Using Technology To Enhance Competitiveness And Sustainability
The ability to be agile, dynamic, and adapt to drastic changes in the marketplace is now more crucial for businesses than ever before.
Author:Elisa MuellerReviewer:James PierceSep 25, 2022224 Shares2.9K Views
The ability to be agile, dynamic, and adapt to drastic changes in the marketplace is now more crucial for businesses than ever before. As the world moves into a post-pandemic stage, the value of digitalization is now clear for all industry sectors. Embracing technology allows businesses to capitalize on the wealth of available data that can be derived from both consumer behavior and internal analysis.
Moving toward digitization also allows a company the opportunity to be part of the global transition to more sustainable methods of production. Only by making use of new advances in technology can governments and enterprises reach the goal of net-zero emissions. Many companies chose to work with IT innovators such as 3DS to develop more efficient business models based on sustainable technology using circular economy softwareand practices. Technology can provide businesses with the tools they need to manage new hybrid working environments, increased regulatory requirements, political upheaval, and erratic supply chains.
Accelerating growth and sustainability via SaaS
New advances in technology have enabled enterprises to create more competitive and sustainable business models. However, to remain truly competitive and sustainable, enterprises need to make sure they are getting the maximum value from their investments in both software and hardware. Extracting the optimum amount of value from technology means focusing on every phase of its life cycle. This holistic process, sometimes called ‘life cycle thinking’ encourages growth and optimizes investment returns while drastically lowering a company’s environmental footprint.
In terms of Software as a Service (SaaS), this can be achieved by ensuring that applications and programs are continuously reviewed and updated to ensure they are meeting business needs. Utilizing algorithms that are more energy-efficient than standard software can reduce electricity consumption. These algorithms can also ensure that energy-intensive processes are performed when a business’s overall electricity use is at its lowest point.
Increasing agility and flexibility with cloud-based solutions
Using cloud-based systems can provide businesses with the means to increase efficiency, manage new working environments, reduce overall costs, and improve data security. In addition to these advantages, moving to the cloud has a range of benefits for the environment.
Since it uses shared resources to manage large amounts of data from multiple sources, cloud computing enhances sustainability by reducing the electricity use and carbon output caused by local platforms and on-premises servers. It has been estimated that moving to cloud-based systems would save up to 59 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year.
Transferring data storage and application management from on-premises servers and hard drives to cloud-based systems has a range of other benefits, including:
- Reduced personnel costs
- Improved data security
- Lower IT administration costs
- Improved scalability
- More flexibility
- Unlimited storage capacity
The circular economy software revolution
Sustainability is now a valuable business asset. Studies show that almost eight out of every ten consumers regard sustainability as a major factor in their purchasing decisions.2 Companies need to be able to demonstrate that not only are they producing products and services in an environmentally friendly manner but that they are also reducing their overall carbon footprint, including the environmental impact of technological assets. Software that focuses on sustainability can enable businesses to take full advantage of the opportunities that the circular economy offers.
Specialized SaaS provides enterprises with complete control over every stage of a hardware product’s life cycle. Prototype models can be simulated in digital environments, allowing for more energy-efficient testing and development. SaaS can identify what components can be reused or recycled and ensure that this data is considered during procurement and built into renewal processes.
The philosophy and principles of the circular economy allow businesses to extract more value from their tech assets and reduce their e-waste and the carbon emissions of corporate devices. It provides a clear path away from traditional “take-make-waste” models to more sustainable ways of doing business. By realizing the inherent value of technology as a business asset, companies can drive growth and innovation while helping to create a greener, more sustainable future.
Elisa Mueller
Author
James Pierce
Reviewer
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