We’re living in an age when a business can be built entirely online. The rise of the internet has turned life as we once knew it on its head and no longer are we limited to finding business, products or relationships in the location we happen to live. Just look at Amazon. The worlds biggest retail outlet by some margin doesn’t have a single bricks and mortar shop and yet it recently crossed the threshold of a $1 Trillion valuation. While this might sound like a bit of a dystopian prospect 30 years ago, its actually incredibly exciting time. Never before have the barriers to participation been so low. Here are five ways that the digital revolution has changed the business landscape forever.
Cloud Servers
Gone are the days of hard copies and clogged hard drives. The cloud is upon us and it’s making things considerably more streamlined for businesses the world over. Whether you’ve got a consultant on the other side of the planet or an employee working from home, the ability to access an online storage folder blows the whole game wide open in terms of where and with whom you can conduct business.
E-Commerce
The ability to browse and purchase products online and have them delivered to your door has surely revolutionised the world we live in. Almost every high-street or independent shop you can think of will also have an online store with e-commerce functionality. While it may signal the end for many well-loved high-street shops, it’s certainly shown its value in 2020 so far.
Cybersecurity
The world wide web was once the wild west – but not anymore. Cybersecurity has come a long way, and it’s now largely very safe and secure to store your data and records on a cloud server. With end-to-end encryption preventing any data breaches while your information is transferred, and secure paying systems allow you to make business or personal purchases without the risk of fraud or cyber-attacks on your data.
Access to Global Talent
You may feel limited to the talent available in your geographical area, but in reality, you needn’t be. Nowadays, we’ve got Zoom, Slack, and Google Drive etc. keeping your team more connected than ever. Remote working means that it really doesn’t matter if your employee is 5 miles away, or 5000 – if they’re the right person for the job you can make it happen!
Automated Systems
The storage and management of data and records on a digital platform has revolutionised business practice in terms of efficiency, accuracy and safety. Platforms like Salesforce give a company a central hub to essentially track their entire business. Customers, leads, finances and payroll, marketing efforts, HR records – all of these can all be tracked and managed within one centralised hub. If that doesn’t sound like a revolution, I don’t know what does!
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