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Are we going back to normal growth or are we going through tough times for businesses and everyone in general? If a real slowdown is coming in the next year, companies of all sizes will have some difficult decisions to make such as their commitment to technology as a strategic tool for all the business objectives. Technology investment without planning could be the wrong thing to do especially when the economy is slowing down.

It will be more difficult for IT people to persuade the management of the company and the stakeholders to invest in technology in order to overwhelm the economic downturn since when the economy slows down, it makes things harder. In every organization, Information Technology is the second “high roller” in relation with expenses, after the payroll. Therefore, in ambiguous times, it is not surprising that creative projects are the hardest to defend.

Importance of Investing in technology

However investing in technology is very important during these times due to the fact that the tail-end of a recession is the perfect time to make an investment in technology. IBSCY has helped many companies to make it through tough times by getting them the right technology to increase their efficiency.

The big question for everybody during these period of crisis is “Why now is the best time to invest in technology?”. The answer on this question is that it will be wise for any company that would like to overwhelm the crisis to invest to technology during the recession for the following reasons:

Streamline processes and build efficiency in your day to day operation

Clients will start asking for discount and you will need to find ways of minimizing the work that is carried out and in consequence, lower costs. Technology will be the solution. Using the correct software packages, you will be able to “Do more with less” which corresponds to do more work within smaller time frames. This approach has two very important advantages. The first one is that you will be able to finish work on time and keep your existing clients happy, and the second is that you will be able to do more work within the same timeframe. For example, the advantage of making an upgrade to a customized accounting software (or any other technology) corresponds that more can be done with fewer people. 

Gain competitive advantage

It is very important to differentiate yourself from the competition, especially during the recession, not only to get new customers but to keep your existing ones. While your competitors are minimizing technology budgets, you can gain a competitive advantage using more technology that will allow you to attract more customers. Using technology you can create innovative products and services in order to get more market share. By using technology, you can “sprint-out” of the recession instead of crawling. Basically, as a businessman or as a manager you need to be able to operate the business at your peak when clients walk in and also to be able to handle easier the additional clients that you will gain.

Attract new business

Internet is a very powerful tool and now is the time to promote your business by expanding your web presence. Think about the update of your website such as the addition of news feeds, events calendar, customer support features and many others. Also, make sure that you use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques in order to maximize your visibility in search engines and increase the traffic of your website.

Invest in the future

When a crisis hit an economy, business is getting slow. However, this is the right time to plan and implement IT infrastructure improvements that will help you to hit the ground when the economy will recover. However, make sure that you invest in the right equipment in order to avoid spending in technology that will not help your business.

Take advantage of lower rates

All the IT companies are feeling the economy just like everyone else. This is the reason that right now you won’t pay the premium for resources to do the work that you would in a boom economy. IT companies will be willing to do what they need to do in order to get back into the market.

Conclusion

In uncertain times, investment in technology raises the value of every business because it lets you do more with less, you gain a competitive advantage and customer loyalty, you can attract new business and it is the right time to invest in the future.

Therefore, it's not just about spending on technology. It's about using technology to power business innovations. However, technology just happens to be the most cost-efficient way to accomplish all of the above objectives. This is the specialization of our company. IBSCY Intelligent business Solutions Ltd will make sure that you will spend wisely for the right equipment and services in order to have a ROI (Return On Investment) the soonest possible.

Maria Michael

Sales Consultant

IBSCY Ltd
http://www.ibs.com.cy