Value is an important principle in business. It is how a business assesses their own health and well-being in the long-term, and without value, a business simply will not succeed. In today’s era, where information technology (or IT) provides much of the functionality in business operations, it is worth acknowledging the way in which technology strategy consulting can add business value to an organization. Of course, technology will never be a complete replacement for business acumen, hard work, and great ideas, but it can compliment these things, and more, in order to add business value.
What is Business Value?
Although technically an informal term, it is widely accepted as an important metric for measuring the success of an organization. There are several different types of economic value, but business value goes far beyond that, and includes all kinds of intangible forms of value that are acknowledged in the business world. For instance, a business can measure their profits, and their economic value added, or their shareholder value; but many businesses also like to measure the value provided by intangible assets – for example, an exclusive patent is a great example of a high-value, but intangible asset. Other examples might be a recognizable and trusted trade name – think of eponymous name brands like Kleenex, Fedex, or Polaroid.
Adding Value with Technology
Business value comes in many different ways, and some forms of value can be enhanced, or even created, using technological solutions. For instance, does your business generate value from its efficient customer service? Or from its cutting edge products and services? These are things that modern information technology in the business world aim to achieve. So, what exactly are some of the ways in which technology adds value to a business?
We spoke to some technology strategy companies about how they feel technology provides value. One company, TechQuarters, stated that the best way that technology creates business value is by streamlining, or enhancing business processes. Different aspects of a business – such as marketing, accounting, or sales – can be augmented with the right tech solutions. If done correctly, a business can operate more efficiently, and therefore more productively.
Marketing Solutions
We all know how important marketing and PR is; they are the two disciplines that help shape your brand, and the perception of your business. They also go a long way in creating value in the eyes of your target audience, and so any solution that makes marketing and PR easier, or more efficient, is incredibly valuable. But how exactly can technology make a business better at marketing, or PR? Of course, you won’t magically become good at marketing, however using technology to gather data is a well-established and highly valuable process in marketing – data such as customer behavior, market trends, content trends, and web analytics all help to focus a business’ marketing efforts, and therefore makes marketing much more efficient. A good marketing strategy provides a lot of value to a company.
Modernized IT
It is inarguable that information technology is built into the foundations of all modern businesses. Most authorities in the business and tech worlds agree that, if organizations can hope to survive in the fast-paced, competitive world of modern business, they need to be using modern IT solutions. Modernizing IT is a significant undertaking, but one with a lot of return on investment. For example, many business in London choose to pay for managed IT support London based companies such as TechQuarters provide – such companies usually have the expertise and resources necessary for IT modernization projects, whereas a lot of businesses might not have the capabilities in-house.
So how does this relate to business value? To start with, many modern IT solutions contribute to efficient and productive operations. For instance, many businesses in the last few years have migrated their IT infrastructure to the Cloud, enabling them to streamline business processes, increase connectivity, and reduce overheads – you can see then how much value this adds to a business.
