The digital revolution is creating big changes and transformations in businesses, markets and society.
Uber is expanding without limits, with its mobil-platform-based business model. Amazon is launching the first no-cashier chain of supermarkets, highly reducing shopping time and, thus, making customer experience extremely satisfying. We could also mention Airbnb, Despegar, Expedia, etc. All digital proposals within people’s reach.
In this changing, rush, and hiperconnected process companies must compete – and the only option is to consider tranformation to continue growing.
Accessibility is the key word in technology for SMEs. Products and services have increasingly a reasonable cost/benefit ratio for the organizations. Regarding market products we can mention:
Big fishes struggle to give the best service at the lowest Price. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, among others. They deal with harware, base software, IT security and communication.
Many companies have decided to create standardized products to solve business problems: SAP, Microsoft, Oracle as examples of the world’s biggest manufacturers. However, there are lots of local or regional systems very well positioned: Tango, Bejerman, Plataforma, BAS, Softland among others.
In this chapter we can mention SAPB1’s arrival to Argentina – SAP’s SME product that is already revolutionizing the IT market.
Also, in BI, the Qlik View, Tableau, Power BI (Microsoft), Lumira (SAP)’s solutions provide a great leverage toward the analysis of the information in the decision-making process. These products have evolved technologically so they can intake a big volume of data and be affordable for SMEs.
Regarding bespoke developments, Mobil apps are the weakness. People’s habits have changed and the everyday-screen is no longer the computer’s but the cellphone’s. Nowadays smartphones have everything necessary for us to work as with a computer and connect us socially.
20 years ago we used to have a paper agenda, photo camera, landline, fax machine, a video camera, portable radio, paper dictionary, etc.… Today all of this is in the same place and in a small device.
We ask ourselves, Can we see ourselves in 5 years? Can we not plan the technological impact on our organization? What’s our competition doing? What does our client want?
The real organizational transformation in achieved with a thorough work that starts with strategy, process revision, followed by the redefinition of the structure and choosing the best available technology.
The big companies absorbing the small ones myth is broken, because in this changing world flexibility is more important and SMEs are actually who can best readjust to the new scenarios faster and take advantage of the available innovation to grow.
A clear example is the market capitalization of young companies like Facebook, opposite to 100-year-old oil companies, banks, etc.
THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION WE EXPERIENCE IS REAL AND WE MUST BECOME STRONG AND COMPETITIVE IN THE MARKET TO TRANSFORM BUSINESS; THINKING OF A NEW WORLD, DISRUPTIVE, TECHNOLOGICAL, GLOBALISED AND FAST IN THE FACE OF IMMINENT CHANGE.
Diego Erben, IT Director, Auren Argentina