Business growth can be as challenging as it is exciting – could technology be shouldering some of the burden?
While growth should be a goal for every business, it’s vital that employers understand the significant pressures that it can place on their employees and infrastructure. Fortunately, no matter how daunting the challenges, there are plenty of strategies available to mitigate and handle the adverse effects of growth – not least by using an array of technological tools.
From boosting efficiency to managing compliance requirements, innovative businesses can employ technology to ease their growing pains in a variety of ways. The problem lies in understanding how and when to integrate tech into your growth strategy – to what extent can you rely on it to steer your business to success? If you’re planning to expand your business soon, or simply want to understand what to expect when the time comes, check out this guide to some of the most useful and innovative ways technology could factor into your growth journey ¦
Big Data
A lot has been written about the benefits of the Big Data Revolution, which refers to the vast amounts of data which are generated across the modern business landscape – and how organisations can analyse, manage, and utilise that data to their advantage. The value of Big Data to growth is obvious: Big Data analytics tools can reveal trends and patterns in certain markets, identify locations which might be suitable for growth, or even predict what those locations might look like in the future.
The scope of Big Data can also be turned on internal administrative processes, and used to identify those areas of a business which are causing problems or efficiency drains. Going beyond the capabilities of a human perspective, Big Data analytics can shore up growth ambitions with a meticulous level of research potential in the short and long-term.
AI
Since growth often leaves businesses struggling to keep up with certain crucial administrative processes, it would be ideal to pass some of that burden onto technology – insofar as that is possible. Artificial intelligence represents a viable way to ease the more complex pressures of growth through a number of innovative applications – from handling compliance challenges, to simply automating many of the more intricate details of day-to-day administration.
From a practical perspective, AI might be useful for dealing with an expanded customer base: AI screening software can act as the first point of contact for all customer enquiries, resolving the more simplistic ones while escalating others to human administrators. Alternatively, AI tools might be used to identify employees within an organisation who might benefit from further training to handle the pressures of growth.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing offers businesses a wide toolset – and is particularly useful for growth since its infrastructure is housed entirely in a virtual environment. Growing businesses might employ a cloud solution for their expanded data storage needs, or to handle an increased need for processing power. Cloud computing solutions are ideal for businesses expanding across multiple locations, or coordinating an international expansion because they allow employees to interact on the same data and documents, in real-time, from anywhere in the world.
The beauty of cloud technology – and its particular relevance to growth – lies in is its versatility. Cloud solution can be integrated on a bespoke basis and may be scaled up and down depending on business needs.
Payroll & HR
When your business grows you’ll need to make sure that your administrative infrastructure grows with it. Payroll and HR should be chief amongst these concerns since business growth will likely go hand in hand with an expanded workforce, increased work hours, and more complex tax compliance requirements. With this in mind, you’ll need to review your payroll and HR software platforms to ensure they’re still up to the task – and delivering cost-efficiency.
Fortunately, payroll and HR intersect with numerous tech-focuses – and could benefit in particular from Big Data and AI integration in a variety of ways. It might also be worth exploring the ways in which digital tax reporting initiatives, like the UK‘s Making Tax Digital, or Australia’s Single Touch Payroll, can help mitigate your payroll growing pains.
Data Security
Business growth comes with an increased public and professional profile which can turn your organisation into a tempting target for cybercriminals. The larger the business, the more damaging a cyber-attack can be – not just in terms of financial impact but the reputational damage that goes hand-in-hand with a data breach. To meet this increased threat, you’ll need to ensure your cybersecurity protections are strong enough to protect your employees and clients – which means reviewing software protections thoroughly.
There are plenty of cyber-security platforms on the market, but you’ll need to do the necessary legwork to find a solution which fits your organisation. Cyber-protection, and data security in particular, should be a high priority during business growth since authorities take failures extremely seriously – the EU’s new GDPR legislation, for example, has introduced severe compliance penalties.
Communication
It stands to reasons that an expanded business footprint, especially one which crosses international borders, will place increased stress on a communication infrastructure. Technology obviously plays a significant role in almost all business communication – never mind during growth periods – so it’s vital you find a solution which meets your needs.
From a practical perspective, technology offers a wide range of communication solutions which directly address growth challenges. Beyond messaging services and video-conferencing tools, internationally-mobile businesses could look into translation software, or anything that mitigates the complexity of time-zones and distance. Similarly, a range of personal devices can be integrated into a communication solution to help a mobile workforce stay in touch.
Social Media
Your business’ growth must be fuelled by an increase in profits, which means expanding your customer base and reaching new people. Social media platforms are uniquely placed to achieve this objective but it’s worth thinking carefully about strategy when using them. Not all social media platforms are created equal: a financial services company, for example, might struggle to engage on Instagram in a way that a clothing or retail business would not. The social media platform you choose should suit your growth goals and ambitions.
With this in mind, it could be worth engaging a social media officer to handle customer outreach and engagement. A social media manager can help to direct PR campaigns and work with innovative tech tools to ensure your message reaches the right audience.
Outsourcing
If you’re concerned about the time and resources you’ll need to direct towards acquiring and exploiting new technology during a growth period, it’s worth thinking about outsourcing your tech needs to a service provider. By outsourcing, you’ll free up employees to work on delivering core products and services, while importing both tech efficiency and expertise.
Outsourcing represents a way to gain access to cutting-edge tools, without overhauling your IT infrastructure. Service providers will be able to develop a solution which integrates with your current set-up and scale it up and down depending on your growth needs.
Joining the Tech Community
Technology is so important to growth because it places your business in a position to consolidate its progress – and achieve long-term success. Growth challenges aren’t something that will ever really go away – they are part of an ongoing process which presents new obstacles every month and every year. By keeping technology at the forefront of your growth plan, you’ll be able to adapt to change, keep pace with competitors, and show your customers that you’re part of an innovative business community with an eye on the future.
