The small business leader’s easy guide to understanding cloud computing

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a key role in the economic landscape, and contribute significantly to employment and national income (GDP) in emerging economies, while also being hotbeds for innovation.

As these very same businesses navigated an extremely challenging year, a quantitative survey of 500 Indian SMBs in August 2020 by Tech Research Asia (TRA) to understand the top business challenge faced by SMBs, revealed that growth, employees and costs emerged as key areas of concern.

Commissioned by AWS to survey SMBs in APJ to understand their business and technology priorities, the report provides an evidence-based approach to understanding how cloud computing can help SMB leaders address their business challenges.

Backed by comprehensive research data, the report is designed to help you benchmark your situation against peers, show how others are working to overcome challenges, and introduce the cloud computing technologies that can help.

Driving Growth: Strategies and tactics

The quantitative survey identified ‘growth’ as the top business challenge faced by SMBs today, with 46 percent of respondents listing it as a key factor.

To support growth plans, companies need to consider different factors including business goals and objectives, access to finance, employee skills and engagements, target customer markets, supply chains, physical vs digital activities, compliance and regulations and many more.

Having the right technology platform is a key consideration in all the above factors, along with creating a flexible technology environment that moves with your business and allows you to innovate. To that effect, the report shows that 41 percent of SMBs see cloud as important for lowering their operating costs and helping manage cash flows, support product and geographic expansion, improving employee productivity and supporting innovation goals.

Technologies for employee experience

Right on the heels of growth, employees came in as the number two challenge for Indian SMB business leaders, at 43 percent, pointing to a need for leveraging tech to improve the employee experience.

Maintaining productivity levels is crucial to ensuring the business runs smoothly. This means enabling employees to access the data, apps, and systems they need to complete their tasks. And in many cases helping them to create more or better output in whatever role they have. 29 percent are prioritising workforce productivity.

Cost management and continuity

SMBs are a cost-sensitive segment and it was not surprising that cost factors were a key area of concern for SMBs at 41 percent.

There are, of course, several routes a business can take to improve its cost management capabilities. This doesn’t just mean reducing costs, but also relates to cash flow or liquidity. In fact, the report reveals that 42 percent of Indian SMBs are striving to improve their cash flow but cutting out unnecessary spending on services.

Indian SMBs are focussing on modernising technology as a key part of improving cost management. And changing the way they make investments across the business (from Capex to Opex), optimising existing investments or modernising them, and cutting inefficiencies can all help improve cost management.

The easy guide to addressing growth, employee and costs with technology

Download this report to find out how technology can help you address your business priorities. You will find data to help you benchmark your situation against peers, show how others are working to overcome challenges, and introduce the cloud computing technologies that can help.

Download the report here