1611ICT Emerging Technologies | Business Development

 Technological Advancements

Technologies of the new age have moved business operation processes to another new phase altogether, and this has accelerated transformation. Advanced data analytics, cloud based mobile applications, internet of things among many other technologies have smoothened operating model levers including shared services, process re-engineering and global delivery. For many organizations, the best networking and working policies have changed so as to embrace these technologies so as to keep pace with the competitive market.

Case Study - MailUp Company

MailUp Company is a technology based company which has its headquarters in Italy that has come up with CDNetworks Web Acceleration which is a platform for cloud computing. This technology is used by SMEs and advanced companies to manage emails, SMSs and newsletters. The company has recorded an increased customer satisfaction since it embraced the technology. Furthermore, new markets have opened for the technology, a good lead for profits.

Today, just couple of organizations see these trend setting innovations as basic to their organizations, and grasping these advancements has frequently been exploratory. With this point of view, operational and key basic leadership procedure of organizations are relied upon to enhance inside the following five years.

Using the new innovations has demonstrated to expand development in income, and propelled organizations have recorded a more noteworthy favorable position over learner organizations, (Zott, C., Amit, R. and Massa, L., 2011). Administration officials have dependably been suspicious of trying different things with new innovation and have selected rather to see proof of and guarantees of advantages of contributing before they really make the stride. This approach is quick changing as organizations are getting imaginative and are along these lines subsidizing the experimentations required to utilize innovation as a device to expand consumer loyalty and to build benefit. With time, more organizations will put their assets in innovation experimentation, and rivalry is relied upon to increment. The unwilling and moderate moving amateur organizations who are less eager to grasp these advancements will with time be old and will out of the scene.

CDNetworks is now a global cloud content network with cloud security and authentication system that is secured by a firewall. The company has offices in various countries in distributed countries in the world.

Benefits of CDNetwork to MailUp Company:

1. A 50% reduction in customers’ delays.
2. A drastic drop in traffic load to the companies servers.
3. Due to the decision to deactivate some infrastructure facilities, costs have drastically reduced.
4. Work output performance improvement.
5. Faster access to static content through geo-localization

Embracing CDNetworks Web Acceleration technology has augmented the performance of MailUp by streamlining its technological infrastructures and has brought about a reassessment of business challenges and reformulation of its business strategies.

Embracing this technology has seen MailUp increase its business partnerships and the gap between its competitors has drastically reduced.  This has brought about increased business returns. Due to this, MailUp has registered increased performance in its areas of operation, and more, is now extending its presence to South America.

Due to this changes noted with the business as result of the new technology embraces, the company will have to reformulate its business strategies, (Curran, J. and Burrows, R., 2015). For example, there would be need to evaluate the new service over security requirements for cloud infrastructures. This would mean change in its operational procedures.

How Mobile Technology changes the Retail Industry

Technology may come as a helpful tool to a company, improving its daily operations and functions. In fact, technology can be the main reason why a business can stand in the market. So widespread is the scale of the impact of technology on business operations, such that businesses can at base be defined by their technological advancement. Companies such as Uber have been redefined radically by technological advancements. All its business procedures and business strategies are defined based on technology that it has embraced, (Celentano et al 2014).

AS emerging mobile technology trends are increasingly being absorbed into business operations, there is an increasing expectation on how these technological innovations can be used to positively transform businesses. It is essential that businesses embrace these technological moves so as to keep up with the competition in the market.

Today, mobile handsets are more preferred to the traditional web-based business operations. Many retailers generate greater revenues through incentivizing in-store purchase with mobile initiatives and this has improved sales. This has necessitated many business organizations to rework on their business strategies so as to fit themselves within the growing mobile world. According to (), the emergence of mobile devices applications, videos and improved network capacities will grow to global demand. Such demands are keeping up in pace with the ever growing number of smartphone users.

In reference to (Wilson et al 2013), Business organizations end up having millions of customers engaging with them via their smartphones which include Samsung Galaxy, IPhone and Blackberry. With such kind of engagement with clients, businesses must now to find new ways of handling client complaints and put in place proper channels of communication to facilitate customer feedback.

Furthermore, new technology can mean new products; it can mean new business too. For example, a few decades ago. Technology change has really affected these businesses greatly. This is a good example of how technology can really impact the existence of a business.

How Technological Advancement is impacting on Business Operations

Introduction of new technology can immensely affect business operations. With the optimization in the internet, businesses are now into digital marketing. As these technologies are absorbed into business, the researching departments of organizations are subject to change, as in keeping up with technology trends, (Berry et al 2009).  For example, companies like Boeing and Siemens are switching to 3D printing to quicken their design process and reduce costs while increasing effectiveness.

