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Technology is an increasingly important part of daily life, and it is likewise crucial for modern businesses. Today’s business tech has become incredibly advanced. Simultaneously, it has been given a laser focus on e-commerce and big data. It’s easy to become lost, and even intimidated, because of all the technobabble surrounding modern gizmos and gadgets, but it remains important to implement these technologies into your business to stay competitive. Here’s what you need to know.
Cybersecurity
As the prevalence of high technology in commerce increases, so too does the need for cybersecurity. This is the case even for consumers who necessarily face a degree of risk from any and all internet usage. However, the threats facing a business aren’t so easily avoided, because companies are specifically targeted by hackers. This is because businesses traffic heavily in data that can be valuable in some way or another. Protecting your business, as well as your customers, involves creating a comprehensive web of cybersecurity measures.
Because of the importance of e-commerce, the first line of defense your company needs is protecting your website and proprietary app. Freshly minted websites lack the essential features of encryption and decryption. Despite the out and out necessity of these features, they are not native to the HTTP framework that governs the internet. Therefore, your business’s website will need TLS 1.3 or SSL certification. This will prevent hackers from planting malware on the site or intercepting the private and financial information of your clientele.
On the other hand, e-commerce apps are typically developed using Application Programming Interfaces, also known as APIs, and this has the drawback of passing down flaws in the APIs to apps developed using them. This means that hackers can obtain the publicly available APIs for themselves to scout for weaknesses in the code, which they can then use to infiltrate e-commerce apps and obtain valuable customer information. API security remains a major priority for this reason. Zero day exploits are particularly hard to handle, so consider giving an API time to be studied extensively before using it for your own app.
Internet of Things
The Internet of Things is a design ethos more than a specific branch of technology, because it impacts a wide range of devices and even software. Typically, IoT devices use wi-fi connectivity to provide devices with additional functionality, not least of which is that these devices and apps can cooperate with one another in what is called a smart office setup. Smart offices are capable of optimizing a business in many ways.
Perhaps the most important way in which a smart office can benefit your company is its ability to automate a variety of clerical tasks. This is particularly useful for data management, because it can save businesses money on labor, because these tasks traditionally require human workers, and IoT allows you to reduce or eliminate the presence of those employees. It also helps to keep data clean, allowing for more accurate and efficient data analysis down the road.
On the other hand, a common smart office use case is regulating utilities. For example, you can reduce your electric bill by using a smart office to activate and deactivate lights and other devices remotely, and this can be automated, as well. This can allow your company to create a schedule for the distribution of power, and even water, that enforces itself and doesn’t depend on human effort and, likewise, isn’t vulnerable to human error. One major downside to IoT technology is that it depends entirely on w-fi, meaning that a lapse in service brings the entire system to a halt temporarily.
Modern technology drives the effectiveness and efficiency of modern businesses. However, tech isn’t a cure-all, and it takes careful consideration to use it effectively. With a little bit of research, and perhaps some expert consultation, you can master the basics and implement the most important technology for your business model.