3 Examples Of Tech Innovation Influencing Business Efficiency In 2021

From Henry Ford’s first commercial motorcar to Tesla’s lithium-ion batteries leading the charge for an electric future … Business minds pioneer innovation.

Technology evolves with industry, but how, following a year of uncertainty, have businesses adapted to the changing tides? In this article, we explore three examples of tech innovation improving business efficiency in 2021:

• Cloud software for effective hybrid working
• Fuel cards for an optimized fulfillment process
• Automation for better time utilization

Remote work, flexibility, and digital sustainability have all been major tech trends allowing businesses to navigate the past twelve months. Read on as we outline these tools and how they improve business efficiency for established operations and startups during the pandemic (and beyond).

Cloud software for effective hybrid working

Cloud storage is a term that has been thrown around a lot over the past few years, though in an era of remote working, the last twelve months have put our digital flexibility to the test.

But what is cloud storage? Well, it’s a model of computer data storage most commonly associated with software such as iCloud, Google Drive, and Dropbox. But it is (and can be) so much more. For instance, cloud storage helps businesses transition to a more effective hybrid work model — this is key because studies show most professionals want to work from home at least some of the time in a post-pandemic world.

As more professionals look to split work between home and the office, it makes factors like engagement and cybersecurity a more pressing issue. Thankfully, cloud storage — alongside VPNs and task management tools — makes this approach more feasible. After all,  using external storage better utilizes physical space, makes information widely accessible to the team, and encrypts this information to peering eyes.

Fuel cards for more cost-effective fleet management

Knowledge is a valuable resource when it comes to effective business management.

Perhaps this is most clear when it comes to the fulfillment process — a branch of ecommerce under major strain, in large part because of rising demand for online shopping.

Whether you’re a global operation or a small local delivery service, there is little getting away from the fact running a fleet of vehicles remains expensive. Not least because of running costs such as fuel, which can easily disrupt your bottom line when left unrestrained.

What’s the solution? Many fleets and delivery companies use fuel cards to lower operational costs. These are credit cards that allow your company to make petrol/diesel purchases at an often pre-arranged discounted rate. To that end, they help boost cash flow within the business and ensure the fulfillment process keeps moving along without holdups.

Moreover, fuel cards can also optimize navigation using data delivered to a bespoke fleet management app. Using such data, managers can track areas of the fleet that they would otherwise be left blind to — this includes fuel economy, driving harshness, and break time.

Automation for better time utilization

The Internet of Things (IoT) allows for almost any business activity to be at least partly automated. And some may say this a path leading towards a robotic future devoid of human innovation, but we prefer to see this as an opportunity to better utilize professional talents.

For example, many forms of automation are found in manufacturing like automotive assembly and the mixing of chemicals — this is known as programmable automation and is used for producing products quickly and efficiently on a large scale, something the average human is not physically capable of doing.

With that said, the application of automation extends much further than the assembly belt. For instance, the work of writers, digital marketers, and SEOs can be streamlined using tools such as Ahrefs and Surfer. With the former being a database that assists the manual grind of keyword research — and the latter offering a content editing function that claws the SERPs, helping you compose user-friendly content that competes with key competitors.

While these tools certainly cannot replace the nuance and agility of the human mind, they are doing the heavy lifting so you can focus on doing your best work where it counts.

Henry Ford, Alan Turing, and Tim Berners-Lee: History’s greatest brains lay the foundation for what we know now, as well as show the world is always innovating, never sitting still, and constantly looking for new ways to do things better.

With this in mind, 2021 is no different. Faced with uncertainty, businesses have operated on the cutting edge of technology to navigate the foreseeable and prepare for the future.