The business world has changed a lot in the past 20 years. Thanks to game changing business innovations in sectors such as computing, networking and information technology, companies have been able to greatly increase the productivity of their employees. This trend first became noticeable in the 1990s, a time when the personal computer was fully embraced by the business community. With the development of robust office productivity programs, such as word processing and spreadsheet applications, companies were able to digitize their operations and save vast amounts of time and money. Productivity increased even further as computer processing power improved in accordance with Moore's Law. In the decade of the 1990s, worker productivity in the United States increased by an average of 1.9 percent per year, a marked increase from the 1980s. This led to a remarkable increase in economic growth throughout much of the decade. Although this growth was temporarily halted after the bursting of the stock market bubble in 2000, the economy soon rebounded, and the Internet revolution began in earnest. During the past 10 years, Internet technology drastically improved, which allowed small business to finally harness the immense power of networks. In part, this business trend was helped by the advent of broadband connectivity, which quickly replaced dial-up access as the main way to connect to the Internet. By greatly increasing download speeds, businesses could now take advantage of the Internet in a way that was previously unimaginable. The Internet has fundamentally changed business in numerous ways. Email facilitated quick and easy communication among employees at no cost. Google made the Internet accessible by making information easily searchable. Wikipedia organized all of the world's information into a central database. Facebook made the internet personal by connecting the world through its social graph. Not only have these developments increased productivity, they have also created an entirely new way of doing business: e-commerce. The Internet has been a transformative technology by disrupting traditional business practices. For instance, in less than 20 years, Amazon has come to dominate retailing by focusing on e-commerce, which has allowed the company to significantly reduce its expenses while simultaneously expanding its global reach. The Internet has made the world a much smaller place. Competition in wholesale and retail markets now takes place on a global scale. It has also unified the various financial systems throughout the world, which has made it much easier for companies to access business credit markets. All of these changes have allowed small business to operate more efficiently. By reducing the costs of doing business, companies have been able to better serve their customers with higher-quality goods and services at lower prices. With technological progress showing no signs of abating, this trend should only continue over the next two decades. Businesses will continue to adapt to this rapidly changing marketplace, and the world will continue to benefit from this growth in innovation. Source - Business Ideas