Love it or hate it, technology marches ever forward and continues to have a huge impact not only on our personal lives but also on the ways we do business as well. Of course, if you want to retain your competitive edge in a technologically savvy world, you will need to keep up with the latest trends. Luckily, you can find three of the most important of these below.
VR & AR
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are both set to revolutionize the way that businesses work, albeit in slightly different ways.
VR, for example, is ideally placed to offer businesses the opportunity to allow customers to sample products and experiences before they buy. This is because it offers a digital interactive simulation of a real environment. Just imagine how many more clients you could close, by allowing them to choose which vacation they want, by having the experience of being able to walk down the beach!
AR on the other hand is a technology that is used to Augment reality by laying a digital layer on top of it. There are many business applications of AR including allowing customers to see what a piece of art or furniture would look like in the setting of their own home. AR can also be used to enhance the customer experience inside a business’s premises, providing live directions to a product on a specific row or shelf. Something that, in turn, can offer a better experience for the customer while also saving money and time as no help from a store assistant will be needed.
VR and AR also have the power to transform the way that businesses and organizations train their employees, providing hands-on experience of complicated and dangerous tasks without any risk at all. Indeed, some of the most obvious applications of VR and AR training include Architecture and the medical field. Additionally, there are specialists currently developing tech that uses AR to evaluate the status of a patient, something that is likely to completely change the way that medical staff work.
Automation
First of all, let’s talk about how automation of physical work with machines is impacting the way you do business. Yes, that’s right the machines are taking over and for business owners, this is a good thing. The reason is that machines can work to a consistently high standard 24/7, which is a significant improvement on their human counterparts.
Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom for human employees either. After all, as robots take over heavy lifting and repetitive work, people are free to do the more engaging and valuable tasks that businesses need to succeed.
Some of the best current examples of robots transforming the way that we do business include those in the logistics industry. There you can find robots that pick and pack items in the warehouses, as well as smaller wheeled models that are being rolled out in certain places to complete secure door-to-door deliveries.
However, automation is not just concerned with physical robots and machines. Instead, it’s also possible to automate many office-based processes as well including admin, accounting, marketing, and stock control.
Indeed, there are significant benefits in choosing to automate the office-based process, a great example of this being outgoing payments. This is because the act of paying all your suppliers on time, the correct amount, via the correct channels, and to the correct recipient can be very labor and time-intensive.
However, by using configurable payment optimization solutions you gain the flexibility to choose and then automate how and when payments occur. Thereby reducing the costs associated with processing inefficiently.
3D printing
Finally, a form of tech that is transforming the way that many do business is 3D printing. 3D printing is a form of manufacturing that uses digital tech to build up layers of a design, instead of carving it with milling or turning methods out of a larger resource.
Indeed, an immediate benefit is obvious here, because 3D printing is a constructive rather than a destructive process which means much less waste for any business that uses it. 3D printing is also an accurate and fast method of creating complex parts that are needed, something that means it has the power to transform both manufacturing and prototyping in a business.
For example, instead of having to go through the complex and costly process of creating an initial model of a product, then having to create a mold and cast it, a prototype can be created immediately from a 3D digital design.
