The world today is very different to how it was a decade or even 5 years ago. These days our 3-year-old children are tapping away on smart phones and often own their own tablets. We live in a tech savvy age, where new employees in the workforce have grown up with amazing amounts of technology. It is no wonder therefore that technology is seeping into the business world in every conceivable way.
The revolution perhaps started when consumer technology, such as the new wave of smart phones and tablets started making its way into the business environment. As consumers became hungrier for the newest most powerful handheld technology became more able to use this technology in the workplace. This has led to a more mobile workforce, more possibility to work from home, the adoption of more complex business software into businesses and a whole lot more.
In this piece we take a look at some ways that new waves of technology are changing the way we do business:
Smart phones and tablets.
Ever since the first iPhone was released in 2007 we have been on an endless, fast paced evolution towards a more mobile business consumer. Where a commute used to be down time, workers are now busy on their phones and tablets catching up with work and dealing with emails. Whereas being out of the office used to be an expensive period of relative disconnection from colleagues, it is now simply an opportunity to work in a different way.
Emergence of the cloud.
How technology has certainly aided our ability to work from different locations. On the train we can access documents, and collaborate with colleagues as if we were sat next to them. When in meetings we can pull up files and statistics to support what we are saying, and sharing new collaborators to heavy data information.
Wi-Fi and 4G.
There are a lot of different technologies evolving simultaneously to facilitate the new ways of doing things. Without the Internet is very difficult to access information, communicate and work. Wi-Fi technology is getting better throughout the UK. Already a number of train networks have Wi-Fi. According to the Department of Transport we are shortly going seeing a new Wi-Fi network going into all major train networks in the near future. Following the oft come 4G network auctions of the first quarter of 2013 we now have high-speed Internet through much of the UK. 4G Internet connectivity is comparable to fibre broadband in many locations and has made is much more flexible.
New ways of presenting, meeting and learning.
Today we have far more collaborative and interactive ways of presenting at meetings. There’s been a paradigms shift from a passive emphasis to meetings to an interactive dialogue. Smart boards, new easily networked projection systems, videoconferencing and click share products, and of course the cloud, mean that meetings are now far more technology driven; and far more efficient.
We have seen the emergence of e-learning over the last decade, with mobile learning, and self-paced training programmes. This has made training more accessible to employees with different learning styles and is certainly going to be a continuing trend in the future.
Technology in every arena.
We have seen companies like Videonations Ltd installing projection systems and other technology in educational establishments, corporate organisations, transport systems, the public sector, retail outlets and in just about every other arena.
What all this means is that employees have to have a new skill sets to be able to survive and thrive in the modern business environment. It can be daunting for people that did not grow up with this technology to adapt. However, the new generation of employees are taking to this new wave without blinking.
