Technology is changing the world, and recent developments in technology have had significant impacts within the realm of business. Business as we know it is constantly evolving, and now more than ever, we rely on computers and cutting-edge technological innovations to stay up-to-date with peers, colleagues and competitors, to maintain market share and any competitive advantages. Among the hottest current trends in business technology are telecommuting, teleconferencing, search engine optimization, and social media.
Telecommuting
It seems as though more and more people are working from home these days. Working from home, also referred to as telecommuting, has increased in large part to innovations in technology. Employees can now log onto work computers from a home laptop or desktop computer via software that allows for remote access. When logging into work computers, all of the features of a work computer are present. E-mails are readily available, important documents are at your fingertips, and access to the hard drive is as simple as it would be in the actual office. Popularity of telecommuting among employees and business owners is increasing, thanks to a plethora of personal and business benefits. Moving forward, we can certainly expect telecommuting to be a more accepted and widely used business practice.
Teleconferencing
Teleconferencing has been an instrumental facet of business that has helped companies around the globe to save on costs that previously were spent on travel and lodging. Instead of sending employees across the country and around the world to meet with business partners and clients, meetings can now be conducted from the home office, with multiple employees from both companies able to attend. These meetings aren’t just phone meetings, either. The advent of high-definition monitors and sophisticated camera technology is now allowing individuals, potentially thousands of miles apart, to meet face to face and communicate with each other in an instant. Teleconferencing is changing the way we do business, and the competition between many firms involved in teleconferencing technology will help to drive further innovations in the way of such virtual meetings, benefitting businesses everywhere.
The Internet As a Source of Finding Businesses
When was the last time you used a phone book to find a business? Chances are, you cannot even remember the last time you used a phone book. Instead, you probably use the Internet, specifically a search engine such as Google, Yahoo!, or Bing, to find what you need. And while you are searching for businesses online, the businesses you are searching for are working to show up, or rank, higher in the search results you see. The process of doing this is called search engine optimization, or SEO. SEO has become an important practice for businesses of all sizes, and it continually is expanding and gaining more accuracy in order to improve both virtual and real marketplaces.
Social Media
If you had tried to bring up a conversation about social media 10 years ago, most people would have had no idea what you were talking about. Today, the opposite is true. Recently, the phenomenon of social media has steadily grown in terms of usage. Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, YouTube, and other forms of social media have swept the nation and the world. While social media developed primarily as a way for individuals to communicate and share information with one another, it is proving to be highly useful for businesses everywhere as well. Social media are now being used as outlets for businesses to promote their products and services, as well as serving their customers and providing assistance in a timely manner. As social media expand, you can almost assuredly expect business applications of the phenomenon to increase as well.
