Many business industries have become volatile and unstable. Consumer habits and demands are evolving year by year, and technology is advancing at an astonishing rate. Inevitably, this has caused most industries – from food to entertainment – to become largely unpredictable, which has created the new-age business environment seen today. For CEOs, investors, and shareholders, this makes operations and decision-making more high-risk due to the financial implications.
To combat this, the focus at board meetings has now turned to future-proofing businesses. Essentially, future-proofing creates a protective barrier around a business that ensures they do not get left behind.
Therefore, every business, including startups, should be forging future-proof plans for 2021 up until 2030, as this will likely be the biggest decade of technological and consumer changes in human history.
Follow the steps in this short guide for assistance in future-proofing your business.
Step 1: Optimize cloud technology
Cloud computing, or cloud technology, will be one of the most fundamental tools for business success over the coming years.
Cloud technology ensures maximum digital security, excellent handling of data, and the ability to easily scale up or down.
It also allows employees to work remotely. If a business has a significant number of employees that work from home, it’s essential that these employees have access to cloud services. For example, the cloud will allow all employees to access customer data from a singular, universal location. Without the cloud, their digital capabilities will be limited.
Modern businesses are now starting to realize the importance and benefits of cloud computing, and have therefore started to make the transition through digital cloud training. Cloud training enables business owners and their teams to become experts in different cloud operating services, like Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Linux.
Step 2: Focus attention on social media and developing trends
Throughout the history of business, many marketing strategies and trends have arrived only to quickly lose relevance and fade into the abyss. This is because many strategies don’t have the power or longevity to influence consumers in the long-term.
However, some marketing strategies arrive and become permanently engrained in marketing culture; as businesses of all sizes opt to use them. Social media marketing is an excellent example of this. Now, most active businesses use social media for marketing purposes. In 2021, 91.9% of marketers in the United States who work for companies (with 100 or more employees) were expected to use social media. This highlights how important social media marketing has become.
Therefore, to efficiently future-proof, it’s vital to establish your business on social media platforms. This can be achieved through regularly sharing content, engaging with customers, promoting deals and offers, and following the latest trends. For example, influencer marketing is exceptionally popular on social media at this present time.
Step 3: Invest in AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Artificial intelligence has become a huge part of many modern businesses, and is only going to grow in relevance moving forward. To ensure your business is future-proof, it’s highly advisable that you begin to invest in AI technology as soon as possible.
Through AI, businesses can begin to automated endless business tasks, such as customer service and social media marketing campaigns, which saves costs and boosts profit.
About the Author/s
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
