By Sandra Quinn

According to research from SMB Group, 92% of small businesses in America are using one or more cloud-based solutions in their businesses.

While some people may think that investing in technology is only for the big players, research has proven that embracing technology is one of the things, which can give small and medium enterprises (SME’s) an advantage over their much larger competitors.

Small businesses can be seen to use technologies in things like; (information and full article available on https://lauriemccabe.com/2014/03/07/cloud-is-the-the-new-normal-for-smbs-but-integration-isnt/)

  • Finances and Accounting.
  • Contact and Customer Management.
  • Marketing Automation.
  • Server Virtualisation.
  • Security.
  • Business Intelligence and Analytics.
  • Online Storage and Sharing.
  • Workforce Management.
  • Desktop Virtualisation.

As previously discussed on this blog (see https://www.horizon-globex.com/keeping-business-communications-in-house/) technology and the use of an app, such as the one available from Horizon Globex for instant messaging and calls, which is secure, in-house and customised to the company, is something which is on the rise within the corporate world.

Along the same vein, according to figures from Constant Contact, 66% of small business owners rely on mobile devices to manage operations, while it has also been found that 66% of small businesses would fail without wireless technology (according to an AT&T Small Business Technology Poll).

When you think about it logically, a huge conglomerate has departments for every function and within each section, there is a person or a team of people assigned to working on that section, answering questions when they arise and solving problems. This is why for customers it sometimes feels like you have been passed on like a hot potato when a query gets bounced from department to department before it is resolved.

On the other hand, if you are running a small business with less than twenty employees, it is more likely that they are working on the core aspects of keeping the business running, while there are less people solely dedicated to answering queries or solving problems.

This is where technology comes in at its strongest – an instant and automated response to emails, text messages or instant messages allows you to give your customers an immediate response giving them peace of mind, you can provide a direct phone number or email address so that you can have the issue addressed immediately and it means that you are not paying someone a salary to answer queries, which may not come in all that often.

Likewise, using an automated system for accounts and payroll means that you are freeing up staff for other duties, using a technology based security system eliminates the need for security guards and staffing and using an online sharing facility means that you don’t have to physically archive information, which would take up valuable manpower and space.

If you are running a small business, think about the ways in which you use technology to your advantage and you might just find that by looking through the above examples that there are ways in which you can streamline what you are doing by embracing technology and all that it has to offer.