5 Ways Technology is Transforming Business 

With the constant development and progress of technology, it’s no surprise that business is evolving alongside it. The way we do things now is so different from the way we did things 20 years ago. 

Indeed, the one thing we can rely on when it comes to technology is that change, and progress is constant – it’s all about embracing what’s new and making it work. Business has a lot to gain from technological advancements, and these are 5 of the most significant ways in which technology is changing business. 

1. Communication and Sharing Information

One of the most significant influences that technology has had on business is enabling communication on a far larger scale than before. Indeed, this has changed the face of business and the ways in which companies can operate. Extended communication has allowed for the democratisation of information like never before, encouraging the sharing of intelligence and innovation and pushing for collaboration that would never have been possible in the past. 

2. Remote working

Different jobs and industries have varying requirements when it comes to being in office or having the ability to work remotely. However, one thing’s for certain and that is that technology has allowed remote working to become far more common and effective. 

Indeed, with efficient means of communication and the fact that most people have internet access at home, in restaurants and all over, the idea of a traditional office or workspace has changed drastically. The possibility of working remotely can increase productivity and be an overall positive for employee health and happiness too. 

3. Boosted Efficiency and Productivity 

To put it simply, technology just makes things easier and quicker. Things that used to take forever can now be done in an instant with no more than a click of a button. Increased productivity is a win for business in general, because time is money. If you can afford to spend less time on something while still producing the same – if not better – results, your business is sure to be more successful and profitable in the long run. 

4. Cloud-Based Data

Moving away from paper-based records to having almost everything on the cloud has changed the face of business in a plethora of different ways. Not only are physical records risky in terms of potential damage, but they also take up space which costs money, and the organisation of such records is time consuming, difficult and involves more risk. 

These days, having most of your data on the cloud means that it’s safer, in some ways, and easily accessible from anywhere at any time. Of course, cybersecurity risks are always a concern, but overall, using the cloud is a massive advantage for business. 

5. Improved Access to Information

With the way in which technology has progressed, anyone – or those with permission, at least – can access information and data from anywhere at any time. Whether that’s information specific to the business or by means of the internet where you can also easily find everything from new shoes to an online casino sign up bonus, this opens up so many doors and allows for endless possibilities going forward. 

One of the most challenging parts of being a manager is maintaining productivity among team members. According to the Interim VP of engineering, Trevor Harwell, it’s becoming even harder and harder to increase the overall team performance. Harwell, who has always been fascinated by technology for many years, believes that technology could be the solution managers need to ramp up productivity in the workplace. By simplifying simple tasks, improving communication, and automating repetitive tasks, managers can help their teams work more efficiently. Here are the five ways by Trevor Harwell managers can use technology to increase productivity.

1. Use engagement software to get teams involved

An efficient employee engagement software provides you with an outlet to recognize employees that go above and beyond. As a manager, you want to ensure that your employees enjoy working with you by appreciating their efforts, training, and giving positive feedback. Trevor Harwell recommends investing in software that allows your coworkers to work together, encourage one another and even appreciate their colleagues for helping them with specific projects. This helps promote a more robust culture of coloration and teamwork, which motivates employees to give their best.

2. Bring employees together through efficient communication systems

Effective communication is crucial for team productivity, yet many companies don’t see the need to create reliable communication systems for their teams, says Trevor Harwell. They end up dealing with significant losses due to poor or lack of communication. With so many technological solutions available for communication, managers can improve communication among their teams. Some reliable communication software includes Slack, Flock, Chanty, Zoom Treat, and Tribe.

3. Organize workflows with the cloud-based project of task management software

Working with computers means constantly dealing with computers breaking down important files, losing important documents, late submissions, and low internet speeds. All these can be detrimental to your company’s productivity. That’s why Trevor Harwell suggests using project management tools and saving all your projects in the clouds, which makes it easy to access the same documents using different devices. That means if a computer breaks down, nothing stops.

4. Track productivity with reliable time tracking tools

If you can’t measure your productivity, it’s impossible to improve it. To help increase performance and productivity in your workplace, Trevor Harwell recommends learning your work clock and creating a realistic plan. He suggests identifying the common distractions among employees to determine productive hours and using time tracking tools to improve efficiency and productivity. He also advises addressing all employees’ problems, including their mental health, leave days, work-life balance, remote working, and work breaks to ensure they are comfortable at work.

5. Declutter your digital workplace

Proper planning and organization plays a significant role in productivity. When you and your employees work with a well-developed plan, you can complete projects on time and efficiently—clutter and, on the other hand, limit the ability to focus. According to Harwell, the best way to declutter your digital space is to break down your projects into smaller bits and award every employee with a specific task. You can do this by creating a structured spreadsheet with employee names and tasks. This makes it easy to follow up and know which tasks are complete and which ones need more effort.

