Which Technology Considerations Matter the Most?

Technology advances rapidly and this may be frustrating for entrepreneurs who are always trying to keep up with what is new.

"Instead of seeking what is new, entrepreneurs need to dig deeper into what the technologies can do in their current business models and innovate from there."

To avoid being distracted by new technologies, I suggest 4 big considerations that in my view represent important opportunities or disruptive threats.

1. Innovations in payments and pricing

There's been a significant transformation in how people make payments and even organize their finances. As entrepreneurs, you can rethink your business model to fit these changes as technology is making it easier. Additionally, there are growing online services that help users find discount codes, compare prices between sites, and pay for items in monthly installments.

Chumz.io uses goal-based investing, social nudges, and default bias to help users kick start and nurture their savings habits. Here's an interview with its founder Samuel Njuguna

2. Rise in the Use of Big Data

Big data is a term for the huge quantities of data organizations gather and access over time. This differentiates it from small data, which tends to be quite specific and focused on a certain period. With the rise in AI and the computing power that is now available, entrepreneurs are now able to build businesses that are both specific in context but also scalable across multiple regions.

Amini is one such company that is using satellite data including soil, forest, water, and more, to help African communities and farmers use their resources more effectively. Here's an interview with its founder Kate Kallot

3. Misuse of Personal Information

One of the primary ethical dilemmas in our technologically empowered age revolves around how businesses use personal information. For your businesses, it’s extremely valuable to know what kind of products are being searched for and what type of content people are consuming the most.?Companies often gather information to hyper-personalize online experiences, but to what extent is that information impeding the consumers' right to privacy?

4. Lack of Oversight & Acceptance of Responsibility

As entrepreneurs, we often operate with a hybrid stack, comprised of a blend of third-party and owned technology. As a result, there is often some confusion about where responsibility lies when it comes to governance, the use of big data, and cybersecurity concerns. Whose responsibility is it?really?to ensure data is protected? If you engage a third party for software that processes payments, do you bear any responsibility if credit card details are breached? Entrepreneurs need to adopt a perspective where all collective parties share responsibility.

Having these considerations in mind is a great place to start for any entrepreneur seeking to take advantage of technology trends. I did a video to explain ways to know more about technology trends you can watch it here.

Stay tuned for next week's discussion, where we'll explore the essential questions concerning regulatory trends.

Let's continue to build business strategies together!

Feel free to share your thoughts and insights in the comments below.

Your perspective is invaluable to our collective growth.

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