The most critical strategic technological developments for the New Year are here! Small business owners must maintain an awareness of them.
The Steady Rise of SMBs
In the beginning, there was apparently no such thing as SMBs, an acronym for “small to midsize businesses.” Some said it was a concept only dimly dreamed of by technical advisors, financial finaglers, and wild-eyed college professors.
So what happened? In all likelihood, someone in an MBA program got the bright idea to initialize a concept. They then took that concept to a thesis advisor, at which point the academic world was turned on its ears as the idea became more solidified.
This may sound like a lot of gibberish to those who do not own or operate a small business, but it should still ring true to anyone who has ever attempted to implement an ill-defined goal only to find that castles in the clouds do not translate well to ROI.
No Small Controversy
The whole matter descended into an embarrassing broil of controversy several years ago.
Social media can be thanked for opening up that particular SMBS can of worms. First Facebook and then Twitter began posting content that questioned the authenticity of SMBs. In fact, the whole thrust of this trolling campaign was that the category of “SMBs” as such didn’t exist at all. Amazingly, there are many groups who still believe that today.
So where do SMBs go when they need practical help and support? How can they obtain the advice and counsel they’re looking for to make a decent living?
How Can SMBs Get the Help They Need?
When the pandemic hit small businesses so hard last year, there was a flood of information on how to survive and even thrive during a disaster. Remember Chernobyl? It’s the same principle. For the small business owner, it simply meant keeping your head down and not giving up. This has always been the strength of the modest American business enterpriser.
For starters, SMBs need help in not seeming out of place when someone mentions the most recent craze. (You don’t want to be the one who responds with the statement that your “data fabric” is cotton, do you?)
Gartner has released its list of the 12 most important strategic technology trends for 2022, divided into three categories: growth, change, and trust. Let’s take a look at some of the ones you might want to pay particular attention to. Here are five technological small business trends that will be important in the New Year.
1. TX Stands for “Total Experience” in Business
This merges all of the Xs into one. The customer experience, the staff experience, and the end-user experience are all merged into a single entity. In Total Experience, each experience’s leader is held equally accountable for the demands of both consumers and staff while working together. The goal is to boost consumer and staff confidence, satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy.
2. GAN, a.k.a. Generative Artificial Intelligence
GAN is a machine learning technique that uses machine learning to discover new insights about information or objects without training the model. Additionally, it may generate code, target marketing, identify new goods, and perform other tasks.
3. Hyper-Automation in SMBs
This includes defining tasks that can be computerized and doing them as quickly as feasible, allowing your team to concentrate on more significant challenges or problems you never believed they would be able to handle. According to Gartner, hyper-automation teams should focus on strengthening quality, speeding up decision-making, and objectives for the organization.
4. It’s All About the Data Fabric
The term “fabric” refers to the way we integrate data across platforms and business users. The goal is to make it simple to use the data you already have while also reducing data management requirements.
5. Mesh Network for Cybersecurity
There is no longer such thing as a perimeter, people. Anyone can find your business information anywhere. A cybersecurity mesh architecture, also known as a CSMA, understands this and tries to protect data no matter where it is stored.
Wrapping Up
The list of five above is necessarily incomplete. For example, we could draw at least some attention to the fact that there are other options, such as composable programs and distributed enterprise. Are you interested in learning what they mean for your business? You should be!
Set aside at least an hour or two every business week to study new technologies even if you don’t think they’re immediately applicable to your business. Make notes as you go. You never know when your research might help you gain a competitive edge.
