5 Ways Technology Is Changing The Future of Work

It gives me great pleasure to welcome back Natalie Sisson with a follow up to her popular guest post ’10 Social Media Trend Predictions for 2011′.

This time Natalie is having a look at the key trends that are changing the way we work and the technology needed to let you take advantage of them.

You can find out more about Natalie at The Suitcase Entrepreneur and connect with her on Twitter @womanzworld by clicking on the image below.

Unless you’re particularly adept at crystal ball gazing it can be pretty tricky to figure out just what you should be focusing on when it comes to the latest technology to use to make you more effective, productive and ahead of the curve.

Even more important is figuring out what impact these tools and technology will have on the way we work, not only now, but in the next decade. If you can tap into all the amazing opportunities they offer wouldn’t that make you super savvy, smart and a little bit special?

Too right it would. So here are the key trends that are changing the future of work and the way we live our lives that you need to know about and some handy tips on tools to use right now to ride the technology wave like a pro.

Work on demand

Sick and tired of your office cubicle? Well the good news is by 2020 it may be a thing of the past. We are shifting towards a flexible, on-demand workforce which is allowing businesses of all sizes to get more done with less. You don’t need to be in the same city or country, let alone office, to work for a great company or manage a top team. The virtual workforce is rapidly becoming the way to be able to scale quickly to meet demand, increase efficiency, and offer a myriad of expertise that fits any budget.

Top Tip: If you’re an entrepreneur looking for flexible contract workers for a project or a part time virtual assistant then you should check out oDesk. The online community has a host of talented and qualified virtual workers all over the world waiting to work for you. As a freelancer it’s a fantastic platform to pick and choose from a wide array of jobs on offer, bid for projects, showcase your expertise and fill your client portfolio.

Enabling mobility

As technology prices fall the adoption of sophisticated mobile technologies will permeate our everyday lives. In time, Smartphones will help us replace or bypass our traditional desktops and laptops. In fact they will emerge as the new standard for both businesses and consumers. We will be quick to adopt them  in order to connect with global markets and enable economic growth in ways that were never before possible. And here you were thinking that your iPhone or Android was just super sexy. It’s actually the world in your hands.

Top Tip: Get the Skype mobile app to make free calls to any other Skype user from your phone for free. Talk about being mobile, anywhere there’s a wifi connection just logon and make calls to people a world away.

Connecting the dots

As the result of the above two trends we’re going to see increasingly interconnected markets and small businesses will find a wealth of new opportunities. They can excel at producing specialized products and services to meet the specific needs of customers who demand more personalization on a global scale.

Top Tip: Take a look at e-Junkie if you have any type of informational product for sale. It’s a virtual marketplace that makes it easy to sell your goods for just $5 per month and use PayPal or Google Checkout to collect payments. Plus you can set up an affiliate program and get others to share what you have on offer. You can also create discount codes and special links to cater to specific customer needs and it’s super simple to use.

Entrepreneurial growth

Thanks to the above small businesses will proliferate, taking advantage of the opportunities to meet the increasing needs of these niche markets. Even better, web and mobile technologies will allow small businesses to take on corporate giants, with customers no longer knowing – or even caring – about the size of the firm which provides their goods and services.

Top Tip: Keep your eye on the International Business Groups on social media tool LinkedIn. If you’re looking to expand into other markets, then these are a prime source of up to date information on what’s happening. They’re also perfect for allowing you to connect and deal directly with executives and CEOs who may need your services as a freelancer or entrepreneur. It’s a real advantage if you just take the time and use some savvy search parameters to find what you’re looking for.

Intuitive technology

In a major shift from previous decades, our expectations will now be built on using technology to improve our lives and businesses. The increasingly complex and intuitive tools available to us will change the way we live, work and run our lives and business. Even better the best of these tools will start (and already are) to integrate with each other so you an easily transfer between them and their different yet complementary features and functions.

Top Tip: Mailchimp is a great email client manager that allows you send out beautifully designed email newsletters to your customers and clients. They are constantly adding in plugins to work with other cool tools like EventBrite so you can email your list with your next upcoming event, Google Analytics to track your email campaign success and Freshbooks to send a friendly customized email with your next invoice.

Natalie Sisson is a Suitcase Entrepreneur and Adventurer who shares creative ways to run your business from anywhere. She is passionate about using online tools, social media and outsourcing to create more freedom in business and adventure in life. Her latest book `The Ultimate Toolkit for Evolutionary Entrepreneur’s’ features the best of the best online tools – both free and paid, all personally tested and recommended for entrepreneurs wanting to streamline their business and save time and money.

*Image credits

Love Work – Sean MacEntee Flickr

Network – graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Growth chart - renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net