1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:18,240 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with iHeart Radio. And 4 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,759 Speaker 1: how the tech are you today? I want to talk 5 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:26,319 Speaker 1: about how small businesses are leveraging tech and how the 6 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: intersection of small business and tech is shaping the future 7 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: of work. But before we jump into that, let's talk 8 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: a bit about the recent past. And we all know 9 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,840 Speaker 1: that COVID nineteen caused a level of disruption that your 10 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:48,199 Speaker 1: typical Silicon Valley startup founder would only dream of. We 11 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: use that word in tech a lot, disruption, and and 12 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: typically it's shorthand for we're doing this thing that's been 13 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: done by other companies for ages, only we're doing it 14 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: different and better. But COVID nineteen wasn't entirely different level 15 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:11,320 Speaker 1: of disruption. By the summer of twenty twenty, of small 16 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: businesses had closed due to the pandemic, and some of 17 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: them would never reopen. More would close over the following months, 18 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: and a lot of small businesses happen to be ones 19 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: that are disproportionately affected by requirements like social distancing. I'm 20 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: talking about your restaurants, your nail salons, your barbershops, your 21 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: tattoo parlors, and what have you. But we also saw 22 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: communities rally around local small businesses that we saw an 23 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: outpouring of support that buoyed businesses that otherwise would have 24 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: been struggling to remain open. And we saw innovation. In fact, 25 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: we saw tons of innovation. And I'm sure you have 26 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: all heard the saying that necessity is the mother of invention. 27 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 1: And if you need any proof that that saying is 28 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: absolutely true, just look at the massive trends we saw 29 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: over the last two years. Companies embraced digitization. Even companies 30 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: that happened so much as dipped their corporate toe into 31 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 1: the digital landscape found ways to pivot and to adapt. 32 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 1: I can't even tell you how many stories I heard 33 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: about how companies found ways to keep doing business and 34 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: what I would call beyond difficult circumstances. But let me 35 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,800 Speaker 1: share my own experience, and I realized anecdotal evidence isn't 36 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 1: really evidence, but I think like it's a it's a 37 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:41,239 Speaker 1: use case kind of. So obviously I podcast for I 38 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,760 Speaker 1: Heart Radio well before the pandemic. The way that worked 39 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: is I would go into our office in Atlanta. I 40 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:50,360 Speaker 1: would book one of our studios we have four of 41 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: them in the office, and I would record one or 42 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,079 Speaker 1: more episodes sitting in a sound booth while my producer 43 00:02:56,120 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 1: Tari sat outside the sound booth monitoring the recording in 44 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: real time, marking down all the little moments where I 45 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 1: made a flub so that she could edit them out later. 46 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: Some episodes had a lot of those markups in them. 47 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: And then March twenty happened. That was a Friday, the thirteenth. 48 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: Fittingly enough, that was the last day our office was 49 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: open before we went into lockdown. Now, I know that 50 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: because for the longest time, all the desk calendars in 51 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 1: our office, the ones that require someone to you know, 52 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: physically change them. Anyone who had a desk calendar, it 53 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: was stuck on March thirteenth. I know that because on 54 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:43,559 Speaker 1: rare occasions, I had to go to the office pretty infrequently. 55 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 1: But it did happen, so our whole operation had to 56 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: shift to remote work. Now my show publishes daily, so 57 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 1: there was no real gap in publication. We secured microphones 58 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: for all the hosts. We established cloud storage solutions to 59 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: upload all the audio files because you know, we're no 60 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:09,800 Speaker 1: longer recording them directly to studio computers. Our producers adapted 61 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 1: to edit and publish shows offsite while they were working remotely. 