Since the World Wide Web entered the scene thirty years ago, in 1993, it has changed the way business is conducted. Wholly new markets, products, and services have entered the business arena because of new developments in technology.
New tech is not only affecting what businesses do, but how they operate. From customer service and sales, to flexibility and data management, technology has empowered business not only to expand, but also automate many of the procedures that used to be performed by hand.
In sum, automation has transformed many companies by freeing up personnel to address other tasks, or replacing workers altogether.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence research began in the mid-nineties at MIT, after the internet became widely available to everyone. Much of the early work on AI focused on creating algorithms that imitated natural language processing.
The focus on language processing enabled these AI programs, often referred to as “virtual assistants,” to understand and respond to natural human language. In 2017 this AI technology became popular through the production and implementation of Facebook’s M and Apple’s Siri.
Together they worked to deduce what users wanted, and sought to complete simple virtual tasks. Today such assistants may be found in many homes, where they parse user voice commands and respond to questions.
In November of 2022, ChatGPT debuted. This technology far surpassed previously available programs. ChatGPT endeavors to create human-like responses through traditional conversation.
This is done through a process of training and neural networking that utilizes the mass amounts of data available on the web. The program can engage in multiple conversations at the same time, which makes it capable of handling a greater amount of customer service inquiries, despite the high traffic that’s routine in certain lines of business.
Other Technologies and Their Impact on Business
Despite the immense capabilities displayed by ChatGPT, much of its coding and apparent intelligence has been designed to handle communication with and assistance directed at customers. What ChatGPT does not do thus far is the kind of back-office work that could further automate a business.
Other services and programs can work for business owners to simplify their operations, and help them both to optimize their resources, and to automate their procedures and practices to streamline the process, improve productivity, and potentially raise their competitive edge in the market.
Tim Draper, founder of Draper Associates, said, “look for an automated solution that can perform the task as well or better, while delivering exceptional service.” When you can find such solutions you can then identify the menial tasks in your business, and use software to perform these services.
Companies like Cetaris offer many softwares, apps, management, and maintenance solutions that can benefit other companies in this manner. Their resources can assist a variety of industries, including transportation, distribution, oil, gas, grocery, utilities, telecom, construction, government, retail, and schools.
This technology will help to automate your vendors, purchase orders, work orders, fleet management, and inventory. It can also streamline and integrate an array of technologies to make the menial tasks fully functioning with little or no human oversight.
When a firm effectively integrates these many technologies it can reap a timely return on investment, digitize the maintenance process, and get real-time data insights that result in a more effective business operation.
Conclusion
Technology has expanded by leaps and bounds over the past three decades. Its growth has ushered in many new businesses, needs, and products.
Technology will surely continue to be a power player in the business world, and its many advances will undoubtedly make it easier to perform various commercial functions–and in some instances, replace the need for humans altogether. To be a contender in any field and maintain growth and success, the use of such technologies will be essential.
