Foundational capabilities such as cloud, business AI, and ERP running on clean-core data strategies will be measured not only by their adoption and use within the business, but how quickly and effectively they can be unleashed across the SME’s operations.

This vital sector accounts for nearly 95% of registered businesses in sub-Saharan Africa and generate roughly half of the region’s GDP, yet many remain under-digitised. A World Bank report found that����that have adopted digital technologies make intensive use of them to improve the running of their businesses.

The B20 South Africa 2025 Digital Transformation Task Force listed SME digitalisation and AI literacy as��. A separate report projected that��, creating 300��000 jobs and expanding access to essential services to millions.

However, this digitalisation is also introducing greater cyber risk.����revealed a continent-wide escalation of cybercrime,��with about one in 15 organisations in Africa facing a ransomware attempt each week – significantly higher than the global average.

SMEs seeking to scale their digital capabilities for greater efficiency, innovation and growth this year must take heed of the trends and forces shaping Africa’s digital economy, including:

Trend 1: Cloud as the default operating model

Cloud computing has crossed a tipping point among African businesses, with adoption growing across the continent. For SMEs, the attraction is straightforward. Cloud replaces large upfront capital costs with predictable subscriptions, supports hybrid and mobile work, and allows businesses to scale systems as they grow. Just as importantly, it reduces the operational burden of maintaining infrastructure, patching systems and managing uptime.

Simplified cloud adoption through offerings such as GROW with 51����for new ERP customers and RISE with 51����for those moving from on-premise systems to the cloud ease the path to adoption. The emphasis is not on infrastructure alone, but on packaged best practices, faster implementations and built-in compliance and security.

With hybrid and remote work now an established reality for SMEs, demand for cloud-based human capital management systems is surging. These systems��integrate payroll, performance, learning and workforce analytics, equipping even smaller firms with digital payslips, employee self-service, compliant payroll processing and basic people analytics.

Trend 2: Business AI moves from hype to habit

The most important AI trend for African SMEs is not experimentation with standalone tools, but the quiet embedding of AI into everyday business workflows. Finance, HR, supply chain and customer operations are increasingly augmented by AI that automates routine tasks, highlights risks, and supports better decisions.

The expected gains are practical rather than futuristic: faster invoice processing, improved cash-flow forecasting, better demand planning and more efficient HR administration. For example, SAP’s Joule AI copilot is being embedded across core business applications, enabling natural-language interaction with trusted enterprise data. Instead of building AI capabilities from scratch, SMEs consume intelligence directly through their ERP, HR and planning systems.

This matters in African contexts, where skills and budgets are constrained and trust in data is critical.����found that nine in ten African organisations were suffering from negative impacts due to a lack of AI-related skills, including delays in implementations, failed innovation initiatives and loss of clients.

Trend 3: ERP is the digital nerve centre

This year,��cloud ERP will be less about “modernisation” and more about survival. SMEs that remain on fragmented, on-premise systems will find it harder to compete on cost, speed and trust.

Once seen as too complex or expensive for smaller firms, modern ERP is increasingly modular, cloud-native, mobile-friendly and AI-enabled. It integrates finance, operations, people and partners into a single source of truth. For SMEs, ERP is no longer just a back-office system but a digital nerve centre that enables AI, supports compliance, strengthens security and connects businesses to wider ecosystems.

In 2026, African SMEs��that build capability stacks around cloud ERP, embedded AI, secure platforms and digital skills will be able to compete with far larger organisations. Those that delay risk being locked out of supply chains, talent pools and digital markets.

Trend 4: Cybersecurity becomes existential

Ransomware, business email compromise and data breaches are no longer rare events, and the financial impact can be devastating.����found that the global average cost of a data breach reached $4.4m in 2025. For many SMEs, such a breach represents an existential threat.

The volatile cyber threat landscape is shaping technology decisions. Cloud platforms can help reduce overall risk by consolidating��security, patching and monitoring into professionally managed environments. For example, SAP’s cloud ERP strategy emphasises secure-by-design architectures and shared responsibility models that reduce the burden on small IT teams.

This year,��cybersecurity will be firmly established as a board-level issue for African SMEs, on par with cash flow and regulatory compliance.

Enterprise technology is heading toward cloud, business AI and end-to-end solutions that improve planning, efficiency, execution and innovation capabilities. For African SMEs, the opportunity lies in adopting these capabilities pragmatically and early, turning global platforms into local competitive advantage.

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Companies across sectors are racing to embed AI into operations, but proving return on investment (ROI) remains a key hurdle.

