So many things have changed over the past ten years! Think about it. That’s 3,650 days in a world where innovation is moving faster than ever. Being a small business in this past decade, your company may have seen and benefited from the ever-changing atmosphere. Here are what we believe to be the most significant changes and why.
Virtual Office
The internet is now used in ways no one thought imaginable back in the early 2000’s. This has been an astronomical change to the working environment for small businesses. Over the past ten years we have seen the creation of what is effectively a virtual office. This type of online office gives staff the ability to remote into servers or log into cloud applications from mobile locations and then share data, metrics and send it to a virtual conference room for other team members to see. The only way this was possible was by getting our companies into the 3G (and beyond) era along with faster wifi connections so that amount of data could be sent easily on wireless connections.
Communication Expansion
Social media has created new channels for communication between companies, prospects, team members, and, well, pretty much everyone. Your company has had to learn how to effectively communicate over multiple platforms – everything from twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to Instagram and Slack. This has impacted everything from how your customers buy to how your potential employees look for their next employer.
The Cloud
The days of local servers being down are long gone. With the advent of mass migration to cloud-based services, you don’t necessarily need to manage the underlying technology that supports your business. You can now outsource it to the cloud – from servers to file storage to accounting systems – with the total cost of ownership much lower than comparable services that had to be built and maintained in-house. This has changed the business landscape, made your workforce more mobile, and freed up time, space, and money.
Mobile Workforce
Your offices are no longer defined by cubicles and florescent lighting. The creation of the virtual office and the move to the cloud has empowered your company to have your workflow mobile – and working from anywhere. This gives you the ability to hire talent from anywhere, not just your local area, or to keep your team working from conferences and remote locations as needed. Web conferencing has also made it much easier to work with your clients without adding in commuting time and costs, and you can provide your employees with options to work from home (and skip long commutes as well as save you on office rent), as well as expand your reach to customers far outside your local geographical area.
