{"id":11201,"date":"2018-01-10T10:28:27","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T16:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/?p=11201"},"modified":"2022-11-22T16:09:09","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T22:09:09","slug":"business-falling-behind-5-technologies-already-using-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mrc-productivity.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/business-falling-behind-5-technologies-already-using-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Is your business falling behind? 5 technologies you should already be using in 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Education\"Summary: Technology is evolving faster than ever, and plays an increasingly important role in the business world. Is your company keeping up? In this article, we explore technologies and\/or processes that are absolutely essential in 2018. If your business doesn’t have these technologies in place already, you could be falling behind. Read the whole article to learn more.<\/em><\/span>
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\nI recently read through Gartner\u2019s \u201cTop 10 strategic technology trends for 2018<\/span><\/a>\u201d article. It discusses many of the hot trends we\u2019ve heard a lot about recently, like blockchain, AI, VR\/AR, IoT, etc…<\/p>\n

Now, there\u2019s no doubt that these trends will have a big impact on the business world in the near future. But, let’s be honest: The average business isn\u2019t going to adopt trends like AI, blockchain, and virtual reality in 2018. These are trends you should definitely research and prepare for, but most will only impact the larger companies in the coming year.<\/p>\n

That got me thinking: These cutting-edge tech trends will eventually turn into business necessities. But, what former trends are now necessities for today\u2019s business? What technologies should businesses be using in 2018 if they hope to remain competitive?<\/p>\n

Today, let\u2019s explore that topic in more detail. Let\u2019s take a look at technologies\/processes that the modern business should already have in place. Now, these aren\u2019t cutting edge tech trends. But, if you\u2019re not using these technologies in 2018, your business is probably falling behind.<\/p>\n

1. SSL Certificates<\/h3>\n

In October of 2017, Google made a change in the Chrome web browser. They began marking non-HTTPS pages with input fields as \u201cNot Secure\u201d in the address bar. These pages now display an icon (and often a warning) when users try to submit data through a non-HTTPS page.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the difference between HTTP and HTTPS? Essentially, an HTTPS page encrypts the data submitted on the site, while an HTTP page does not. By taking this step, Google is trying to help the web become more secure.<\/p>\n

Now, I sincerely hope that your business jumped on board the HTTPS train last year. Otherwise, your visitors are likely seeing security warnings when they visit your site. What can you do if your website is still HTTP? I won\u2019t get into all of the steps here, but as explained below, you need to purchase and install an SSL certificate.<\/p>\n

\u201cSSL certificates have been around for years but have been considered increasingly mandatory for the past eighteen months,\u201d says Mike Catania, Chief Technology Officer of PromotionCode.org<\/span><\/a>. \u201cAny company with an online presence that doesn’t utilize this technology to protect their customers is not only behind from an IT perspective, but behind in user experience. Google has been trying to push these sites forward both through negative ranking signals and now with Chrome showing a big “Not Secure” icon in the Address Bar. The good news is that an installation is relatively fast and cheap, so there are officially no excuses left for those companies lagging behind.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2. BI\/reporting\/analytics<\/h3>\n

Businesses have access to more data than ever before, and it\u2019s only growing. The ability to quickly turn this data avalanche into actionable insights is quickly becoming a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n

The question is, what are you doing with your data? Are you falling behind from a data analysis perspective? Here are a few questions to ask:<\/p>\n