62 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: The whole operation changed from this centralized arrangement to a 63 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 1: distributed one. March thirteenth, we're in the office. March six 64 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:29,279 Speaker 1: we're recording from home. And here's the amazing thing. Nearly 65 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 1: every show on the network did this without an interruption 66 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,200 Speaker 1: in production. Now, there were kinks that had to be 67 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: ironed out. Of course, not everything worked perfectly out of 68 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 1: the box, but we adapted. To this day, our office 69 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 1: tends to be pretty quiet. Even as things have opened up. 70 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 1: People have adapted their work styles. We use digital collaborative 71 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:54,039 Speaker 1: project management solutions to work together. We use online video 72 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 1: conferencing services in order to have meetings. We even have 73 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 1: web based studio solutions to record episodes with multiple hosts. 74 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,440 Speaker 1: You know, when we first started, everyone was recording natively 75 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: on their own devices, and a producer had to mix 76 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,479 Speaker 1: it all together. Now we're actually using tools that allow 77 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: us to do like a studio recording, but it's a 78 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:18,279 Speaker 1: virtual one. Uh Me. I don't have to worry about 79 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: that very often because I'm a solo host, but you know, 80 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: I've got it. I do use it whenever I do 81 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:27,279 Speaker 1: interviews and things like that. Now, the way we do 82 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:31,159 Speaker 1: work in our office has fundamentally changed, and I believe 83 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: at least some of that change is permanent. I think 84 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: I'll see people in the office more regularly in the future. 85 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:40,599 Speaker 1: But I really do believe that a hybrid approach is 86 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:44,120 Speaker 1: how will work from here on out for most of us. 87 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:48,599 Speaker 1: And that's true for tons of other businesses as well, 88 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:53,239 Speaker 1: even for those businesses that cannot adopt a hybrid approach. 89 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:58,159 Speaker 1: We've seen some massive moves toward digitizing work processes, whether 90 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: it's adopting online payment strategies or instituting digitized payroll services. 91 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: Small businesses have evolved more in the past two years 92 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:11,560 Speaker 1: than they had in the previous decade. Now there is 93 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,600 Speaker 1: a lot of technology that has made all of this possible. 94 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:17,440 Speaker 1: I've been in the workforce for a long time, so 95 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:20,719 Speaker 1: I've seen some big changes in tech. When I first 96 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 1: started in the workforce, which was not at how Stuff 97 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:27,719 Speaker 1: Works or Stuff Media or I Heart Radio, it was 98 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:31,280 Speaker 1: in a consulting firm. Well, when I first started, your 99 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: average employee workstation was a desktop computer, typically a tower 100 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 1: that was connected to a big old monitor. I'm talking 101 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:43,600 Speaker 1: about the CRT monitors, not exactly a portable solution. That's 102 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:45,359 Speaker 1: where your workstation was, That's where you had to do 103 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: your work. If COVID nineteen had hit back in those days, 104 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:53,480 Speaker 1: I'm honestly not certain how or even if companies could 105 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 1: have adapted in the wake of it, at least not 106 00:06:56,279 --> 00:07:01,159 Speaker 1: without potentially putting their employees in danger. But today we 107 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 1: have portable solutions. Lightweight laptops are commonplace. In fact, in 108 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: our office pretty much everyone has one, and improvements in 109 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: battery technology and more to the point, power management with laptops, 110 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 1: I mean that a laptop can last a lot longer 111 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: on a battery, even if you know you don't have 112 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: an outlet to plug into at the moment. They can 113 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: last a lot longer than the clunky, heavy things I 114 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:31,280 Speaker 1: used to work on back in my college days. Uh 115 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: way back then, I remember having a laptop, although I 116 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: wouldn't call it a laptop because if you were to 117 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:40,560 Speaker 1: put on your lap you would crush your legs. It 118 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: was a portable computer that was like a very heavy suitcase. 