How SMEs can benefit from this year’s technology

Businesses should use rapid developments in technology to boost growth in 2015.

New forms of technology continue to change the way businesses run, and a notable number of emerging devices from 2014 will be no different. Past examples include the introduction of the BlackBerry, the smartphone and of course the internet.

An article in the online magazine Information Age spelled out a number of new technological ideas that businesses should think about.

Wearable technology

This year saw solid progress made on smart watches and other forms of wearable technology. The trend is always to smaller and more integrated tech: being able to wear it is one way to ensure it is non-intrusive yet always at hand, as pointed out in a Gartner report.

Watches and glasses, most notably Google Glass, are predicted to become the pre-eminent business trend of 2015, boosting productivity and potentially revolutionising the workplace.

Civilian coders

It seems everybody wants to try their hand at creating apps; some see it as the gateway to success, while others attempt to emulate popular games. New platforms have been created for users to develop apps, as there appears to be an insatiable demand for smartphone apps. This demand, combined with a shortage of technical skills in the UK, has led to a rise in coders from all walks of life.

Start-ups

The recent announcement of £50 million worth of funding from the government for innovative science and technology startups, along with other schemes, should produce high levels of growth in this sector in 2015. These businesses are gaining in popularity over their corporate counterparts among potential employees.

Analytics

Connectivity continues to increase, and so does the amount of data that can be mined and analysed. The ability to make fast, accurate business decisions based on hard data is extremely valuable and is expected to drive the growth of new analytical platforms.

Round the clock

Not only are businesses expected to be constantly connected, now we’re entering the realm of the 24 hour service where you can expect an answer at any time, from any location. Going mobile will be the key to communicating effectively with employees and customers.