While 84% of businesses investing in AI��, only a fraction have achieved sustained value at scale. For South African executives navigating budget constraints and talent shortages, the question is not “should we invest in AI?” but “how can we prove it works?”

According to Dumi Moyo, marketing director for Africa at SAP, there’s good news: AI doesn’t have to be a leap of faith.

“With the right strategy and the right tools, AI deployments deliver measurable ROI quickly across a range of business functions. One of the most effective ways to get there is by embedding AI directly into business applications, avoiding costly integrations and accelerating time-to-value.”

Embedded AI upends traditional implementations. Instead of requiring custom data pipelines, standalone platforms, and complex integrations, embedded AI delivers intelligence directly into the flow of work.

“A native approach means faster deployment, less disruption, and clearer outcomes,” says Moyo. “For example, 51����has built more than 295 AI-powered scenarios into business applications that span supply chain, procurement, finance, customer experience and HR, empowering business users to complete navigational and transactional tasks up to 90% faster.”

��Strategy for AI ROI

A recent study of 1600 businesses in eight countries����found that businesses investing in AI expect on average a 16% ROI in 2025, nearly doubling to 31% in 2027.

Moyo says businesses typically have high expectations of the ROI they will receive from AI projects, with nearly half of global companies expecting AI initiatives to deliver positive ROI faster than other investments.

“It is critical that organisations align their AI projects with the key pillars of cost savings, decision time, risk and revenue. By prioritising embedded AI, companies can secure significant ROI while unlocking�� broader innovation benefits across the organisation.”

He shares insights into how AI initiatives built on four key pillars can show provable, measurable return-on-investment for organisations:

��Pillar 1: Reduce manual effort and waste to drive cost savings

Cost reduction is often the first benefit that organisations receive from AI investments. “AI allows teams to redirect hours toward higher-value work by automating repetitive and rule-based tasks,” says Moyo. “51����data shows that companies achieve up to 20% operational cost reduction in key functions like accounts payable and HR through effective AI deployments.”

In procurement functions, organisations are cutting administrative workload and improving sourcing outcomes by automating statements of work (SOWs) and supplier research, while in finance, AI accelerates reconciliations, optimises cash collections, and automates journal entries, thereby reducing close cycles and improving liquidity.

“A good approach here is to quantify the time saved across manual processes and to calculate the cost of labour hours that have been freed up and reinvested into more strategic work thanks to AI,” says Moyo.

��Pillar 2: Improve decision time for faster insight and action

AI tends to thrive when speed and accuracy matter most. By analysing large datasets, surfacing trends, and recommending next steps, AI shortens the gap between information and action.

“Data shows that embedded AI improves forecasting and demand planning in the supply chain, resulting in less downtime and a 25% productivity bump for planners,” says Moyo.

Organisations are also using generative AI to accelerate their hiring processes and producing job descriptions and candidate rankings in real-time. Finance also benefits from AI-generated insights that help CFOs and analysts make faster, more confident decisions using cleaner data.

“Organisations should measure reductions in cycle times, from planning to resolution, and link them to improved responsiveness or reduced delays,” says Moyo. “This provides a clear path to ROI and its impact on core business performance.”

��Pillar 3: Reduce risk through better controls and compliance

In a volatile business climate, organisations typically seek greater risk mitigation across their operations. According to Moyo, AI plays a growing role here.

“AI embedded into core business processes can flag anomalies, detect fraud patterns, and monitor compliance thresholds in real time. AI agents are increasingly being used in risk reduction, for example by scanning procurement data for irregularities and highlighting non-compliant purchases.”

AI agents such as SAP’s Joule can also bolster procurement processes by suggesting suppliers with stronger reputations, and support finance teams by reducing bad debt write-offs through improved collection strategies. In HR, AI-driven insights reduce legal risk by providing bias-aware hiring recommendations and fairer performance reviews.

“To quantify the benefits that AI brings to risk reduction, companies should track aspects such as risk events avoided, compliance costs reduced, or error rates minimised,” says Moyo.

��Pillar 4: Grow revenue through personalisation and conversion

According to Moyo, organisations should look beyond back-office efficiency to maximise AI value. “A smart AI strategy will consider front-end growth by prioritising customer experiences. For example, AI fuels personalisation by recommending products, predicting churn, and guiding service agents with next-best actions to enhance customer satisfaction and drive retention.”

Organisations that embed AI into their core business processes can connect sales, service and marketing data to build richer customer profiles, increase upsell success and reduce attrition. Organisations also accelerate their campaign rollouts through AI-powered content generation, while smart selling tools shorten deal cycles and increase the average basket size.

