Not sure where technology in business should start? Start with the tools that run your daily work, then add data, security and backup planning as you grow. That order keeps costs low and risks visible.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| SMEs’ share of businesses worldwide | Over 90% |
| SMEs’ share of employment worldwide | 60% |
| Surveyed SMEs using digitally analysed data for strategic decisions | 72% |
| Retailers vs food and beverage businesses that digitalised most activities | 52% vs 15% |
| SMEs experimenting with generative AI (OECD survey) | Almost 1-in-5 |
| UK businesses that undertook vulnerability audits (2022 survey) | 17% |
These figures come from an INSME summary of an OECD survey, dated 28 April 2024, and from a 2023 systematic review of SME cybersecurity. Figures can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
What technology in business actually covers
Technology in business is any digital tool, system or method that helps a company sell, deliver, record or protect its work. It can be as small as a shared spreadsheet or as large as a company-wide platform. For the wider map of categories, read about the types of technology that sit behind everyday tools.
Most business technology falls into a few practical groups:
- Communication and collaboration: email, chat, video calls and shared documents.
- Operations software: accounting, sales records, stock and scheduling.
- Data and analytics: reports and dashboards that show what is happening.
- Security and backup: passwords, access controls and copies of your files.
- Connections between systems: links that let one tool pass information to another.
A tool only creates value when it solves a real problem. That is where what is innovation becomes useful: it separates a new gadget from a better way of working.
Size matters when you read statistics about this topic. A systematic review of SME cybersecurity uses the European Commission’s definition of an SME: any enterprise with up to 250 employees and EUR 50 million in revenue, as the review itself states. It also notes that there is no globally adopted definition, which makes comparisons between studies harder.
Why technology matters for smaller businesses
Small and medium firms make up most of the economy. A 2023 systematic review says SMEs account for over 90% of businesses and 60% of employment worldwide. The same review reports that 99.8% of enterprises in the EU in 2022 were SMEs.
Many of them already lean on data. In an OECD survey of SMEs in seven countries (France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain and the United States), 72% of surveyed businesses used digitally gathered and analysed data to support strategic decisions. INSME summarised the findings on 28 April 2024.
Adoption is uneven between sectors. The same survey summary reports that 52% of retailers had digitalised most of their activities, against only 15% of food and beverage businesses. Your own sector shapes which tools pay off soonest.
What holds adoption back
The barriers are practical rather than technical. The OECD findings as summarised by INSME point to limited access to digital skills and training, plus a lack of time and financial resources to invest in and maintain hardware and software. Plan for skills and time, not only for the purchase price.
Core building blocks to put in place
Software you rent
Most modern business tools arrive as subscription software, and the explainer on what is saas shows how that model works. Renting means fewer machines to maintain, but you still need to manage accounts and who can see what.
Tools for managing work
Once a team shares tasks, a project tracker replaces scattered messages and notes. Before you pick one, read how to choose project management software and compare your needs against the features on offer.
Tools for distributed teams
If people work from different places, you need reliable chat, calls, file sharing and task tracking. A guide to the best remote work tools for small teams lays out the options without assuming a large budget.
Connections between tools
When two tools need to share information, an interface called an API usually does the job. The plain-language explainer on what is an api shows why it saves retyping data by hand.
Protecting what you build: security, backup and continuity
More technology means more to protect. The 2023 review cites a Verizon report saying 43% of breaches had SMEs as victims. It also warns that the real picture is probably worse, because SMEs typically do not report the attacks they suffer.
Preparedness lags behind the risk. The review points to a 2022 UK survey in which only 17% of businesses undertook vulnerability audits, as set out in the review’s introduction. The OECD summary adds that basic practices such as passwords and two-step identification are rather common, while proper security assessments and training are still relatively rare.
The review names the main obstacles to cyber resilience as a lack of awareness of the risks, limited cybersecurity literacy and constrained financial resources. Its analysis suggests that limited literacy is the root cause of the other two, as the abstract explains. That makes learning the cheapest place to begin.
Three planning topics cover most of the ground:
- Security basics: cybersecurity for small business covers the habits and controls that suit a small team.
- Backups: how to create a data backup plan walks through what to copy, where to keep it and how to test it.
- Continuity: what is a business continuity plan explains how to keep working when systems fail.
A practical way to adopt new technology
Adopting a tool goes better as a short, repeatable routine than as a big launch. These steps keep the effort proportionate:
- Name the specific problem, such as slow invoicing or lost messages.
- Check what data and tools you already have before buying anything new.
- Choose the smallest tool that solves the problem and try it with a few people.
- Set aside time for training, since skills and time are common barriers.
- Add access controls and make sure the new data is included in your backups.
- Review after a few weeks and keep, change or drop the tool.
New categories deserve the same routine. The OECD survey found almost 1-in-5 businesses experimenting with generative AI less than a year after its public release, and 57% of respondents saw more opportunities than risks. Treat those figures as a snapshot from the April 2024 summary, not a guarantee that a tool suits you.
When changes begin to touch every team and process, you are moving beyond single tools. The explainer on what is digital transformation describes that larger shift and how it differs from buying software.
Frequently asked questions
What is technology in business?
Show answer
It is the use of digital tools and systems to run, record, protect and improve how a company works. That includes everyday software, shared data, security measures and the links between them.
Which technology should a small business adopt first?
Show answer
Pick the tool that targets your biggest daily bottleneck, such as shared files, invoicing or task tracking. Then add security and backups so that the new tool does not create new risk.
Is generative AI worth trying?
Show answer
In the OECD survey summarised by INSME in April 2024, 57% of respondents perceived more opportunities than risks. Test it on low-risk tasks first, and keep sensitive data out until you understand how it is handled.
Why do small firms struggle with security?
Show answer
The 2023 systematic review points to low awareness of risks, limited cybersecurity literacy and constrained financial resources. Training and simple assessments are practical ways to address the first two.
