Harnessing information technology - the key to successful businesses - Essay Example

Harnessing Information Technology- The Key To Successful Businesses Today, technology is synonymous with globalization. As a small business owner,information can be one of your key assets. With technological innovations influencing every arena of our life, the world has become a global village. It has shrunk in size and is accessible with the click of a mouse or a touch of a button. Sitting in one corner of the world, a corporation can carry out trade and business in another remote part of the world.

Globalization forces everyone to compete with the cheapest producers, transport the best products to every corner of the world, adopt the best business practices and make the world and ever-evolving and interesting place to live in. The saying "Knowledge is power," is apt in today's fast-paced world. A business owner who is well informed will be able to take strategic decisions easily. This can make his business successful and more profitable. Sitting in one corner of the globe, a business owner can get information about the demand for his product in another part of the world.

The owner can thus utilize this knowledge to launch his product in that market, if there is a genuine demand for it. In case the owner was not informed of the demand for that product in the new market and launches it at a time and place when there is no demand, the launch would be a failure, leading to losses for the owner. Another immediate benefit of using IT as a resource for business is the ease of fund transfers. With the world going online, it is very easy to carry out business transactions through the internet, be it placing orders, creating awareness about and launching new products, transfer of funds, payment of bills and the like.

Productivity and Performance through IT As businesses become more and more automated, there is less dependence on human effort. Thus, businesses are reducing the number of manpower employed, and getting more tech-savvy. This results in more accuracy, efficiency and less capital involvement. With less manpower at work, businesses can save on the land used for the offices and the salaries of the employees. Offices have now shrunk into laptops, cashiers have been transformed into online fund transfers, and company performance and profits have been soaring.

When the business is automated, it is possible to adopt best business practices, Total Quality Management, Kaizen and other quality improvement techniques easily and take rational and strategic business decisions, without any outside help. Thus, it is safe to conclude that SMEs (small and medium enterprises) have a lot to gain by adopting Information systems conducive to their business. This will lead to long- term gains for the company and the owner. Reference The Globalization of Timber:An Introduction ,by George Draffan Public Information Network PO Box 95316, Seattle WA 98145-2316 USA www.endgame.org