How Understand the Importance of IT for Business

A lot of businesses use information technology to enhance their business. It has become almost essential in this day and age – which means that it has become so ubiquitous amongst workplaces that it would be entirely unusual to find an office without some sort of computing equipment.

There are many reasons for this, one of the most important reasons being that the evolution of information technology has enhanced not only the speed and ease of which information can be accessed – but also the speed and ease of communication as well.

It is this level of communication that has spurred on business, to the point that businesses will be almost unable to operate without comprehensive network and information technology capabilities.

There was a time, not so very long ago when there were very set boundaries to business. Various natural frontiers, political divisions and other boundaries meant that business was at least limited to locale. However, with the advent of the information age, it has quickly changed from local to entirely global.

This has been the key, the ease of communication and the reliability of it has helped society make huge progress in the capabilities of doing business.

Collaborative tools are a huge aspect of modern information technology. But what are they exactly? Well, most of them form part of an intranet. An intranet, for those of you who don’t know, is a kind of internal intranet. To learn a little bit more about this type network, I recommend seeing my earlier Instructable on intranet portals.

The most important thing about an intranet is that you can share information freely. All well and good, you might say, but can’t this be done on the internet too? Well, yes. But a lot of the time in business, you don’t want all your information out there because using the internet makes this information vulnerable to intrusion from prying eyes.

It may just be the case that some if not all of the information simply isn’t relevant to certain people so why bother sharing it? It’s also about speed and consistency. Internet speeds have drastically increased but it’s more a matter of reliability.

We’ve all experienced that dreaded feeling at the pit of our stomachs when the internet is down. Well, with an internal network such as an intranet you can enjoy increased reliability as you’re not dependent on an external supplier. So, with this system even when the internet is down – business can continue, which is why this particular type of IT is so important for any company.

There will however always be occasions when something goes wrong. It’s part of the joy of using such advanced technology, you could say. But all is not lost when your firmware fails or your firewall becomes faulty. IT support offers great solutions for businesses.

The implications of this might sound like a nightmare, but it’s actually not that bad. A lot of people, in fact often businesses as a whole, use IT but don’t really have expert knowledge of the nitty-gritty for when there’s a problem. When wondering how to manage IT support there may be many sleepless nights had by business owners – however outsourced IT support is readily available. It's really quite commonplace, IT support Sussex or Shanghai - there are countless providers.

This is such an important aspect of IT in the business world, there are so many things that could go wrong – and you need the peace of mind that comes with knowing you are fully supported. Bigger companies will build their own IT departments for support, which is good because it can save on costs. Getting prompt support from experts is exceptionally important for any business using IT – and as we’ve discussed, that’s pretty much all of them.

We have somewhat touched upon this topic earlier when discussing intranets. One of the best ways of making the most of an intranet is to utilize collaborative tools. Intranets aren’t just for chatting or sharing the odd file, although those are certainly useful functions, you can actually share very complex collaborative tools and applications.

For example, you would be able to find extensive training applications usable on an intranet. Modules and classes can be prepared for employees to take using an intranet, which is a very efficient use of time – and is an effective way of learning. You could also use videoconferencing tools or requirements management tools when planning a project.

This sort of information technology is all about increasing efficiency and not wasting time. It’s a great boon to businesses – who may suffer otherwise.

Well there may still be a few old fuddy-duddies resisting the lure of IT in favour of starch collars and dandruff coated shoulder pads – but the key to making IT work well for a business is not resisting too much.

Of course, you need to be practical – a 5 person business in a single office won’t need an extensive phone network for example – but the key is realizing where improvements can be made and recognizing the potential that IT can have in a business setting.

Even the dowdiest of institutions can benefit from IT in terms of efficiency, simplicity, accuracy or just plain old ease of use. It can really enhance the experience of working, be it in the study of a blustery old wind bag at some ancient university or in stuffiest boutique art gallery. Places of business need information technology in order to be able to effectively change, adapt and ultimately survive as the world of business evolves.

Thanks so much for reading. If you’d like to know more about IT, I suggest seeing my Instructable on intranets – there is a link in Step 2. If you’re at all interested in web development, or indeed if you’re not, then please feel free to view my Instructable on web design.

If you’d like to keep up with all my latest work, I write on a number of subjects, then follow me on Twitter - @JeffNevil.