An estimated 73 percent of consumers who have gotten used to e-commerce plan to continue using it in the foreseeable future, according to McKinsey and Co. There is more pressure than ever for businesses to go online. Thus, more and more brick and mortar establishments are connecting themselves to the e-commerce world, seeing as they have industry giants such as Amazon to contend with. If you are the owner of one such establishment and would like to upgrade your business for modern commerce, here are 3 of the most important pieces of hardware you need to employ.
Robust Network Solutions
In today’s internet-dominated world, you need to have the most formidable connection to stay on top of the game. Modern businesses hinge on the integrity of their data. Setting up a network server, or better yet, outsourcing it to the cloud, is your best move to preserve data integrity. Whether you choose a physical server or a cloud-based one, however, you will still not be very effective without a good internet connection. Aside from a full-featured data plan, you will also need a decent router. You should replace the one that your ISP gave you upon installation. Remember, these models were made by the lowest bidder. Its range and signal strength will be bottlenecked in order to minimize the expense to the ISP.
Quality Printing Hardware
Whether a business is primarily online or off, there is no mistaking the value of a good printer. Even online businesses have to handle paperwork, put up posters, or print out business cards every once in a while. While paperless is good for minimizing logistics spending, it is still good to have a printer on hand. Printing in-house saves you the trouble of having to find print shops. This is especially convenient if you frequently receive urgent requests for printed documents and the like. It is also likely that Having a quality photo printer can save you from costly hangups in a pinch.
Physical Data Backups
As a business becomes more connected, cybersecurity threats become more of a hazard. All it takes is a single breach, and your data could be held hostage. A hacker can threaten to wipe all of your valuable data or leak sensitive information. This is why having physical data centers is vital to protect your growing business. This is where you can put information that you don’t trust the cloud enough to keep safe.
Depending on the size of your business, chances are you will need more than these three components. But whatever the case, the future of your business in the e-commerce world will hinge on these pieces of hardware.
