70% of SMEs will multiply their investment in technology to improve their resilience and competitiveness
- Microsoft has presented the study ” Digitalization of SMEs, growing from collaboration platforms ” with the aim of providing a vision of the digitalization and transformation of SMEs in the country. It reveals that, by the end of 2022, 10% of SMEs will account for 20% of new job creation in developed economies.
- Among the main demands for technology by SMEs, Artificial Intelligence stands out, which will grow by more than 30% throughout 2022, together with cloud environments, with 30%. Investments in collaborative applications and cybersecurity will register increases of more than 19% and 12% respectively.
- Having relevant partners, digital strategies and a good customer experience will be the main trends in the digitization of the The study confirms that in 2 years 33% will already offer their virtual and data-oriented experiences.
By the end of 2022, 10% of SMEs will account for 20% of new job creation in developed economies . For this reason, the degree of digital maturity of this type of organization is a fundamental factor in improving the competitiveness of the entire productive fabric. This is one of the main conclusions of the study ” Digitalization of SMEs , growing from collaboration platforms “, prepared by IDC Spain and sponsored by Microsoft , with the aim of providing a vision of the digitalization and transformation of SMEs in the country. The report also reveals that, in 4 years, 70% of Spanish SMEs will have significantly increased their investment in ITto be more resilient and capitalize on market conditions.
To help Spanish SMEs learn about the advantages and opportunities presented by digital transformation in all sectors, Microsoft presented last March a digital promotion program for small and medium-sized companies in all sectors of activity. This is linked to the Digital Kit initiative , an economic support measure announced by the Government of Spain within the framework of the Next Generation Funds of the European Union, which foresees a public investment close to 5,000 million euros until 2023 in order to to accelerate the digitization of 80% of SMEs and freelancers in Spain.
According to the report, the total IT investment in Spain in 2021 amounted to more than 49,000 million euros, of which 12,000 million corresponded to small and medium-sized companies, that is, 25% of the total. The growth forecast for this year is slightly less than 4% and, among the main demands for technology by SMEs, Artificial Intelligence stands out, which will grow by more than 30% throughout 2022, together with cloud environments , with 30% . Investments in collaborative applications and cybersecurity will register increases of more than 19 % and 12% respectively .
Regarding the investment priority of SMEs in the short and medium term, the study by IDC and Microsoft has identified four relevant blocks: everything related to the client to improve interactions with their products and services , decision- making based on in data , especially as it relates to monetization; the securitization of this data and finally the connection of the SME with the ecosystem and its operational impact on distribution .
Virtualization as a source of opportunity for SMEs
In the context of comprehensive post-pandemic digitization, the analysis highlights the benefits of virtualization as a source of opportunity for SMEs, which have already verified the advantages of adopting the Cloud in job management and are making progress in customer management (CRM) and processes (ERP). As Ignacio Cobisa, Senior Research Analyst points out : “ It is necessary to advance in the virtualization of environments as an alternative to investing in local structures to optimize the benefits of cloud architectures regarding the unified management of data and its derivatives. in cost savings, scalability , security , and sustainability .”
Along the same lines, the IDC Spain study also explains that, to help in all these processes, a great ally for SMEs are integrated and standardized solutions or platforms that “democratize” access to holistic digitization . At this point, it is worth highlighting the important role of independent software vendors (ISV) as advisors.
“ At Microsoft we seek to provide SMEs with cloud-based technology solutions that allow them to build the digital capabilities necessary to face their transformation and boost their results. In this sense, tools such as CRM Dynamics 365 Business Central offer them a holistic view of their business, based on optimal use of data through Artificial Intelligence. And the ERP Sales Professional module allows them to adapt to the new normality of digital sales ”, explains Valle del Águila, director of small and medium-sized companies at Microsoft Spain.
The 3 main trends in the digitization of SMEs
First of all, having relevant partners is going to play a crucial role in the competitiveness of small and medium-sized companies: IDC and Microsoft forecast that the 20% of the least digitized will need to expand their alliances if they seek to remain in the market in 2023 . By contrast, the most mature 30% of SMEs will actively participate in ecosystems to grow and expand .
The second trend is the rise of digital SMEs that emphasize innovation and digital disruption as a business model. By 2024, 75% of start-ups will have adopted next-generation technologies since their inception.
Finally, the customer experience , thanks to technology and improved connectivity, where 5G will begin to generate high-value use cases and in which the ability to understand and personalize the offer to customers makes a quantitative and qualitative leap. through technologies such as Machine Learning. The study confirms that in 2 years, 33% will already offer their virtual and data-oriented experiences.
“ SMEs have realized that digitization is a continuous process, in which technology is an ally to grow and be more efficient, that improves employee training, connects teams, and optimizes agility and security. We believe that the digitization of SMEs is key to the growth of our economy and at Microsoft we have made it a priority to help make this process simple and enriching for our SMEs and their workers ”, concludes Valle del Águila, director of small and medium-sized companies from Microsoft Spain.
A differentiating proposal
Microsoft makes available to small and medium-sized companies, through the ReimaginaPyme program , the same platforms that large companies have in a totally flexible and affordable way. With a wide variety of plans, the offer represents a further step towards democratizing technology and eliminating the barriers that, in many cases, still exist when committing to a digitization project.
Its offer is built around solutions focused on five main areas: process management (with Dynamics 365 Business Central, which allows you to manage accounting and personnel, track sales from Outlook, control warehouses in real time and create reports on business), customers (through Dynamics 365 Sales Professional, which speeds up the management of commercial actions and facilitates the management of the entire sales cycle), business intelligence (with Power BI, which enables companies to consult real-time data in a visual and intuitive way), collaboration(with cloud tools like Microsoft 365 and Windows 365, which allow workers to connect from anywhere) and cybersecurity.
Access here the study “ Digitalization of SMEs , growing from collaboration platforms ” prepared by IDC Spain and sponsored by Microsoft .