“This results in higher revenue per customer interaction, as well as more predictable sales pipelines,” says Moyo. “Here, ROI is readily quantified through tracking lead conversion rates, customer churn, and average order value.”

This article first appeared on /

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Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa are among the countries showing enough aggression to make AI part of their economies.

Responding to questions from��, to Systems Applications and Products (SAP), the German headquartered software developer, which forecast AI would help stimulate development mainly in the areas of agriculture, fintech, healthcare and logistics. The majority of these sectors are already AI-driven.

“Africa is making significant progress in adopting emerging technologies, though the level of adoption varies across the continent,” said Dumisani Moyo, 51����Africa Marketing Director, in an interview with��CAJ News Africa.

The executive noted that despite disparities in AI adoption, embracing of AI was taking shape in parts of the continent including Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

“This disparity is largely driven by differences in the maturity of tech ecosystems, particularly in relation to the adoption of Business AI technologies,” Moyo added.

He cited key areas in the fields of fintech, healthcare, agriculture and logistics as having already benefited from AI driven innovations.

“For example, AI is being used to improve financial inclusion, enhance crop yields, and optimize supply chains across the continent,” Moyo said.

He said the main reasons Africa is adopting emerging tech was because of the growing ecosystems in above-mentioned countries that have already emerged as hubs for innovations.

Moyo commended mobile penetration and connectivity as creating a foundation for AI applications, particularly in areas like mobile banking, which now includes those that were unbanked or financially excluded before.

He also indicated that AI was instrumental in supporting government policies.

“Some African governments are implementing policies to promote AI research and development,” he said.

“For example, here in Kenya AI has been identified as a key thematic focus by the Kenya National Innovation Agency’s Strategic Plan 2023-2027, especially its application in developing innovative solutions for use in biotech, urban planning and climate change efforts.”

He also noted the importance of international partnerships, which he said had seen African countries benefit from ties with global tech companies, fostering the growth of Business AI capabilities.

However, the official noted challenges that also hindered adoption. These include infrastructure limitations

While some regions have good connectivity, many rural areas still suffer from limited access to reliable internet, electricity and the necessary infrastructure.

There are also data accessibility issues. The cost of AI adoption in infrastructure and expertise could be expensive.

“AI relies on large datasets, and in many African countries, data collection and management systems are either underdeveloped or fragmented,” Moyo said.

“Many African businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, face these challenges. However, with consumption-based models in the cloud, this is becoming less of a challenge,” he said.

Regulatory concerns also hinder adoption.

“For many African countries, regulatory frameworks surrounding AI are still evolving, and there are concerns about data privacy, job displacement and ethical use of AI,” Moyo stated.

This article first appeared on .

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Hardeep Sound, Regional Sales Director: Emerging Africa at SAP, noted that organisations throughout the region are investing in business transformation and technology for greater efficiency and resilience. “Interest in business AI and cloud ERP solutions are at an all-time high as companies seek to reimagine their business future by leveraging powerful technologies. Powered by the latest digital transformation capabilities and supported by a rich ecosystem of expert partners, companies throughout East Africa are accelerating their innovation efforts and unlocking new growth opportunities.”

The comments were made at 51����Innovation Day Kenya, part of a series of global events held in key markets across the world. The Kenya event follows successful similar events held in South Africa and Nigeria in May and July respectively.

51����Innovation Day Kenya brought together business and technology leaders from across the East Africa region to discuss the latest strategies and approaches to technology-led innovation. Key to the discussions was the role of business AI in powering the region’s next wave of innovation and growth.

Johannes Dressler, Managing Director for Emerging Africa at SAP, emphasised that East Africa is a strategic market for SAP, and is home to some of the fastest-growing economies in the world. He noted that East African organisations can leverage technology to achieve sustainable growth and market competitiveness. “Every organisation in the region and globally is striving to understand how to leverage technologies such as AI, which have become necessities instead of luxuries. To remain competitive and thrive in turbulent markets, companies today need to connect their end-to-end processes and drive greater efficiency, innovation, revenue and profitability.”

Interest in artificial intelligence is growing amid the promise of greater efficiency and scale. AI has also been identified as a key thematic focus by the Kenya National Innovation Agency’s , especially its application in developing innovative solutions for use in biotech, urban planning and climate change efforts.

