Connecting the dots: why capturing data is no longer a ‘nice to have’ for SMEs
Small and midsize businesses have faced unique challenges during the pandemic, tackling them with resilience and innovation. As they look to the reality of new economic conditions, it’s more critical than ever that they have a true understanding of their current position.
Businesses of all sizes can feel the impact of disconnection. Disparate systems, a lack of defined processes, high labour costs, and a lack of visibility and traceability can all contribute to productivity loss, higher operating costs and missed opportunities. Covid-19 has shown that thinking holistically is critical to operating – and thriving – in any market.
As the world continues to change, capturing data and real-time insights is no longer a “nice to have” – it is the future of success in the new economy, and this is why.
Research from Oxford Economics and SAP shows that midsize businesses have been navigating Covid-19 in a similar way to their larger peers. To perform at their best in 2022 and beyond, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must nurture a capacity and willingness to change, by striking a balance between continued resilience, agility and efficiency. They have to be prepared to move quickly, to understand how to operate at maximum efficiency, and to just keep trying.
How? Access to information. An agile business is only as successful as the predictions it makes, whether these relate to product lines, suppliers, customer service processes or marketing activities, and doing this in the dark is an unacceptable risk.
Almost half (44%) of businesses surveyed cited “effective collaboration across functions” as a major barrier to transformation. Data-driven, technology-enabled connectivity allows SMEs to drive this type of business-wide collaboration.
As data is collected from every device, machines and staff can make strategic choices about what is working well and what needs to change, based on the most accurate information available.
Data sharing has the potential to grow every aspect of a small or midsize business. The research found almost half (45%) of businesses believed their data-sharing practices greatly improved:
