The small (and even medium) business world is tough. According to Forbes, 80 percent of entrepreneurs who start a business will fail within the first 18 months. Small Business Trends says that half of small businesses fail after only five years. Business failure rates boast some scary numbers, but achieving business success is possible if SMBs implement a digital transformation strategy as soon as possible.
If we’re still talking stats, according to IDC, fifty percent of SMBs will see digital transformation as a vital feature of their company’s growth strategy by 2019. There’s so much new technology on the market, with more being added every day. How do you know what’s important and what’s not? How do you choose the best digital initiatives for your business?
A Look at Digital Transformation
Though they may not know or even admit it, many SMBs with legacy ERP systems are hanging on by a thread. Their unintegrated on-premises system is slow and immobile. It requires manual input and lacks sophisticated data analyzation capabilities. It’s also severely lacking in interoperability, achieving real-time updates for the entire team (including those in the field), and customization for unique business needs. Legacy systems cannot be anything but what they are: archaic.
According to IDC’s free infographic, SMBs with legacy systems need to experience the peace of mind cloud ERP brings. This means they must embrace digital transformation. In the infographic, take a look at how:
- “Technical debt” accumulates
- ERP has advanced
- Digital technology and a digital platform (providing an intelligent core connecting internal and external processes) are a requirement for success
- Digital transformation provides four major benefits
- Intelligent-ERP (i-ERP) systems equal timely and accurate decisions
- ERP systems should be differentiated and selected
IDC’s infographic presents SMBs with a strategic digital roadmap, making it clear that digital transformation isn’t a one-step endeavor, but an ongoing journey. This journey cannot be brought about by a single entity within a company. While the driving force should come from the top, there must be company-wide understanding about what will take place during this digital transformation. SMBs that foster a company culture embracing digital transformation will greatly increase their chances of success.
From the leadership to entry-level, every employee needs to understand why adopting digital technologies, cloud ERP software, and other emerging technologies (IoT, AI, robotics, next gen security) is required in order to exchange data across the organization, use that information to make effective decisions, meet customers’ modern expectations, and foster innovation. Any temporary disruptions caused by implementing cloud and SaaS will ultimately bring growth in the digital economy, or as IDC calls it, the DX economy.
A solid technology foundation and a clear digital strategy—which includes asking the right questions, setting clear goals and the steps to achieving them, getting input from people throughout the organization, and providing ongoing informational and training sessions—will keep the transformation moving forward. Every business in every industry will have different requirements and different methods throughout the process, but they all desire the same outcome: DX success.
Kickstart Business Success with IDC’s DX Infographic
IDC points out that “47 percent of businesses globally want more agility and speed from their technology systems.” If you’re one of these businesses (and you should be), you need to begin the digital transformation process without delay. The rate at which technology changes is only going to increase. Waiting puts your business behind those that have already adopted agile technology such as cloud, mobile, social, big data/analytics, cognitive, AR/VR, and IoT.
Download IDC’s infographic today and get the digital roadmap that will help guide you to your future business success.
Begin your digital transformation with the right partner. Accounting Systems, Inc. is a Sage and Acumatica Authorized Partner that can help you find the most evolved ERP system for your business and DX transformation needs. Let us help you find the right initiatives to produce the right outcomes and the highest ROI for your organization. Talk to ASI now.