Choosing the right business technology platform for your organization cannot be overstated. A well-chosen platform can provide a range of advantages, such as increased efficiency, enhanced security, cost savings, and streamlined processes. The right technology platform can also enable your business to stay at the forefront of trends in the industry, ensuring that your organization can take advantage of all potential opportunities.
Utilizing a business technology platform is essential to improve efficiency in business operations. To ensure you can select the best platform for your needs, go through the following comprehensive guide to selecting the optimal business technology platform for your organization.
The Role of Technology Platforms in Business
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a report examining how technology platforms affect small businesses and the economy. The report, conducted by Teneo, found that technology platforms are not only helping small business owners start, run, and grow their businesses, but they are also helping them deal with economic instability. Small businesses embracing technology outperform their competitors and are more optimistic about the future.
The analysis shows that small businesses can gain significant economic benefits by adopting technology. In the U.S., more than 99.8 million jobs are directly or indirectly supported by small businesses that use technology platforms, contributing $17.7 trillion annually to the economy.
Role of Technology Platforms for Improving Productivity, Efficiency, and Customer Experience
Technology platforms can help businesses improve their productivity, efficiency, and customer experience. With the right technology platform, businesses can streamline processes, optimize operations, and automate tasks for increased accuracy and speed. Additionally, a business technology platform can be used to create custom insights into data useful for making decisions.
By leveraging technology platforms to understand customers and their needs better, businesses can provide personalized experiences and build loyalty. Moreover, technology platforms can help improve customer satisfaction by providing fast and accurate services.
Assessing Your Organization’s Needs
Assessing the needs of an organization is essential when selecting a business technology platform. The first step is identifying the organization’s objectives, such as cutting costs, enhancing customer service, expanding product offerings, or improving operational efficiency.
Next, you should identify the goals and objectives needed to meet the organization’s needs and develop a framework for evaluating different platforms. This could include assessing vendors based on customer service, features offered, security protocols, platform scalability, and cost.
Finally, it is essential to consider how well the technology platform will integrate with existing systems within your organization. It should be easy to use and offer additional features that can help you streamline processes and achieve better outcomes.
Organizations That Identified and Addressed Tech Requirements
For years, business technology has been rapidly changing the world. Market research indicates that it is not just tech companies benefiting from the significant efficiency improvements associated with business technology. Worldwide, 52 percent of companies report increased worker productivity, 49 percent experience better performance, and 46 percent report better customer experiences after undergoing digital renovations.
- Domino’s Pizza – Domino’s realized that more than simply making delicious pizzas was needed to compete in the market. Combining technology and business was crucial to provide added value to customers that would make the company stand out and attract more business. Offering better service at the same price as competitors was the key to winning customers. As a result, Domino’s became a more technologically advanced company, using business technology to improve its agility and address challenges.
- Walmart – Walmart faced the challenge of using technology in two ways. Firstly, they aimed to improve customer service by updating their services. Secondly, they needed to modernize their management, administration, and internal processes. Walmart invested over $11 billion in tech renovation in 2018 to achieve this. They partnered with Google (for voice-enabled commerce) and Microsoft (for cloud computing) as part of their business growth strategy.
- Michelin – Michelin has three main focus areas for their digital growth strategy. Firstly, they aim to streamline and accelerate their business operations. Secondly, they plan to offer a personalized experience to their B2B clients and end users. Lastly, they aim to utilize technology to create new business strategies and models.
Types of Business Technology Platforms
There are a few key types of business technology platforms that organizations can use to help their organization excel. These include cloud-based products, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and analytics tools.
- Cloud-based Products – Cloud-based products provide access to data and applications from any device at anytime. This increased flexibility makes it easier for businesses to scale quickly and respond to changing market conditions.
- CRM Systems – CRM systems allow businesses to manage customer information and interactions in one centralized location. This will enable businesses to understand their customers better, create targeted campaigns and improve customer service.
- Analytics Tools – Analytics tools would allow businesses to gain insights into data that can be used for decision-making. With the right analytics tools, businesses can gain insight into customer behaviors, optimize processes, and develop strategies for future growth.
- ERP System – ERP stands for enterprise resource planning. It encompasses all the essential business processes required for a company to function effectively, like finance, HR, manufacturing, supply chain, services, and procurement. ERP is an integrated system designed to manage all these processes efficiently. It’s often called the organization’s “system of record.”
- HRM System – An HRM system is also known as a human resource information system (HRIS). The software stores employee data and assists with various HR tasks, including benefits management, payroll processing, recruitment, and training.
Considerations in Choosing a Business Technology Platform
Choosing the right business technology platform for your organization is a complex process. You should consider scalability, security, cost, and customer service factors. Additionally, consider how the platform will integrate with existing systems within your organization and whether it provides additional features that can help you streamline processes and achieve better outcomes.
User Experience
User experience is integral to the success of any business technology platform, as it determines how user-friendly a platform is. Users will likely become satisfied and motivated if the platform has a good user experience.
Customization
Customization is also essential as businesses want to tailor the platform to a certain degree to meet their specific needs.
