Technology is changing the game for industries small and large, but just because there are hundreds of new technological innovations being made each year doesn’t necessarily mean that your business is taking advantage of these tools. In fact, many companies get stuck in the old way of doing things because that’s what’s familiar to them, even though many CEOs and managers recognize that this is not the best practice if you want to continue leveling up your business and growing. If you truly want to take your company to new heights, it’s crucial that you start looking at the ways that these newer technologies can intersect with your overall goals.
While best practices would suggest that you should do a deep dive into any and all systems you’re considering implementing in your business, it can be hard to find that time in your busy work week. As such, it’s better to focus on different components of your business operations at a time, such as different technological tools or pieces of software that can help different departments of your company. You may have marketing do some research about new software as a service (SaaS), solutions for creating digital assets or print collateral, for example, or have your development team investigate a new platform for implementing and revising coding. There are plenty of ways that software alone can revolutionize the way you work. Read on to discover just a few of the ways that software is positively changing a variety of businesses and industries.
Software solutions can help you get the most out of your goal-setting methodology.
If one of your business resolutions for the new year involves setting better goals, you’ve probably stumbled upon the OKR framework for goal setting. OKR stands for objectives and key results, and OKRs were pioneered by two of the founders of Google. When it comes to using OKRs, you start by defining an objective as well as the key results or KPIs that need to be achieved in order for that goal to be accomplished. Workboard is one of the most common software tools that helps you integrate OKRs into your existing workflow and allows for a much better user experience when it comes to aligning OKRs and measuring progress individually and across your organization. You’ll be amazed at how productive your company can become once you’ve found ways to ensure that each department of your business is aligning its goals with your overall priorities each quarter.
One way to get the most out of your OKR software is to listen to a few Workboard OKR podcasts. Being able to listen to a podcast about important usability features and how to go about handling integration with small business efforts or the goals of large enterprises can give you a few different ways to manage your OKR platform in a digestible format. Especially if you’re an auditory learner, being able to listen to a podcast while you look at an OKR dashboard can be a huge boon for integrating OKRs with your business more effectively.
Use software tools to improve your existing web properties.
While you can use a variety of different software platforms in order to create a homepage for your business, there are different options to keep in mind when it comes to addressing a few various aspects of your website. For example, you might use a SaaS solution that allows you to generate heat maps to better understand how people are using your website on a mobile device or how much of an asset (or a liability) your website navigation is.
Website navigation is actually becoming increasingly important to businesses who want to make the most of their homepage or landing pages. Especially when you consider that most people are finding your website through ads and not through the navigation bar in their web browser, it’s critical that you pay attention to where your navigation menus are placed on your homepage and how easy they are to use and read. Putting a navigation bar in the header or sidebar are two of the most common places that customers look for information on a web page. By overlaying heat maps and other analytical software tools to your homepage, you’ll be able to better understand whether your navigation structure is helping or hindering your business, even including metrics about different operating systems and browsers. All of this data can help you better streamline your web pages so that they perform better and convert more often.
Cloud services help you better integrate all aspects of your business into a streamlined workflow.
You’ve probably heard a lot about different cloud services and cloud computing software without fully thinking about the way that different cloud services can help your business. At its heart, cloud services allow you to ensure that as long as you have an internet connection you’ll be able to use a cloud service provider to access and link important components of your business together.
From analytics platforms to managing different data centers, cloud service providers like Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services offer you the chance to leverage data and analytics to make better decisions in your day-to-day operations. It’s also worth noting that if you handle sensitive data from your customers in your data centers, having the right cloud service architecture can help you secure your customer data and avoid a data breach, which can be a logistical and public relations nightmare.
Clearly, there are all kinds of ways that software can help you take your business to the next level. Whether it’s boosting your remote work capabilities with cloud computing services or talking to vendors to find the right SaaS solution for your creative collateral, there are all sorts of ways to implement and integrate new pieces of software into your workflow. Even spending some time focusing on your website navigation or implementing an OKR methodology for setting goals can make a big difference in how productive your company is.
Consider spending some time researching any of the above ideas in a bit more depth and you might be surprised with how quickly you can change the way your business operates for the better. From finding new revenue streams to boosting employee morale, there are plenty of reasons to invest in new software and cloud computing solutions for your company.