The technology landscape is changing rapidly, and in no place is this more obvious than for small businesses. A recent article from Vertical Systems Reseller examined several of the hottest technologies in the retail market.

The main takeaway from the report is that existing solutions are evolving with the help of new technology. These are things like sales reporting being influenced by big data and analytics.

The escalated EMV timeline was discussed as well. The Target breach has put the technology back in the limelight because of the security potential of the solution. While Visa and MasterCard have roadmaps in place for adopting the solution, many other card providers like Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo and American Express also are starting to make the switch.

"The wider availability of affordable EMV-compliant solutions, especially tablets, will lead to enhanced EMV activity starting in 2014," Shan Ethridge, vice president and general manager of channel business at VeriFone, said. "Some SMBs will wait to go with an EMV-ready platform until the shift gets closer, and some will stay away from making the move altogether, but the change is most definitely an emerging trend this year."

Other technologies mentioned in the article include the growing influence of NFC to identify when shoppers are near a store or tracking movements within the space as well as the influence of mobile POS hardware and software.

If these are the hottest technologies that small business are or should be implementing, which ones have you considered and why?