119 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: I almost think of it as like like one of 120 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:49,520 Speaker 1: those things you would see in a spy movie, except 121 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:53,280 Speaker 1: not as cool. Now, modern laptops make it possible for 122 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 1: you to do your work from anywhere, right, I mean, 123 00:07:55,680 --> 00:08:00,360 Speaker 1: that's their purpose. And before the pandemic, anywhere usually meant 124 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: wherever I was traveling for work, like if I was 125 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: going to c E s or to eat three or something, 126 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: I would bring my laptop with me. But today it 127 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: really does mean anywhere, and as things open up, working 128 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:14,880 Speaker 1: from anywhere can actually be really nice. For a couple 129 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:19,000 Speaker 1: of years, anywhere really just meant my office in my house, 130 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 1: like it's actually a spared room. It's a guest room 131 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:25,480 Speaker 1: that we turned into an office slash studio for me. 132 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: But now now that things are opening up, anywhere can 133 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 1: also include stuff like the patio at a local coffee 134 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 1: shop if I want to go there to research and 135 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 1: write an episode. Patio culture in Atlanta is serious business. 136 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 1: We love al fresco dining during that sweet spot in 137 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:47,079 Speaker 1: the spring just before the weather gets too hot. We're 138 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 1: starting to creep toward the too hot right now, so 139 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 1: get those patio days in why you can at Lantern's. Now. 140 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 1: On top of that, in the old days, the computer 141 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,240 Speaker 1: was really where all the power was like your computer 142 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:03,840 Speaker 1: was where all the power was. And by that I 143 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 1: meant we had to depend upon our PC to provide 144 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:10,679 Speaker 1: all the processing and all the storage that we were 145 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: relying upon. Some companies had their own servers that would 146 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:18,040 Speaker 1: let you save documents to a company network drive, so 147 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: you were saving your files to a server rather than 148 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 1: your work computer. But you know, your computer was really 149 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:29,840 Speaker 1: your enabler and also the limiting factor on what you 150 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:33,880 Speaker 1: could do. But the emergence of cloud and edge computing 151 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:38,960 Speaker 1: services have completely changed that as well. Cloud services, whether 152 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:43,080 Speaker 1: it's storage, or it's compute, or it's a mixture of 153 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 1: the two, mean that businesses can partner with providers in 154 00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: order to handle all that heavy lifting, and the businesses 155 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:55,959 Speaker 1: can then rely upon more nimble computer systems for employees. 156 00:09:56,559 --> 00:10:00,720 Speaker 1: That is an enormous change. It creates value bull options. 157 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:04,240 Speaker 1: In some businesses, it might make sense to secure powerful 158 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:08,479 Speaker 1: laptops or other computers for employees, but in many businesses 159 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:11,560 Speaker 1: that kind of computer just isn't necessary as long as 160 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:16,400 Speaker 1: the employee has a reliable Internet connection, and we've seen 161 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 1: a huge surgeon small businesses taking advantage of the cloud. 162 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 1: The circumstances of the pandemic really necessitated it. But beyond that, 163 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 1: the cloud has created new ways for businesses to you know, 164 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 1: do business. In many cases, it has expanded businesses ability 165 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:37,400 Speaker 1: to reach new customers, sometimes customers that they never would 166 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:40,679 Speaker 1: have encountered without the migration to the cloud. And of 167 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:44,680 Speaker 1: course we're still seeing cases in which businesses are keeping 168 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:48,480 Speaker 1: everything on premises or on prem as they say in 169 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:50,800 Speaker 1: the biz, and then some of them are going with 170 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:54,839 Speaker 1: a hybrid approach where they're keeping some servers on premises 171 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 1: and they're relying also on the cloud. And in those cases, 172 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 1: you're typically seeing businesses really keep mission critical, high security 173 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:12,440 Speaker 1: applications and storage on premises and then offloading everything else 174 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 1: to the cloud. And it really expands your options. When 175 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:21,719 Speaker 1: we come back, i'll talk about some other technologies that 176 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:26,280 Speaker 1: have really enabled small businesses to continue working through the 177 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:30,840 Speaker 1: last two years and ways that it's going to create 178 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 1: new opportunities moving forward. But first let's take a quick break. 179 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: We're back now getting back to connectivity. That's something that 180 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: also has changed dramatically since I began working. Not only 181 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 1: have we seen broadband access increase, we've seen data throughput 182 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:03,480 Speaker 1: capabilities explode. You know what, we considered a fast back 183 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:08,000 Speaker 1: when I first started working in the workforce, wouldn't even 184 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:10,920 Speaker 1: qualify as slow. Today we would think of it as 185 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:16,240 Speaker 1: excruciating lee slow plus. Now we're seeing more options for 186 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:21,000 Speaker 1: connectivity than ever before, whether it's a fiber connection or 187 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:25,480 Speaker 1: a five G wireless solution, or you know, even satellite 188 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:29,679 Speaker 1: Internet services for people in remote locations. There are businesses 189 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: I have gone to that aren't served by hardlined UH 190 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:38,600 Speaker 1: Internet connections, or they're not really in a place where 191 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:44,120 Speaker 1: they can get reliable five G service, so they use satellites. Well, 192 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:49,200 Speaker 1: satellite services even improved, so the connectivity component for small 193 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:53,000 Speaker 1: businesses has enabled new ways to reach and serve customers. 