Scalability of a company’s technology, simply means that whatever programs, systems or networks that are used to run your company, (process your sales, track your customer service interactions) have the capability to grow as your business needs grow.
Something that is scalable can rapidly handle an explosion in growth as well as a gradual swell in volume of growth. Most importantly, scalable technology should be able to provide and meet a sustained increase in service requirements.
Know Your Customer Needs Well In Advance
Do your research and plan your tech requirements around your customers specific needs. Will customers require a live person to guide them through purchasing? Will photos suffice for a product demo, or will a short video be more appropriate for the buyers who will be utilizing your website? Knowing your target market’s preferences makes software and hardware scalability easier to engineer from the beginning.
Research Before Estimating The Number Of Users
Have realistic estimates of the minimum and maximum number of users so that you can build-in usage capacity. When scalability is a part of the original design and plan, it will reduce or eliminate the downtime needed to re-tool or switch to a new digital system in the event that your networks cannot keep up with any sort of sizable growth in demand.
Think Of Future Expansions
Will you be adding new or more services or products in the future? Can your tech systems handle the addition of multiple items at once, or can they handle a sudden “rush” of users if your product or service goes viral? Again, investment upfront in tech systems can save you time and headaches down the road.
Simplify The Functional Features Needed
The easier it is to use, the easier your technology will be to scale as your company grows. Take time during the planning stages to pare down the number of steps and simplify customer engagement (information entry etc.) The simpler the interface, the faster and more pleasant the user experience will be, leading to repeat visits and sales.
Determine The Longevity Of Your Technology
Depending on your company’s needs, try to calculate the length of time your technology will be relevant to the market and for the products and/or services you are selling. If your technology is only Android based, for example, will that be enough to see you through the next ten years?