In my career, I have had the privilege of working very closely with the SME sector, and one of the main lessons learned is that those that have managed to stay and be successful are the ones that are more clear about what business they are in and how they differ from others. its competitors, regardless of size, geographic location or industry. To arrive at this understanding, SMEs go through constant trial and error processes, in which they assimilate the true needs of their businessyour target audience and strengthen your long-term goals.
Of course, every company is different, and the speed at which they travel down that path is also unique. On some occasions, it happens that they have to give a complete turn to their products or services; but in general, their entrepreneurial spirit and talent lead them to react quickly and seek alternatives to challenges. A) Yes, businesses, especially Latin American ones, have found opportunities in various challenging contexts and they have known how to differentiate themselves to continue contributing to the local economy, and even to the global markets.
Key challenges facing SMEs
1. Hybrid work
It is a reality that most organizations have focused on digitalization as a resilience strategy. According to Microsoft’s global study Voice and attitudes of SMEs towards technology 2022, 80% of companies expect to have a hybrid workforce for at least the next two years, for this, they require technology to support their commercial objectives in a reliable and secure manner. The challenge remains to find the balance point. So each SME will take advantage of technology in a different way to find its own balance and integration model, which will allow them to operate and collaborate in a new format, but adapted to their own productivity needs.
2. Cybersecurity
IDC predicts that by 2024, 33% of small businesses will experience quarterly security breaches causing business interruptions of at least one week per quarter. It’s clear that SMEs need to ensure they offer customers fast and secure remote access, manage and protect your business devices and data against attacks and potential data loss, without increasing your own costs or those of your customers. For this, they must consider sustainable solutions in the future.
In Mexico we have the case of Fundary, a company in the financial services sector that developed a secure platform through which they can validate code and comply with local security policies. In addition, they created an advanced security and authentication system for users and collaborators, as well as a unified security management system that strengthens the position of data centers and provides protection against threats. Thus, today they can handle processes that used to take up to 24 hours, in just a few minutes.
3. Talent
The most recent edition of Microsoft Job Trends Index threw that 43% of the global workforce are serious about changing jobs or industries altogether in the next year. This trend sees changing employee needs, a highly constrained talent environment, and new job expectations that are pressuring companies to rethink everything, including how they hire, upskill, elevate their employee experience, and they build a culture.
In this scenario, it is striking that, according to data from the regional study Impact of COVID-19 on the culture and operation of SMEsmore than a third of enterprises recruit in a hybrid way and another third in person.
4. Adaptability
The cloud has allowed SMEs to adopt strategies and solutions that were previously only available to large companies. At the same time, capturing and maintaining customer base has required agile scaling with demand, creating stellar user experiences, and quickly adapting to changing consumer trends. But, above all, it has meant readapting business models.
Three ways to maximize the potential of SMEs
- Start small and invest in what the company needs most. SMEs need to develop a strategy and roadmap that takes into account their current and future objectives: they must analyze which innovations to implement and link that transformation to their business objectives.
- Focus on delivering value, not just technology. The foundation may be technologically stronger, but if you don’t change behaviors to accommodate new opportunities, you’re not getting value from it.
- Simplify a fundamental principle. Working with an implementation partner who knows how cloud and cybersecurity-related technology tools work can help determine which systems will work best for the company’s goals.
With 99% of the world’s businesses actively seeking solutions to address current challenges and create new opportunities, the large SME community in particular is not far behind. They impact economies around the world and the livelihoods of billions. And they do this not only to be resilient and survive, but also to thrive and bring innovation to their industries and value to their customers. For this reason, at Microsoft we are excited to continue listening and learning from the resilience, creativity and ingenuity of SMEs in Mexico along with Latin America.