194 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:58,120 Speaker 1: Businesses that in the past relied entirely upon you know, 195 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:03,520 Speaker 1: in person UH interactions have had to adapt to this, 196 00:13:03,679 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 1: and a lot of them have done it incredibly well. Now. 197 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:09,920 Speaker 1: I mentioned earlier that businesses can make use of servers 198 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:13,440 Speaker 1: for in house networks, and another big change we've seen 199 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: since I started working is the cost and the availability 200 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,079 Speaker 1: of servers. I remember, like when I started that consulting 201 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,000 Speaker 1: firm in the nineties, it was the first time I 202 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:26,800 Speaker 1: had ever interacted with servers outside of an academic setting, 203 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 1: and for a while only larger companies were really able 204 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 1: to afford servers or even have a need for them. 205 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:38,560 Speaker 1: But today servers are much more affordable and they offer 206 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:44,480 Speaker 1: businesses some incredibly useful and powerful tools. For example, employees 207 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:47,560 Speaker 1: connected to the in house server can collaborate directly, they 208 00:13:47,559 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 1: can share files, they can share other resources with each 209 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 1: other without having to send that information over some other 210 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 1: network like the Internet for example, where seeing lots of 211 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:02,079 Speaker 1: businesses adopt these kinds of strate geez. Now, ideally you've 212 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:05,400 Speaker 1: got yourself a dedicated server, maybe you augment it with 213 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:09,520 Speaker 1: a VPN or virtual private network, and this becomes not 214 00:14:09,679 --> 00:14:12,880 Speaker 1: just the nexus of collaboration, it also becomes a key 215 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 1: component to companies security. So one of the ugly trends 216 00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 1: we've seen over the last two years is a serious 217 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:25,840 Speaker 1: uptick in cybercrime. We saw everything from widespread phishing campaigns 218 00:14:25,840 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 1: that sought to trick people into handing over important information 219 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,800 Speaker 1: or sometimes even control of a machine or even a network, 220 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:36,960 Speaker 1: all the way up to massive state backed campaigns that 221 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 1: targeted some of the most influential companies and agencies around 222 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:44,640 Speaker 1: the world. And this meant there was a big bright 223 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:48,280 Speaker 1: spotlight on the challenges of I T security in a 224 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 1: distributed work setting. Well, I hate to say it, but 225 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:57,200 Speaker 1: there is no such thing as a perfect security system. However, 226 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 1: one thing that is an important tool is a server. 227 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:05,120 Speaker 1: If employees are logging into a server, if they're logging 228 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:12,120 Speaker 1: into a company machine before they then do further explorations 229 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:15,040 Speaker 1: out into the Internet for their work. For example, I 230 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 1: do a lot of research. So having that as a 231 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 1: stop is important because a business owner can employ security 232 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 1: tools to protect the business and the business's assets. On 233 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:31,360 Speaker 1: the server side, a firewall is a really good start. 234 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:38,400 Speaker 1: A firewall helps protect against unwanted traffic into a company's servers. 235 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 1: A tool that can detect and prevent intrusion attempts and 236 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,960 Speaker 1: other threats can really mean the difference between business as 237 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 1: usual and going into full on damage control. So for 238 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:54,160 Speaker 1: a lot of small businesses, incorporating a server into the 239 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:57,440 Speaker 1: business makes a ton of sense. Though we do also 240 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:01,440 Speaker 1: have to acknowledge that any security strategy also has to 241 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:06,560 Speaker 1: include employee training and understanding. Anecdotally, I have seen an 242 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:10,320 Speaker 1: uptick of phishing attempts targeting me recently. Most of those 243 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 1: are going to my phone via text messages or to 244 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:16,640 