“Every company is a technology company, no matter what product or service it provides. The companies that embrace this fact are the ones that shape our world.”
This is a good quote from Forbes because it really taps into our zeitgeist.
No matter how you look at it, there’s no escaping technology these days – and what’s the central technological feature common to every business? The internet.
There’s a simple reason for this too. The internet is the means of modern connectivity that allows us to communicate and share information with other businesses or individuals. Even the humble landline is losing favour to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) models that use the internet to carry phone calls, rather than telephone lines.
Every business needs an internet connection (I’m open for anyone to test me on that) but, as you’ve experienced, not all business internet plans are created equal. The unique ‘personality’ of your business determines what internet connection works best for you, and so does the sector or industry that you work in.
Keep that in mind while we take a high-level look at connectivity trends in:
Let’s get an idea of how your industry is adapting to the technology age, and how your sector influences your relationship with your internet connection.
Software and IT
The pressure’s really on the software and IT industry during this technology explosion. All companies want to look technologically on-the-pulse, but none more than the companies that are making a business out of the technology itself.
The biggest trends of the moment:
Cloud computing – delivery of computing services over the internet or ‘in the cloud’. In fact, the IDC Whitepaper commissioned by Microsoft predicts public cloud spending in Australia to increase by 83 per cent from A$12.2 billion in 2022 to A$22.4 billion in 2026. It’s safe to say there’s going to be an insatiable need for more bandwidth growing year on year.
Internet of Things, or IoT – the networking of physical objects via the internet.
Blockchain – an advanced mechanism for sharing information transparently and securely within a business network.
Microservices – an architectural and organisational approach to software development where the software is composed of small independent services.
Augmented Reality, or AR – the superimposition of a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world.
5G connectivity – the fifth generation of mobile technology.
The LCNC approach – a method of building code without having to write it line by line.
Not all software and IT businesses will be active in every one of these fields, but they need to know they have the bandwidth if they want to be. Having business broadband capability that can handle the load of the more data-heavy advances in technology – or scale up to it, if necessary – is an industry non-negotiable.
Professional services
The term ‘professional services’ is a broad one, but for our purposes, we can narrow it down to businesses that offer some type of consultancy as their focus. So, I’m talking about law firms, auditing and accounting companies, financial advisories, marketing consultancies… businesses of that nature.
In this space, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) tools are seeing rapid adoption, automating often dull, time-consuming tasks that are particularly susceptible to human error. That’s where we get what the marketing folks call ‘data-driven insights’.
These sorts of businesses are also becoming more globalised, because the best talent may not necessarily live within physical distance of headquarters. Some really engaging collaboration tools have sprung up to bring people together in innovative ways, whether they’re in the same city or halfway around the world from each other.
While you wouldn’t think that professional services would rely as heavily on internet connectivity as other industries, new ways of working have cast their need for high-capacity internet in a very different light. That being said, it’s likely the bandwidth needs for businesses in this space are fairly stable, so a bit of forward planning and a high-speed connection sized properly for their business will set them up for success.
eCommerce and retail
The global pandemic has been a huge shot-in-the-arm for eCommerce. People may have been a bit nervous about buying online once, but bigger ticket items are now being bought and sold with much more confidence, and more often.
The big trends here:
Social commerce – the use of social media platforms to advertise products, including integrated shopping features e.g., Facebook Marketplace.
AI – personalisation of the shopping experience that recommends things based on past purchases and browsing history.
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) – which gives a sense of being in front of the product, even if you’re not.
Subscription models – that automate ongoing sales without the customer having to action anything.
Of course, the exchange of funds – from the purchaser to the seller, and sometimes back again – is another defining feature of the eCommerce world, and it’s something that’s evolving all the time, especially with increased security and spamming issues.
So, yeah, a speedy and reliable internet connection is the basis of any good eCommerce business. Without it, there’s no business.
Medical and healthcare
Some super nifty advances have taken place in the healthcare and medical industries globally in recent years, and they mainly have a VR component to them or a progression on what we may think is VR. For example, Extended Reality (ER) is a term that covers VR, AR and MR (Mixed Reality), and is really taking hold in the medical and health space.
VR headsets are being used ‘on both sides of the fence’, so to speak – by doctors and surgeons for their clinical training and by patients as part of treatment, such as for cognitive and behaviour therapy (CBT). Digital twins allow practitioners to simulate systems or processes before applying them to a patient. AI helps doctors be more precise in tasks, such as locating veins, for far increased accuracy.
We’ve all probably taken advantage of telehealth services at some point, especially during the pandemic. For underserved communities and regional areas, internet connectivity and telehealth are a lifeline.
There's been a steady rise in the number of wearable smart tech and IoT devices in the healthcare and aged care sectors. Combined with the move towards digital patient records and online platforms, every kind of healthcare service and provider is reliant on internet connectivity for their day-to-day operations.
And these are just the more obvious examples.
The HIMSS Future of Healthcare Report says 80% of healthcare providers in the US plan to increase investment in technology and digital solutions over the next five years. So, this is an industry where reliance on internet connectivity is ready to go through the roof.
Of course, the kind of connection they need will vary enormously, depending on location, number of staff, type of provider, etc.
Construction and manufacturing
When it comes to building things, no industry has benefited more from technological advances than construction and manufacturing. Now we can see factory lines of robotic arms assembling motor vehicles, whitegoods and electronics, rather than endless rows of people working away in massive factories. It’s literally taken us from the Industrial Revolution to Industry 4.0 (I4.0).
New tech – like drones, digital twins, blockchain, VR and AR, 3D laser scanning, 4D simulation and 3D printing – is playing an important role in changing the way manufacturing and construction operates. So, production can be planned better, which means improved output and efficiencies, and less tedious (and less dangerous) jobs for all the people involved.
There’s also a whole lot of design, planning and monitoring in construction and manufacturing that has stepped up a notch thanks to a new generation of SaaS tools, IoT devices and giant leaps in connectivity.
In a nutshell
The nature of the technology used in your business may look different across different industries, but it all points to one thing: that connectivity is only going to gain more prominence for all businesses in the coming years. And that’s a fact.
Don’t rush your decision. Make sure you have the right information at hand and enlist help when you need to, so you can choose business internet providers wisely.
