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OPINION
14
Mark Robinson, Market Business Developer at Canon,
shares his thoughts on how resellers can tap into demand in
the SMB market
Navigating digital
transformation
Technology is an area of expertise
that has become increasingly
crucial for smaller firms. Digital
transformation has affected most
aspects of modern life, especially
from a business perspective. From
daily admin processes and workflows
to optimising content, small
businesses need to make optimal
use of the technologies available to
remain competitive in their markets.
While larger businesses are able to
devote human and capital resources to
keep up with the fast pace of change
in technology, many SMBs do not have
dedicated expertise and do not see
improving systems and software as a high
priority.
Inexperienced small business owners
need the expert advice of resellers, who
can translate technical jargon and help
source tailored solutions to meet each
firm’s specific needs.
Understanding the skills gap
The reasons for delaying technology
upgrades are varied, with cost, need, lack
of technical resources or little knowledge
about a new product or technology
amongst those most likely to be cited. For
many SMB and SOHO owners, sourcing
IT is just another task on an ever-growing
to-do list.
According to a report by ICM on behalf
of Canon, more than one third of SMB and
SOHO owners in the UK say they lacked
IT software skills when they started their
businesses. Another 33% say they needed
more knowledge of IT hardware.
It might be unsurprising that technical
awareness is low amongst entrepreneurial
business owners, but the skills gap could
lead to long-term problems. Modern
businesses, whatever their size or sector,
run on technology, and their reliance on IT
is only likely to increase. The added value
that resellers provide through integrating,
advising, consulting, training and
implementing IT systems can often be the
difference that enables customers to get
the most out of their technology purchases.
The ICM study shows that small
business owners believe they already
spend too much time on IT-related
tasks. Thankfully, the challenge of IT
management is not intractable. Rather than
seeing technology-led change as a barrier,
smart small business owners view digital
transformation as a way to reduce the
amount of time they spend on technology
and a means to improve productivity. This
presents a huge window of opportunity for
resellers.
Overcoming the transformation
challenge
Some SMB and SOHO owners might be
concerned that, unlike larger businesses,
they do not have access to a sophisticated
technology infrastructure. Ten years ago,
a lack of in-house resources might have
prevented a smaller firm from scaling up
and meeting new demand quickly.
Now, however, SMBs and SOHOs can
call upon cloud services to expand their IT
resources in line with changing business
needs, and, unlike larger businesses
encumbered by legacy IT systems, smaller
firms will often have the opportunity to
build their technology strategy from the
ground up. Rather than having to worry
about managing an in-house storage
system and a set of business applications,
SMB owners can go to the cloud and
procure the services they need on-demand.
In light of these challenges, and the
onset of cloud services, dealers must be
able to work with small businesses to
provide support across five key areas:
n
Clarity:
Providers will need to create
services that are precise, with payment
structures that are easy to understand.
n
Simplicity:
SMBs want to spend less
time on IT management concerns, not
more.
n
Security:
Passing control shouldn’t
mean a loss of assurance; great partners
put information integrity at the top of their
priority list.
n
Reliability:
External service provision
is only as good as the service level
agreements that suppliers are able to
guarantee.
n
Sustainability:
Long-term partnerships
are great, but if circumstances change,
SMBs will need to be able to remove their
data safely and simply.
Small business owners who find a partner
able to cover these five areas will be in
a great position. Rather than worrying
about a shortage of in-house IT skills,
small firms will be able to work with their
partner to transform business operations
for the better, and resellers will be able to
create valuable, long-term partnerships
and increase both customer satisfaction
and sales.
Smart small
business
owners
view digital
transformation
as a way to
reduce the
amount of
time they
spend on
technology
