Technology abounds.

And the average small business owner's attitude to it ranges from joy, to annoyance, to downright terror.  Sometimes all in the same day.  However technology is not something to be abhorred – to most businesses today it is one of the architectural pillars, helping support your ability to conduct business no matter where in the world you are and no matter what your business does.
Technology can do three key things for your business – Accelerate, Automate and Animate:

• Animate – a simple thing such as a website gives you a professional face that can set you apart from your competitors - and displaying business professionalism can enable you to increase your product and services value.
• Accelerate - with the right choices and planning, technology provides you with the ability to accelerate your business by increasing sales transaction frequency.
• Automate – technology also automates your business, allowing you to both increase your business process effectiveness and increase the number of customers you can reach and manage.

However there are two overarching issues businesses typically face with technology:  the first is keeping abreast of the never ending list of new technologies and determining which best suit your business; and the second is harnessing this knowledge and integrating into your business operations.

Solving these two issues requires a business to develop a technology strategy or technology business plan.  Undertake these three crucial steps to develop a technology strategy for your business:

1. Develop your business plan first.  It might sound boring but don’t start a technology strategy until you know who you are, what your business does, who your target customers are, what your overall marketing plan is and so on.  If you don’t know who you are and what you want to achieve then you won’t be able to determine the best technology needed to succeed.
2. Understand what is out there.  Brainstorm with a friend, consultant or mentor.  Think about the ways you could use technology to take your business from where it is today, to where you want it to be in three years time.  Visit local electronics shops and talk to the salespeople about what new business-related technologies have been released recently.  Search the web for your industry’s technology innovation and subscribe to technology websites that cater specifically for your industry.
3. Add a technology strategy section to your business plan.  Break your desired technologies down into a table, listing the technology name, how it would benefit your business, when you need it (short, medium or longer term), which element of your business plan it relates to (e.g. financial management), and what its dependencies are.

Expect this process to take weeks to months to complete (taking into account everything else you need to do!) and consult a business technology coach if you want to accelerate the process.

Finally, although technology can help you accelerate, automate and animate your business remember that technology is just a tool and it should be treated like any other tool you invest in for your business – with equal consideration to both your current situation and your future goals.