The rise of the Internet has completely disrupted our lives – it transformed the way we communicate with each other, the way we search for information, entertain and educate ourselves, shop, and spend our time.
It has also completely changed the way we do business, and the company leaders who want to keep their businesses competitive must make sure their practices follow the most recent technology changes.
If they fail to do so, they risk their businesses losing their edge and falling behind the competition.
Here is how the Internet transformed the way modern companies conduct their business today and what your company should be focusing on in the first place.
Streamlined Work Processes
The rise of the Internet has made it possible for the business to streamline some of their work processes. One of the great examples is CRM software, which tracks every touchpoint between companies and their clients, at the same time making it much easier for the companies to target their customers with personalized offers.
Another representative example is cloud-based inventory management that enables businesses to track their inventories, as well as to trigger re-orders for low-stock items, while at the same time reducing costs for human resources in the sector.
Easier Communication and Collaboration
The Internet has made business communication and collaboration much more straightforward. Various communication solutions – email, chat messengers, as well as social media channels, have changed the way companies interact with their employees, associates, and customers.
At the same time, different project management tools, such as Trello, Asana, Basecamp, Microsoft Team, etc. have made it possible for businesses to allocate their internal resources effectively and achieve their goals on time.
Data Storage and Retrieval
The Internet has made possible cloud-based storage solutions. Businesses nowadays no longer need physical space to keep thousands of documents, nor they need as many employees to manage them. They can cut down their operational costs, and at the same time make their records and data accessible to their employees, anytime and anyplace.
Furthermore, such cloud solutions can mean much better data security, and the risk of losing data, as long as it’s backed up on secondary servers, is significantly decreased.
Mobile Workforce
The Internet has also given rise to the mobile workforce, and many businesses are nowadays capitalizing on telecommuting. Their employees work from their homes, using the equipment provided by the company, helping businesses reduce overhead costs by renting smaller office space or using fewer utilities.
Many companies are also using work –from- home days to answer the demands for better work-home balance, and thus boost the job satisfaction of their employees and their engagement.
Outsourcing Expert Tasks
With the rise of the Internet, businesses can now easily outsource specific tasks to skilled professionals that can manage them adequately and more efficiently.
Accounting, bookkeeping, digital marketing, and advertising, website development – these complicated tasks can now be carried out by a freelancer expert or a specialized company at a very fair price.
The Rise of Digital Marketing
Thanks to the affordable mobile phone plans with unlimited amounts of data, people nowadays spend every “free” moment of their lives on the Internet.
Whether it’s a social media app, a messenger, or a web search – the Internet has become the place where potential customers search for information, ask for recommendations, and make their purchasing decisions.
With various digital marketing strategies, businesses now have a chance to reach more customers and expand their reach worldwide. Multiple tools and techniques can help them target the right audience and attract them using tailored marketing and advertising campaigns.
The Emergence of E-commerce
With the rise of the Internet, retail has undergone a dramatic shift. Around the world, e-commerce is changing the way people shop, and in some areas, it’s become a preferred method of shopping.
Thanks to the development of other hi-tech, such as artificial intelligence, big data, and machine learning, e-commerce can answer most of the customer demands, including the ones for timely and adequate personalized service and seamless user experience.
These advancements are still mostly used by the giants in the industry, such as Amazon or eBay. Still, even the newly founded e-commerce businesses can reap the benefits of different AI-powered tools to attract and keep their target customers.
Easier Financial Transactions
Making financial transactions has also become much easier, as the Internet offers businesses various services and tools to process them without a hassle. Companies today use online-payment systems, such as PayPal, Braintree, Stripe, etc.
Bank of America took Internet banking to a whole new level -it hey automated and personalized many everyday tasks using an AI-powered employee named Erica. Erica helps their clients with their budgeting, transactions, tracks their spending habits, monitors for duplicate charges, and gives useful advice.
In less than a year, Erica has completed more than 50 million tasks and helped more than 7 million users, saving plenty of working hours human employees would spend on achieving such a workload.
As you can see, the effects of the Internet on modern business are seismic, resulting in a complete change of business landscape. With the further advancements of technologies such as AI, 5G, AR, and VR, more changes are coming our way, so it’s best to be prepared and try to keep up.
DepositPhotos – fast internet
