Innovations for business are a great way to keep your business up-to-date and competitive. Innovative ideas often produce solutions that are both useful and cost-effective.
Business innovation can also improve working conditions and safety measures. For example, when a video game company developed a new controller that allowed girls to play its games, it changed the gaming industry.
1. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is an invaluable tool for businesses. It can be used to automate many tasks, reduce time spent on manual work and optimize workflows. It can also help to minimize human errors and ensure accuracy.
It can also be used to analyze large amounts of data faster than humans and draw insights that can help businesses make more informed decisions. This is why AI is becoming an essential business technology today. It can be used for a variety of different functions including cybersecurity, machine learning, customer relationship management, and internet searches.
2. Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is often associated with Pokemon Go and Snapchat filters, but it’s much more than that. It’s one of the pillars of Industry 4.0 and can help businesses succeed in a multitude of ways.
AR allows customers to see how products will fit into their homes before they buy, helps field technicians spot issues faster and more clearly, superimposes virtual models over physical objects and reduces overall product development time. Businesses are already starting to take advantage of it.
3. Virtual Reality
VR and its sister technology, augmented reality (AR), aren’t just for gamers. These technologies have the power to change whole lines of business, and some companies are already using them to their advantage.
For example, Ikea uses VR apps to help customers visualize how furniture will look in their home. UPS drivers use VR to practice safety procedures and even to simulate driving through cities. However, if you want your company to succeed with virtual reality, it is important to find a genuine need and apply the technology to that need.
4. Robotics
Robotics is a business technology that can help businesses succeed in many ways. When used correctly, it can enable businesses to automate tasks, increasing production rates and improving quality while reducing costs.
It can also improve Health & Safety risks, such as minimising the amount of humans in close proximity to each other and helping reduce contamination risk. It can also enhance flexibility by allowing companies to rebalance production lines as demand fluctuates. This is great news for SMEs who have traditionally been reluctant to adopt robot technology due to capital investment and the risk of a lengthy disruption to their business.
5. 5G
5G offers high capacity and low latency, making it a key component to business success. With a faster network, businesses can use data systems to capture information and improve customer experience, supply chain operations, and more.
Educational institutions can offer virtual field trips with 5G technology, while telehealth entities can connect rural patients to doctors from remote locations. Even construction and manufacturing industries can use AR/VR to help clients visualize home or office interiors. They can also streamline warehouse and production management.
6. Artificial Intelligence for Education
In education, AI can help teachers identify students’ strengths and weaknesses so they can focus on improving the skills that each student needs. It can also personalize learning programs and give instant feedback on a student’s progress.
Vision-based AI can evaluate students’ work, for instance by grading a math equation in the form of a picture. These systems are a good alternative to human grading and can save time.
However, educators are aware that AI tools can amplify unwanted biases. They’re searching for solutions that can minimize these risks.
7. Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare
Artificial intelligence can help businesses improve customer service, increase sales and revenue, and automate business processes. It can also help companies identify potential growth opportunities.
Participants in our focus groups were generally comfortable with healthcare AI applications if they had control and oversight over these tools. Nevertheless, many feared that healthcare AI could be misaligned with patient interests without proactive oversight. Many also expressed concern about the pace of implementation of healthcare AI. They worried that providers may move too quickly to implement these technologies.
8. The Internet of Things
The Internet of Things, which involves automatic cooperation between various appliances on a global network, brings many undeniable advantages to businesses. It enables automation and reduces operational costs, improves productivity, and allows employees to focus on more creative tasks.
IoT is used in supply chains to improve tracking and optimization; by manufacturers for condition-based maintenance and usage analytics; and by retail stores for inventory management.
By embracing these innovations, businesses can stay ahead of the competition and achieve success. However, they need to have a strategy in place to maximize the benefits of IoT.