Top Tech Trends for Small Businesses in 2018
Where did the year go? It seems like yesterday we were predicting the next trends of 2017 and
all of the sudden, here we are doing the same for 2018. While we may not have hit some of our
New Year’s resolutions for 2017, 2018 is a brand-new year and with it comes new
advancements in small business network support and more.
Here are our top five tech trends that will affect small businesses in 2018.
Increased Security Against Cyberattacks
In a survey published by the Microsoft Store, 23% of small business owners remain unprepared
for a cyber-attack while 43% of all cyber-attacks affect small businesses. Additionally, 70% of
the small business owners surveyed stated that they would rather pay a company to help
safeguard their data rather than figuring it out themselves—great news for network security
providers!
With recent attacks on Equifax and other companies, increased cybersecurity is and should
become one of the most significant tech trends of 2018 for all businesses, with emphasis on
small businesses as well.
Expanding Online Sales
With the expansion of eCommerce in previous years, expect it to continue its upward trend into
2018. Many small businesses realize that they can’t be only a brick-and- mortar store to remain
successful and are working towards implementing secure network solutions to allow them to
manage and ship online orders at an exceptional pace to provide an equally positive shopping
experience for customers online and offline.
Additionally, more small businesses will be utilizing on-demand services to help them ship their
products as well as implementing automated customer service tools to increase efficiency and
customer experience.
More Data in the Cloud
This is an old trend, and it seems like every year it just keeps expanding more and more.
Regardless, small businesses are doing more business with mobile devices as well as utilizing
cloud storage to protect their data. More secure cloud-based computing solutions will be
necessary going into 2018 and expect this trend to continue for the next few years.
More Hires
According to that same survey from the Microsoft Store, 90% of small business owners plan to
hire at least one or more employee in the coming year. This is excellent news for the job market
and shows that more and more small businesses are feeling the effects of the upward swinging
economy. Keep an eye out for expansion of HR and payroll software packages as well as an
expansion in IT network support with more employees on the network than in previous years.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Time and time again we see users as the vulnerable points in company security. Multi-factor
authentication is used more and more to tighten security by making users prove their identities.
Many companies will add multi-factor authentication to their security policy in 2018 to add
another barrier before reaching their target. Multi-factor authentication can be implemented
on critical line of business applications, email or enterprise wide deployment.
Finding the Money for IT Is a Big Concern
More than five years ago, the most prominent concern for small business owners was staying
ahead of tech changes. Now their most prominent attention has shifted to their budget
constraints for technology. While keeping your budget at the forefront of your purchasing
decisions as a small business owner, skimping on IT services can significantly impact small
businesses going forward.
