Why Business Owners Should Make Digitization a Priority for the Sake of the Planet

The invention of the internet means your life has slowly transferred to screens. Smartphones and computer screens make work, finances and other aspects of life more accessible. Industry leaders have demonstrated why digital technology is important in business through constant innovation. How does digitization help the environment? Here’s why it should be a priority.

Why Is Digital Technology Important in Business?

Moving to digital technology has significantly impacted nearly every industry you can imagine. Medicine, finance, marketing, and other sectors benefit from digitalization due to these four factors.

1. Prioritizing Security

Improved digital technology has become crucial when considering modern cybersecurity threats. Cybercrime is costly to businesses worldwide, with experts estimating losses of $9.22 trillion in 2024 and $13.8 trillion by 2028. Digital technology helps your company thwart the threats.

Digitization has given businesses numerous safety options. For example, data encryption lets you scramble sensitive records and make them useless to cyber thieves. This strategy enables banks and medical practices to secure customer information. Your company can also use digital technology for physical security, such as smart cameras.

2. Enhancing Communication

Before the internet, you had to use telephones and letters to communicate with others. Rapid communication wasn’t necessarily an option for businesses, but the landscape has changed. Nowadays, you can use email and video conferences to communicate with people worldwide. Digital technology has made collaboration and business decisions more straightforward.

Why is digital technology important in business? Digitalization has brought the world closer and helped businesses operate 24 hours a day. Companies leverage smartphones and tablets to stay in touch while traveling. If you’re on an international flight, you can still use project management apps to collaborate with your colleagues.

3. Saving Money

Running a business is all about the bottom line. If you cut costs and maximize profit, you’re doing something right. Emphasizing digital technology helps your road to better profit margins by streamlining your daily operations and making things more efficient. For example, some companies have switched to cloud computing to replace their on-site IT department.

Another modern way companies have saved money is through remote work. Advanced digital tools let you join the 35% of American employees who always work from home. How does this shift benefit businesses? Your company can reduce overhead costs by downsizing office spaces or eliminating the physical workplace.

4. Increasing Productivity

Efficient communication and technology means your team can increase its daily productivity. Businesses get the most from their employees when they focus on the big picture instead of monotonous tasks. How can you digitize your office and optimize everybody’s output? Start with administrative tasks and leverage digitalization.

When you go digital, you save time and ease the burden on your staff. For example, imagine using a digital filing system in your dental practice. Converting to digital logging minimizes the risk of human errors when filing paperwork because computers are less likely to make mistakes. Wielding these technologies is another way to reduce costs.

How Does Digitalization Help the Environment?

Increasing digital technology use can make businesses more secure and increase profits. That said, there are also ecological benefits. How does digitalization help the environment? Here are four Earth-friendly benefits of going digital.

1. Eliminating Paper Usage

One immediate benefit of digitalization is reducing or eliminating paper waste from your business. In the past, you needed paper for invoices, quarterly reports and contracts. However, modern technology lets you move these critical documents online. Reducing your need for paper leads to less overall demand and fewer trees cut.

Paper comes from trees, which are a renewable resource. However, cutting too many can destroy habitats and have massive ecological effects. More businesses moving to digital technology leads to less deforestation, a practice that removed 3.7 million hectares of forest in 2023.

2. Monitoring Resource Consumption

Artificial intelligence (AI) has helped business digitization by giving you daily computer assistance. However, its energy and water consumption has become worrisome for large tech companies. Data show Google used 20% more water in 2022 than in 2021, primarily because of AI implementation. How can businesses use digital technology to curb excess usage?

The Internet of Things (IoT) makes monitoring resource consumption easier. This advanced technology uses sensors to gather information on energy usage and explain why your utility bills are high. Building owners could investigate the smart meters and determine whether the HVAC or excessive light usage has caused waste.

3. Improving Supply Chain Management

Supply chain woes have demonstrated why digital technology is vital in business. Pandemics and various disruptions slowed production and caused backlogs, leading to unwanted downtime. What is the answer to more reliable supply chain management? You need to make them smarter for increased efficiency and environmental consciousness.

IoT is handy again because you can use this technology in logistics and transportation. Business leaders use sensors to track their products and supplies as they ship worldwide. Therefore, you can monitor your suppliers and ensure they employ sustainable practices. Temperature sensors and imaging devices are only some of the gadgets in modern transport.

4. Reducing Transportation Needs

Transportation is necessary to move goods in the supply chain. However, it has become a weak link because of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says transportation accounts for 28% of all emissions, thus necessitating more efficient options. Digitalization has become a necessary tool to combat the emissions.

Why is digital technology important in business? Automotive innovations let you optimize your routes and avoid the worst traffic congestion. For example, telematics devices monitor traffic and find the best route for your fuel economy. Medium and heavy-duty trucks produce 23% of transportation emissions, so these technologies are integral to environmental consciousness.

Helping the Environment and Your Bottom Line

Digital technology is a must for modern companies. These tools optimize your business operations and help employees be more productive. How does digitalization help the environment? It reduces your environmental impact by reducing paper demand and fostering greener supply chains.