A new year is upon us, and after an extremely tumultuous 2020, it should come as no surprise that the big trend for business tech — regardless of company size — is decentralization. Of course, that kind of shift is taking many forms (and has been doing so for several months), but that doesn't mean your company can be left in a position where you feel like you're done evolving on this front.
Instead, you should consider adopting these tech trends as part of an ongoing process to streamline operations, meet employee and customer needs — and generally keep your security posture as strong as possible:
1) More use of remote conferencing tools
2020 was the year everyone got used to multiple video-conferenced meetings per day, using Zoom, Google, Skype or any number of similar platforms, according to Inc. magazine. But with the novel coronavirus pandemic far from over and the technology seemingly here to stay, it seems many companies are further building out their offerings to give even more functionality to these apps. Your team would be wise to keep up with the latest and greatest.
2) Online training will flourish
Along similar lines, it should come as no surprise that companies need to come up with new ways of operating in a virtual world, Inc., said. Even if more of your employees come back to working in an office setting later in 2021, some may want the increased flexibility of working from home more often, or forever. You'll need to keep those workers on the same page, so putting training at the forefront of your online efforts is vital.
3) More business operations shift to the cloud
With more people working remotely, it should come as little surprise that you have to decentralize your data storage and access, according to BizTech magazine. This is something you've likely done with your core operations already, but the more you can do to get every aspect of your company on that level, the better off you'll be.
4) Dissemination of security to remote locations
As you decentralize more business processes and data, you also need to empower your employees to keep everything secure, BizTech added. That can be as simple as implementing firewalls and antivirus software and training staff on various cybersecurity best practices.
5) Chatbots will continue to take hold for engagement
When it comes to outward-facing communication, automation is becoming more important, according to Linchpin. Whether it's for people visiting your site as customers (current or prospective), or job candidates for a round of hiring, a chatbot will help to "bin" those people into the right places so that it's easier to do outreach on your end, or direct them to the appropriate pages on your site.
With all this in mind, you may need someone to oversee your tech rollout as 2021 continues. To see some of the roles that we have already successfully placed, click here.
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