marketplace... it's both. It is not about technology or globalization; it is about their combination and interaction.

• 96% of the world’s consumers are outside of the U.S.
  
• 86% of Internet Users are outside of the U.S.... and growing at 10 times the rate of U.S. growth
  
• You Tube and Skype each have virtual populations larger than Mexico, UK, and Italy combined
  
• 400 million Indian consumers will demand new housing in the next 20 years
  - more real estate than the U.S. has built since the second world war
  
• 24.5 million new Chinese households will be classified as middle class by the end of 2008

Lots of folks might really be tuned into internet technology, cool web 2.0 practices, and how to use an iPhone. Many others are international experts, speak lots of languages, and talk about import/export.

But who has both perspectives? Who has combined them to see the real trends affecting real businesses in this global, Internet, economy?

Who is involved in daily and intimate conversations with business leaders and business organizations at a "grassroots", warm-blooded level around the world, to dial-in the real problems that real business leaders deal with everyday?

IntellaCore has a unique point of view, because we are positioned at the critical intersection, at the crossroads, where very few are... that place where the global economy meets the Internet and Communications Technology (ICT).It is a simple fact that every company operates and competes in a global, and an Internet, marketplace.

The answer is not to “Go Global” . The answer is to “Be Competitive” in this "Globalized Marketplace."

What are you doing to lead a competitive business successfully in the 21st century?

Do you know what you don't know?

Once you know... what are you going to do about it?

What's your game plan?

Read what a leading Business Expert observed:

"I recently spent a day speaking to more than 100 owners and managers of private businesses... The majority of the attendees were not doing well in a globalized economy...

The good news: almost all of the attendees “got it” in terms of understanding the need to re-conceptualize themselves and their business models...

The bad news: even in the face of declining results, the vast majority of the attendees have no intention of changing their behavior or their business models... they were too tired, too old, too poor, etc. to make any meaningful changes. In effect, they intend to keep drawing a salary until they are forced to shut the business down.

"Wow."

Here is another statement:

"... as the world economy becomes larger and more interconnected, many Americans feel totally disconnected. They are being flattened in this new flat world. Nowhere is this quiet desperation more pronounced than in the private business segment.... At best, America's privately owned businesses are getting only half the benefits of globalization.

"So what?" you might be asking yourself. Well, if our private companies aren't globally competitive, then they're in trouble. And if they're in trouble, we're all in trouble. Privately owned businesses generate more than 50 percent of America's gross domestic product and account for 80 percent of new jobs... we should be alarmed: Currently about 75% of owners of private businesses are not increasing the value of their firms. I'll say it again: If the private business sector fails, America fails."

-Rob Slee 2006

It's not about information. It's about collaboration.

Hey, is your bank going to be around tomorrow?

Welcome to the global, internet, economy of 2009.

So assume the fetal position in the corner of your office when staff isn't looking, or get moving.

What actionable steps should business leaders take -- today -- concerning the Internet and communications technology (ICT) to grow revenue and cut costs quickly?

The Business Criteria on Technology Decisions

Every business that survives 2009-2010 will be a business that has become Globally Competitive -- Period. So get over it and get moving.

Be clear, it's not about "Going Global"!

First, it's about your backyard. Be competitive in your region or current markets; because a competitor anywhere on earth can sell in your region via the Internet or direct entry, today.

Secondly, it's about new business. Be aggressive and opportunistic to make a sale or source a new supplier anywhere, today.

Hey, is Mom and Pop running the small Chinese business wringing their hands about selling in the USA? Or are they just taking over your customers.... today.

To be globally competitive leaders must focus the business on activities that achieve 4 objectives:

• Innovation
  
• Growth
• Competitiveness
  
• Increase Shareholder Value
  

The criteria for your use of Internet and Communications Technology (ICT) are simple: Will it effectively and efficiently address one of these criteria?

• Effectively means giving a good ROI in a short time.
• Efficiently means your organization and staff can adapt the ICT service quickly to their business day.
  

IntellaCore's ICT approach means it's about your business and making more profit (increase revenue while reducing costs); it's NOT about cool technology for technology sake or 'keeping up with the Jones', because.... well, "because everyone else is doing this".

Here is the starting point: It's about collaboration, not information.

Everything that you consider about the Internet, and the buzz words above, should be approached from the criteria of how to increase collaboration across your enterprise.