Speaker 1: my personal email account, which suggests to me that my 245 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: information is probably part of a massive database that's being 246 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 1: traded around on the dark web somewhere. That's tons of fun. 247 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: That's something you obviously want to avoid if you can, 248 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:31,160 Speaker 1: and it's certainly something that businesses want to avoid. You 249 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:36,120 Speaker 1: don't want people exploiting information at your expense, so good 250 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 1: security practices help a lot in those cases. Something I 251 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:44,800 Speaker 1: find really fascinating is how small businesses are starting to 252 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:50,479 Speaker 1: leverage high tech solutions like machine learning and artificial intelligence 253 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:54,640 Speaker 1: and data analytics. I often get a bit narrow minded 254 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:58,800 Speaker 1: when it comes to certain things in technology. I make 255 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: assumptions such as the only companies that are really engaging 256 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:06,720 Speaker 1: in those kinds of technologies are the really big ones, 257 00:17:07,080 --> 00:17:10,440 Speaker 1: you know, the companies that are known for pioneering AI 258 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:15,320 Speaker 1: and machine learning. That somehow this is all confined to 259 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:21,400 Speaker 1: laboratories and people in white coats with formula. But that's 260 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:24,399 Speaker 1: really missing the point entirely, isn't it. I mean, I 261 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: get it like that is like that is the most 262 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:31,400 Speaker 1: primitive way of looking at those disciplines, because why are 263 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,840 Speaker 1: these companies even pursuing these technologies? What is the purpose 264 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:38,320 Speaker 1: of doing all this R and D work well. Ultimately, 265 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:43,240 Speaker 1: it's to offer a product up to customers, and customers 266 00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:47,680 Speaker 1: can include small businesses. So small businesses, while not necessarily 267 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:52,640 Speaker 1: at the forefront of developing the next powerful AI, are 268 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:57,160 Speaker 1: certainly taking advantage of those technologies, and more of those 269 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:00,000 Speaker 1: small businesses are doing it every day. In fact, many 270 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 1: analysts suggest that small businesses are actually adopting these technologies 271 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:08,520 Speaker 1: faster than the bigger companies because the small businesses are 272 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 1: more nimble, they're able to respond more quickly than the 273 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:16,320 Speaker 1: big companies are. But then, what are they using these 274 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:20,440 Speaker 1: technologies to do well. Sometimes it's for stuff that might 275 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:25,679 Speaker 1: seem kind of mundane, such as automatic transcriptions for phone calls, 276 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:30,000 Speaker 1: but that service can get really sophisticated. I'm sure some 277 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:32,280 Speaker 1: of you have had experiences in which you were using 278 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:38,040 Speaker 1: some sort of audio conferencing over the Internet, or maybe 279 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,720 Speaker 1: some sort of speech to text application, and you probably 280 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:44,480 Speaker 1: saw that depending on what you said, you might have 281 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:48,840 Speaker 1: some interesting options pop up. For example, I've used the 282 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:52,600 Speaker 1: notation program to remind myself of upcoming appointments and then 283 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:56,879 Speaker 1: saw that the program actually created an option for me 284 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:01,560 Speaker 1: to actively add the notation as an appointment to my 285 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:07,639 Speaker 1: calendar that automatically said, oh, I understand you want to 286 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:12,440 Speaker 1: be reminded of this event at this time on this day. 287 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:15,200 Speaker 1: How about we just add that to your calendar. And 288 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:19,679 Speaker 1: it's the AI component of this transcription service that is 289 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: able to contextualize what I was saying and quote unquote 290 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:27,439 Speaker 1: understand that it meant I needed to put something on 291 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 1: my calendar. That is phenomenal. It's something that a lot 292 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:33,480 Speaker 1: of us kind of take for granted, even after the 293 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:36,840 Speaker 1: first time we see it. But that was a huge, 294 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:41,240 Speaker 1: huge breakthrough. And that's just a simple example. I was 295 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:44,720 Speaker 1: actually on a conference call just the other day and 296 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:48,040 Speaker 1: during the call, I mentioned that I needed to email 297 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:52,200 Speaker 1: someone on our team, and during the call, a little 298 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:55,320 Speaker 1: notification popped up in the service I was using that 299 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,960 Speaker 1: said do you want to add this to your to 300 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:01,000 Speaker 1: do list? And it was email so and so, And 301 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:04,320 Speaker 1: it was just amazing to me. And