Researchers who have carried out surveys to discover the impact of technology over business growth state that technology as a whole has radically changed business operations and strategies. It is now past tense for companies to stick only to one model of holding their share in the market. Today, companies are working on aligning themselves with the current cutting edge technology. While some businesses have been able to remodel themselves according to current technological advances and move forward, others have faced a challenge in adapting to the changes.

Radical transformation on data collection, recording and retrieval has pushed companies to invent business strategies. Currently, business companies are using data to monitor customer trends and taste. New technological innovations has made it possible for businesses to monitor and study customer behavior with a lot of ease. These technological advances have not only made it possible for organizations to analyze data and come up with meaningful patterns that will help them make meaningful and informed decisions. With more customer focus, data analytics, as a field of data mining, will surely play a major role in growth strategies of companies.

To some, their business strategies have become obsolete and need to be revised. Technology and globalization have made a very big impact on businesses, whether beginners or advanced. Management professionals too are shifting from the out dated traditional ways of logical thinking and are looking for new ways of fitting themselves into the market changes.

Impact of Technological innovations on the organizational structure of a business organization.

Organizational structure is the way an organization communicates, distributes its responsibilities and how it adapts to change. It is how an organization makes use of its resources in order to achieve its goals. Often a company needs to keep its organizational structure dynamic so as to be well prepared to meet changes, but often times this is not the case as some changes come not which an organization may not embrace because they may not add to its proficiency. A business that is able to adapt better will survive through.

A business organization may have to change its business organizational structure to keep up with a certain technology trend, for example a company may restructure its departments, add or do away with some jobs or alter position requirements for some post. Employees will have to be trained on how to use and maintain the new software system. The training may be imprecated as a new requirement during hiring. Web based organizational businesses will often have to create new posts so as to accommodate new technological technologies into their system. Furthermore, some job positions may be rendered obsolete in some organizations..

According to (Bocken et al 2014), Implementing new technological advancements may mean reducing day to day tasks or improving their efficiency. In some cases, some posts may be rendered obsolete.  The management may use comprehensive software platforms to streamline their operations, and often, this may mean a restructuring of the organization’s operations. For example, if a new automated software system is introduced, it will do away with all manual work in departments, then the employees must have a new set of duties assigned to them or they are laid off. On the same note, new posts can be created, as the new system will need to be maintained, and there will obviously be a need for a system administrator.

Technology Management

Since technology has become key in giving a competitive advantage for business organizations, technology management must come into play so as to ensure that the technological resources will be aligned to the market requirements. Consider temporal aspects vital for technological advancements, regulatory rules, and government support.  Based on these issues, they came up with a framework based on this  to evaluate the impact of technology innovations on the market sway of a company, and on its structure reform, (Nonet et al 2016).

This framework combines knowledge and resource-based concepts and is mainly focused on planning for technology in three ways

1. Business level – this includes business portfolio, innovative network, strategic planning and marketing. This will create value to the business in the future.
   
   
2. Technology level - : the engineering and science skills and platforms, technology
   management processes, including identification, exploitation, protection and identification.
   
   
3. Product level – service platforms, operations and manufacturing functions together with new products development processes.

In order for knowledge to flow effectively between the levels, technology at hand must align itself with the objectives of business organization. Business requirements must be understood at product level and market requirements must be understood at business level.. Effective management of technology requires a proper balance between product/technology push and market/product pull.

Effect of Technology on the Future of Businesses

Technology has a diverse effect on business strategies formulation. However, technology immensely impacts on strategies formulation, and this varies based on the maturity level of the embraced technology. According to a new research on the state of digital business of 2018, web technologies and mobile tools are at the base of digital advancements while new technologies as Artificial Intelligence (AI), virtual reality, (VR), and Machine Language (ML) remain off in the future . The study has categorized companies into three stages:  beginners, intermediates and advanced organizations.  Beginners are on the onset of their journey towards embracing digital technology, intermediates are progressing towards a more advanced business transformation and advanced organizations are leaders and experts in using digital ecosystems to sway their markets as they wish.

