The Last 20 Years: How New Technology Has Changed the Way Businesses Run

Technology has brought about drastic changes to the way we do business these days. Although most of the changes are improvements, some of them have completely done away with certain business processes and others have eliminated specific positions from the job marketplace.

The following five advances in technology have been implemented in the last 20 years, and they have radically changed the way certain commercial activities are conducted:

Streaming Video

The old business model of opening a neighborhood video rental store and waiting for customers to walk through the door in search of newly arrived movies, concerts and documentaries has been supplanted by streaming video services such as Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, and others. DVD sales these days are mostly limited to special collections, and the music and video game industries have also embraced the streaming business model.

Telecommuting

In the late 20th century, quite a few managers and administrators were suspicious of working from home as a valid business practice. The suspicions were largely attributed to not being able to keep a close eye on telecommuters; after all, this was a time when micromanagement was still considered effective. Cloud computing and the proliferation of mobile devices have made it easier for employees to work and collaborate from remote locations, and thus telecommuting has become a common practice in many American workplaces.

Cloud Computing

The demise of the old client/server architecture and the adoption of cloud computing as the new business paradigm has been one of the greatest benefits enjoyed by the enterprise world in the 21st century. Cloud computing makes it possible for companies to greatly reduce their hardware expenditures, software licensing schemes and staffing needs. Moreover, cloud computing with the help of Ottawa tech support companies and other such services allows business owners to retain providers of IT services to handle their office technology.

Online Publishing

It all started when desktop publishing and offset printing were combined and adopted by the newspaper industry in the 1980s. News publishers initially welcomed the internet with open arms and were thrilled to deliver snippets of breaking news on early websites; later, however, they saw their circulation numbers plummet and were obligated to reduce their newsrooms so that they could focus on the new paradigm of online publishing.

Paperless Offices

Enterprise resource management and productivity software suites have contributed to the virtual elimination of paper in offices around the world, and we have technology to thank for this wonderful new paradigm. Paperless offices are not only eco-friendly but also tend to be more efficient.

It is clear to see that technology has greatly transformed the business landscape in the last 20 years, and we can safely assume that more changes are in the horizon.