The Future Is Almost There – How The Internet Became A Traditional Medium For Doing Business
With its rapid and exponential growth, the Internet has become one of the major influencing forces shaping today’s way of life. We are not dreaming about the future anymore – we are actually living it. This change in technology brings a whole new set of challenges with it. How our online world has changed into a conventional medium for doing business and what you need to do to stay ahead of the game?
A Merging of Two Worlds
Not even ten years ago, a world of constant online connection was unimaginable to a majority of us. Seamlessly and effortlessly managing a team that’s spread out all across the globe? It all seemed to be like a scene out of a sci-fi movie.
Now here we are, in the year of 2017, and suddenly we find ourselves living the sci-fi movie we so disbelievingly eyed at only a couple of years ago. And to take it even further, with technological growth happening on an exponential scale, the future is within our reach wherever we go.
No matter whether you are a SaaS developer or any other kind of online business owner, your understanding of what it means to effectively do business online makes all the difference. So without further ado, let’s take a brief tour into how the Internet as it is today became a traditional medium for doing business and what you need to do to stay ahead of the game.
How To Stay Innovative
Today, unconventional has become the norm and innovative ideas have a short lifespan. Take the mobile market and its development for example. There are almost five billion unique mobile subscriptions, meaning that over half the world’s population is connected to and actively using the web via their phone. What was innovative only a few months ago becomes standard in no time. And that is immensely changing the way of doing business – especially when you are a developer, SaaS vendor or any other company involved in technology and the provision of online products and services.
What It Means To Go Viral Today
Let’s use Slack to analysis where the concept of viral marketing currently stands. It’s been around for a while, although today’s definition of viral has changed into a different one than it was five or ten years ago. Going viral used to be an exception rather than the rule. Today, quite the opposite is true. An article with ten thousands of shares is not unusual anymore.
Developments To Be Watched In The Near Future
Alongside revolutions in the workplace sector and markets turning global, the rise of breakthrough technologies like conversational interfaces, chatbots, virtual and augmented reality need to be watched closely. We are heading towards an age of immersive experiences that are expanding the world we live in far beyond what we can now imagine.
Conversational interfaces are the next evolutionary step leading us from graphical user interfaces to a whole different way of interacting with the online world. Think of language and voice recognition software capable of understanding your needs and providing you with relevant answers Chatbots are computer designed, interactive programs simulating human conversations and often powered by artificial intelligence.
When it comes to virtual versus augmented reality, the borders are fluid. The latter is often described as a hybrid of both virtual and real life experiences, which makes it understandably difficult to distinguish. All in all, developments in this area are still in their infant stages. Given the rapid growth rate of technology in the last couple of years, however, it won’t be long until phenomena like augmented reality find its use in business.
Adapt Your Workforce
Having given you a bit of an insight into the new status quo of doing business online and what we can expect to see happening within the next couple of years, I want to point you towards the possibly most important aspect of running a successful SaaS business (or any other business online) in the 21st century: Your workforce.
Now, what gets your workforce (and hence your business) from good to great? In a world of information overload, you want to make sure to include both specialists as well as generalists in your team. They each bring very distinct and valuable skills to the table, which are needed to move your company forward.
Having specialists and generalists work alongside effectively and without difficulty can be tricky. That’s why having access to the right project management tool comes in handy. Diversity often inhibits collaboration, and that’s where you need to make sure that processes run smoothly and your employees feel cared about.
Remember when we talked about the importance of building trust with your current and future customers early on in this article? Creating a safe psychological space when tackling the challenges of today’s world of rapid growth is crucial.
What All Of This Means For Your Business
In order to stay ahead of the curve, make sure to assemble a skilled team, educate yourself about the newest breakthroughs in technology, take calculated risks and choose the road less traveled. With so many developments happening at the same time, it is impossible to stay updated about every single detail. Gather a team of generalists and specialists that can help you connect the dots in today’s world of rapid technological evolution and establish a business strategy that sets you apart from what everyone else is doing.
We cannot handle the changes we are experiencing online all by ourselves, so start collaborating and sharing your ideas. Keep your team and workflow connected by using effective project management tools, foster innovation within your company and reward creative thinking.
After all, the future in life and business is yours to create.
Rachel McPherson
Rachel is currently working as the vice president of communications at Active Collab. After finishing her master’s degree in Communications she pursued a career in the digital industry, most notably in marketing and public relations.
