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Let me give you a piece of advice - stop thinking that spending on a new software solution is throwing money in the trash. Change the way you think about your expenses for information technology. Today, businesses around the world are implementing new technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, augmented reality, to name a few. The main thing about this investment is that it is made with due consideration for getting a competitive edge in the future. Below are a few other reasons why you should think about tech expenditures in a completely different way. 


Many companies overlook the challenges related to the lack of skills and expertise, the lack of experience in a certain domain, and consider their staff and software to be quite good to keep working without changing a thing. However, the evolution of modern technologies made it possible to use advanced skills to rapidly develop business and gain a competitive edge in a very short time. 

Remote access

People are so busy today, on the run, on the go. They are looking through the news feeds and social networks on right on their phones on their way to work. Like these people, your employees have a chance to get a remote access to their jobs. By developing and implementing a robust mobile CRM, for example, you will make it possible for your sales or customer support to check emails, find necessary documents, instantly respond to customers, and do lots of other tasks from anywhere. 

Workers tend to be more productive when they get to tackle some challenges remotely. They are more efficient due to fewer distractions and a lower level of stress. Both your employees and your customers can take advantage of cloud-based technology which makes remote access possible. 

Competitive advantage

In practice, successful market players have already realized the importance of innovation. To be successful means to keep pace with progress. For example, the business uses predictive analytics to forecast sales and customers’ behavior. Turning big data into valuable insights will help you stay competitive among other market players. With a good application in place, you will be able to analyze different types of information from multiple sources and use this data to improve processes across the organization.

Any company armed with innovation has advantages over its competitors. By implementing new technology, it can provide better services, produce better products, improve interaction with customers, etc. 


Customer relations

Most people use technology to be on the cutting edge of progress. It’s convenient, easy, and excited. Businesses should keep this in mind and offer their customers what they want. For example, we all use social networks to communicate with our friends. And the majority of us prefers to send some inquiries or complaints to companies through Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Thus, many companies take into account the need to develop a social CRM to get messages from customers and instantly respond to their questions. 

When you give a choice for your customers they feel comfortable and appreciate it. There are different ways to improve customer relations using new technology. For example, you can use voice assistants, chatbots, image recognition, and other AI-based technologies to make your interaction with customers simpler.

Automation

Automation of operational processes has become possible with the evolution of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, business intelligence, data science, and other technologies. With a good ERP system in place, for example, you can automate manual and routine tasks, organize all the company’s documents, share data instantly, and do lots of other time-consuming things in minutes. 

Automation allows reducing costs for maintaining third-party software and hardware, decreasing expenditures on human resources, and streamlining the entire workflow across the organization. Consequently, you can boost your sales and improve customer interaction. 

Productivity

If you improve the way you run business and provide your employees with the user-friendly applications for completing their everyday tasks, you will definitely enhance productivity. People armed with systems with clear and intuitive interfaces are more productive and motivated to complete their tasks with high quality. People experiencing no stress with new technology are trying to do their jobs more effectively. 

If you consider investing in new technology, consider first a thorough business analysis that can determine your priorities, initial requirements, and business goals. You should learn all the challenges your employees face in the workplace as well as you need to know the needs and wants of your clients. Only then you will be able to purchase or develop the software solution that will fully meet the needs of both your workers and customers.