Why investing in technology can help SMEs grow in a time of high living costs
The perceived cost and risk of investing in advanced technologies deters the majority of SMEs. Furthermore, they must determine which technological innovation will best meet their current business needs.
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Adopting emerging technologies as a business owner can make or break your company, especially if you view technology as an expense or an investment.
In order to remain relevant and transform into an increasingly competitive market, technologies must be adopted. Automation, cloud computing, and other technologies are examples of these technologies.
Some SME business owners I've spoken to have expressed a desire to find effective ways to increase profits without sacrificing quality, cost, or efficiency.
Here are five ways that technology can help businesses grow : Automation is made possible by technology.
During my recent interactions with the owner of Viccu Juice Plus, regarding the aforementioned subject, she explained that her staff had multiple roles.
They typically spend a large portion of their time performing manual and repetitive tasks that have an impact on business operations.
She believes that automating those tasks frees up time, allowing employees to devote more time and energy to activities that add value rather than completing administrative tasks.
Viccu Juice Plus will be able to increase productivity, reliability, availability, performance, and reduce operating costs by automating processes.
Changing technology to meet market demand
SME growth requires understanding market drivers, customer tastes and preferences, and trend analysis.
SME owners must look for opportunities, save money, and run their businesses more efficiently.
Business owners can make informed market decisions by embracing technology.
This will allow businesses to respond to customer demands faster and develop more effective business strategies.
Businesses can fully utilise technology in the process of adapting to their customers' changing needs.
Implementing new technology, I believe, will enable businesses to reduce costs, improve delivery times, and improve the user experience.
Technology adoption in a business, regardless of its size, type, or customer base, can be critical to its growth.
Reduce operating expenses
Using technology, business owners can significantly reduce business operations and marketing expenses, such as investing in a cloud-based system that eliminates physical servers and their maintenance costs.
Using technology reduces paper, ink, and printing costs and can significantly reduce costs.
It will also increase productivity and help your team become more agile and effective.
Technology assists businesses in reducing material costs, reducing bureaucracy, making better use of time, and so on.
I believe that having a competitive advantage is critical, and that controlling costs and finding ways to reduce costs are essential steps in running a healthy business.
One way for businesses to cut costs is to invest in technology and innovation to keep up with rising consumer demand and competition.
Business operations that are data-driven. Businesses can now quickly and easily retrieve data from any source, including the internet, databases, and other computers, thanks to advances in technology.
Data from SMEs can now be sorted by category, date, and file type. Data analysis can reveal patterns and trends that businesses can use to make decisions.
For example, if your company's sales data show that customers are more likely to buy on a particular day of the week or at a particular time of day, you can direct your marketing and advertising efforts, accordingly, resulting in increased sales and profits.
Some business owners use an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, which collects and analyses data, to leverage data.
SME technology and skills gap
Large companies and greater resources attract most foreign technology talents, as well as being able to meet their salary expectations.
SMEs struggle to hire the best talent and are unable to find any available candidates due to budget constraints.
I believe that using technology for key business processes serves two important purposes: saving time and resources so that the company does not have to hire more people.
Finally, some of the emerging technologies that SMEs can use include Cloud Technology, Business Process Automation, Intelligent AI algorithms and data mining, Cybersecurity Technology, Online payments, Virtual workspaces, and so on.
Andrews Ayiku, Lecturer/Business Coach, University of Professional Studies Accra,[email protected]