IT Modernization is a big part of how businesses achieve success in today’s competitive markets. But how example are businesses going about it?
How do businesses get ahead in their field? This is an age old question that doesn’t have a clear answer. However, in today’s world, where more information than ever before has been quantified, and society is collective relying more and more on technology, we now know for sure that technology is an important factor in modern business success. This is why so many businesses in recent years have been setting their efforts to modernizing their IT. We discussed this with some IT support companies. One company that spoke to us – a London-based provider of IT support Law Firms use – stated that IT modernization encompasses all kinds of business practices and solutions.
Why is IT Modernization Important for Businesses?
With more and more aspects of our lives being enhanced through technology, consumer habits and markets are becoming increasingly digitized. This means that the most effective way for businesses to connect with their customers and audiences is becoming via digital channels (e.g. social media, search engines, mobile apps, etc.) When we asked some companies that provide business IT support London-based organisations rely on, they stated the an increasing number of their clients are looking to modernize their IT, so as to be able to tap into these digital channels; or else to simply operate in a more efficient and productive way. So, what are some of the ways that businesses are doing this?
- Cloud Services
One of the most persistent trends in the realm of modern IT over the last decade has been the cloud. This is because it is not only a highly convenient solution, but it is decidedly more future-proof than the traditional forms of IT infrastructure in business, which rely heavily on on-premise hardware. Nowadays, cloud services are in effect in more ways than the average person notices – most websites nowadays are hosted on cloud servers; social media relies on cloud services, too.
Businesses can make themselves much more agile using cloud services, by giving employees access to resources on a more flexible basis. It also makes it easier for businesses to develop new services, because app development and deployment is much more streamlined with cloud services – thus, the time to market for customer-facing solutions is much shorter.
- Automation
Automation has many useful applications within business. The biggest benefit is it allows businesses to free up the time of their employees. In all businesses, there are many low-value and/or repetitive tasks that do not require much creative thought, but do take up a lot of time. Those types of tasks can easily be delegated to software that automates execution – this means those tasks are completed faster, more accurately, and with 100% consistency. Years ago, automation was typically only good for very simple tasks – but as processing power (and cloud computing) advances, we are able to automate much more complex processes.
According to one of the companies we spoke to, automation can be applied to back the front and back end of business. On the back-end, where it is mostly utilized, automation helps streamline operations and free up time. On the front-end, aka the customer-facing end, automation can be used in areas like customer service and online transactions – which helps create a more intuitive user experience for customers.
- Hybrid Work
For nearly three years, many businesses around the world have been working in a radically different way. Remote working has been practically unheard of for most of the 20th and 21st century; but now, hybrid working seems to be on track to take over. The benefit of hybrid working is that is offers the flexibility that allows all employees to work in the way that they are most productive. According to a company we spoke to that provides Microsoft 365 consulting, cloud based solutions are the key driving force in enabling hybrid work.
The reason hybrid working is considered to be a modernization effort is because it allows businesses to access new avenues through indiscriminate recruitment (i.e. business can hire talent regardless of where they are based); by extension, it allows businesses to tap into markets they might never have been able to access beforehand.
