IT MAY not be wise for struggling small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to invest right away in sophisticated digital tools when they are cutting costs to survive this pandemic-induced economic crisis, but “getting started” could help them win their clients back and stay afloat in the medium-to –longer term.
“There is no size fits all solution. They just need to get started,” said Accenture PH JP Palpallatoc, in a virtual briefing Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. He believes it is not impossible for struggling SMBs to catch up with other businesses that have fasttracked their digital transformation in this time of Covid-19 pandemic.
He identified investments in cloud, data and artificial intelligence (AI) as starting points or good foundations for SMBs while they manage other aspects of their businesses.
“Cloud could be implemented because the entry point of cloud is quite low now,” he said, adding that business owners should also determine the right technology that can help them flourish in today’s situation.
“They need to look at the short- to mid-term. Can I look at technologies that will enable my employees, a technology that will grow my business? Using the cloud you’ll be able to use services like data and AI which actually allows you to expand. For people who are doing catch up you need to do it now,” said Palpallatoc.
Accenture study
According to the Accenture Technology Vision 2021, technology was a lifeline during the global pandemic--enabling new ways of working and doing business, creating new interactions and experiences, and improving health and safety.
The report, “Leaders Wanted: Masters of Change at a Moment of Truth,” outlined how leading enterprises are compressing a decade of digital transformation into one or two years.
“The global pandemic pushed a giant fast forward button to the future. Many organizations stepped up to use technology in extraordinary ways to keep their businesses and communities running--at a pace they thought previously impossible--while others faced the stark reality of their shortcomings, lacking the digital foundation needed to rapidly pivot,” said Paul Daugherty, group chief executive–technology and chief technology officer at Accenture, in a statement.
The Accenture study pointed out that today’s landscape would need technology leaders who won’t wait for the new normal to happen but those who’ll reinvent and build new realities using radically different mindsets and models.
“The era of the fast follower is over—perpetual change is permanent. Tomorrow’s leaders will be those that put technology at the forefront of their business strategy,” Accenture said.
The Technology Vision identifies five key trends that companies will need to address over the next three years to accelerate and master change in all parts of their business.
These are competition in IT systems architecture; continued investments in intelligent digital twins over the next three years; democratization of technology; shift from “bring your own device” to “bring your own environment” workforce approach; and the rise of multiparty systems that help industries gain resilience, new ways to approach the market and create new value. (KOC)