The Many Ways Tech Can Benefit Your Business In 2021

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The pandemic has caused businesses worldwide to adapt quickly, with many not having much time to test out their new policies. The result of this according to the World Economic Forum will be the continued disruption of businesses across all industries.

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Already industries have had to adapt. Simon Austin-Beckett of Verizon Connect explained that most client-facing services have had to switch face-to-face visits to phone calls in order to comply with the new regulations. He also noted how many people now work remotely. Thankfully the saviour for many of these industries has been technology, which has allowed operations to continue in form.

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And it will be technology that will help companies bounce back this year.

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Task management apps

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Remote work has taken some getting used to, especially with the lines between work and home life blurring. Many employees have found it hard to work without the structure of an office in place. However, software for managing tasks has helped in this regard and have been able to provide a firm structure for remote teams to work from in order to remain productive.

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If your company is struggling you can choose from our ‘Top 13 Best Task Management Apps for 2021’, depending on what features you’re looking for. For instance, Microsoft Office 365 is like an online Microsoft Office, but it also has Outlook, Exchange, Planner, and Teams, allowing you to collaborate with others. It’s essentially an all-around, cloud-based office.

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Slack, the most used team collaboration tool, is easily customisable for the company’s needs. Individual channels, where you can share files and do voice or video calls, can be created for different teams, so everyone knows where they should share their updates.

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Cloud technology

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Cloud technology was becoming widely used before the pandemic, but has now become essential for many companies. Any information stored in a company’s cloud platform is available to those with the right access, saving time that would have been spent emailing the same info back and forth to individual employees.

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Yet, there has also been an increased risk of a data breach due to many people working on unsecure networks. Because remote work has caused businesses to expand their digital footprint, this has made them more vulnerable to cyber attacks.

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Open Access Government outlined how cloud technology has helped with the protection of sensitive information through encrypting any data stored. If your company has struggled to run its operations because of how the team is now split remotely, upgrading to a cloud server will help you bounce back by replicating the collaborative environment of an office.

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Ultra-wide band (UWB)

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Despite all the precautions of remote work there are still times when some businesses have had to physically interact. And with social distancing easier said than done, technology is on hand to help. UWB, or ultra-wide band, is a short-range, wireless communication tool that operates through radio waves. It’s similar to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but it is highly accurate in pinpointing a corresponding device.

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Belgium company Lopos has developed a wearable technology called SafeDistance, which is based on the UWB technology. The device warns an employee, through an alarm, that they are getting too close to another employee. This allows companies, whose industries are not suited to remote work, to still meet and be safe. And with the vaccine roll out this year, more people will be able to work together and stay safe, which will help a lot of companies return to normal.

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As businesses are starting to settle into the new normal, technology is leading the way in helping companies bounce back. If your company is looking to turn a negative 2020 into a positive 2021, we hope the above tips have helped.

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Exclusively written for workiro.com by Anna Kain