8 Reasons Why Your Company (and Every Company) is Now a Tech Company

Imagine a week in your business with no technology. No computer. No word processors. No emails. No SalesForce. No database. No VoIP phone system. No internet access. 

How much could you really get done that week? Could your business survive a month of tech-less operations? 

Whether you sell shoes, run an accounting firm, or manage a medical office, you use some type of technology to operate. Today’s companies no longer just sell their goods and services out of a brick-and-mortar storefront anymore. In order to survive, they must master the digital tools of their industry. 

At a minimum, these tools include software, payment systems, databases, computers, Wi-Fi networks, mobile devices – in addition to the cybersecurity tech necessary to protect them. When that technology isn’t working properly, the impacts can be costly. 

98% of surveyed organizations say that the total cost of just one hour of IT downtime is more than $100,000. 

This reliance on technology means that every company is now a technology company. 

Regardless of the industry, modern businesses are technology businesses. Let’s look specifically at eight factors that support this conclusion. 

What Makes Technology a Backbone of Any Business?

1. Technology Is a Critical Part of Business

Most modern companies couldn’t operate without their software. Whether booking appointments, arranging meetings, sending invoices, or entering client information in a database – tech keeps our businesses flowing. Even farmers use tech to check commodity prices, sell livestock, and keep their books. 

This is why IT downtime is so devastating. The importance of unhampered IT operation is on full, painful display during ransomware attacks. Remember the breaches impacting global meat producer JBS and Colonial pipeline? They had to halt operations due to such attacks, and the cost to their businesses was severe. 

Ultimately, these companies determined it was cheaper to pay out millions of dollars in ransom than to operate another day without their technology. Without the technology that’s become a normal part of our day, many of companies would close. 

2. Customers Expect an Excellent Digital Experience

Customer experience is king. Coming in first in a survey of top business priorities for the next 5 years, nearly 46% of respondents said it was at the top of their list. 

If a customer has just one bad experience with your company, they will likely go elsewhere. In a digital world, those experiences are often: 

• Navigating your website 
• Checkout experience 
• Appointment scheduling ease 
• Shipping notifications 
• Helpfulness of online chat 
• Response time from customer support 
• Ability to contact your company via social media 

To keep up with consumer expectations in 2023 and beyond, you need to use effective, reliable customer-facing technology. From your digital storefront to your payment experience, people expect a smooth digital flow. 

3. Employees Need Devices to Drive Productivity

Could your employees work productively without a digital device in their pocket or at their fingertips? Whether it’s a rugged tablet or laptop for linemen, a phone in the pocket of a salesperson, or a dual-monitor computer for an accountant, devices keep modern businesses moving. 

These devices keep staff connected to each other and your customers. They enable communication and facilitate the bulk much of the work in a modern office. If they don’t run well, business productivity suffers.

4. AI & Automation Help Companies Stay Competitive

AI and automation help organizations move faster, personalize a consumer shopping experience, and protect your inbox from hackers. Automation helps sales teams close 30% more deals and improve conversions by over 200%. 

To stay ahead of the competition, companies must integrate technology tools with AI and automation capabilities. This means they need to know the best ways to use these tools and integrate them well with existing solutions. 

5. Information Is Being Generated at a Rapid Pace

Companies generate digital information at a dizzying pace. Can you imagine what it would be like if you had to go back to all the paper files? You’d need a separate building just for all the filing cabinets. 

Files, documents, and customer records are largely digital now. Keeping track of all that information and making it searchable requires technology skills. Without well-managed databases, a business would easily lose hours each day just trying to locate the right files and information.   

6. Vendors and Suppliers Are Leaving Legacy Systems Behind

Think of the vendors you use to run your business. Could you interact with any of them offline only? No email, no digital documents? In most cases, the answer is, “No.” 

Just like your company, the companies that you rely on for your business are also “technology companies.”. If they have not already, most will be leaving behind legacy systems like fax machines and paper documents. If you want to continue to work with them, you’ll need to keep up with the pace of innovation. 

Maybe you have encountered an existing or potential vendor that has not wanted to innovate – preferring to stick with traditional means of doing business…and maybe you decided to go with someone else. 

If you don’t want to be that vendor to someone else, you have to keep up with, or stay ahead of the curve – especially in the realm of communications, payment, and security. 

7. It’s Difficult to Grow Without Tech Innovation

People are limited by what they can mentally and physically do in a day. Computers and technology have exponentially increased that. They do a lot of the processing and manual work. 

The cloud is often touted as leveling the playing field for small businesses, allowing smaller companies to leverage high-end technology at an affordable price. 

It’s hard to continue growing your business without the smart use of digital tools. This includes reviewing your technology infrastructure and looking at innovations on the horizon. 

8. Business Continuity Needs

Business continuity is about keeping your company running despite any crisis events. One natural disaster could severely impact a building and everything in it – including your technology. However, if you are storing your data in the cloud and using cloud software, with a quick trip to Best Buy your business can still operate. 

Companies that aren’t employing off-site backup systems are at significant risk. Tech solutions create the ability to continue operating from anywhere, increasing business resiliency.   

What Does Your Innovation Roadmap Look Like?

All businesses are now technology businesses. 

Companies can either accept this fundamental shift in the business world, or lose their clients to companies that have decided to recognize and embrace the change. However, once a business accepts this change, they have to determine how they want to move forward. 

First, IT will need to become an integrated part of their business strategy. They must make the decision to intentionally use technology to advance their business growth. Once they make this first step, they should then determine if they want to accomplish that goal by: 

1. Hiring in-house IT support, 
2. Outsourcing their support to an MSP (managed service provider), or 
3. Utilizing a combination of both through a co-managed IT set-up 

Each of these solutions has its pros and cons, but one of them will be necessary in order to move forward. Using technology securely and to its fullest potential is a full-time job. 

Many businesses continue to lament the passing of life as it was on main street; the new digital realm just does not quite feel comfortable to them. However, the path to a more productive, profitable, and sustainable future for these businesses begins with a healthy dose of honesty about the world’s new business environment.