we're seeing these 302 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:07,440 Speaker 1: kinds of services offer up even more utility as time 303 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 1: goes on. Imagine that business gets on the phone with 304 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:16,520 Speaker 1: a supplier and that because of the phone service that 305 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:21,600 Speaker 1: they're using, it automatically ends up creating a transcription of 306 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:24,600 Speaker 1: the phone call. You have an AI component that's doing 307 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 1: speech to text. The AI might make note of specific 308 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:34,000 Speaker 1: components of the conversation, such as any orders or sales, 309 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:38,000 Speaker 1: prices of items, or inventory or supply schedules, all that 310 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 1: sort of stuff. We're seeing AI solutions automate many of 311 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 1: the processes that in the old days would have to 312 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:47,560 Speaker 1: be tracked by human beings who would then input various 313 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:51,439 Speaker 1: data points manually into spreadsheets and stuff. Now a lot 314 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:56,200 Speaker 1: of that can be done automatically, and we're seeing technology 315 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:00,960 Speaker 1: enable automated solutions that any business can take advantage of. 316 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:05,800 Speaker 1: Typically it just includes securing a business license for a 317 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:09,959 Speaker 1: specific product. There are limitless scenarios where machine learning and 318 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:14,480 Speaker 1: AI are making transformative changes in how businesses operate, freeing 319 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,040 Speaker 1: up people in the business to focus on things other 320 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 1: than tracking points of data. In the era of big data, 321 00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:27,560 Speaker 1: a critical component is data analysis. That was something that 322 00:21:27,840 --> 00:21:30,679 Speaker 1: was clear from the very beginning, but for a while, 323 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:36,960 Speaker 1: data analysis capabilities were trailing behind data gathering capabilities. We 324 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:42,040 Speaker 1: were gathering terra bytes worth of information at of a 325 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:46,440 Speaker 1: frightening speed, really, and the ability to sort through it 326 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:50,200 Speaker 1: was kind of lagging behind. Well, information is not valuable 327 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:54,360 Speaker 1: if you can't figure out what is in that information 328 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:57,840 Speaker 1: if you can't separate the signal from the noise. Fortunately, 329 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:04,119 Speaker 1: very smart programmer came up with incredible algorithms that started 330 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:06,920 Speaker 1: us on the process of being able to sort through 331 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 1: all this information and find the meaning within it. Machine 332 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 1: learning sped that process up significantly, and data analysis is critical, 333 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:21,080 Speaker 1: whether it's getting a better understanding of what customers want 334 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:26,520 Speaker 1: and expect, or it's for managing supply chains. Data analysis 335 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:29,440 Speaker 1: is a key component for pretty much any small business. 336 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,880 Speaker 1: It might not always be obvious, it might not even 337 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:35,960 Speaker 1: be formally acknowledged, it might be done more like by 338 00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:39,679 Speaker 1: feel and intuition, but it's always there. It's rare for 339 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:43,240 Speaker 1: a business to be successful without some element of data 340 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:47,440 Speaker 1: analysis coming into play, and tech really makes that possible 341 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 1: on a scale that was unimaginable a few years ago. 342 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:56,080 Speaker 1: But now we're seeing powerful systems, often driven by machine learning, 343 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,199 Speaker 1: that can find real meaning in all the data that 344 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:01,879 Speaker 1: we've collected, and this can end up being useful to 345 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 1: small businesses as well. Not that every small business has 346 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:08,160 Speaker 1: to comb through terabytes of data to get things done, 347 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:12,679 Speaker 1: but what might have seemed abstract in the past is 348 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:16,560 Speaker 1: now a concrete reality and businesses are using these technologies 349 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:20,159 Speaker 1: to get a better understanding of their business strategy, what works, 350 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,680 Speaker 1: what doesn't work. They also get a better understanding of 351 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: their customers and how to do things better at lower 352 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:31,440 Speaker 1: costs with higher revenues. Now, not all the changes from 353 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:35,800 Speaker 1: the past couple of years are rosy small businesses based challenges. 