Innovation and creativity have always been at the heart of societal and corporate success. From the first Chinese compass stemming from the Han Dynasty two hundred years before Christ, the steam engine of the sixteenth century, the Ford Assembly Line in the 1910s, the first instances of what would later become the internet, and the smart homes and vehicles of today, technology has allowed businesses not only to develop never-been-seen solutions to meet existing needs, but also the tools to make our lives easier and more convenient.
As we keep that in mind, let us explore three of the most important technology business trends in three of the principal industries in the world today.
Health: Made for the Times
Over the past year and a half, there has not been a bigger global issue than the covid-19 global pandemic and its effects on nations all across the world. Along with being a public health crisis, the virus has affected all industries and fields, including but not limited to education, manufacturing, retail, online businesses, and of course, healthcare. For the vast majority of us who didn’t have to experience the Spanish flu of the early 20th century, covid-19 has been a stark reminder of how powerless human beings can be when facing nature’s wrath at its fullest and how many of our past decisions continue to influence our present situation.
Luckily, challenging times often bring the best in people and force them to work harder, come together, and innovate. From a healthcare perspective, it entails high-tech enterprises and drug companies working hand-in-hand in pharmaceutical solubility and absorption tests to deliver the best, most effective, quickest solutions to a wide range of pressing medical needs. In addition, it also entails the creation of new devices and equipment to provide a top-level of service to patients in all corners of the globe.
Manufacturing: Safety and Efficiency Above All
According to different studies, the cost of work-related injuries in 2019 was more than 171 billion dollars in the United States alone. This number takes into account medical expenses, wage and productivity losses, and administrative expenses. To put things in perspective, 171 billion dollars is more than the total net worth of some of the world’s richest individuals, including Tesla founder Elon Musk, Louis Vuitton giant Bernard Arnault, Bill Gates, and Facebook boy-genius Mark Zuckerberg. To say this is a lot of money is perhaps the biggest understatement of all time.
What this information tells us can be divided into two very specific parts. First, many of America’s largest corporations have dropped the ball regarding employee safety and the procedures put in place to ensure it. Second, firms must create mechanisms that prevent accidents from happening and deal with them in the most effective, satisfactory way.
Fortunately, over the past few years or so, technological development has managed to, as they say, kill two birds with one stone. Thanks to automation processes and artificial intelligence, firms can, among many other things, provide remote maintenance to their machines and take the human element out of many of their manufacturing capabilities.
Advertising: Competitiveness and the Open Market
Several of the largest multinational corporations often use top advertising agencies to handle their promotional and public relations work. Many of us remember the multimillion-dollar Chanel commercial featuring Australian actress and Hollywood heavyweight Nicole Kidman or Michael Jordan’s countless television spots promoting anything from hamburgers to car insurance, baseball cards, and underwear. In the late nineties and early two-thousands, celebrity advertising was at the top of the list of any self-respecting retail business wanting to expand its market on a mass scale.
But what about small and medium-sized firms? How could they compete with giants possessing unlimited marketing and advertising resources? The simple answer is that they couldn’t, no matter how efficient they managed their budgets or how creative they were with their strategies.
In the 21st century, this has become yesterday’s news. Today, as with most things, technology has provided smaller enterprises the tools to market their products and services at a fraction of the price and with twice the reach. With the explosion of social media, now all it takes is a quality website, one or two social media business accounts, and a smart advertising plan of action, and you are good to go.
Three business technology trends currently at the forefront are health capabilities to meet the challenges of today, safety and efficiency in manufacturing, and a level playing field in marketing potentialities. As the world continues to develop at a pace never seen before, one can only wonder what changes we will see next.
