On technology adoption and business development
BY OLUFEMI ADEDAMOLA OYEDELE.
Ron Shevlin of Forbes in a 2021 article noted that a study, “In Cornerstone’s What’s Going On in Banking 2021”,, identified the top five technologies for that year as: 1) Digital account opening; 2) Application programming interfaces (APIs); 3) Video collaboration; 4) Procure to pay (P2P) application; and 5) Cloud computing.” Coincidentally, all these technologies are business technologies. Businesses are established to generate profit and business managers invest heavily, year-in-year-out, on technologies that can make their jobs (processes) easier. The point is, all businesses, from small to medium, medium to large, have specific technologies that can improve their processes.
While digital account opening makes it easy for bank customers to open online accounts, APIs function like a virtual middleman, relaying information from one interface, like a mobile app, to another. APIs connect different parts of a software platform to ensure that information ends up in the right place. ‘Video collaboration Procure-to-pay’ is the process of integrating purchasing and accounts payable systems to create greater efficiencies. It exists within the larger procurement management process and involves four key stages: selecting goods and services, enforcing compliance and order, receiving and reconciliation, and invoicing and payment. Cloud computing is the practice of using a network of servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data instead of a local server or a personal computer.
Business technology is a concept that describes all technologies that help an organisation to run its business and operational processes. These range from customer-interface applications and solutions, business-critical production, back-office financial systems and logistics solutions. Technology is now being used as a catalyst of business growth. Technology makes it easier and less expensive to scale-up a business. By investing in modern technology, you can gain huge economies of scale and produce more output, with fewer resources. If you invest wisely in technology, you can improve the quality of your product and services and record huge profits.
Production line automation can help you run your business at a lower cost and more efficiently by minimising manual work. Automation can also help you maintain quality and correct mix of product, for example as a baker. Systems integration is a prime area for improvement in most businesses. Small companies have independent and few communication challenges. They can afford to communicate with each other physically. Big offices with expansive areas need an intercom system to communicate to a far-off office and workers. Serious businesses must evaluate new technological products in the market that improve quality, save time and cost of production of goods and services that they can acquire.
There are technologies in the market that can ease customer relation management (CRM), job batching, property management, financial services, project management, marketing automation, sales management, accounting, inventory control, manufacturing, auditing, human resources, ship tracking, and other services.
All businesses are always looking for ways to produce more goods at the same amount and quality or produce the same goods with less cost. This involves innovation and saving cost. Technologies can help business owners to reduce waste of raw materials and increase profit. This is always the target of all business owners.
Ephemeralization is the term coined by R. B. Fuller to depict an ability of technological advancement to do more and more with less and less until eventually you can do everything with nothing. This is an accelerating increase in the efficiency of achieving the same or more output (products, services, information, etc) while requiring less input (effort, time, resources, finance, etc). Ephemeralization is not only reducing wastes in the production process but continually identifying wastes in a business process and reducing or totally eliminating them. It is achieving a desired goal or more with fewer resources. This is the aim of technology – to help improve the ways of performing tasks.
The role of technology for an entrepreneur has tremendously increased in 2022 and this trend will extend into the future.
So many changes have been recorded in entrepreneurship in the last decade or so. Majority of these changes have been brought about by advancement in technology. There is practically no business that one can do now without investing in technology! Technology and entrepreneurs are perfect matches made in heaven. Business transactions are now easily made because of technology. From procurement of daily needs to betting online and working from home, technology is now the ‘numero uno’ of all businesses.
People now do business on their smart-phones and you cannot only purchase flight tickets on your phone, you can actually check-in and view your seat and the aircraft that you are going to board. Prospective buyers do not need any more thumbing through the Yellow Pages, they can look through Google on their smart-phones for the goods, products and services they are looking for. And their smart-phone is all they need to search the whole world. People nowadays subscribe to and read different newspapers online thanks to technology! This makes getting news faster and easier, and it is a good way of being climate change-compliant.
Investors who buy a hotel in the United Kingdom and live in Nigeria can now monitor the flow of traffic into their hotel through the help of software. The world is evolving technologically, everyday. Construction 3D printing technology is a tool that is used in manufacturing construction elements or entire buildings by means of a 3D printer. This robot-like printer prints concrete, polymer, metal and other viscous materials, layer-by-layer. The most common type of printer is based on a robotic arm that moves back and forth while extruding concrete from its ink-jet. This technology can produce up to one thousand three bedroom bungalows a day!
Technology is not only a catalyst that makes doing some businesses faster and easier with the view of affecting the quality of their products like graders instead of cutlasses; and ridgers instead of hoes. It is also a compulsory requirement in some businesses like escalators in high-rise buildings and solar panels or generators in offshore offices without national grid. Modern transportation business on land, on rail, in pipeline, on air, cable and water, which is based on mobility as a service (MaaS) is not possible without technology patronage, just like many other businesses.
Olufemi Adedamola Oyedele, MPhil. Construction Management, managing director/CEO, Fame Oyster & Co. Nigeria, is an expert in real estate investment, a registered estate surveyor and valuer, and an experienced construction project manager. He can be reached on +2348137564200 (text only) or femoyede@gmail.com
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