354 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:39,280 Speaker 1: As ever, some of those challenges have emerged over the 355 00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:43,200 Speaker 1: last decade or so. For example, pivoting to a digitized 356 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:47,639 Speaker 1: strategy brings new consequences. A big one would be the 357 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:52,360 Speaker 1: rise of the aggregators. So these are companies that collect 358 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,359 Speaker 1: and curate other companies. They act as a sort of 359 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:59,679 Speaker 1: clearing house or a centralized way for customers to find 360 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:03,760 Speaker 1: what they're looking for. And there are massive online stores 361 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:07,160 Speaker 1: that do this. They are numerous ones. They give small 362 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:12,000 Speaker 1: businesses a chance to reach customers UH using the internet, 363 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:16,760 Speaker 1: and they can rely on this enormous online store as 364 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 1: their platform. But this can come at a cost. The 365 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:24,880 Speaker 1: customer may not ever associate the product with that small business. 366 00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:29,600 Speaker 1: They might instead associate the product with the overall huge 367 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,320 Speaker 1: online store. And we've seen this a lot over the 368 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:37,520 Speaker 1: last two years. UH food delivery services in particular have 369 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,399 Speaker 1: really contributed to this. Restaurants can find it challenging to 370 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:45,159 Speaker 1: connect with customers directly as these delivery services become a 371 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:50,199 Speaker 1: literal go between for the restaurant and the customer. I 372 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 1: suspect we're going to see a lot of innovation in 373 00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 1: this space as well, as small businesses find new ways 374 00:24:56,560 --> 00:25:00,679 Speaker 1: to reach customers, possibly adopting hybrid approaches to do so so, 375 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:06,920 Speaker 1: in other words, maintaining a place on these larger online platforms, 376 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:11,520 Speaker 1: but also keeping their own space as well so that 377 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,679 Speaker 1: customers can go directly there. Maybe they'll find ways to 378 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 1: attract customers to those owned and operated stores. I imagine 379 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:22,879 Speaker 1: we're going to see a lot more use of things 380 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:26,520 Speaker 1: like online newsletters and such in order to do that, 381 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:31,600 Speaker 1: because it kind of hearkens back to going to small 382 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:36,440 Speaker 1: individual stores rather than a mall. Right, Like you're shopping 383 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:41,280 Speaker 1: locally in locally owned stores, rather than going to a 384 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 1: giant box store or a shopping mall filled with you know, 385 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:51,000 Speaker 1: franchised stores. I feel like that's where we're at right now, 386 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:53,960 Speaker 1: where small businesses are finding ways where they can make 387 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:59,120 Speaker 1: those connections with their customers and to perhaps not rely 388 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:05,280 Speaker 1: so heavily on aggregators or maybe we'll see aggregators shift 389 00:26:05,359 --> 00:26:10,320 Speaker 1: a bit and how they operate so that there isn't 390 00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:15,840 Speaker 1: this disconnect between customer and business. Finally, I wanted to 391 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:20,160 Speaker 1: mention that technology has enabled more people to pursue an 392 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:25,399 Speaker 1: entrepreneurial dream than ever before. That, to me, is something 393 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 1: that we can't lose sight of. Technology has reached a 394 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:36,240 Speaker 1: level of affordability and utility that allows people who had 395 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:40,040 Speaker 1: a dream but no means to pursue it, to suddenly 396 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 1: flip that switch. And this is a global phenomenon. We're 397 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:49,359 Speaker 1: seeing people who traditionally have been drastically underrepresented in small 398 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:54,040 Speaker 1: businesses chase their dreams. Technology is what is powering that. 399 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:57,639 Speaker 1: Whether it's someone in Atlanta spearheading a service that brings 400 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:00,879 Speaker 1: rashly grown produce right off the far to customers in 401 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:04,159 Speaker 1: the city, or it's a school for the deaf in 402 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:10,080 Speaker 1: El Salvador adapting to remote instruction and subsequently expanding, which 403 00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 1: meant they could accept more students, and that is an 404 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:18,119 Speaker 1: incredible benefit both to the school and to the students themselves. 405 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:22,399 Speaker 1: Tech is a foundational pillar for the future of work 406 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:26,719 Speaker 1: in general and small businesses in particular. That's it for 407 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:30,720 Speaker 1: this episode of tech Stuff. I hope you enjoyed this. 408 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 1: If you have suggestions for future topics that I should 409 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:36,960 Speaker 1: cover in this podcast, please reach out to me. The 410 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,439 Speaker 1: best way to do that is on Twitter. The handle 411 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:42,399 Speaker 1: for the show is tech Stuff H s W and 412 00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:51,399 Speaker 1: I'll talk to you again really soon. Text Stuff is 413 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:54,560 Speaker 1: an I Heart Radio production. For more podcasts from my 414 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:58,320 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 415 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:01,359 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite jumps come