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Conducting business is no longer as simple, and dare we say primitive, as being present in the store at the point of sale, making said sale, recording said sale and replenishing inventory stock – all in a very hands-on manner.

The technology sector, which has grown in and of itself in the last decade at least, has had a massive impact on business and continues to shape the evolution of business in the near future. Here are the up and coming technological trends which will impact businesses.

Environmentally sustainable

Environmental sustainability seems to be the name of the game in most industries and if a company wishes to be successful and make a big impact, they have no choice but to get on board. Therefore, any technologies that have a low environmental impact themselves or enable production of better, more ‘green’ products, will likely be a huge hit in the market. Consumers, thanks to awareness and the internet, have a far superior understanding now more than ever about methods of production and how their choices impact their environment. When conducting business, it pays to cater to this trend.

Connect

The internet has changed everything for human connection over the last few years. Both professionally and personally, the internet enables connections between people that might ordinarily not have occurred, albeit facilitated by an LCD screen. ‘Cyber’ connections have become so frequent and popular that they have even become a precursor to a physical connection. For example, when applying for a job with a company, it is not unusual for the prospective employee’s personal Facebook page to be viewed and the hiring company may well ask for the link to a LinkedIn page. Therefore, one can even go as far as to say it is beneficial to buy into this trend and ensure social media is utilised effectively for optimal business opportunities.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality is a massive area of development in the technological world and being used by a variety of companies for training and educating employees and customers. It allows realistic simulation of situations that may only happen on occasion in reality, thereby reaching a superior level of training and expertise. It also facilitates cost-savings and ease of use as experts are not required to be in many places at once, training users all over the world.

Drones

The use of drones is spilling over from the home hobbyists arena to the business world. Companies such as Villaway are using drones to do vacation home property tours with film companies making use of the size and accessibility of drones to capture hard-to-get camera shots and angles. Most recently, Amazon is investigating the use of drones to do home deliveries so they can reach a sub-30 minute delivery target. This has been dubbed ‘Prime Air’ and is still in investigative phases but is set to be very promising indeed.