How to Choose the Right Technology for Your Small Business

As a small business, choosing which types of technologies to adopt can be tough. Not only are there so many types of technologies from which to choose, but making the wrong decision can result in additional problems instead of fixing those the technology was designed to solve. Moreover, new technologies are rapidly becoming available, making it even more difficult to determine which are worth the investment.

Brother International, in partnership with SCORE, recently released the fifth annual "Brother Small Business Survey," which detailed the many challenges small businesses face when it comes to adopting new technologies. According to the study, 63 percent of respondents frequently feel overwhelmed with the number of technologies available to run their business. Furthermore, small business owners are split 50-50 as to whether it's riskier to adopt new technologies quickly and possibly compromise return on investment (ROI) or to wait and potentially give their competitors an advantage.

"Our survey shows that while small business owners understand the value of new technologies, they struggle with choosing the right products, as well as the right time to adopt them to have the greatest impact on their business," said John Wandishin, vice president of marketing at Brother International.

Nonetheless, investing in tech remains a top priority for small business owners in 2014, the survey revealed. Respondents indicated the following types of technologies as a necessity to running their business: mobile devices (41 percent), customer relationship management (CRM) (32 percent), social (21 percent) and cloud services (15 percent).

To avoid being intimidated by technology, small businesses should be strategic in their adoption decisions, Wandishin said. "They should only buy new technology if they have clearly defined what processes they want to affect and how new technology will ultimately have a positive effect on their bottom line," he said. "It's important to remember that technology simply cannot make up for poor processes."

Culled from businessnewsdaily.com