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WHY DIGITISED BUSINESSES ARE STREAKING AHEAD
By Nik Ellis
There is a cream of businesses rising to the top , fuelled by a new breed of technology . Not giant tech companies but SMEs who have taken advantage of the abundance of relatively inexpensive smart tools that have become available , especially no-code or lowcode platforms .
Imagine the exceptional advantage gained by your ancestors when they discovered the bow and arrow . Suddenly hunting and fighting was so much easier . With a much longer range than a spear , the army with bows could defeat the enemy with little threat to themselves . The hunter could hide further away out of the sight and smell of their prey . Now imagine how the emergence of firearms empowered them further again .
We ’ re all aware of how far we ’ ve come since the emergence of the internet . It has altered the very fabric of business , shopping , entertainment , pretty much everything we do and how we live . Great for consumers and the behemoth companies with millions to throw at programmers to develop Uber , Amazon , Facebook etc but many SME businesses are yet to take advantage of technology which is readily available today .
So why do some businesses hold back on adopting these new weapons ?
Change averse businesses rely on a long history of doing the same thing to generate income . “ If it ain ’ t broke don ’ t fix it ” isn ’ t a great mantra when the product has been superseded ; think of Netflix ’ s rise with Blockbuster on the other end of the seesaw .
A lack of resources is often sited as business owners assume that digitising costs millions whereas in reality current pay-as-yougo platforms cost less than a cup of coffee per day . The return on investment of modern systems tends to run into four figure percentages . If a system costing say £ 50 per user per month saves having to recruit one human for a low pay grade role , then the ROI would be over 4000 %!
Onboarding users can be a challenge particularly in larger organisations where they ’ re used to a slower pace of life , preferring hard work over smart work . There can be resistance from staff who may be aware that tech can replace some of their roles . There are stories of supermarket staff sabotaging the self serve tills to make them look unreliable . An investment in humans is very important ; training , onboarding & being transparent about the wide reaching benefits is judicious and pays dividends quickly .
Legacy systems are often clunky characters but normally can be run alongside current platforms to allow gradual or stepped integration . Many digital platforms can actually enhance their abilities . Industry specific niche systems can link smartly into the system so no need to lose programs that are vital to your industry . Indeed these can often be manipulated to provide a better experience .
Lack of technical knowledge is sometimes cited , but software now is so user friendly , especially now no-code platforms are seeing a meteoric rise , that anyone who is familiar with typical office-use computers will be able to use with a little effort . Most offer set-up , onboarding and / or ongoing support and optimisation sessions . Nocode systems allow risk free testing before implementation . Quick & easy to change encourages experimentation and often overlooked aspects of a business become possible to digitise .
Future Proof Digitisation
There is no good reason or excuse , at least none that will compensate for bankruptcy as digital enabled competitors entice your customers with better pricing , customer experience and speed .
Lockdown forced many companies to pivot over to digital solutions , surprising some with the many positive side effects . Now we can move freely again businesses have a choice to swim with the digital tide or resist and drown .
Want to learn more ? Head over to www . swiftcase . co . uk or chat with me nik . ellis @ swiftcase . co . uk
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