The Advancement of Technology…

I bet you didn’t think you could compare technology to Marmite…

Well, chances are, if you asked a random stranger their opinion on either, they’ll either love it or they’ll hate it.

Marmite has only been a bugbear to most since 1902, but with technology spanning all the way back to the invention of the wheel before the 4^th millennium BC, why is it that technology seems to have just come out of nowhere?

For example, 15 years ago, the iPhone didn’t exist. Three decades prior to that, no one even owned a computer. Yet everywhere you look these days you can bet most of the people around you will have a smartphone in their pocket, (in fact, 87% will) and in 1998 only 9% of UK households had internet access… while 23 years later that statistic has risen to 97.4%. It’s no wonder then that it feels like it’s appeared just all of sudden.

Similar to biology, the development of technology has been an evolutionary process. Organisms have increased in complexity and capability over time, by building on positive genetic progress, and by comparison technology seems to be doing the same; as each generation of technology improves over the last, the rate of progress from version-to-version speeds up. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the first iPhone released compared to latest; it started off only being able to hold 4GB of data (roughly 1,000 photos) to now being able to hold 512GB (just over a whopping 32,000 photos… as well as 13,000 songs and 26 hours’ worth of video alongside that). All that has been achieved in just 14 years. You can’t help but be blown away by the exponential rate of development.

For most, technology was a miniscule part of day-to-day life before the 21^st century. If you wanted to contact someone, you’d use your landline, hand write a letter or, dare I say, go and speak to the person face to face. For the Baby Boomers and early Generation X, who were brought up to not rely on technology for the most part, it’s not surprising that 2021 must feel like a shock to the system. Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that while it has evolved rapidly, each of these steps forward have created changes that now we simply couldn’t live without. Tasks and actions can now be completed quicker, more securely and with such ease that ironically, we ask ourselves, “Why wasn’t this thought of sooner?”.

DB Wood was established in 1976, and we try to keep pace with the technological changes so that we can keep our clients at the centre of what we do and try as hard as possible, to deliver positive client outcomes. To do this it’s crucial for us to adapt and evolve alongside technology to keep bringing you services that add value to you in an efficient, straightforward and, most importantly, secure manner, to help you in your financial and life planning.

With that in mind we are introducing our iSecure portal. We’re all guilty of it, whether it’s a locked draw in the spare room, or a carboard box crammed in under the stairs, or even, in the case of my parents, an old Nike shoebox sealed shut with scotch tape, we’ve all got our own place where we file important papers, that we look at once but know we must keep in case we need it someday. Well, the iSecure portal acts as an online filing cabinet, where you can store all of these important documents in one place, easily accessible at the touch of a button wherever you are, without the worry of them getting lost or stolen. You can quickly share essential documents, or you can keep them completely private to yourself. Simply scan the documents you want to upload either from your mobile phone or on your desktop, then they’ll be encrypted and stored safely.

We haven’t just stopped there either. We’re now introducing our integration of Docusign; an email service that allows us to send you documents to sign over the internet. No need for a pen and paper, you won’t need to print it, scan it or post it back. You’ll receive the document in your inbox, simply sign and click send and it’ll be returned to us instantly. Your wet signatures and your personal information can no longer be lost in the post, they’ll be securely returned to us with all your information kept how it should be: private.

These are just a few examples of how DB Wood are taking technological advancements and using them to drive progress forward and create the best experience for you. If you’re interested in finding out more about either one of these services, you can feel free to get in touch with me with any burning questions you have. We’re only 21 years into the 21^st century and already the progress of questions asked and answered has been pretty impressive, one can only imagine what the road ahead looks like. One thing’s for sure though, we’ll be there with you every step of the way. Well, that and the fact that we’re sure Marmite will still be dividing the nation… I’ll be loving it though!

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