Become an Industry Leader by Leveraging Emerging Technologies

There are many technological innovations transforming industries everywhere. The companies taking advantage of these emerging technologies are the ones that will stay ahead of the competition and position themselves as leaders in their respective industries, while those that fail to become aware and implement these technologies will unfortunately fall behind the curve or run the risk of being wiped out completely.

In many cases, companies that aren’t using emerging technologies simply haven’t been educated on the technologies and how they can actually help their business. But there’s never a better time like the present to get acquainted with emerging technologies and properly investigate if they are suitable for your business.

Let’s explore the top emerging technologies and some of the roadblocks that might be holding you back from leveling up your business.

The Importance of Being Aware of Emerging Technologies

In our fast-paced and technologically driven world of business, maintaining a competitive edge is a must. Legacy systems were once considered cutting edge, but we now live in a much different landscape. Implementing emerging technologies doesn’t just bring small changes to businesses – it can bring huge increases in productivity and efficiency. And this gap of success between those that use new technologies and those that are stuck in the past will only continue to widen. 

When a business does decide to implement emerging technologies, they significantly reduce costs for their business while also positioning themselves to gain new business opportunities. This is due to what we call the first-mover advantage. When you’re the first, or one of the few in your industry leveraging new technologies, you produce results faster and cheaper than your competitors. These savings get passed onto customers, thus building your reputation as an innovator and efficient solution for your customers’ needs.

We’ve seen it time and time again that when companies fail to adapt, they quickly lose market share and struggle to keep up with the competition. 

For example:

  • Kodak was one of the top 10 companies in the U.S. at one point but got wiped out when digital cameras became the norm.
  • Blockbuster was the king of video rental until Netflix disrupted the entire industry with its innovative service. Blockbuster now has only one store remaining.

Existing Technologies that Businesses Need to be Aware of Today

The following technologies have been gaining popularity for some time and have already helped many businesses increase productivity and efficiency. If these technologies aren’t already on your radar, it can be highly beneficial to consider incorporating them into your business sooner rather than later. 

Cloud Technology 

Most people are familiar with cloud-based technology, but some still don’t really understand how it works or how to leverage it best in their business. The key benefit of the cloud is reducing your IT infrastructure because you no longer need to maintain huge data centers, saving you time and money. Some are skeptical about how secure the cloud is, but this is largely an unfounded assumption as these systems get better and better every day. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

AI has many applications and has the power to really transform your business operations. Though AI won’t completely replace all human activities, it is the go-to solution for eliminating inefficiencies in how you deliver your services. By automating repetitive business processes, you improve the quality, consistency, and velocity of your operations.  

For example:

Many call centers reduce their overhead and improve efficiency by utilizing chatbots instead of humans. The more the chatbot runs, the more it learns and becomes even more efficient.

Blockchain 

Blockchain technology is being leveraged to eliminate inefficiencies in multi-system transactional processes while making these transactions extremely secure. 

Examples:

  • Blockchain has made a huge impact on global trade and commerce, allowing financial transactions to occur through universal cryptocurrencies. An international transaction that used to take days or weeks to validate can now take place in hours.
  • Sharing medical data securely and quickly is an ongoing issue for the healthcare industry, but blockchain has enabled a new way to share this information more efficiently.

Emerging Technologies in 2020 and Beyond

The following technologies can truly be categorized as emerging, and we can expect them to bring many innovations in 2020 and into the future.

Hyper Automation 

Hyper Automation combines Robotic Process Automation (which typically only handles repeatable processes) with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to handle more complex tasks. In short, this allows a business to automate a variety of tasks that have variability in the processes. 

For Example: 

With Hyper Automation, a business can automate the processing of invoices that differ based on which vendor they come from instead of being able to only process one kind of invoice.

Digital Twin

A digital twin describes a digital representation and workflow of a physical process. This makes it so businesses can simulate a process and optimize it without having to use physical infrastructure in the real world.

Example:

You could simulate traffic patterns using a digital twin, and then predict how the flow of traffic could improve without having to change physical roads in order to test the hypothesis.

Democratization 

In essence, Democratization gives traditionally non-technical business leaders the ability to develop high-quality applications without knowing how to properly code. Since there’s a disconnect between the knowledge of developers and the businesses using the applications, democratization effectively closes this gap.

More importantly, democratization supports a business’s need for agility and lets businesses bring useful applications to market much faster than before.

Examples:

Squarespace and WordPress: 

Both of these platforms allow someone with basic computer knowledge to build highly functional and well-designed websites. 

Why Some Businesses Aren’t Using Emerging Technologies

In most cases, businesses that are behind the curve with technology aren’t educated about what’s available or have false assumptions about what implementation entails. 

These assumptions include:

  • The technology isn’t mature enough
  • The technology isn’t meant for their users
  • The technology is too advanced for their business
  • The cost of implementation is too high

Our response to these assumptions is you need to educate yourself about emerging technologies before writing them off. If you’re not sure about a technology, start with a proof of concept which will allow you to quickly decide if a certain technology is right for your business before spending a ton of money on the implementation. There’s minimal downside to trying a technology and deciding it’s not right, but there’s an immense upside when a technology can truly transform your business.

Why TruVs is an Invaluable Partner When Implementing Emerging Technologies 

First and foremost, with our combination of business and technological expertise, we can provide guidance on what types of technology could benefit your business. With that knowledge in hand, we can then quickly conduct a proof of concept in our digital lab environment to test out a technology before diving into full implementation. 

If testing goes well, our architects are able to design a solution that fits your business, and we will spearhead the implementation process from start to finish. 

Example:

Back in 2018, TruVs had a client who was struggling to use Azure to build a system that appealed to their users in a unique way. They were going to invest 10 million dollars into a new technology because they thought Azure was inadequate for their purposes.

Luckily, we were able to step in before they spent the money and showed them how they could accomplish their goals with a mashup of Azure, Sharepoint, and better UI. Notably, we were able to help them accomplish what they needed using just 10% of the original project scope. Since 10% worked, they were then able to apply our methods to the rest of the business.

Implementing Emerging Technologies is Your Next Step Toward Greater Business Success 

On the surface, emerging technologies can seem intimidating if you haven’t been exposed to or educated about them. But, we’re here to tell you that there is nothing to be afraid of. Many companies have already found great success with these new technologies and have become leaders in their industries.

Innovation does require risk at times, but you can take calculated and educated risks with the right support. TruVs is here to help you understand which technologies would benefit your business and to build a proof of concept which will bring confidence in your decision to embrace transformation.

If you’re interested in learning more about our offerings and how to get started on your next emerging technology implementation, schedule a call with us today or contact us on our website.

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