Running your SME: There's (probably) an app for that

Almost every industry today is digitised. Most business functions are software-enabled. Around 40 percent of the world's population has an Internet connection. It comes as no surprise that 68 percent of Singapore’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will invest in their in-house technology and innovation capabilities, according to DP Information Group’s SME Development Survey. While this figure appears promising, the increase in technology adoption from a year ago was a mere 4 percent.

While it's intuitive that every SME must make the shift from offline to online, many of them run with few systems or none at all. Paper-based processes, manual tabulation, and moving data between various software applications are par for the course in companies navigating outdated legacy IT systems. The challenge is real: the status quo is counterproductive to processing data in real-time, impeding decision-making and resulting in lost opportunities.

Singapore's SMEs need to successfully leverage technology, taking on more established businesses while competing on an increasingly globalised stage. That's in line with the government's Smart Nation initiative, launched in November 2014 to build the world's first "smart nation" by harnessing technology. Benefits already being realised include efficiencies around catching a bus or renewing a passport, but for SMEs looking to be a part of this story, the question is how?

Unbridled decision-making; unbundled applications
In 2016, it does not matter where your suppliers, customers, or business partners are – you can engage them virtually. Given inefficiencies in manpower due to slow and cumbersome manual processes and engagement, businesses are going to rely extensively on technology such as cloud-based applications and software to achieve faster growth with less effort.

In its push to digitise, the Singapore government has announced that a record $2.82 billion worth of technology tenders will be called this year to ramp up the city's infocommunications technology infrastructure.

Cloud technology applications bring these efficiencies as well as flexibilities. Three key areas where they bring significant benefits to the business is around your processes, customers, and people. The Singapore government knows this.

For example, the Info-communications Development Authority (IDA) says its cloud vision "is to sharpen the overall economic competiveness of Singapore through analysing [cloud] demand and adoption in key industry verticals, as well as driving the creation of new products to address business needs and developing manpower capabilities".

Switching to a cloud-based integrated business platform is one viable option for SMEs that do not wish to over-invest in IT infrastructure. Configured to the operational needs of the business, a cloud platform enables resources to be utilised more efficiently, while businesses are freed from the burden of physical storage, server capacity and facilities, hardware maintenance, and downtime.

When discussing the importance of cloud technologies in driving Singapore's innovation at both the private and public sector levels, most industry experts agree that they are critical to SME innovation and experimentation, enabling them to free up resources and deploy huge server volumes at a fraction of the time. In an app-crazed world, the cloud enables them to develop and roll-out new applications at greater speed than ever before.

Around processes, cloud applications within a single platform are useful in running a business, particularly in areas such as enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), which include accounting, product planning, purchase, manufacturing, and service delivery. It provides management with a clear overview of the state of the organisation, facilitating decision-making and corporate strategy.

For any business to find success, it's a no-brainer that you need customers. Customer service software and sales management software are necessary to manage and optimise sales processes, marketing, and customer services, making the business more resilient. With these tools, businesses are better equipped with real-time insights that shape customer interactions in the digital age, delivering a better customer experience and generating higher profitability.

A business is built with people – to this end, human resources is a mission-critical business function. Tracking performance, identifying and filling skills gap, and improving performance has never been easier. Appraisals, payroll, timesheets – there's a cloud-based app for all of that. And with 96 percent of Singapore's population of 5.65 million people owning a mobile phone of some kind – 88 percent own a smartphone – the market is ripe for adoption of cloud solutions, at every level of business.

To continue forward amid global headwinds and increasing business costs, Singapore's SMEs need to adopt newer, more innovative, and more efficient ways to run their businesses. However, businesses must be mindful in adoption to truly reap the benefits of greater operational efficiencies. Technology cannot be an afterthought, but must be at the core of every business, well integrated into all operating streams. Poorly executed implementation could lead to greater inefficiencies.

While there are bound to be teething challenges, every cloud has a silver lining; SMEs have an edge over their larger global counterparts in speed, adaptability, and agility, overcoming hurdles when it comes to data and system migration to the cloud. Once the business passes the nascent phase of process change and learning new systems, benefits will far outweigh any risks or inconvenience experienced in the short-term.

Singapore's 'Smart Nation' goal is here to stay – so, too, will be 'smart' businesses that brace themselves for the digital economy. Even though business sentiment among SMEs in Singapore has fallen to a five-year low, the lull might just be an opportune moment to take a step back, evaluate the rapidly evolving business environment, and make the smart business decision to invest in a future in the cloud.