Over the past 10 years, technology has changed the way we live our lives and perceive the world in general. It has not only made our lives a lot simpler but, more importantly, it has changed how we do business. 10 years ago, small and medium-sized businesses couldn’t afford the software and hardware they desperately needed to conduct their businesses efficiently. Today, that’s a totally different story with us having so many free and inexpensive tools at our disposal.
This has led to a boom in the IT sector all around the globe, especially in the land down under. Melbourne has become the IT hub of Australia, with the majority of its top 20 tech companies situated there. Moreover, this trend will most likely be on the rise for a few more years, as just last year IT job vacancies have increased by 8%. Obviously, the advancements in technology have made this possible, but how else has technology made an impact on various other businesses in Australia?
Virtual remote communication
First of all, with the advent of the internet, work has become extremely accessible, so much so that a stable Wi-Fi connection is now all we need to work from our homes. Likewise, Australian companies are adding to this trend more and more by only employing the people with a specific skillset needed for that particular business and then outsourcing the rest of the workload elsewhere. This is especially the case with startups, who cannot afford to have too many employees on their payroll so they end up only having five to six core people working inside the office face-to-face. As a result, new virtual team software is being developed each day, allowing both small and medium-sized businesses to save money on expensive office loans and focus their finances on getting more remote help instead.
Cloud infrastructure
Cloud-based storage software has reformed the modern-day office. No longer do companies need to invest in expensive storage infrastructures such as physical archives and new personnel to organize and maintain them. Searching for relevant information is also much faster and simpler with this new software. Consequently, businesses can now outsource their IT infrastructures over great distances which in Australia’s case is huge, as that continent alone covers a landmass of 7.692 million km². As an example, RockIT cloud, a company that provides managed IT services in Melbourne, is 700 km away from Sydney where their client, the recruitment platform FastTrack, is located. Nevertheless, thanks to technology, this large gap is almost negligible, and RockIT cloud can continue hosting their client’s IT sector with ease, no matter the distance.
Business process automation
Today, technology virtually enables us to automate workflows without the actual need of human employees participating in the process. It can save a company tons of time and money, especially in the customer support department; a happy customer is a good customer. Furthermore, such technology rules out human error that occurs due to stress or lack of concentration, and can even be used for complicated problem-solving and important decision-making processes. Business managers, in particular, are thrilled with these technological advancements as they make their job a lot easier, by reducing the number of people they have to oversee and work with. Fewer employees means fewer people to organize and babysit, which can sometimes be more tedious than the work itself. Instead, managers can now focus on more meaningful tasks and on finding new ways to further improve business.
Performance monitoring and analysis
Companies that have a lot of employees often monitor their workers’ performances and productivity. Slackers are present everywhere while top contributors are few and far between. Luckily for them, as most of the work is done online, there is software out there that can monitor which sites and programs are being used, and abused, during working hours. Namely, employees chatting on Facebook or watching YouTube videos has been a plague of employers all around the globe, Australia being no different. With new software these slackers are easier to spot, and hard workers can finally get noticed and rewarded for their troubles as they duly deserve. As a result, businesses see a reduction in their yearly employee turnover and get to retain some of their best workers. Finally, the data collected by this method can then be further analyzed to find exactly which areas could use improvement and which ones are working at peak efficiency.
To sum up, the influence of technology is becoming ever more present in the modern Australian workplace. Storage-based software, remote communication platforms and other organizational programs make work faster and thus cheaper for employers. No wonder then that we are living in an age of startups, where only a handful of people can grow a small business into a prosperous organization.