We’re living in an age of incredible technological transformation. Every day, we see new stories about everything from artificial intelligence, to the internet of things, and more. These new evolutions are transforming not just how we live but how businesses grow too.

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In an environment where intelligent bots can suggest potential products to your customers, and machines can speak to each other across incredible distances, taking advantage of the right tech could be the key to growth for your small business.

Of course, since you’re likely to have a limitation on the amount you can spend on new technology, it’s important to ensure that you’re investing in the right tools.

Here are four emerging technologies with the biggest chances of a significant return on investment for small businesses.

#1 Cloud Computing

Cloud computing might not be the newest or most exciting trending technology on the market today, but it’s still one of the most valuable.

It’s taken a lot of time for businesses to switch from using in-house systems to the cloud, but we’re finally reaching the crux of evolution.

Small companies are recognizing that they can benefit significantly from ditching costly on-site software and switching to the cloud. With minimal up-front costs, the flexibility for growth, improved customer experience, and more, there’s a lot to be said for the potential of the cloud.

Cloud computing can even eliminate the need for a physical office for your team by allowing employees to come together and complete tasks from all over the world.

With options like Slack and Dropbox for collaboration, and tools for constant data backup on the cloud, you can keep your entire organization running smoothly from a virtualized environment.

#2 Specialist Software

Although there are a lot of modern tools to consider in the current tech landscape, like AI and natural language processing, the biggest value often comes from software that has been specially designed to solve specific problems.

After all, businesses often rely on several administrative tasks to stay afloat, whether that involves paying suppliers, scheduling events, or just managing inventory.

Specialist software has emerged to make some of the more complex parts of your business easier than ever. Automated systems can track things like tax and invoices on your behalf, so you’re less likely to waste time and effort on repetitive and mundane tasks.

This helps to free your team members up to focus on more relevant projects instead.

At the same time, specialist software can improve the decisions you make as a business. If you’re capable of collecting more data and automatically gathering insights into your business operations, then you can make informed decisions about everything from which supplies to stock, to how you can improve the customer journey.

Specialized software can even include things like CRM tools that help you determine exactly when you should contact customers to boost your chances of a sale.

#3 The Internet of Things

The Internet of Things is one of the most exciting new tools in the tech landscape. It comes brimming with things like hardware, software, and systems that can all connect to save you time and money.

According to Microsoft, by the end of 2021, around 94% of all businesses will be using at least some manner of IoT.

IoT devices have a tremendous amount of potential to offer in the right circumstances. They can collect data from things like your devices in a business to determine if things are running as they should be.

These solutions can also complete tasks autonomously, without the help of your employees. This means that repetitive tasks can be handled without you having to worry about keeping your employees overly busy.

The Internet of Things is even affecting production companies. Rather than just supporting people in the tech and IT landscape, things like predictive maintenance, better inventory, and supply chain management will mean that companies in the manufacturing landscape can run more efficiently with IoT too.

You could even set up IoT solutions that allow remote workers to examine the operations of machines from a distance, without ever having to encounter a production floor.

#4 Artificial Intelligence

Finally, artificial intelligence has evolved in leaps and bounds in recent years. Computers now have the potential to analyze data and deliver incredible insights to companies as a result.

Everywhere you look, intelligence is being integrated into things like contact centers, computer systems, and even productivity tools in the workforce. One of the most exciting concepts of AI for the small business landscape is that it allows companies to get to know their customers on a deeper level.

With things like natural language processing, business owners can look at things like the sentiment in interactions with customers and use that information to make decisions about how to adjust the customer journey.

Artificial intelligence can also help employees to find information more quickly when dealing with customer requests so that individuals can offer support to clients at a more reliable and rapid pace.

This incredible customer service allows small businesses to set themselves apart from other competitors in their space.

After all, the most crucial differentiator in any business environment today is the ability to deliver excellent experiences.

Making the Most of Technology

While investing in too much technology can be an expensive mistake for small businesses, there are emerging tools out there that have the potential to transform how growing companies operate.

Things like artificial intelligence, the internet of things, cloud computing, and specialist software all allow smaller companies to tap into more efficient environments, while simultaneously reducing costs.

Doing your research into the most exciting new tech on the market could mean that you build the technology stack that you need to empower a more productive and lucrative business. Tech is quickly becoming the solution that many small businesses are looking at to facilitate and support continued growth.

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Heather Redding is a content manager for rent, hailing from Aurora. She loves to geek out writing about wearables, IoT and other hot tech trends. When she finds the time to detach from her keyboard, she enjoys her Kindle library and a hot coffee. Reach out to her on Twitter.