Technology has forever changed the ways businesses operate. It’s helped business owners and employees who spend a lot of time on manual work remove those tasks to focus on more critical business functions. That’s why the technology industry was expected to grow to $5 trillion in 2021.
However, added technology doesn’t only bring benefits. You’ll also face challenges with integrating it into your current business processes.
As the world continues to rely on technology to work well, businesses will continue facing technology challenges as they modernize. Below are seven of the most common IT challenges companies will face in 2022.
1. Data Organization
Data is more critical to businesses today than ever. Numerous data points are available about your industry, customers, and competitors. The problem is that it isn’t easy to organize that data and present it in a way that offers actionable insights.
You’ll need to invest in software that allows you to store your information and generate reports. Many companies invest in ERP systems that will enable them to organize data in one system and create custom reports with a reporting system.
Other companies invest in several pieces of software dedicated to specific business functions. These programs are usually easier to use than ERP systems, so it’s common for smaller businesses to invest in these tools.
2. Business Compliance
As companies rely more on third-party tools and other companies to run, that opens the door up for more security concerns. You have to trust that the people you work with and your employees do the right things with your data. Unfortunately, not every business does things the right way, which leads to compromised data.
Governments have started to create new regulations that govern how companies need to handle technology. Not all of these rules are simple, so you need help setting up your tech infrastructure.
An expert in your industry can help you through this process. Either hire someone to work in-house or outsource the work to an IT support company.
3. Automation
You don’t have to do things manually anymore. It doesn’t matter if you use computers to work or have physical labor. There are now tools available that make life easier for your employees and let them handle their work easier.
You can invest in software tools to automate everyday tasks for information workers. You’ll need to learn how to integrate these tools into your current workflow and with the rest of your operation.
Cloud RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and other automation tools make the job easier and safer for manual workers. However, getting these tools up and running isn’t an easy task. You’ll need industry experts and maintenance staff to keep everything running.
4. Remote Work
Remote work wasn’t always widespread. It was reserved for a few people, with most other workers heading to the office every day.
That’s changed over the past several years. People had to stay home, so remote work became the norm rather than the exception. And now that people can go back to the office, many people aren’t going back to normal and demanding remote work.
The problem is putting systems in place to support people who aren’t in the office. You need access to files, project management software, conferencing tools, and much more.
On top of that, you must consider security if an employee doesn’t work from home on a secure connection. In this case, you’ll need VPN tools to encrypt internet traffic. Then there is the recruitment process, which needs to be more advanced. Still, there are always free tools, like a free enneagram test, for further detailed analysis of your prospects to better choose your future employee.
5. Disaster Recovery
Even though disasters don’t often happen with technology, that doesn’t mean they’ll never occur in your business. If all you do is store data without backing up your critical business files, your business will struggle to recover if something happens that causes you to lose your data.
The problem is that a reliable backup strategy isn’t easy to do in complex business environments. If all you need to do is backup a folder here and there, you may not have issues. Things change when you have countless software programs and databases to monitor.
You’ll need to investigate your backup solutions to find a reliable program that makes performing backups easy.
6. Constant Tech Issues
As time goes on and you use more computer equipment, you may find that you regularly experience computer problems. This is frustrating for small businesses because that leads to productivity loss.
If you don’t take a proactive approach to dealing with issues, you can’t get around this problem. To solve this, you need monitoring tools that watch your computers’ health.
If a tool you use sees a potential issue, it will send a notification to your IT team. This notification will help your IT department get ahead of problems and fix them before they cause downtime.
You may still experience unexpected issues, but it won’t happen nearly as often.
7. Cybersecurity
Internet security is a concern that businesses both small and large face today. Hackers have tools that let them automatically scan the internet for vulnerabilities. You also have those that target everyone possible to gain access to online attacks.
You can’t afford to have an exposed computer system as a business. You have your company and customer data to protect. Unfortunately, it only takes a single mistake to compromise everything.
If you want to solve this problem, you’ll need to work with an IT support company to get security help. Many managed IT companies employ security experts, so reach out to one to get a security audit that will help fortify your security defenses.
Don’t Ignore the Common Technology Challenges Businesses Will Face
You need more small business technology than ever to keep your operation running efficiently. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to get an IT infrastructure set up that will meet your business needs. Keep the technology challenges above in mind during the process, so you know what to expect and how to deal with those problems.
Head back to the blog to find more tips that will help you build the technology infrastructure your business needs to thrive.
