Digital Transformation for SMEs: Challenges and Solutions
SMEs contribute more than 40% of the GDP, suggests the World Bank data. They’ve been severely hit by the pandemic and have been compelled to adapt and innovate. To recover from the pandemic, increasingly SMEs are transiting to ‘digital’ methods.
SMEs have found it hard to identify the route as digitization has a lot of moving parts. They have adopted some of the tools but it’s time they take a more long-term approach to digital transformation. The robust approach must concentrate on creating innovative solutions based on opportunities presented by digital transformation. Connecting with Customers, Enhancing employee experiences, automating workflow processes, using data-driven strategies, and harnessing artificial intelligence will go a long way in putting SMEs back into the growth path..
Awareness of the importance of digital transformation
Digital transformation is not just about leveraging automation, instead, it is about how businesses serve the world’s increasingly tech-savvy consumers. Technology is not the focus of digital transformation; it is businesses and customers.
Digital transformation is not a question of “if,” but rather “when,” given the pace at which technology is incorporated into processes. Therefore, it only makes economic sense for executives to take decisive action to optimize processes through digital transformation.
Numerous efforts for digital transformation have been stymied by the naive assumption that “digital equals costs.” Although digital transformation reduces costs, it is more critical for businesses to look at how it boosts topline.
Businesses that innovate to meet the needs of their customers will always succeed, and digital transformation about finding new ways to serve your customers and do you business.
Dynamic Nature of Digital Transformation
As digital transformation evolves, customers are offered access to new, quicker, and more convenient ways to conduct business. SMEs often dread such a rapid rate of change, which accounts for their unwillingness to implement digital to improve business.
CAPEX, Poor implementation, Cyber security, There are as many pitfalls to Digital transformation as there are advantages. The answer is not to remain in the physical world but to harness the digital technologies in a profitable manner while taking care to avoid the pitfalls.
In the realm of SMEs, there is legitimate “ambiguity” concerning cybersecurity. Moving operations to the cloud would be greatly hampered by skepticism in this manner. SMEs do not fully grasp cybersecurity and its advantages for business operations.
The damage from cyberattacks will be higher as the world becomes more intricately connected and easier for hackers to conduct them. Before spending money to move business activities to the cloud, SMEs must have a thorough consultation with a cyber-professional.
The Bottom Line
Any business alteration is a leap into the unknown, but those who stick with the “old way” of working will be left behind, especially as the epidemic has accelerated the development of our digital future. The situation demands a holistic digital approach which is essential for growth and survival. At the same time, leveraging the digital approach doesn’t necessarily involve too-high costs, if done appropriately. As we fast-forward towards this knowledge-based initiative, operational business challenges are frequent and hence the do-it-yourself model won’t work. Time is of essence, professionals with deep skills can help to speedup your digital transformation initiatives and ensure that you see real value and growth.
Aaroh brings over 100 years of accumulated experience from Fortune 100 and Big 5 Consulting firms to enable Businesses to maximize their investments in Digital transformation. Aaroh creates a detailed roadmap to transform the company’s market presence and operations to achieve higher revenue and profitable growth. Developing and implementing Digital Transformation strategies for clients across various domains, Aaroh translates customer insights to provide Digital Transformation Services to boost end-customer engagement and scale-up businesses.