Digital Transformation Moving to Main Street

For the last 5 years, big tech companies like Adobe, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Google have talked about the term “digital transformation.” The idea being, moving old systems into the digital and virtual world. At the large company level, those changes were accelerated with the events of 2020. “We have crammed 2 years of digital transformation talk into 2 months,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. The shift has predominantly been led by big business, but what about small businesses that make up 99.9% of all businesses in the U.S.? A survey of 1000 small business owners from the SMB group showed that overall, 54% of SMBs plan to spend more on technology in the short term future. In addition, 70% of businesses with 100+ employees are planning to invest more in technology. Digital transformation is pushing into small business Why are small businesses investing in technology and digital transformation? With the increased demand for talent and keeping people , small businesses are most focused on keeping their employees productive and happy. As a result, 36% of small businesses said that they intend to invest in digital transformation to improve employee productivity. Customers are first in digital transformation. Beyond employee care, businesses are focused on improving customer relations. For example, 35% of them said increased customer demands, and 34% said seeking to collaborate more externally with customers is the reason for pushing toward digital transformation. The need to connect with customers and keep employees happy will continue even more in a remote work environment. Jobs in their geographic area no longer limits these people. The careers related to remote work are most definitely related to tech and other office-related work, but there could come a shift more towards those roles being in trades as well. For example, a plumbing company might offer a “remote” video interaction to diagnose a problem before sending a technician. We already see this with doctors and lawyers doing meetings or exams over Zoom. What are the biggest challenges with technology and digital transformation investment? Investing in digital transformation will definitely help a business. It isn’t always easy, though. It can take time to make sure you get it right and that it improves your business. Small businesses also have several concerns. Security is a big concern. According to the same survey, 40% of businesses are concerned with security issues . As a result, these businesses will have to familiarize themselves with the security options available with technology investment by housing customer data on the cloud, collaborating more externally, and with less direct control. Over one-third of those surveyed mentioned “hard to figure out” as their primary concern. Many of these businesses, even tech-related ones, may not have the direct experience in setting up the operations and specific products that could lead to success. Small businesses may jump on the remote work train as well What is the value people expect from investing in technology? If you invest in something, there is an expectation that it will make your life easier, improve the quality of your product, connect you better with customers, and improve your bottom line. In addition, the small businesses surveyed want to “attract new customers” and “improve financial management and forecasting.” Improving your company can start with digital transformation. It can help with forecasting revenue,…