Data drives virtually every operation in modern business, and technology — including computers, telecommunications, the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile devices and software — is the pipeline through which digital information moves.
Tech-savvy organizations have optimized those pipelines to put data at the fingertips of executives, managers and frontline employees. Real-time access to data relevant to their responsibilities enables them to make informed decisions more quickly and with greater confidence.
Data-driven decision-making, therefore, delivers competitive advantages by reducing costs and driving revenue, accelerating communications with business partners and enriching the customer experience.
But there’s one hitch: Companies are swamped by data.
“The influx of information is so voluminous and complex that traditional data analytic systems are ill-equipped to handle it,” Forbes notes.
As a result, organizations are constantly innovating business technology (BT) solutions, creating enormous demand for tech-literate business professionals with the insights and expertise to manage systems in operations ranging from employee recruiting to supply chain management. Graduates of programs like the online Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Business Technology from Northwest Missouri State University introduce students to these innovative methods and tools.
Innovations and Trends in Business Technology
McKinsey & Company studied 14 of the most significant BT trends for 2022 and scored each on the number of new BT patents, the volume of research committed to BT innovation, investment in new BT development and deployment and other factors.
Applied AI, a BT that enables algorithms to rewrite themselves as new data comes in to identify trends in real-time, led the field by a wide margin in terms of innovation and adoption. Companies invested $165 billion in 2021, up from $66 billion in 2018. The only advanced BT solution that saw higher investment was advanced connectivity, but its 2021 total of $166 billion declined from the $212 billion companies spent on it in 2018.
Companies across the economic spectrum are researching, developing and deploying AI solutions to automate activities, add or augment capabilities and support decision-makers in all business operations.
How Business Technology Uses AI Tools to Improve Business Operations
The Wharton School notes that companies use AI business technology to automate processes and increase performance, improve the delivery and consistency of services, integrate customer insights into their decision-making and identify opportunities for innovation. Examples of business operations that use AI include:
- Human resources: HR managers use the innovative BT to automate repetitive tasks and enrich the employee experience to support engagement — perhaps the most critical issue in HR today — using chatbots to conduct preliminary candidate interviews and personalize training programs.
- Finance management: AI streamlines finance processes and eliminates human error, automates repetitive, time-consuming tasks (reporting, for instance), enables managers to take on a more strategic role and ensures the real-time delivery of data and insights.
- Supply chain: Logistics managers use AI to route and re-route multiple shipments simultaneously as incoming data identify operational efficiencies, cluster shipments and allocate orders to optimize the use of transportation and warehousing assets.
“Organizations can streamline operations, gain a competitive advantage, and ultimately accelerate growth by integrating AI solutions into almost every aspect of the business,” according to Atgeir Solutions, a data architecture and engineering firm.
What Is the Best Way to Prepare for a Career in BT?
The Senior Capstone: Business Technology Integration course in Northwest’s online B.S. in Business Technology program curriculum includes a case with AI as a minor component, but AI itself is not a focus of the program. However, graduates will encounter various business technology approaches and innovations and develop the skills needed to investigate, understand and incorporate trends like AI in their future work. The program emphasizes the essential business knowledge and technology expertise to prepare graduates for such careers as:
- Marketing manager (Median salary, $133,380, with predicted demand growth of 10% through 2031, double the rate of all careers)
- Human resources manager (Median salary, $126,230, with 7% predicted demand growth)
- Information systems manager (Median salary, $159,010, with 16% predicted demand growth)
- Financial manager (Median salary, $131,710, with 17% predicted growth in demand, three times the rate for all careers)
- Logistics manager (Median salary, $77,030, with 28% predicted demand growth)
Graduates of the online B.S. in Business Technology program are equipped with the expertise and future-proof technological qualifications to stand out in the competition for high-demand lucrative careers.
Learn more about Northwest Missouri State University’s online B.S. in Business Technology program.
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