How To Select The Best IT Technologies For Your Business

There are several reasons for investing in the best IT technologies for your business; to improve efficiency, productivity and communication, to increase profits and to solve problems that slow down business growth. 

However, with such a proliferation of IT hardware and software on the market. How do you know which are the best IT technologies for your business? 

Investing in the right technologies are choices you ideally want to get right the first time. Installing new technologies can be costly if you don’t select the best IT technologies for your business. 

You, therefore, need to know what your business needs and which technologies will solve it. Sometimes, you might read about a particular type of activity that gives you an idea of how to improve or expand your business, so it works both ways. 

The problem is that not every technology will be the best option for your business. Fine, you may upgrade on the IT systems you have now, but if you find the software you adopt doesn’t perform as well as you hoped or doesn’t have a specific function that you need, you may have made the wrong choice. 

So, What are the Best IT Technologies for your Business?

This is a great question you should be asking yourself, but I can’t answer this for you with a blanket statement on a blog post. 

What I will do is give you a list of checkpoints for you to tick off which will help to narrow down your choices. 

Does the technology improve existing business processes? 

Depending on your current circumstances, the answer to this question can be a no-brainer. For example, if you have an in-house server and want to reduce costs, switching to cloud computing is probably a better solution. 

However, if you don’t feel as though you are getting the most out of your current options and want to try something that will serve you better, the decision is much more difficult.

For example, you may be looking to resolve a particular problem and find a software solution that resolves the problem. However, the package may not perform a function your current software is. What tends to happen here is that you solve one problem and create a different one you didn’t have before. 

There are a few options you can use here. Invest in customisable software, build an integrative system that combines various tools or select the software that fulfils most of your needs and, therefore, delivers more benefits. 

Does the technology deliver value for money? 

What you’re essentially examining here is whether the benefits the technology delivers outweigh the cost. In most cases, you want to know that you are getting a return on investment. 

However, some technologies benefit you simply because the technology is better than what you had before and is more pleasurable to use. 

If the software ticks both boxes then you’re on to a winner. For example, automated software that performs repetitive and time-consuming tasks without any manual input increases efficiency, and productivity but also eliminates the boring tasks nobody likes doing. 

Is it easy to integrate and scale?

The best business networks consist of integrative software that runs side-by-side without causing a problem. Integrating tools enables your employees to perform at higher levels or efficiency, access data from anywhere, improve communications and accelerate growth.

However, software integration can create more problems than they solve, subsequently hurting productivity and efficiency. For example, when you can’t integrate tools you create separate data silos which creates more work to organise data collection and analysis. 

Companies that still use legacy software may also experience compatibility problems with cloud software. Using multiple apps can also cause a glitch in the system and have a negative impact on productivity. 

One of the most pressing issues I’ve noticed with businesses that build integrate system is an increased risk of a data breach. The more technology you adopt, the more IT security management you require. So keep this in mind when selecting the best IT technologies for your business.

Will it still be relevant in the foreseeable future?

Before you invest in technology you will naturally do your due diligence. But most people will neglect to look at the original release date of a particular piece of technology. And the older the technology is, the less likely it is to deliver the high level of performance you want two or three years down the line. 

IT Security

IT security ranks among the best IT technologies for your business today. The threat of cybercriminals could literally put you out of business. 

Actually, it’s the regulatory obligation to report a data breach to your customers that puts you out of business. Companies can lose as many as 50% of their customers by reporting a data breach if they don’t adequately protect customer data. 

Cybersecurity measures come in various forms including networks, endpoint, cloud and application security. Knowing this prompts business owners to ignore cybersecurity and pretend it doesn’t exist.

But IT security does not have to cost an arm and a leg. The top-tier technologies offered by hi-tech security firms are expensive, of course. But they can’t guarantee 100% protection. Effective IT security is founded on strategy. 

With the right strategy, installing cybersecurity technologies doesn’t have to be overly expensive – as we document in this article. All you need are a few choice technologies that identify and prevent malicious threats. 

The good news is that most cloud-based software on the market today comes with security features. You also get regular updates. You just need to make sure you configure the software correctly and perform system updates in good time. 

You can read more about protecting your business network in our article titled, ‘Is your business making these cybersecurity mistakes?’

Cloud Computing 

Cloud computing is one of the fastest-growing industries of the 21st Century. Needless to say, it grew exponentially during the lockdowns when employees were forced to work from home. 

That doesn’t mean that cloud computing is the best IT technology for your business. If you have a small team that prefers to work in the office and a cost-effective backup system, you probably don’t need cloud storage. 

