What are tools and technologies in digital business?
Running a new or existing online business requires having a set of suitable tools to help in everyday operations. Yet, setting up and connecting tools to existing company systems is not as simple as it might sound. Navigating the plethora of ERPs, digital marketing technologies, logistics and payment services and their connectors to each other is no small task. Knowing what you need is a hardship of its own, as collecting an online businesses’ needs and matching them to the abundance of options can be overwhelming.
Traditionally agencies love providing their clients a certain set of tools and technologies they are most familiar with. Naturally, this does not always result in choosing an optimal set of tools for clients. Especially what comes to creating new digital businesses, the needs of businesses are not one-size-fits-all.
Why do tools matter?
Using a suitable set of tools and technologies makes your companies’ everyday life easier through smooth processes and painless integration. However, taking shortcuts and making quick-and-dirty decisions may save costs in the short run, but often result in loss of sales and other headaches caused by upcoming costly integrations, unused features and broken data. Having helped companies small and large, we have insight in gathering technology requirements, critically evaluating technology providers and issuing professional recommendations on suitable tools and technologies. Figuring out the suitable technologies the first time saves time and money in the long run.
What factors affect choice of tools and technologies?
Tools are naturally chosen because of their features and what they enable business to do. Although, often tools are not fully utilised, as often only some features are used while others are left out. Tools should also be considered due to their fit to current systems and synergies between each other. What good is having a bunch of different tools if they do not work smoothly together?
Other considerations consist of setting up and maintaining costs, as suppliers have various pricing models to choose from. Furthermore, choosing open-ended vs closed systems is key in future-proofing a business’s operations.
Although on its own this might seem complex enough, there is still more to come. With industries and businesses being in a state of constant flux, so are their needs for having suitable tools. Respectfully, new tools and technologies emerge every year. Hence, a stack of tools chosen 5 years ago probably is not as good as a fit today.
We at Iona are tool and technology agnostic; instead of pushing any certain tech or tool because we’re told to do so, we reassess, evaluate and give recommendations for tools and technologies - leaving you to concentrate on running the business.
