Anyone who has been in business for a while will agree that business software often plays a significant role in the betterment of their company. For a business to operate at optimal levels your equipment, materials, vehicles, and supplies must all be well maintained and replaced occasionally. That might sound like common sense, but you’d be surprised how many businesses don’t follow this practice when it comes to their business software. Here are some of the ways that having the most updated software can give you a competitive edge.
The Brain of Your Business
Business software can act as the brain of your company, and can also be the location where you store important information. You must keep it up to date in order to operate more effectively, and keep your data protected. The number of Cybercrime incidents has seen an increase as more businesses move online, which highlights the need for keeping your business protected. Many small businesses hold the belief that cybercriminals only target the bigger companies, but the truth is that they also come after smaller businesses. Big businesses understand that they’re a target to cybercriminals, which is why they protect themselves with plenty of security measures. However, small businesses are essentially leaving the door unlocked to their business. If you want to compete in the modern market, business software helps to keep you secure from threats. Outside cybercrime, you could also be vulnerable to data loss or slow business operations.
Relevant: Net@Work
Collaborate Where Needed
With the new technology of today, you can compete against rivals through great business software. Because of the latest technology, you can be in an office or you can operate with a more remote workforce. You might work in different cities and collaborate and connect with staff digitally. How business employees can interact with each other has changed. You don’t even necessarily need to send email anymore, now you can send instant messages to teams for instant communication. When it comes to teamwork, the business that communicates the best with its team members will usually realize the best results.
Focus on User-friendly Design
As Albert Einstein once said, things need to be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. When customers can navigate your business easily, they will stick around longer, which gives you more time to sell them products and make money. Most customers buy things based on what they want, rather than loyalty to your business. This means that if you don’t have a user-friendly website, they will most likely head over to your competitors.
Super-Size the Storage
Businesses are starting to see a need for data storage, often times more than what their in-house computers can handle. Cloud data storage will provide space for storing high-resolution photos, data-heavy presentations, as well as important business and customer information. If you tried to store all of this data on your computer alone, you’d be surprised how quickly your drives will fill up. There are plenty of companies that offer cloud storage, some of which include:
- Box
- Dropbox
- Apple
You can get several terabytes from these companies for a reasonable cost, and it doesn’t slow down your computer, which is just another benefit to working on the cloud! These services have also made collaboration with your business partners easier because you can share your folders and files with employees and contractors. Because of these services, many startups have begun to create a global workforce from inception!
Crunch the Numbers
Emotions run high when it comes to business, but ultimately it’s logic and numbers that rule the business world. You have to keep everything, like bills and receipts, for when you need to file your taxes. In general, it still makes sense to have an excellent accountant on hand, but technology can handle much of the busy work. You can take advantage of a variety of software that automates tasks like payroll, invoicing, and bill payments. In general, this business software will help you to achieve your goals with mission-critical applications, and at the same time, it still falls within the budget of the average small business.
In-Person Meetings
When you keep up to date with the latest technology, you can meet your clients and employees through an in-person meeting even when you’re located in different parts of the world. Because of business software like Skype and Google Hangouts, you can meet up with people through webcams instead of having to meet face to face. This enables meeting more often, which will translate to better communication. You could, for example, walk someone through a presentation or catch up on important elements of your business through a Skype meeting. In addition, you could choose to record a video conference for future reference that can be used as training material for employees in the future.
Relevant: Forbes
Have Accurate Pricing
The biggest challenge that small businesses face in a competitive environment is offering the most competitive price. The difficulty increases when you have to compete with bigger companies offering the same products or services. If a larger company has higher volume or more sophisticated equipment, they could offer a lower price as a result. Many small businesses will depend on software to do their guesswork and calculate pricing. You can learn if you are pricing product too high or too low with business shop software like E2. It also enables you to analyze and track costs in real time to learn what works best and what doesn’t.
Relevant: Shoptech
There are many significant benefits of keeping up to date with your business software. The most significant benefit is the ability to help you compete with larger companies. Software helps you juggle some of the most important aspects of running a business so that you don’t have to micromanage. In the past, only big corporations could afford the most advanced technology, which always gave them a competitive edge over the smaller businesses. However, the barriers have shrunk and now small businesses can take advantage of software that will help them compete in the modern market.
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