Having said that, it seems inevitable that cloud computing will become the only solution in years to come. As more businesses convert to the cloud, there will be less demand for on-premise servers – which will slow down manufacturing and increase the price. In which case, you should consider how much use you will get from an on-premise server and which is the least expensive option.

Cloud solutions also have more potential to improve efficiency and productivity because practically all the latest software is designed to operate in a cloud environment for a low monthly fee. 

This means you can manage your budget better without having to navigate unpredictable costs associated with hardware storage facilities and outdated software. 

Although cloud solutions bring plenty of benefits, it also carries more risk. For example, if you have a poor internet connection in your area, slow broadband will impair productivity. 

IT Technologies that Improve Efficiency and Productivity

If it’s your job to select the best IT technologies for your business, efficiency and productivity should be your primary consideration. As I mentioned above, technology can hinder productivity and efficiency just as much as it’s supposed to improve your output. 

First of all, IT technologies must perform the functions you need to improve operations. However, you also have to consider the challenges you might encounter following implementation. Remember, I mentioned above that a piece of software might solve one problem but create another. 

The best IT technologies for your business should work together as a network without causing friction and downtime. This is where the experience of IT specialists pays dividends.

For example, our IT support experts in London strive to achieve 99.999% availability by following a proven system of careful planning. We use advanced technologies to assess performance and identify any potential compatibility issues. 

The best IT technologies that improve efficiency and productivity are automated programs that streamline workflows and processes. Automation tools are ideal for businesses that rely on a large amount of data input. 

Firms that are evolving to a hybrid model will also need to consider which IT technologies support remote workers. Identify cloud-based solutions that make it easy to collaborate and communicate such as Microsoft 365, G Suite and Slack. 

Call centres and businesses that rely on reaching customers by phone should also be switching to VoIP systems. Not only are VoIP more cost-effective than traditional landlines and mobile phones, but they will also be necessary when UK PSTN systems become obsolete on 31st December 2025.

Smooth Running Network 

Network performance plays a central role in the smooth running of your business. If your network is riddled with faults, it will slow down processing speeds and make the system difficult to manage. 

A network that functions at optimum level naturally has a combination of solutions that complement each other. They will be the best IT technologies for your business. 

Ideally, your network should run in the background so that you barely notice it’s there. It only takes one fault to crash a system or one device to throttle the performance. 

For example, you might be paying a premium rate for a broadband connection, but if the router signal does not reach all the users in the office, some employees will experience more disruptions and a loss of productivity than others. 

Our IT specialists in London have years of experience, working with cloud-based solutions, and hardware and software technologies that have a proven track record in the field. Sometimes, you just need to make sure your network is configured right to ensure it runs smoothly. As they say, knowledge is power.

IT Specialists in London 

We appreciate that selecting the best IT technologies for your business can be difficult. It’s even more of a headache if you are not familiar with IT technologies or are even up-to-date with the latest solutions. 

Our IT support specialists in London help to select the best IT technologies for your business easier and more affordable. In all honesty, the best technologies for your business will be very expensive, but we have the knowledge and the skills to build an effective network that meets your budget. 

We offer a wide range of IT services, but I would like to list a few of the best IT technologies your business probably can’t go without. And this is not a blanket solution. These are technologies virtually every business needs today. 

Patch Management 

Why is patch management important? 

Once a software product is released into the market, cybercriminals will look for holes in the code that they can exploit. Or they create sophisticated code that will override the existing code. 

As a result, every piece of software installed on your network presents a security threat. Moreover, both security and general updates are released on a regular basis. 

It’s quite plausible that you will need to perform at least two or three software updates a week. This is annoying for employees. What’s more, can you trust your employees to update security patches? Because if they don’t your business network is vulnerable. 

Patch management services utilise technologies that automatically identify when software needs updating. Our IT professionals can update software. For you on every device from a remote location. We also perform updates at convenient times when your employees will not be distracted from their work. 

Even small businesses and freelancers use a glut of apps and plugins that need updating. Patch management technologies save you loads of time and give you peace of mind. 

24/7 Monitoring 

Installing monitoring technology is a no-brainer. Every device on a network will crash at some point. Remote monitoring tools identify potential problems before it becomes a problem and thus eliminate downtime and a loss of productivity. 

IT Support in London

I trust this article has given you some useful tips and insights into how to select the best technologies for your business. However, I appreciate creating the perfect network is time-consuming to research and will cause a few headaches in making a decision. 

If you feel like you need any help, give us a call and speak to our IT support specialists in London. Micro Pro has years of experience working with all types of businesses and budgets so I’m confident a member of our team will be able to help.