LOS ANGELES, CA / JUNE 13, 2022 / Leadership is a critical element of one’s success in the software industry. Interim VP of Engineering Trevor Harwell recently discussed how to become a better team leader in software development.

“Leading any type of work team requires several skills, but there are also qualities of excellent leaders specific to the field of software development,” Harwell said. “Contrary to popular belief, a successful leader doesn’t need to be born with these traits. He can acquire them through dedication to the field and his team’s success.”

Be a Problem Solver

Problem-solving is critical to success in software development. A seasoned software developer like Trevor Harwell will assure others that things don’t always go as planned in this industry. That’s why It’s essential to adapt to new needs whenever they arise. 

Projects change direction quickly in software development and can stray far from the initial plan. A successful software development leader is up to the challenge and ready to solve the problem while empowering her team to approach the issue with a positive attitude. 

Communicate Well

Leaders across all industries must have excellent communication skills. Most CEOs and executives will state that solid communication is an essential trait of a successful leader. 

Communicating effectively also means ensuring each team member knows their roles, responsibilities, and expectations. They effectively relay the client’s desires to the development team, so the result meets and exceeds client expectations. 

Equipped with In-Depth Technical Capabilities

Software development is a field that requires intense technical knowledge. A successful team leader must be at the top of their game regarding technical skills in testing, design, implementation, deployment, debugging, and other tech areas.  

“The team leader must ensure complex coding requirements are met on time and at the highest quality level,” Harwell said. “They must also be up-to-date on the lasted technologies and those on the horizon. Business opportunities pass quickly if team leaders don’t know about the hottest new technologies.”

Trevor Harwell and Software Leadership

Harwell is currently in the field of software leadership as the Interim VP of Engineering at a successful tech company. He quickly moved from a front-end developer to a full-stack developer to a development manager and his current position. 

His love for technology began at a young age, so entering the industry was a no-brainer. He has a passion for solving business problems through technology. His passions and hard work toward becoming a successful leader led to a career in leading software development teams and building sustainable solutions via technology.

Cryptocurrency was created to accommodate a fully-decentralized, global economy. Still, as new blockchains continue to pop up year over year, many don’t consider how their chain will interact with those that already exist. This issue defeats the purpose that many of these digital assets set out to achieve. WanChain’s goal is to solve this issue by connecting the isolated blockchains and allowing the world’s digital assets and data to flow freely between the various chains.

WanChain So Far

WanChain first released its ICO in October 2017. With the assistance of their fundraising specialist, Benn Godenzi, WanChain raised an impressive 122,000 ETH during its ICO phase. 

WanChain swiftly began working on its cross-chain infrastructure after its ICO phase, and in December 2019, WanChain switched from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus to proof-of-stake (PoS). Their move to PoS made the project more environmentally conscious than before. Alongside the change in consensus, Wanchain released a proof-of-stake-enabled desktop wallet.  

In early 2021, WanChain introduced the world’s first decentralized bridge between BTC and ETH. The BTC-ETH bridge was the culmination of nearly five years of hard work, and shortly after, in August 2021, WanChain officially released its WanChain Web tool. WanChain Web gives users the ability to initiate cross-chain transactions without the need for intermediary networks. WanChain Web supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, EOSIO, Binance Smart Chain, Litecoin, Wanchain, XRP Ledger, Moonriver, Avalanche, and over a dozen other cryptocurrencies.

Most recently, WanChain partnered with Polygon to build a layer-2 cross-chain bridge for Polygon and Arbitrum. The partnership was announced in December 2021 and marked the first time a cross-chain bridge will utilize decentralized liquidity pools to power the bridge. Liquidity pools are essential but often misunderstood tools that many decentralized-finance projects need to run smoothly. Centralized exchanges often use a “maker and taker” model in which buyers and sellers are matched on either side of the transaction for people to buy and sell assets. Alternatively, liquidity pools serve as an automated way for people to process these transactions without needing a buyer or seller to accommodate the trade.

Blockchain Interoperability Alliance

In 2017, Benn Godenzi helped WanChain, Aion, and ICON launch the Blockchain Interoperability Alliance; this alliance allowed the three interoperability-focused companies to assist each other in creating a brighter future for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. 

