Future-Proofing Your Business: Leveraging Digital Connectivity for Growth

If you’re a business leader focused on growth, you’ll no doubt recognise the importance of technology.

According to research, an overwhelming 97% of organisations see technology as key to helping their business grow. From keeping up to date with your competitors and reducing costly system downtime to matching customer expectations and facilitating hybrid working, it’s no surprise that large businesses are set to spend 11% more on IT this year.

But securing the investment you need in new technology can often be a challenge. Many of these tools come with a hefty price tag, and their ROI, while clear in the long term, can be difficult to prove in the short term.

What’s more, with so many new developments and progressions in technology constantly emerging, many businesses find it difficult to know where to prioritise investment.

Yet there’s one thing that all business leaders can’t afford to neglect if they want their organisation to grow: connectivity.

Why digital connectivity is so crucial for growth

The importance of connectivity in growing your business cannot be understated. In fact, companies that invest in strong digital connectivity can experience up to 20% annual growth.

Focusing on connectivity is essential for various reasons. Firstly, it’s crucial if you want to stay ahead of the curve and keep pace with the competition.

Emerging technologies like 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and mobile augmented reality (AR) are expected to have an enormous impact on both ROI and operational performance, with 37% of mobile workers currently making use of mobile AR. If your goal is growth, you can’t afford to be left behind when these tools reach the mainstream.

Connectivity also plays a key role in the recruitment and retention of your workforce. Hybrid working requests are on the rise, with almost half (47%) of all workers preferring a mix of remote and in-person working over being purely office-based.

In fact, almost three-quarters (71%) of employees actively seek out flexible arrangements from employers when deciding who they want to work for.

Facilitating hybrid and remote work, however, is far from simple. Ensuring your teams have the connectivity they need, no matter where they’re working from, is a constant challenge for businesses.

At the same time, keeping devices secure and updated is another major concern, with hybrid working being cited as a catalyst for a rise in data breaches over the last two years.

To make hybrid working efficient, productive and secure, you need to be able to guarantee connectivity for your teams.

The impact of connectivity on the wider organisation

Outside of the market you operate in and the demand for flexible working, connectivity can also help to drive efficiency within your organisation’s operations.

By keeping workers, teams and departments connected from different locations, connectivity fosters greater collaboration and streamlines decision making.

This can have an impact across all your operations, from ensuring faster delivery of services to identifying and fixing issues earlier and minimising the impact of downtime.

You can also provide your teams in the field with quick, easy and secure access to all of the tools, data and information they need at all times.

Perhaps the most significant benefit digital connectivity can have for business growth, however, is its impact on customer service.

Experience is key in today’s digital landscape. Almost three-quarters of customers are at least somewhat likely to buy based on experience alone, which is perhaps why 80% of customer experience leaders planned to increase their customer service budgets last year.

Today’s customers have become accustomed to rapid response times and real-time communication – so much so that it’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of connectivity.

Being able to quickly respond and address customer concerns can boost loyalty, foster trust and improve your brand reputation. This can go a long way in a marketplace where 73% of consumers will switch to a competitor after multiple bad experiences with your brand.

By investing in strong digital connectivity, you can strengthen your ability to attract and retain customers, which will be essential if you want to increase revenue and grow your business.

How Virgin Media O₂ Business and Samsung can help

Virgin Media O₂ Business, in partnership with Samsung, offers cutting-edge mobile devices and solutions that can bridge the digital divide and ensure your business is prepared for a connected future.

With devices that can be tailored to your industry requirements and specifically designed with connectivity and hybrid work in mind, your organisation will be equipped with the rapid access and communication capabilities it needs to grow.

You’ll also have access to all the tools and support you need as a business to maintain and protect these devices over time, from enterprise mobility management to triple authentication and Device as a Service.

This can free up your teams to focus on their mission critical tasks and maintain productivity, without having to worry about the reliability, security or connectivity of their work devices.