A 2017 survey conducted by Forrester evaluated 105 senior technology executives and showed that up to 86 percent of major companies hold that technology as the key driver to business strategies. The study further showed that other companies that have not advanced in technology hold that technology cannot affect their business strategies as much as it does to advanced companies. However, with time, new technologies are anticipated to come into play, and businesses must expect mass changes in their business strategies and operations. Furthermore, business costs are expected to drop, but the plight of employees is still left to question. The use of robotic science in industries, is expected to rise in the next five years, which renders employment prospects uncertain. On the brighter side, employee performance will be augmented with absorption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies.

Though many organizations view foundational technology as vital to their operational functions, few believe that emerging technologies can have any impact on their future revenue, and so they do not formulate any digital strategy. Advanced companies view this as a major constraint to business growth.

Advanced companies view advanced technologies such as Artificial intelligence and Machine learning critical to their business strategies.  On the other hand beginner companies are taking on the same view. Today, only few companies view these advanced technologies as critical to their businesses, and embracing these technologies has often been  experimental.  With this perspective, operational and strategic decision-making process of companies are expected to improve within the next five years, (Birkinshaw et al 2012).

Utilizing the new technologies has proved to increase growth in revenue, and advanced companies have recorded a greater advantage over beginner companies. Management executives have always been suspicious of experimenting with new technology and have opted instead to see evidence of and promises of benefits of investing before they actually take the step, (Curran, J. and Burrows, R., 2015). This approach is fast changing as companies are getting innovative and are therefore funding the experimentations required to employ technology as a tool to increase customer satisfaction and to increase profit. With time, more companies are willing to invest their resources in technology experimentation, and competition is expected to increase. The unwilling and slow- moving beginner companies who are less willing to embrace these technologies will with time be obsolete and will out  of the scene.

Recommendation

1. Companies should be more willing to accommodate new emerging technologies into their systems if they will expect to remain in the market. Those that will be less willing will become obsolete and will be off the scene with time.
   
   
2. Companies CEOs should be more willing to embrace new technological investments so as to increase customer satisfaction and to increase.

Conclusion

The emerging mobile technology trends are increasingly being absorbed into business operations. There is an increasing expectation on how these technological innovations can be used in business. It is essential that businesses embrace these technological moves so as to keep up with the competition in the market, (Curran, J. and Burrows, R., 2015). Operational and strategic decision-making process of companies are expected to improve within the near future. Furthermore, companies are getting innovative and are therefore funding the experimentations to increase customer satisfaction and to increase profit. With time, more companies are willing to invest their resources in technology experimentation, and competition is expected to increase. The unwilling and slow- moving beginner companies who are less willing to embrace these technologies will with time be obsolete and will out  of the scene. For example, a few decades ago, Fuji, Kodak, and Konic were three big names in the photography sector. Technology change has really affected these businesses greatly. This is a good example of how technology can really impact the existence of a business.

References

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Zott, C., Amit, R. and Massa, L., 2011. The business model: recent developments and future research. Journal of management, 37(4), pp.1019-1042.

Berry, A.J., Coad, A.F., Harris, E.P., Otley, D.T. and Stringer, C., 2009. Emerging themes in management control: A review of recent literature. The British Accounting Review, 41(1), pp.2-20.

Curran, J. and Burrows, R., 2015. The social analysis of small business: some emerging themes. Entrepreneurship in Europe (Routledge Revivals): The Social Processes, p.164.

Abrahart, R.J., Anctil, F., Coulibaly, P., Dawson, C.W., Mount, N.J., See, L.M., Shamseldin, A.Y., Solomatine, D.P., Toth, E. and Wilby, R.L., 2012. Two decades of anarchy? Emerging themes and outstanding challenges for neural network river forecasting. Progress in Physical Geography, 36(4), pp.480-513.

Bocken, N.M., Short, S.W., Rana, P. and Evans, S., 2014. A literature and practice review to develop sustainable business model archetypes. Journal of cleaner production, 65, pp.42-56.

Birkinshaw, J., Brannen, M.Y. and Tung, R.L., 2012. From a distance and generalizable to up close and grounded: Reclaiming a place for qualitative methods in international business research.

Wilson, J.O., Casu, B., Girardone, C. and Molyneux, P., 2013. Emerging themes in banking: Recent literature and directions for future research. The British Accounting Review, 42(3), pp.153-169.

Celentano, D.D., Latimore, A.D. and Mehta, S.H., 2014. Variations in sexual risks in drug users: emerging themes in a behavioral context. Current Hiv/aids Reports, 5(4), pp.212-218.

Nonet, G., Kassel, K. and Meijs, L., 2016. Understanding responsible management: Emerging themes and variations from European business school programs. Journal of Business Ethics, 139(4), pp.717-736.