Houston IT Trends for 2019 (and How It Will Affect Your Business)
The IT industry is prime for significant changes in 2019. Are Houston business owners ready to take advantage of what is to come?
IT: The Future is Here Now
Every year the advances in technology have been remarkable. The advances in IT technology in 2019 alone will be mind-numbing. It's going to be a story of disruption.
Just when you think we've seen all the tech tricks, along comes a disrupter. Amazon just recently announced a tsunami of Echo products, everything from a microwave to a car device to a DVR. This is a stealth move by Amazon, with its ecosystem of commerce and entertainment attached. Amazon wants to own your world, personal and business, and to a significant degree, it already does. Wouldn't you rather order from Prime than go to the store where too often the product you want is not in stock?
Do you remember when hardware was king, and just as you got used to your latest iPod they improved it?
Alternatively, think about only a decade ago when the most significant challenge facing small business owners was simple, but hugely important: processing credit cards payments.
Or how about when video took over from text -- and now voice is on the verge of trumping them all.
Imagine speaking and the song or book you want to hear starts playing, oops it already does. Your playlist is in the cloud. You just have to ask for it.
What Is The #1 IT Challenge Facing Your Business Going Into 2019?
Poll: What Is The Top IT Challenge for Your Business?
Digital prophets and tech gurus have been heralding the coming age of the so-called “Internet of Things” for the last several years. And, in many respects, their clairvoyant message has spread to many spaces --- including your home and business.
Yet many Houston businesses are lagging behind when it comes to technology and adopting the new tools available to them, or they just aren’t leveraging existing IT infrastructures to their greatest advantage.
While change is here, right now, 2019 is shaping up to be a watershed moment in internet technology.
In this article, we will look at how Houston business owners should utilize their IT (internet technology) infrastructure to better position their company and their bottom line for 2019.
The Top 3 IT Trends I See In 2019
- Digitization
- Data Collection & Analysis
- Cyber-Security
Digitization will become a competitive advantage in 2019. The digitization of processes will enable higher efficiency and flexibility for businesses and enterprises. Digital platforms will become more essential as tools for engaging with customers and consumers as well as capturing business growth opportunities.
Digitization is probably seen as more of a buzzword in the business world today because many organizations don't yet realize what exactly it implies. Before a business or enterprise can begin to think of implementing the latest digital transformation trends, they first will need to look and understand digitization.
Digitization and digital transformations are terms similar in look and sound and are closely related describing an organization's progressive evolution toward more technology-centric operations and processes. However, digitization becomes a distinct term when you understand that it is a movement away from traditional, paper-based business models in favor of more automated, computer-supported processes that harness the unparalleled power and potential of online technologies.
The primary purpose of this focus and shift towards digitization is to standardize and integrate both business systems and data onto a connected network that drives real-time decision making processes and operations.
To achieve it's potential, digitization requires a thoughtful analysis of not only the available tools in the marketplace, but also on an organization's business operations, processes, and objectives. Only then can a proper assessment take place that identifies which tools and methods may prove the most likely to achieve the highest business value.
In 2019, we will see digitization of the modern workplace, from everyday tools to entire workflows, 2019 will be the year that internet technology makes the transition from dealing with hardware to managing digitization and digital transformations, something we are well known for at Wright Business Technologies.
Hand-in-hand with the focus on digitization is the focus on data collection and analysis.
As a wise man once said, “You can’t fix what you can’t measure.” In other words, how can any business better position themselves, better define their target audience, or operate more efficiently in general if they don’t have hard data to measure their efforts?
More importantly, how can they act on that hard data if they can’t interpret or decipher what that data is telling them?
Even just a decade ago, data collection was still a novel concept. For a long time, we couldn’t collect a broad enough sample of data. Then, with the rise of the “Internet of Things” we were able to develop tools to collect loads of data; however, we couldn’t act on it because we didn’t know how to interpret all that data.
That is starting to change.
With increasingly refined predictive models, machine learning, and behavioral analytics, big mega-corporations like Google can market directly to each person's needs and wants based on that person's digital footprint.
In 2019, organizations and enterprises will begin to use their own internal data collection to improve productivity and business growth opportunities.
To take advantage of these promising technologies, organizations will need to have the right tools and talent to implement, analyze, and execute on the data they collect.
With increasing digitization comes increasing digital dangers. Everywhere in the news, we read stories about hacking, corporate espionage, intellectual property theft, data breaches, and fraudulent internet smear campaigns to name but a few of the new digital threats facing many businesses today.
Yet, despite many and increasingly loud alarm bells pointing to digital security, only 15 percent of small businesses rate their ability to mitigate cyber risks, vulnerabilities, and attacks as highly effective.
According to the BBB, small businesses are a favorite target for cybercriminals. Nefarious actors on the web often see small business as easy gateways to larger organizations. Businesses who provide services for or are part of the supply chain of a larger business should be particularly cognizant of cyber threats and take appropriate action to mitigate those threats.
A data breach as a result of a cyber-attack is often more than just a breach of data; it is usually a breach of trust between B2C or B2B and often results in loss of business or business failure. According to Inc.com, 60 percent of small businesses fail 6 months after experiencing a cyber attack.
In 2019, IT departments throughout Houston will increasingly be tasked with warding off cybercriminals, responding to cyber threats, and monitoring digital networks.
IT is a crucial component of any business. Whether it’s day-to-day productivity, connecting with customers, launching marketing campaigns, or just tracking budgets, investing in IT is always a good idea and necessary for the success of a business. Look at investments in internet technology as opportunities to grow your business, reduce competition in the marketplace, or position your company for future success. Wright Business Technologies understands how important seamless IT is. That’s why we make IT our business so that you can focus on yours!
Wright Business Technologies - IT, without the hassle.
