There’s no question that technology is making the world a smaller place. A growing global market presents a tremendous opportunity to expand your business’ geographic footprint. What’s more, cloud-based technology has gone through a revolution within the last decade, making it easier, simpler and safer to conduct business internationally.
Traditionally, if you wanted to expand your company’s geographic footprint into Europe, for example, you’d have to consider a multitude of factors. How can you protect your customers’ data in Europe, where there are different business laws, a different currency and a fluctuating exchange rate? With the advent of e-commerce platforms, the majority of these logistical concerns have been resolved and automated — so you can expand your business overseas without having to juggle added complexities.
At the beginning of the e-commerce revolution, there was overwhelming concern expressed regarding the security of online transactions. People wanted to know where their data would “sit,” whether it was commingled with other data and who would have access to it. Today, these concerns have largely dissipated and are often emotional, if not counterproductive. Site-hosted architecture often poses a greater security risk than does leveraging a best-in-class cloud-based solution, engineered by industry experts — be it Salesforce, Stripe, AWS or any other widely used data management software. These companies hire the best talent to ensure their data security because their reputation — and entire business model — depends on it functioning flawlessly.
Things to think about when expanding your geographic footprint
When you’re dealing with an international market, you’re also dealing with foreign currency. With that comes certain currency fluctuation risks which you should be aware of at the outset. By choosing a trusted cloud-based platform, you’ll find that the digital infrastructure in place already addresses many, if not all of these nuances.
Currencycloud, for example, works with travel agent companies who book vacations six months out. If this client wanted to book a vacation package in Thailand, they would need to have a fixed charge for it — without knowing what could happen to the exchange rate between the time of booking and the date of the trip. Currencycloud takes the risk out of the equation by allowing the travel agency to book a price today at a fixed exchange rate, independent of subtle market fluctuations. Furthermore, Currencycloud’s technology allows its users to manage all of this online without having to go through a broker or other middleman.
When searching for a cloud-based solution, it’s easy to do preliminary research online to determine which solution would best fit your business. If you search for case studies and authoritative articles on the benefits and pitfalls of different cloud-based products, you’ll be better equipped to judge which software you can leverage with the greatest ease, flexibility and success.
Expanding your geographic footprint will give you a bigger audience and insulate your company from experiencing domestic market fluctuations — making it possible for your company to thrive in other parts of the world even when your home market is struggling. Diversity is the foundation of a more robust business — one that can weather turbulent political times and bridge barriers, both real and imagined.
If you’re ready to branch out, schedule a discovery call with Currencycloud today.
