How to Stay Competitive by Leveraging the Power of People and Technology

Technological advancements have changed the face of business forever. The global technology industry is forecast to reach 5 trillion dollars in 2021 and businesses all over the world are adapting to this new age of technology, using various software to make their jobs easier.

However, it’s important to note that technology will never be able to replace people and the value they bring to the workplace. The best way to stay competitive in the business world is to leverage the power of both people and technology, and if you do it right, you’re going to come out on top.

Technical documentation

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The term “technical documentation” can have two meanings, depending on the context. The first meaning of technical documentation is used for the technical resources engineers and developers use, like a source code.

The second meaning refers to different documents regarding product-related data that are stored and used for multiple purposes. Those purposes include, but are not limited to product definition and specification, manufacturing, design, liability, description of features, and quality assurance.

In simpler terms, the phrase “technical documentation” can be used to encapsulate every piece of documentation related to a product during its lifecycle. Examples of technical documentation are product documents, release notes, and how-to guides, just to name a few.

While all of this can seem overwhelming, businesses can take advantage of technology and use technical documentation software that will support all technical documentation. When you’re choosing your software solution, you need to take notice of the following criteria:

• Pricing plans. Just like most software solutions, you’ll probably be presented with a pricing plan that’s regulated per user per month and capped with page views and storage limits. If you have a large volume of hits and a large support team, the cost of the software can add up fast.
• Good access control. Since the technical information within a company usually consists of both private and public documents, you need software that has at least the bare minimum level of access control. That way, you can ensure private documentation won’t leak and end up in the wrong hands.
• Excellent writing and editing experience. This feature might not seem important at first, but your technical writers and some other team members will greatly appreciate a good writing and editing experience.

Business coaching

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A good business owner needs to be prepared to grow at all times, as there is always room for improvement. The chances are there is a big difference between where your business is now and where you want it to be and that you also want to solve some problems and turn your business around.

One of the best financial decisions you can make for your company is to hire a business coach. These professionals are trained to assist business owners to reach their full potential and goals they didn’t even believe were possible.

When you hire your own business coach, you can expect to:

• Make better and smarter decisions. It’s hard to see what’s best for your business, but an external expert’s opinion can help you distinguish what you want to have and what you can and should have. A coach will help you create your ideal goal and allow you to make decisions that lead to that goal.
• Earn more money. Everything we do in the corporate world is to earn a profit, and you’ll be happy to know that executive coaching can produce an ROI of up to 788%. This is because your coach will assist you with setting up a financial plan for your business and design a strategy that is focused on profit.
• Have a clear focus. One of the most valuable things your coach will provide you with is the opportunity to share your ideas with someone who understands them. And you can be sure they’ll provide you with their honest opinion and give you a clear focus, as they’re objective and unbiased.
• Have a balanced life. A good coach will provide you with tips on how to create a balance between your work and private life, being selfish and responsible at the same time.

Cloud data storage

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The world of business runs on an enormous amount of data, and in the past data storage was a real nuisance for companies. Around ten years ago, companies that managed large quantities of data needed to use FTP large files whenever they wanted to send them out.

Data management was also much more difficult back then, as anyone who had large quantities of data to store needed to invest in a high-capacity storage device which wasn’t cheap. Luckily, technology has come a long way since then and now we have data storage.

By the year 2023, a majority of enterprise companies will have their data stored in a public cloud data warehouse. And if for whatever reason you’re not already using the cloud, that needs to change.

Both small and big businesses can see many benefits of storing their data on a cloud:

• Being able to access your data from anywhere in the world, as long as you have an internet connection
• Performing all backups automatically and ensuring you never lose any information
• Storing large quantities of data or even unlimited amounts depending on the cloud storage you use
• Having the ability to collaborate on one document in real-time from multiple places

Build your network with a giver’s mentality

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To succeed in business, you need to have a large and close-knit network of professionals that can be very useful for knowledge and referrals. The collective intelligence of a strong network can have many benefits, but you can’t create such a network overnight.

It’s going to take a lot of time and patience and if you’re a bad networker, your business can actually suffer. You need to skillfully build and maintain your network and the most important thing is to go in with a giver’s mentality.

Other people don’t exist to serve your purpose, and if you want to be part of a network, you need to build up your own reputation before you can start asking for favors. That means you need to offer help to someone who can be a very valuable connection down the line.

To be clear, this doesn’t have to be some over-the-top gesture or favor. Simply introduce yourself to someone and present yourself as a person who can be of assistance. If you need a way to break the ice, you can send them an article that has something to do with their field and can provide value.

Make sure to build your network before you actually need it because that way, you will already have valuable connections when the need arises. And don’t forget that networking also includes managing your business reputation online.

Final thoughts

Technology has come a long way just in the past few years and has changed how business owners approach their operations. Even though some jobs have been made obsolete due to technological advancement, it’s safe to say that people can never be fully replaced by machines and software.

If you want to stay competitive, you can’t favor technology over people or the other way around. You need to leverage the power of both and reap all of the rewards.