Did you know that nearly half of all the data breaches businesses suffer occur at the hands of their vendors? With small businesses having dozens of vendors and large enterprises having hundreds, it’s even more important now for companies to manage the risks across the supply chain.

It’s a simple question, but one that businesses need to answer. Who do we put first — the customer or the employee? For this chicken-and-egg debate, there’s actually a clear answer. But it may not be what you expect.

The argument for the customer

When it comes to customer satisfaction, there’s no dearth of quotes: The customer is always right.

Even just a decade ago, artificial intelligence (AI) was merely science fiction. Today, it’s a rapidly growing force in the technology sector, and it’s changing business operations beyond measure. Many leading tech companies, as well as countless innovative startups, are now integrating AI into their software to streamline operations and help users make sense of the enormous amount of data being captured from digital workflows.

For small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs), employee productivity is crucial to success. This is especially relevant in New Jersey, where small businesses comprise almost half of the workforce. The less manpower available, the more important it is that employees pull their own weight and wear several hats at the same time.

Technology may be getting simpler from an end-user perspective but, behind the scenes, it has never been more complicated. Today, businesses have to contend with an increasingly diverse tech landscape that comprises traditional in-house computing resources, cloud-hosted solutions, and mobile devices.

Do you want to further improve your business’s performance? Then it’s time to seriously consider integrating the various technologies you use. Nowadays, systems integration is one of the key catalysts for business growth.

Your organization employs a lot of devices, apps, and point-of-sale (POS) systems in your daily operations.

Today’s technology allows businesses to gather a staggering amount of data from customers, site visitors, and users. Cybercriminals go to great lengths to steal or hold data for ransom because it's highly valuable. Your competitors also use data to get ahead in the game, which is why it’s very important for you not to fall behind on technology.

Technology is much a part of society as well as the workplace today. Practically everyone uses a smartphone to connect to the bigger world, while many businesses use the cloud to enable their staff to collaborate efficiently on projects. From using social media to mining big data analytics, technology promotes change, progress, and nonstop improvement.

Thanks to today’s technology, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can now go toe-to-toe with their larger competitors for a share of the market. It’s crucial, then, for SMBs to keep up with technology so they can remain competitive and profitable.

Your business relies on IT to deliver efficient services to customers. But because you’re so busy with day-to-day operations, you often forget to regularly install software updates or purchase new hardware. Technology is ever-changing and improving, and if you continue to hold off replacing outdated IT, you risk productivity loss, cybersecurity problems, lower quality of work, and wasted resources.