3 Ways Businesses Can Stay Ahead of the Technology Curve

Don Schuett
April 18, 2018

The world of technology evolves quickly. For businesses, the speed of innovation is even quicker. Stay static for too long and you’ll find yourself stagnant. Adopt the wrong technology at the wrong time and you could unknowingly hand your competitors an advantage. So, for many businesses, one of the most pressing questions is how can businesses stay ahead of the technology curve.

Recently, CompTIA published a report entitled IT Industry Outlook 2018 where it finds an industry on the cusp of profound change. It details numerous opportunities and challenges that face businesses of all kinds in the year to come, and beyond. Aside from 12 big picture trends to watch in 2018, the report lists three things that define what it means to be ahead of the curve from a business perspective. We’ll list them and expand on them below.

1. Ability to identify and quickly implement innovations. As I alluded to in the introduction, it is important to move quickly. Part of that is implementing new solutions and getting them seamlessly integrated into your operations. The other part is sorting through all of the tools and solutions available and identifying the right fit for your business. Both of these things need to be done carefully and quickly, and the right fit or combination of tools is unique to you and is ultimately dependent on your size, industry, geography, and other factors
2. Reliability of technology in use – everything works. That every part of your technology stack functions as it should may seem elementary at first glance, but take a deeper dive and you will realize that it is rarely so simple. Technical issues and security concerns can be a big time suck for IT professionals today and they can be hamstrung day after day by infrastructure or software solutions that don’t continuously operate as they should. Do your due diligence, select the right partners and providers, and you’ll find it much easier to stay ahead of the technology curve
3. Tech-savvy workforce from top to bottom. You’ve heard the old adage that you’re only as strong as the weakest link in the chain? If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you need to make sure every employee is on the same page and is fully aware of your company’s IT operations. They need to know what solutions you use, what they are used for, and what their business benefits are. As you know, information is power, and having all of your relevant employees up-to-date in these areas will help foster a dynamic, agile organization

I hope this blog has given you some inspiration for keeping your business ahead of the technology curve this year.