No company is perfect. An inside look at any business will show the people in organizations must come together to remove everyday roadblocks. Although companies can achieve considerable feats, most face multiple challenges.
Yes, some of those obstacles are unique and arguably self-inflicted. But as a whole, the business world deals with common complications from external and internal forces. Think complex compliance requirements, emerging cybersecurity threats, and the retention of talented workers. Technology, often a solution for less intimidating issues like productivity loss, can also help solve enormous problems companies can’t ignore. Let’s look at four tech saviors below.
1. Governance, Risk, and Compliance Software
Compliance is a hot topic. And it’s not just because leaders don’t want their businesses to become the next front-page governance scandal. Compliance is becoming more complex to manage, let alone keep up with. While the practice might tie into legal requirements and industry standards, those stipulations impact every role.
Companies must manage real-time threats to compliance, including potential data breaches and insider attacks. One manager’s tolerance for unethical behaviors can create vulnerabilities that spread to other departments. A lack of communication between employees in different roles may lead to preventable mistakes. Poor coordination might also mask barely functioning processes, making it difficult for leaders to determine compliance-related risks.
Most companies don’t want to fail at regulatory and standards compliance or risk management. But it’s nearly impossible for businesses to succeed in today’s complex environment without a holistic and synchronized approach. Governance, risk, and compliance software helps organizations create stronger guardrails and get a bird’s-eye view. GRC tools do this by syncing processes, keeping tabs on changing regulations, and boosting transparency.
2. Multifactor Authentication Hardware
Even though the pandemic’s effects are becoming less pronounced, remote work doesn’t look like it’s going away. At the end of 2022, about 29.4% of workdays occurred at home. Plus, surveyed employees value remote work schedules as much as they do a 5% to 7% pay bump. While not all work is feasible outside an official workplace, a 2020 study showed about 37% of jobs can be remotely.
Employers are discovering employees have more of an appetite for work-from-home positions. Some job candidates will even narrow down their searches to remote-only opportunities. Although companies are responding by transitioning to remote and hybrid arrangements, these setups create security challenges.
Access to proprietary data, network accounts, and business systems is more difficult to control when employees work from anywhere. However, authentication hardware can meet this challenge head-on by enabling tighter access controls. A multifactor authentication key plugs into an employee’s computer system and is set up to recognize their unique fingerprint. They must touch the key when they sign into their devices, online accounts, or network resources.
Multifactor authentication hardware can be more secure than other forms of two-factor authentication since it relies on biometrics. Compared to text message codes and software, biometrics are harder for hackers to intercept. Also, hardware authentication methods lower the chances another household member will gain unauthorized access to the company’s systems.
3. API Integrations
What happens when a business has multiple applications with separate databases? It’s something called data sprawl, which means critical information is spread all over the place. A company could have client data in a billing system, customer relationship management software, and a survey application. Not all of it matches, making cross-functional initiatives tedious and sometimes impossible.
Scattered data can also create obstacles for employees when they need to reference internal information. They may waste time hunting down processes if some are on the company’s intranet and others are embedded in various tools. While it’s possible to find all-in-one solutions, it’s rare for businesses to use a single application for everything. Application programming interfaces can reduce data sprawl by syncing information between apps.
Implementing software with API integration support maintains data integrity and accuracy. APIs reduce duplication and errors since systems pull from the same database. The information that billing specialists, sales reps, and marketing associates enter into separate software syncs in the background. Everyone sees and pulls the same information, so projects requiring input from multiple departments don’t become roadblocked.
4. Professional Development Tools
Despite talk of a recession, companies continue to experience talent shortages. Analysts expect 50% to 75% higher employee turnover rates than pre-pandemic figures. Backfilling vacated positions also takes HR reps 18% longer, exacerbating the problem. More employees are questioning what work means and looking for opportunities to grow their careers.
Growth doesn’t always mean ascending to management, but few people want to be in a dead-end job. They crave professional development, whether it’s advancing their current skill set or learning something entirely new. However, links between workers’ interests, skills, and internal development opportunities can be difficult for leaders to assess objectively.
Professional development tools, including virtual courses and career path applications, give employees ways to achieve their goals internally. For example, a career path app lets workers create experience-based profiles, add objectives, and find mentors. Development software backed by AI also matches employees’ skills with promising opportunities. These tools make workers’ career goals visible to the organization so leaders can better identify rising talent.
Solving Big Problems With Tech
Technology can be a lifesaver for businesses. It streamlines processes, automates monotonous tasks, and keeps employees connected. But tech can address larger issues bigger than mere barriers to efficiency. GRC software, multifactor authentication hardware, API integrations, and professional development tools provide solutions to a business’s big-picture problems. With this tech, leaders can successfully face down many of their most daunting challenges.
