Can technology motivate your business for growth?

Can technology motivate your business for growth? - Part 1.

Posted 21 February 2008 at 8:55AM by Graham Jarvis in Doing business online

Technology begins with people, and their ideas. It is a tool like any other, but isn't its power truly empowering and motivational - a driver for increased business productivity and growth?

To me technology is very much an enabler, but not the absolute solution. The old adage of 'people, process and technology' still applies. People make technology work, while technology helps people to do their jobs more easily and efficiently. But it often also needs to be supported by processes and innovation.

Perhaps you remember what it was like to surf the internet with 56kbps dial-up connectivity. Wasn't it so slow? Give your staff the top broadband speeds, or even a wireless network; they will get more done, and the experience will be more enjoyable and rewarding. Gone is frustration and here comes the freedom to increase productivity, be more flexible and to feel more motivated.

Going glocal

"A majority of SMEs agree that mobile technology improves productivity and facilitates mobile working, according to an independent study by Accuris Networks", says Telecom.Paper.nl. Are you as ready for a fixed phone substitution as the survey suggests?

What would small businesses also do without the internet? We've gone from local markets to 'glocal' ones. Information communications technology has literally shrunk the planet with the march of globalisation. Now you can access markets you'd never have thought of selling to before. It'd be interesting to find out how many small businesses have won clients overseas. Have you, and would you have to won them without the web, VOIP tools and email? It's almost like the world is now in my backyard.

Hot-desk it

Personally I like the idea of hot-desking; being able to work anywhere within an office environment, and not being restricted to one particular desk. Laptops take this a step further. Let's move outside the office for a cup of coffee in a café, club, hotel, or another type of public space. It's like a breath of fresh air, don't you think? A change of working environment can be highly inspiring and motivational. This applies to home-based workers too. Are you one? How has technology improved the quality of your work-life balance?

Technology, if used appropriately, can motivate staff and their mangers to grow their businesses. The effective use and implementation of ICT begins with our own brains though.

We've discussed how technology can liberate the way we work and extend our reach. But what other factors are at play, and what are your tips for making sure that it motivates your business for growth?

The second part to this post can be found on the BT Cisco Community.

Tags: bt, bt cisco, cisco, flexible working, ict, sme, unified communications, voip

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Comments

1. At February 21, 2008 12:13 PM, Preston wrote:

Glocalisation of business and social cohesion is not a new concept. Beck, U. 1986. Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. London: Sage gave a compelling insight into globalisation and its impact to society. Anyone who thinks that globalisation has succeeded should read this book. It may give some food for thought on how to market you business in a global market without loosing the local impression.

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