Five Ways Technology is Changing How Businesses Operate

July 16, 2018 – Today’s guest blogger is Alison Stanton. This is her third contribution to 21st Century Tech Blog. Alison has been freelance writing on a wide range of subjects for the past 18 years. Her previous contributions include postings about smartphones and security. Alison lives in Phoenix, Arizona where when not writing she can be found hanging out with her family which includes three wonderful rescue dogs. In tackling the subject of the changing face of technology in business, Alison has picked some interesting examples. Hope you enjoy her contribution and please feel free to send your comments.

When it comes to business, ever-evolving technology is constantly impacting day-to-day operations. From helping companies to accomplish more by changing the way employees do their jobs, innovations in technology contribute to productivity improvements. So what are some of the technologies that are changing the way business operates? Here are five I have selected.

1. Drones: Technological Jacks of All Trades

Any discussion of technology’s positive impact on business has to include a mention of drones. Also commonly referred to as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones feature some amazing capabilities from onboard devices including:

• 4K cameras that take high-resolution video and photos.
• Built-in GPS and autopilot, allowing them to fly programmed routes.
• Collision avoidance technology and active tracking capabilities at speeds of 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour or more.

As for how drones are being used in the business world, an excellent example can be found in the world of photography. Rather than spend money to rent a helicopter, pilot, and photographer to get aerial shots, drones can do it all on the cheap. Real estate agents, wanting to get overhead shots of a for-sale property as well as the surrounding neighborhood, are using drones to get the perfect picture. And videographers can capture gorgeous footage whether it is for an outdoor wedding or for capturing images of wildlife.

2. Call Center in the Cloud: Enhancing the Customer Experience

As businesses grow and customer demands increase, implementing a call center in the cloud offers an efficient way to enhance the customer experience. Whether a company is big or small, personalized customer service tools are available today in an easy-to-manage cloud platform. Inbound and outbound calls can be handled easily. Customers can get answers to all of their questions through self-service, live chat, phone, social media connections and more. Many industries are using this type of technology effectively including banks where virtual agents in a cloud call center typically answer questions about outstanding payments, provide account balance information, and assist with transfers.

3. Self-Service Options: Allowing Customers to Help Themselves

In the fast-paced world of today, customers hate standing in lines to buy things. They would rather complete the transactions themselves. That’s where new self-service technology is giving consumers the ability to take matters into their own hands. Airlines come to mind when thinking about self-service kiosks. Whether you like it or not travelers today can:

• Access their flight reservation information.
• Check in for up to four flight segments.
• Select or change seats.
• Check in their luggage.
• Purchase a trip upgrade.

The kiosks print their boarding passes and luggage tags. They never have to deal with an airline employee throughout the entire process..

4, Artificial Intelligence: Helping with Fraud Protection

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already being used by business. AI helps manage warehouse operations. AI sorts out problems in production processes. AI recognizes patterns and learns from them. Today your bank and credit card providers use AI to detect fraud and outwit cybercriminals.

PayPal uses AI to boost its security by doing real-time analysis of transactions. When the AI detects a certain pattern it transforms it into a “rule” that can be used to halt any other suspicious transactions that fit the rule profile. AI comes in many shapes from machine learning engines to natural language processing and speech and facial recognition.

5. Blockchain: Helping with International Payments

Chances are you’ve read about Bitcoin and whether this and other types of cryptocurrency are legitimate. The technology behind Bitcoin is called a blockchain. It is likely that the blockchain, a form of public ledger, may be the more important invention than the cryptocurrencies that use it in transactions. Business News Daily recently noted that the blockchain has the potential to have big impacts on all kinds of businesses. For example, no matter whether you run a startup or large company with hundreds of employees, if you take orders from clients who live overseas and receive payments from them, or if you pay international workers or vendors and have to make cross-border payments as a result, with the blockchain you no longer have to go the slow and expensive bank route. The blockchain securely handles payments and payroll quickly for a trivial cost.

What’s Next for Business?

Technology innovation refuses to stand still. In this posting, we have talked about call centers, drones, self-service options, AI, and blockchain. But there is surely another technology around the corner that will emerge to give companies new ways of doing business. And I might add that this blog site is probably a good place to find about them first.