A Look at Modern Tech Advancements

Though we are still in the early weeks of a new year, the problems of the previous one continue to run amok and wreak havoc on the economy and the public health of the United States. As a result of the coronavirus, many states are still mandating that businesses are run remotely, with workers staying and working at home. With so much in the way of restrictions being placed on in-person work and brick and mortar stores, businesses are having to rely on more modern ways to continue productivity, if not bring forward a new way of working altogether.

Concurrently, all industries in the U.S. have been gearing up and undergoing the fourth age of the industrial revolution, otherwise known as Industry 4.0. This is the automation of production and manufacturing, through the use of smart technology. In many ways, this means the digitization of many businesses, which may prove to be even more useful than originally expected. In the face of COVID-19, the opportunity to have machines produce goods en masse, whilst also being controlled remotely, should help both the efforts of public health teams and those who are trying to restore the economy to the levels of productivity we saw prior to COVID-19.

That being said, small businesses are far less reliant on machine manufacturing and are therefore still struggling to access their relevant markets to keep going. Through the use of modern tech advancements, they can also continue despite being unable to operate in person. In fact, in some cases, they may even thrive, despite moving onto a completely digital platform.

Running a business online will require a new website.

There is no realistic way to run a business online without a website, but the best way to catch up on the business levels you saw before the pandemic is with an exceptionally designed website. Particularly useful for retail stores—but not limited to that specific industry—a complete, wide-ranging website with a professional design is sure to give a great first impression to potential customers who access it. The ones that stand out are those that are created and maintained by professional web designers. Normally, a small business would hire a web designer as part of their team, but as the demand for more eclectic web design and functionality has grown, so too has the competition to have the most useful website. Web designers today are more likely to be working as a separate company, in collaboration with your own.

The benefits of leaving website design to the pros.

Although web design may not seem like a growing trade, having a professional website design makes for best practice. The benefits of hiring a professional web designer go beyond helping customers order goods online, although that is the biggest benefit in this current climate. A professional website designer will also help marketing through the use of SEO tools (implementing keywords within the site that will ensure it moves up in the list of entries that a search engine will return). Also, the online environment can be used to help business owners properly manage the workforce. By digitizing objectives and key results (OKRs), employees have the insights needed to stay on top of targets, as well as helping any small business owner manage a team much more efficiently, despite them not currently being physically within the office.

With so many advances in online tools to help businesses continue to function and teams to remain in communication and working together, it’s looking likely that many sectors of industry are reluctant to return to the way things were. Recent surveys have shown that some businesses are going to continue working from home post-coronavirus, thanks to the streamlining of the professional design of their online tools.

Another online service that looks to be around for the long run.

Current events have also changed online learning and increased the number of online students altogether. The simple reason for this is that online learning was the only viable replacement for traditional face-to-face classroom learning. However, through the exploration of this “new normal,” it didn’t take much time for anyone to realize that online courses can be very useful for students beyond the normal school ages.

For some, traditional learning is not easy, nor is it the preferred method to retain knowledge. Yet, as the best practices for learning online are often much more relaxed, the methods of learning are left up to the learner themselves. Online learning, which is popular for any age and background, often sees more student success than the mandatory classroom setting. Again, like working from home, it is entirely possible that many education establishments will see this success as a reason to continue as they are currently operating.