Today's world places great importance on speed, efficiency, and user friendliness. This is why IT plays a major role here. When compared to only two decades ago we've seen technology significantly change how we communicate, shop, and work regardless of the size of a business. IT is what helps it remain competitive, so it can thrive. There are three main reasons why IT is now a business' foundation.
 

Communication

In the business world you need to know how to instantly and efficiently communicate. IT is what makes this possible for this to happen. Whether you need to manage business conference calls, send emails, or find screen sharing programs that make it easier for team members to collaborate on projects from any place this is all made possible by IT today.
 

Most customers are so engaged in a digital communication channel that it's like second nature for them to use it to get in touch with your business. This starts in the beginning when they're looking at what products and services you offer then continues through the buying process and if they have any issues they need to have addressed. They appreciate the fact that there aren't any restrictions here so they can easily make good decisions.
 

As a business you want your customers to enjoy these benefits. You also want to watch how your customers do this so you can continue developing a business that's meaningful to them. At the same time, you also need to keep your stakeholders in the loop. This information is important to them. However, you must realize that it would never even exist if you didn't have IT in place.
 

Efficiency

As a business, you understand how important it is to streamline all of your operations. By making everything as efficient as possible you're able to drastically reduce your expenditures. At the same time you'll also maximize your return on investment (ROI).
 

These are things you can do in less time than ever before. Whether you're making or saving money, you're also doing it while creating a product or service that's of a higher quality than before too. Of course, this is something that managers have been trying to do since the first business was created.
 

IT makes all of this possible. This is because it automates your routine tasks, instantly creates data that's error-free, quickly analyzes the data in meaningful ways for you, and offers you a place where you can store all of this information. These are just a few of the ways that IT can dramatically impact your business for the better. However, what's really nice is that you no longer have to do these tasks manually. Instead, IT does it for you, and it does it faster too. Since we're depending on computers here, we also don't have to worry about making mistakes. This simply doesn't happen. Instead, IT does a great job of handling the work while efficiently managing your resources at the same time.
 

Since you're continually striving to have your business lower its production costs, all of this is really important. Here you can clearly see how IT infrastructure plays such an important part anywhere you allow it to do so. It doesn't matter if you use it to centralize redundant tasks or you move expensive functions online. All of these are things IT can handle for you while maximizing your ROI.

While making more money is always great, saving money is also important. Today, many companies are offering customer support through email instead of live phone calls. There's one main reason for this: it reduces costs. This is also why many companies are now offering their employees telecommuting options. Allowing employees to work from home means that your company can hire the most talented employees – even if they don't want to relocate to where your office is located. Biz Mark Blog reminds us that thanks to IT nobody will even know where your employees are located unless you tell them. This is great even for those employees who only occasionally want or need to work from home – like when taking care of a sick child.
 

Besides allowing employees to telecommute, IT is also allowing businesses to outsource work. This means your business can receive professional assistance from experts regardless of their location. This is nice because sometimes you simply don't want or need to hire someone for a project that you don't need to have done too often.
 

Competitive Advantage

Today, every company is using some form of IT in their business. Many companies are fully embracing this technology – using it in every aspect of their business. As such, it's no longer a matter of whether you're using IT but now what matters more is what type of equipment you're using and how skilled you are at using it. These are the things that will give your business more of a competitive advantage now.
 

There are some companies who are using IT to create new products and services while others are using it to improve their clients' customer service experience. Businesses can also use IT to reduce their production costs, which boosts their profit margins. Additionally, there are even companies who have found a way to include IT in their products in a way that makes it really hard for their clients to move to another platform or choose to use a different product.
 

Clearly, IT is the backbone of businesses today. This is why you should give it a lot of quality attention. Not only do you need to invest in people who understand how to use IT but you also need to be comfortable using it. This shouldn't be a difficult decision if you're well-informed. However, there are still some companies that are falling short here. Unfortunately, these companies are causing irreparable damage to themselves – yet another way of seeing how central IT is to business today. Hopefully, your business isn't one of these companies today and instead you've chosen to embrace and profit from IT.