Businesses must prioritize supplying their teams with the best technology. According to data from the Census Bureau’s Business Formation Statistics, roughly 5.4 million applications were filed to form new businesses in the year 2021. However, when it comes to acquiring and supplying your teams with the right tools, intentional design truly matters for companies that want to embrace collaboration, creativity and business continuity.
With the right resources and technology solutions, small business owners can tackle obstacles that come their way, regardless of location or experience running a business. The devices used most – phones and laptops – should help teams reach their full potential by efficiently supporting the completion of daily tasks and encouraging collaboration that produces creative and compelling ideas. Essentially, for teams to work towards executing their vision, their technology needs to be designed to accomplish the unthinkable.
How User Insights and Tech Design Drives Innovation
When it comes to a business owner’s personal laptop or even supplying their team with technology, the design is more important than most people would expect. A study by Onshape, “The State of Product Development & Hardware Design 2021,” showed the top areas of concern for millennials and Generation Z focused on: workplace flexibility, team communication and the technological limitations of current design tools. Having essential, multi-functional technology, such as a uniquely designed laptop can help drive efficiency, collaboration and innovation. How you might ask? Many young entrepreneurs recognize technology can help launch their businesses and supports the many advantages of owning a business. According to a recent study, “An Historic Moment: The Values Shift In Pandemic America,” ambition was Gen Z’s top rising value in 2020, along with working hard, protecting the family and freedom. For Gen Z these values differ from other generations who are focused more on values like self-reliance, honesty, and helpfulness. With ambition being Gen Z’s top value, a laptop that pushes the boundaries of traditional construction and shows the value in ambitious design choices is the ideal tool to help small business leaders flourish.
Having a basic laptop will get the job done, but having a uniquely designed device can help motivate entrepreneurs to think outside the box and create ground-breaking ideas. For example, a laptop with multiple screens like the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3, can help small business owners multitask and collaborate with their team effortlessly. With the ability to lead a business call while using a secondary screen to draw ideas for the latest project in real-time, small business leaders can seamlessly bring any team’s vision to life. Having the right tools that enable this intuitive collaboration can support a healthy, thriving team.
A New Generation in the Workforce
Gen Z (ages 10-25) )is the most culturally diverse of all the generations and the most tech-savvy, having grown up on a steady diet of social media and mobile devices. This means technology must continue to break barriers to keep the new generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs inspired. Without inspiration and imagination, technology would not be where it is now. As business owners, pushing for the next big thing or the unimaginable is always the goal. In a recent EY Survey, researchers predicted Gen Z will be early adopters and push new technologies further into the mainstream. Businesses must embrace digital transformation and disruptive technologies in order to meet the needs of the digitally native Gen Z. It is essential for small business innovators to lead the way for others to demonstrate that the unthinkable is possible. Technology is more than just making a phone call or sending an email, it strengthens businesses, supports local and global teams, accelerates our ability to share insights and information, empowers education and more. Having a laptop that goes beyond the status quo pushes individuals to come up with concepts that have the potential to unlock new, unexplored solutions.
A Better Connected Future with Smarter Technology
Trailblazing technology is key to enabling a ‘work from anywhere’ experience – with minimal hassle. Through the pandemic, businesses were reminded of the importance of staying connected to their teams and clients. In a Pew Research Study, 90 percent of Americans said the internet is essential or important to them, and 40 percent used technology in new ways. Now that restrictions are easing up, connection and collaboration are still important. Some companies are fully-remote, others are completely back to the office and many have invested in a hybrid work model. In order to succeed in these various work models, it is fundamental to provide everyone with intentionally designed technology that can handle any hurdle they run into. To overcome these obstacles as an entrepreneur, a laptop that keeps you connected when you want to be and provides access to the most vital applications is essential.
Utilizing innovative technology, such as your laptop, is crucial for running a small business. It’s not just about having a laptop to get the work done, it’s about having a laptop that allows you to push barriers and accomplish your goals further than expected. Entrepreneurs and SMB owners will never stop growing and pushing boundaries — technology should do the same.
By Eric Yu, SVP & GM, Commercial Product Center & SMB Segment, Intelligent Devices Group, Lenovo.
Technology
