Business owners in the IT field must know and understand tech trends to stay on top of the industry. Technology trends certainly affect small businesses’ existence in the market. It is pretty obvious that being a small business, it is not necessary that you are at the forefront in making the best use of the technology. However, you must never underestimate your position. It is well known that a lot of things have changed over the past year, and the importance of the small business technology trends will only rise in the near future. 

With the rise of the new trend of remote work, one of the most in-demand areas of development and implementation is an employee monitoring system. Most of the small businesses in the tech industry were not ready for the sudden work-from-home culture and are still struggling to work as per the new normal. Here, technology can play a crucial role in this to restructure, monitor, and manage small and midsized businesses. Apart from this, there are several areas that small and medium businesses need to explore. For this, here is a list of the top technology trends for small and medium-sized businesses.

Tech Assisted Shopping: One of the significant events that occurred at the time of the pandemic is the trend of online shopping. In order to sustain themselves in the market, most businesses have gone online. In fact, there has been a surge in social media shopping. In addition, the facility of mobile payments has helped them to accelerate their business revenue. 

Remote Onboarding: As more and more businesses are working with the hybrid working model, it is pretty obvious that they will rely on the technology to manage a successful onboarding process for remote employees. The process of onboarding is an integral part of hiring when the new employees are made aware of the overall company culture. Technology has made it easy for businesses to conduct the onboarding process. Businesses are likely to invest more in technology that helps the new employees get a better understanding of the business and make them feel welcome in the business.   

Artificial Intelligence: Although the technology of Artificial Intelligence is not new in the market, the coming time is going to witness new advancements and innovations in it. As AI is developing more and more solutions, it is believed that business owners will continue to integrate them into their existing processes in the coming year. The areas of implementation can vary from voice assistance to the use of chatbots for customer support. Business experts say that AI technology will help small businesses to offer a personalized experience to their customers. 

Cybersecurity: As more and more businesses have gone online, they have been exposed to the threat of cyber-attacks. Especially small businesses do not have a strong IT infrastructure or a robust and updated cyber security system installed in their system. This makes these businesses vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Hence, small businesses should start considering cyber security as a priority to keep the overall information system and their business operations safe and operational. 

Increased Emphasis on Automation: Apart from the tech giants who can make investments in the area of automation, even small and medium businesses are thinking of incorporating automation into their business processes. The reason is that automation saves a lot of time and money for the business. Investments in the area of automation are likely to increase with time if there is a continued shortage of workers within a specific domain. The technology not only decreases human errors but also contributes to revenue growth. 

Social Media Advertising: Social media advertising has become more and more popular at present times. Micro businesses which want to grow their reach to new markets and who want to develop a strong customer base are now conducting social media advertising activities proactively. This is one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to target specific audiences. 

Influencer Marketing: Even small businesses today are getting connected with influencers to carry out marketing activities. The traditional ways of print advertising are not used these days. Instead, the businesses have their own personalized marketing plan, which involves working with influencers. Influencer marketing over social media gives the business an opportunity to closely work with the customers. 

Apart from the trends mentioned in the above section, another critical trend is the unification of the software applications. Third-party software integrations are making it easy for businesses to collaborate and sync the different business processes. However, it is highly difficult to connect one software application with the other entirely. However, it is assumed that there is going to be a breakthrough in the domain of the integration platforms.