Common Tech Challenges that act as a Roadblock for Small Businesses
In today’s world, technology and business go hand in hand. While technology has empowered small businesses to lock horns with big multi-national companies, it has created a few challenges as well. Know more about the common tech challenges that act as a roadblock for small business owners on their way to success.
“What technology does is create new opportunities to do a job that customers want done”. Tim O’Reilly
A small business needs technology like a fish needs water. With the right technology, you can manage day-to-day operations, develop strategies, motivate employees and engage customers effectively. It is a crucial tool that aids you to compete with multi-national companies. But, if you get it wrong, you can lose customers and damage your business reputation forever.
When it comes to technology, small business owners tend to avoid it. They believe that it is cheaper to do things on your own instead of adopting technological solutions. And, the reason behind the belief stems from different tech challenges that small businesses have to face regularly.
Common Tech Challenges that cause Misery to Small Businesses
Tech challenges are inevitable in today’s business world. A majority of 1.14 million small business of Canada face the following tech challenges every day:
- C = Computing the Need of Technology
According to a 2015 survey by SMB Group, a research and analysis based-firm, “figuring out how different technology can help my business” is the top tech challenge for small businesses. With the continuous advancement in the field of technology, small business owners find it difficult to keep track of new technological solutions.
According to Right Scale, more than 90% of the businesses use the cloud service. But, there are many small businesses that prefer on-premise solution because they believe it is a secure option against data thefts. If you are a small business owner, you must be adaptive to new changes and seek benefits of the new-age cost cutting technological solutions.
Adopting a new technological solution requires thorough research and expert advice. If you want to grow your business, stay in touch with a local tech advisor to gain knowledge about innovations in the field of technology.
- C = Cost of Technology
According to IDC forecasts, small businesses will spend $668 billion on technology in 2020.It shows that their IT expenditure is increasing steadily. But, the amount is still smaller compared to tech spending of big multi-national companies. It shows that when it comes to enjoying the benefits of new technology, big businesses continue to have an upper hand.
If you want to stay on the top, you must adopt a technology that makes the business process smarter, faster, more accurate and less reliable on the human element. But, it is not an easy task to find the right technological fit for your business. You have to consider several things before adopting a technology such as: What is the cost? Will it be compatible with other business applications? What are the security features of the new solution? Is it scalable?
Small business owners have to strike a balance between adopting the best technological fit and providing the most reliable solution to customers. But, limited budget often creates an obstacle in choosing the best technological solution.
- C = Capability to Handle and Manage Technology
It is a norm for small businesses to hire an IT solutions firm for providing technical support. The reason behind it is simple. For a small business with a limited tech budget, it becomes expensive to hire and retain IT professionals.
But, often small business owners face problems with their IT solutions firm. There are many firms who do not possess the competence to provide scalable technological solutions to growing businesses. Also, many of them do not have adequate capabilities to help you migrate to a new technology seamlessly.
It is possible that you may want to adopt a new technology but your service provider does not have the capability to help you. For example, you may want to provide remote access to employees so that they can work from their homes. But, if the firm is unable to help you in achieving your goal quickly, it can become a problem for you. Such a scenario can put your business plans on the back-burner and deviate you from your goals.
- S = Security
Last year, online hackers used a phishing scam to obtain personal information of Snapchat employees. In September 2016, Yahoo revealed that hackers stole information from 500 million accounts. MySpace also announced a security breach that affected 360 million accounts. Several big organizations had to face security breaches in the past years. And, it is an important reason why small businesses do not believe in adopting technology.
But, it doesn’t mean that on-premise data storage system is safe. In today’s competitive business world, corporate espionage is a common occurrence. Natural factors such as floods, fire and earthquake can destroy data as well. So, it is a challenging task for small business owners to secure data from multiple internal and external threats.
What is the Solution for Small Businesses?
“Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven.” Bill Gates
Managing a small business and running it successfully is a challenge in itself. And if you are unable to find the right technological solution, it can create more problems for you. So, what should a small business owner do? Should you avoid technology or should you adopt the technology by getting adequate knowledge of the same?
If you want to succeed and become a profitable business, you cannot ignore the aspect of technology. Also, it doesn’t make sense for a small business owner to gain technical knowledge instead of focusing on the business. So, the best option is to hire a reputed IT solutions firm. Choose a company with a wide experience of cloud solutions and IT support services. The company’s consultants will not only suggest you a scalable and secure technology but also calculate your hardware and software needs to provide the best technological fit for your business.
It is challenging to tackle IT problems when you belong to a non-IT background. But, do not worry. Seek assistance from Synergy IT Solutions, a reputed and experienced IT solutions firm, and get ready to make your small business big.