Much like WanChain, Aion builds trustless technologies that pass assets from one blockchain to another without intermediaries. Likewise, ICON aims to solve the same problem as WanChain and Aion. It makes sense that the three entities would work together to improve blockchain interoperability. Still, before forming the Blockchain Interoperability Alliance, WanChain, Aion, and ICON were taking three different approaches to solve the problem.

Since the Blockchain Interoperability Alliance came to be, all three companies have made tremendous progress towards true interoperability. There’s no doubt that WanChain owes a portion of its success to the information-sharing and collaboration from the alliance.

The stock market has had a long great run but recent events have investors nervous. Inflation, negative economic performance, the Russia-Ukraine war and continued supply-chain disruption, delays and shortages and other factors are all contributing to the daily ups and downs of the market. 

How Do You View the State of the Market?

There are a couple of schools of thought when it comes to investing in the market. There’s the old adage on Wall Street that the market climbs on a “wall of worry.” When everything seems like it’s all doom and gloom, stock prices start rising when investors begin to show the first glimmer of confidence. Instead of simply looking at Q1 2022 economic data, analyze the reasons behind the data. For instance, inventories fell in comparison to Q4 2021 because there was a huge buildup of inventories last year. Government spending was also down when pandemic-relief efforts were scaled back.  Add to this, the fact that consumer spending and business investments were both up in Q1 2022. This view has some continuing to invest, particularly when they can buy stocks at a lower price.

On the other hand, some analysts predict that the market will continue to suffer massive losses – or at the very least, will experience a significant correction. Some argue that public companies have produced an overpriced stock market, excessive corporate debt, and insufficient levels of investment. Furthermore, these analysts believe the reason that U.S. stock valuations have remained high for so long is due to the Federal Reserve’s support of Wall Street via low interest rates and successive bouts of quantitative easing. Inflation is changing this picture because as interest rates rise faster than corporate cash flows, businesses are being forced to de-leverage and cut investments. Following this mindset, the valuation of U.S. stocks could plummet.

Assessing Investments in a Volatile Market

• Don’t sell solely based on current market movements. Shut out the noise, calm the fear and stay the course while evaluating your portfolio. 
• Gauge your risk tolerance. How well positioned are you to handle large swings in the market? Do you have enough cash on hand to meet your immediate goals? If not, look at moving some of your investments. 
• Diversify and rebalance your portfolio if needed.  Swings in the market can uncover the need for your portfolio to be better diversified and the mix of stocks rebalanced to better reflect your intended total asset allocation. Market fluctuations can also cause your allocation strategy to deviate from its original goal. Assets that have appreciated in value will account for a larger portion of your portfolio over time, while those that have declined will account for less. Rebalancing entails selling positions that have become overweighted in comparison to the rest of your portfolio and reinvesting the proceeds in positions that have become underweighted. 

Robert Tweed is primarily involved in real estate investing. He has purchased and flipped a ton of properties, including both single-family and multi-family homes. While most of the investments that Mr. Tweed has made have been positive, there have been a few times where he has lost money. Fortunately though, it wasn’t completely a loss, as he gained valuable lessons, and he has been able to take what he has learned and avoid those mistakes down the road. Here are a few of the lessons Mr. Tweed learned when he lost money and how you can avoid making the same mistakes he did.

Robert Tweed Explains a Key Mistake He Made Was Assuming Real Estate Always Increases

Robert Tweed says that one of the biggest mistakes he made when it came to real estate investing was assuming that real estate always increases in value, but never decreases. The real estate market crash was rough on many investors, including Mr. Tweed. Up until that point, real estate had not declined in some time. While it is rare that real estate decreases in value, it can happen, so investors always need to watch the real estate market and look for signs that the market may be cooling or prices may be declining.

Robert Tweed Details How Overspending Leads to Losses

Robert Tweed says another lesson he learned when he lost money on real estate investments was that you can over-improve some properties. While marble floors or quartz countertops may look beautiful, they may not be great choices for starter homes or homes in cheaper neighborhoods. You need to always know comps in the area where you are looking to flip a home and be mindful not to overspend, or you may not get all of your investment back.

Robert Tweed States That Not Knowing Tax Code Also Caused a Loss

Robert Tweed explains that the final lesson he learned is that you need to talk to an accountant or tax professional before you start investing in real estate. A great tax professional or accountant can help you realize what write-offs you may be able to claim and how to defer capital gains. Taking advantage of these types of things can help you save a ton of money on your taxes, which ultimately leaves you with more money in your pocket.

Robert Tweed knows that investing in real estate can be a great investment most of the time, but, if you are not careful, it can lead to losses. Learning from expert real estate investors, such as Mr. Tweed, can help you avoid common mistakes and help you to maximize the gains from your investments.