• How can staff in different units collaborate more effectively?
• How can your company become truly customer oriented so that customers and prospects are engaged and "handled" across the enterprise?
• How do you communicate and build better relationships with suppliers, distributors, and key "strategic partners"?

The answer is in building efficient and seemingly "personal" ways to communicate and engage all of these actors -- with the goal being that people collaborate in ways that will move your business forward to achieve its revenue and growth goals.

Intelligent World 's global team picked articles to explain why collaboration and Web 2.0 technologies are important. We will go through some of the main buzz words and provide you with simple definitions, as well as explain why they are important to collaboration in your company and your communication with the marketplace.

Read these articles with your business in mind. Our goal this month is to help you understand why technology and the Internet are important to your business and how it can help you become globally competitive.

Click here to read Intelligent World

Business Beyond Borders

Business Beyond Borders means that your business must use Internet technology effectively to increase your organization's ability to communicate and collaborate. Now your perspective shifts as a company and business can be developed wherever the opportunity presents itself -- regionally, nationally, and even internationally.

Get Additional Assistance... Today

A monthly newsletter can only do so much. What other help can you get from IntellaCore today?

1. Throughout the month Global Guru, our blog, we provide specific tips and recommendations, and will answer your questions.

2. IntellaCore has developed 2 assessment tools.

• They take 2 hours of your time.
• They cost $300.
• In two weeks, they give you specific answers and recommendations based on your business.
• You get actionable results on how to positively impact your business in two week or you get your $300 back.

The ICT Scorecard assesses your current use of Internet and Communications Technology (ICT) and what practical steps you can do now to improve your business.

The GR Scorecard assesses your current Global Readiness to identify strengths and weaknesses, to show Opportunities and Threats to your business. It states what practical steps you can do now to find new sales now, and where to reduce costs now.

3. Call us, we'll talk to you.

Anyone who is part of our Global Business Network can contact us and we will talk with them for 30 minutes, no cost, and no strings. We will answer your questions and provide guidance on your challenge based on a brief evaluation of your situation.

Learn more about what we do at IntellaCore at: www.IntellaCore.com

Understand who we are and what we stand for at: http://intellacore.com/mission.html

A Single Approach, a Single Effort, a Single Outcome.

By accessing the right resources and expertise SMBs can get the information and the support that is effective. By using internet communications technology in a simple, cost effective manner, an SMB owner of a regional company can develop a single approach -- for sales and distribution, for sourcing supply and coordinating their supply chain. An owner can develop a single effort based on an awareness of the global marketplace as it affects their company, their region, and their industry.

Yes, it is that straightforward. No, it is not easy... at first. But successful business is not about easy. It’s about simplifying what others claim is complex and confusing: Know your marketplace, be decisive in gaining the advantage of your niche, take practical actions that grow the company. Now US SMB owners are in their comfort zone, in their region, and competitive in the Global Supply Chain.

Business without Borders

Secondly, make decisions – with the right knowledge and understanding you can make the right decisions for your business. It’s not about your regional company launching new efforts in foreign lands; it’s about reexamining how your current regional efforts can strengthen your regional position, while expanding across the US and abroad. It’s about doing the same things you are doing now, with slight modifications, but in combination with the Internet. With the mystery removed and the Internet in play, you now make decisions in the same way you always have to grow your business.

Third, take action – appropriate action to increase your sales, reduce your costs, and grow. It is critically important to use the Internet to communicate and interact with new suppliers and buyers outside of your current regional area. Utilizing international expertise and resources from government agencies and the right kind of private sector service companies is important. With the right support -- alongside your business -- selling to California or selling to Mexico becomes the same thing as selling to Youngstown, Ohio.

Think Globally, Act Locally

The Internet, inexpensive technology, and communications services are radically changing the marketplace faster than anyone can imagine, “flatting the world” as Friedman states.

This is good news for US SMBs. These trends play into our strengths. Empowered with this perspective it is important to do three things:

First, gain knowledge and understand -- Take the mystery away from the global marketplace. How is the global economy relevant to your business in your region, in your industry? The important shift in your perspective is to understand that it is about becoming globally competitive. SMB owners are overwhelmed with negative news coverage of globalization and the sole focus on exporting by many institutions. Therefore they procrastinate. They will deal with the global economy, “tomorrow”, once they are confronted with an international challenge that finally threatens their status quo.

That is too late. But businesses take this reactive, passive, approach because they have been told to “Go Global” requires spending significant money and taking on new initiatives in distant places. If they realized that they can stay local, but be globally competitive, an important shift in perspective occurs.