Vendor Support
Vendor support is vital as businesses need assurance that they will get prompt help if an issue arises. Good vendor support can provide peace of mind and ensure that any issues are quickly addressed.
Researching and Evaluating Potential Platforms
Once you have identified the crucial factors for your organization, it is time to begin researching and evaluating potential business technology platforms. It is essential to find a platform that meets your needs and budget. You should also look into the vendor’s customer support, as this will be instrumental in resolving any issues you may encounter.
Here are some steps to help you research and evaluate potential platforms:
- Identify Your Organization’s Needs – First, identify the objectives of your organization, such as cutting costs, enhancing customer service, or improving operational efficiency. Then develop a framework for evaluating different platforms based on customer service, features offered, security protocols, platform scalability, and cost.
- Assess User Experience – Ensure that any potential platforms have a good user experience, as this will determine how user-friendly they are and if users become frustrated or unmotivated when using them.
- Look Into Customization Options – Make sure that any potential platforms offer customization options to meet your specific needs and requirements.
- Research Vendor Support – Good vendor support is essential in case of any issues with the platform, so make sure you look into what kind of support the vendor offers.
- Compare Platforms – Once you have researched potential platforms, compare them and select one that meets your needs and budget.
Case Studies: Real-World Examples
Every organization must undergo digital transformation multiple times to stay competitive due to the rapid pace of technological advancement. However, before enjoying the benefits of new technology, adapting customers and employees to change is a significant challenge in digital transformation.
Consider these inspiring case studies on digital transformation when you’re ready to embark on transformation projects.
Amazon
Amazon has expanded its business model to include transactions between businesses and its existing business-to-consumer model. This move was made to enhance the customer experience, and Amazon Business illustrates how a consumer-focused company can transition to serving business customers effectively. Amazon Business offers a platform that allows businesses to buy from Amazon and other third-party sellers. Individuals can also use the platform to buy items on behalf of their organizations and can implement workflows for order approval and reporting.
Glassdoor
Glassdoor has transformed recruitment by enabling employees to make well-informed decisions. They offer millions of peer-to-peer reviews on employers, including overall company culture, CEOs, salaries, and benefits. This increased transparency in the workplace helps people find the right job.
Sophos
Sophos adopted Salesforce to improve its business operations and customer relationships. Initially, the focus was on expediting the sales process, increasing sales productivity, and winning more accounts. However, the constant updates and complicated interface of Salesforce led to decreased ROI.
Emerging Technologies and Future Considerations
Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT) constantly change how businesses operate. As these technologies evolve, they will open up new business opportunities to become more agile and efficient.
Business technology platforms are now essential to staying competitive in today’s digital world. Companies that invest in business technology platforms will remain ahead of the curve and be able to provide better customer experiences. Organizations must assess their needs, research potential solutions, and evaluate vendors that offer the most suitable product. Finally, when selecting a platform, user experience and customization options should also be considered.
By leveraging business technology platforms, companies can gain an edge in their respective industries by improving productivity, efficiency, and customer relationships. With the right platform, organizations can unlock a wealth of growth opportunities. It is an exciting time to be in business as new technologies open up unprecedented opportunities for success. Therefore, staying ahead of the curve is crucial to investing in a business technology platform that will meet your organization’s needs.
Making the Decision and Implementation Process
When selecting a business technology platform, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of the organization’s needs and objectives. After researching potential solutions and evaluating vendors, you should make an informed decision based on which platform best meets your organization’s goals.
Implementation Plan
Once you have selected a platform, you should create an implementation plan to ensure the project stays on track. This plan should include key milestones and may involve testing the platform before full deployment. Additionally, it is important to consider how you will manage user adoption and ensure that users are comfortable with the new system.
Evaluate Performance
Once the platform has been implemented, evaluating its performance and making necessary adjustments or updates based on user feedback is crucial. This step is crucial for getting the most out of the platform and ensuring that it continues to meet your organization’s needs.
Monitoring and Optimization
Finally, it is important to monitor the platform on an ongoing basis. This will allow you to identify any issues or problems and address them quickly. Optimizing the platform should be a priority to ensure it remains up-to-date and offers maximum value for your organization.
Following these steps allow organizations to be sure they are selecting the best business technology platform for their needs and successfully implementing it to reap maximum benefit. Investing in the right platform can give your organization a competitive advantage and improve customer experiences after undergoing digital renovations. With the right platform, businesses can unlock unprecedented opportunities for growth and success.
The key is to select the best business technology platform that meets your specific needs and objectives and then optimize it for maximum benefits. Doing so can help you stay ahead of the competition and reap all the rewards from undergoing digital transformations. Your organization can succeed in today’s digital world with the right platform.
Choosing the right business technology platform for your organization is essential to stay competitive and reap all the rewards that digital transformation brings. Researching potential solutions, evaluating vendors, and considering user experience and customization options are necessary when selecting a platform. Creating an implementation plan and monitoring performance continuously is essential to get maximum value from the chosen platform. With careful consideration and planning, businesses can find a platform that meets their specific needs while giving them a competitive edge in today’s digital world.
