The explosion of different business software solutions has been a feature of the past decade. In the early years of digital working and computerized offices, it’s likely that your staff were only using simple document software, an email server, and perhaps one other specially-built software for your business. Today, in contrast, you’ll be using upwards of fifty different IT solutions to help your business prosper and grow as fast as possible. This article is about how you can spot and make use of rising software trends in the business world in the 2020s.
Automation
The word on the lips of many managers and business analysts is automation. And no wonder; there are already hundreds and thousands of solutions, created specifically for small businesses, which can help you take the human oversight out of many of the most boring and repetitive jobs. Automation offers the keys to a new kind of office, and a new kind of working normal: that which only uses humans for tasks that computers couldn’t possibly perform.
There are several benefits to automation. For one, you remove human error from the equation, with computers automatically copying data and other information across different programs. Meanwhile, you’ll be able to reallocate your staff into the positions that really matter for your business – like customer service, sales, marketing, and other departments that are at present difficult to automate. Keep an eye on this trend to anticipate the next wave of automation to become available for your organization.
Centralization
As mentioned above, it’s likely that your business maintains a terrific number of software packages and business accounts with some of the most important software providers in the modern digital world. Some examples of these include Microsoft, Google, and Adobe – hugely important players in the mainstream business world. The problem which arises, however, is that sometimes you’re unable to monitor what’s happening across the entirety of your business. And that’s where centralization comes in.
There are now software solutions whose whole purpose is to gather together the strands of your IT infrastructure, and to present them on one ‘hub’ screen, for you to understand what’s happening throughout your business. This is an exciting development for those businesses who want to feel more in control of their digital infrastructure.
HR Software
Your HR team might feel like the least likely to change, in light of the fact that it’s all about ‘human resources’. But, actually, the jobs of HR professionals are being slowly reconfigured to be performed by software. This doesn’t mean that you ought to shed your HR staff – but with the help of online HR software, you’ll find that your HR processes are much more streamlined for the future.
As such, payroll and onboarding are both elements of HR that you should expect to be performed digitally in the future. Meanwhile, digital software within HR departments is often where centralized systems will be based – keeping an eye on your workers as they access your digital systems.
The Cloud
There’s no doubt that this innovation, one that’s only been around for a few years, is the future of business databases and servers. Where once you’d save files locally, and use a memory stick or hard drive to transport files form your workplace to your home, now you’re able to save your files online, into the cloud. This has become an incredibly useful innovation in light of the recent drive to work from home.
All new software will benefit from being cloud-based – and you should look at it as a prerequisite that the software that you onboard with in the future is cloud-based. This technology will help you to build out new flexibility and responsiveness to new technologies, plugging-in to new software without having to shuffle around your existing software solutions.
Cybersecurity
This protective part of the software world has only become more important in the past decade. Now, many companies see cybersecurity as the paramount concern for their firms, with huge fines if they’re to experience a data breach – as well as the embarrassing news reports that can be generated by poor cybersecurity. You need to look into the best security software for your business at all times, reviewing your choice each month, in order to be sure that your company is protected.
Some of the most important innovations in cybersecurity software are with regards to new forms of computing. For instance, the cloud is a new and growing field of your business’ digital world – and an important part of your new digital infrastructure. You need cybersecurity which will protect the cloud and its files in order to maintain a secure database and the peace of mind that your business is protected from malware ad viruses in the future.
API-Enabled
What is an API? Well, essentially, it’s a kind of landing port for new forms of software that you might be using within your business. It’s a place where you can quickly bolt on new forms of software, at scale, without having to reorganize the entirety of your digital infrastructure. The more of your software solutions that possess these APIs and the ability to ‘plug in and play’, the more you’ll be able to simply purchase software, add it to your business, and move on. This is incredibly important for the technology of the future.
AI and Machine Learning
There are some forms of automation that require your software to be essentially a one-trick pony. This is the case with payroll, which can easily be performed by a simple algorithm. Meanwhile, though, there are forms of automation which we can barely imagine – like those which will be able to speak to customers directly on your behalf – which, in the next ten years, will present exciting cases for new business.
AI is still a young field, but you should keep your eyes peeled for developments within it in order to make the most out of the developing technology which is sure to present humanity with the next industrial revolution – something far superior to what we’ve seen so far in the digital world.
There you have it: some key tips regarding software trends and innovations to keep your eye on as you onboard new technology in the 2020s.
