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How Companies can use technology to innovate and drive growth Part 1

The most successful companies are the ones who optimize their internal systems to operate most efficiently. This serves them in multiple areas. It can free up their team members from arduous tasks to concentrate on strategic development. It can help them cull valuable insight and data from its customers. It can also make the workday easier for numerous people throughout the organization in countless ways.

So how do these organizations empower their team members, helping the overall enterprise to become more efficient? They do it by embracing technological developments that aid them in getting the most out of their workforce and data.

This efficiency isn’t promoted just for the sake of it. This efficiency – and the tools that enable it – can inspire true innovation, which can help the company grow exponentially. Here’s how companies can use technology to innovate and drive growth.

Leveraging technology and its effectiveness

Before diving into the kinds of technology organizations can use to drive growth, it’s first critical to establish a culture that welcomes and embraces change throughout the organization. Leveraging different technologies often include adopting widespread changes. This can lead to a radical shift in how your company thinks or does business. Not every company is built to encourage this kind of forward-thinking approach. Change isn’t easy – it involves collaboration and communication throughout the company that needs to be directed by leadership.

That’s why it’s vital for a company’s leadership to be the biggest cheerleader for welcoming change and adopting new technologies. This line of thinking should be baked into your culture. You and your company will want to adopt a mindset that fosters innovation. As a part of this mindset, you’ll want to explore new avenues of technology to integrate into your daily operations.

Once you adjust your team’s mindset, the question then becomes which technologies should you look to adopt?

The most commonly used technologies in today’s digital landscape

Many of the most commonly used technologies are commonly used for a reason: they’re effective in helping organizations achieve their business goals. Looking to technology can grow profits, it can streamline processes, and it can help your team stay up to date with an ever-changing landscape within your industry.

Consider how this shift in mindset can help change not just one company, but an industry and even a nation. Ireland is home to eight of the top ten automation companies as well as the second-largest exporter of medical devices. This increased emphasis on automation and robotics has helped shaped the country’s economy while also helping major corporations like Johnson & Johnson and Boston Dynamics develop more solutions.

So what are some examples of commonly used technologies being used by companies to drive success?

Artificial intelligence

According to an article from McKinsey, an Indonesian mining company called Petrosea found itself with its back up against the wall. Petrosea found itself facing a constant litany of growing regulations along with a world that is growing consistently less friendly toward mining due to environmental concerns. How did they adapt? By embracing technology that encouraged innovation. One example of Petrosea’s efforts include AI-focused technologies that enabled them to find the precious metals they mine more quickly. According to company President Director Hanifa Indradjaya, the change in focus kept them at the forefront of their market and industry:

“Technology enabled us to innovate our business model and remain relevant….A digital mindset now percolates through every aspect of the company.”

Machine learning

AI and machine learning typically go hand in hand, working seamlessly to help revolutionize companies in countless industries. For one terrific example of a cutting-edge company that incorporates machine learning in many of its projects, look no further than one of the leading technology brands in the world: Google. According to Forbes, Google has solidified itself as one of the “pioneers” of deep learning. They’ve applied it to concepts and projects such as:

  • 2011’s Google Brain project Language processing to help YouTube make stronger video recommendations, using viewing habits to make more informed suggestions
  • Its self-driving car division
  • Within its data centers, where machines help the company figure out the appropriate hardware configuration needed to cool their devices

If one of the world’s biggest, most valuable, and most powerful companies looks to machine learning, it’s fair to say that most other companies could stand to gain from doing the same.

Smart sensors

Another technological innovation that’s being applied in numerous sectors includes smart sensors. In one instance, it’s keeping people safer and healthier. Years ago in the mining industry, miners would send canaries into the mines to make sure the air was safe to breath. Now, a company called LeapCraft (with design from another firm called GXN) has developed a tool called AirBird. This smart sensor-based technology can test the CO2 levels in the air to gauge its breathability for humans using data and analysis. There are plenty of people – and possibly some canaries – breathing a huge sigh of relief at this development.

Robotics 

Another area of technological innovation is robotics, which can help perform tasks humans would otherwise. One example of this is in the healthcare sector. Ganymed Robotics, a company that devises robotic solutions for orthopedic surgery, developed a surgical robotic assistant. The prototype assisted surgeons performing total knee arthroplasty, a procedure known as TKA. This is doing more than just helping doctors. It’s also helping decrease the amount of risk patients face. This particular type of surgery involves one dangerous step. Having a robot that can perform the step helps minimize the potential damage, leading to an easier time for the doctor and ultimately, better patient outcomes.

If reading about the examples outlined above leads you to believe there’s evidence of a larger trend across industries to embrace tech in coming up with solutions, you’re not wrong. We’re currently in the midst of a wave known as Industry 4.0. This represents the fourth Industrial Revolution. The last one saw the adoption of computers and automation. This next one will only go further down that path, implementing smart systems, AI, and machine learning to continue to optimize processes.


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