Evert-Jan Tromp, Vice President for Cloud and Innovation: EMEA at SAP, highlighted that the current focus is on laying the foundation for organisations to adopt and derive value from technologies like AI. “Enterprises are transforming their capabilities to establish a clean core that can drive their success with AI and other emerging technologies. Here, our partner ecosystem plays a crucial role by helping companies understand the processes and best practices that accelerate adoption and maximize value realization.”

At a panel discussion held during the event, Martin Mwarangu, Group Chief Information Officer at the Kenya Tea Development Agency shared insight into his company’s transformation journey. The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) is a private company owned by 600 000 smallholder tea farmers spread across 16 tea-growing counties throughout Kenya.

“The business case for our transformation journey was to achieve greater efficiencies and cost-savings throughout our operations while centralising our data and establishing a solid foundation for our future transformation efforts,” says Mwarangu. “One of our core objectives is the adoption of best practices, for example standardised financial reporting across our various business entities that would enable improved decision-making.”

KTDA will continue to evaluate further innovations in their transformation journey. Mwarangu added: “We are in the people business, with hundreds of thousands of suppliers and farmers and other players in our broader value chain, and intend to leverage SAP’s human capital management and supplier management solutions to enhance our capabilities.”

The event also included the announcement of a significant deal signing with pioneering social enterprise Hewatele, which specialises in the supply of medical oxygen to over 150 facilities across Kenya. Hewatele made the strategic decision to adopt SAP’s next-gen Cloud ERP solution to streamline operations and enhance its ability to deliver critical medical supplies more efficiently.

Dumisani Moyo, Marketing Director at 51����Africa, acknowledged Hewatele CEO��Dr. Zulfiqar Wali and CFO Joan Andia, highlighting the pivotal role that technology plays in shaping Africa’s future. “This event serves as a testament to the continent’s growing digital maturity and the opportunities available for businesses that are ready to embrace innovation. This is not just about adopting new tools; it’s about transforming how businesses operate, engage with customers and stakeholders, and, importantly, how they drive sustainable growth, innovate rapidly with AI, and gain valuable data insights that can fuel their future success. We are thrilled to be at the forefront of this journey, empowering African enterprises to lead in the global marketplace through cutting-edge solutions and forward-thinking strategies.”

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This was the key takeaway at 51����Innovation Day Nigeria, held in Lagos today.

According to Titilayo Adewumi, Regional Sales Director for West Africa at SAP, organisations are increasingly engaging in digital transformation initiatives to unlock competitive advantages. “West African organisations are leveraging powerful new technologies and best practices to bring greater stability and predictability to their business models. In light of the growing importance of cloud and AI solutions, organisations across the region are also seeking to future-proof their processes and drive innovation at speed and at scale.”

51����Innovation Day is a series of global events held in multiple countries around the world. A South African event concluded in May this year. The Nigeria event featured key 51����partners and customers, who shared their journeys and insights into successful technology-led innovation efforts.

James Fabola Jr, Chief Information Officer at renewable energy leader Arnergy, notes the important role that innovation has played in enabling his company to scale its solutions to a growing customer base. “With our new 51����system and the ongoing support of our implementation partners, our business can confidently look at a new phase of growth and scalability that could see us play a central role in West Africa’s transition to cleaner, more reliable energy.”

Arnergy recently chose GROW with 51����for Scaleups S/4HANA Cloud to bolster its technological capabilities and introduce greater efficiency and accuracy to core business processes. The company was supported by 51����and regional implementation partner ACED Consulting.

Abiola Folawewo, Managing Partner at ACED Consulting, says companies are hungry for the efficiency gains enabled by digital transformation. “Companies are in a race to streamline their operations and improve decision-making with accurate, real-time data insights. By working with experienced vendors and partners, organisations in the region can fast-track their innovation efforts and unlock significant business benefits.”

Dumisani Moyo, Marketing Director at 51����Africa, adds that the modern business landscape is marked by volatility and uncertainty, raising the stakes for digital transformation and innovation initiatives.

“Widespread unpredictability is putting immense pressure on supply chains, revenue streams and profit models, especially in Africa. The critical question for business leaders in the region is how they can lead their organisations to a competitive edge despite the economic headwinds. Today’s event aims to empower businesses of all sizes with insights into how technology can help them stay competitive, drive sustainable growth, innovate at speed with AI, optimize processes, and gain valuable data insights.”

Adewumi adds: “West African organisations have access to a vibrant ecosystem of experts, implementation partners and best-of-breed technologies to support their innovation efforts. We look forward to working with business leaders in the region to unlock the significant business benefits of digital transformation and establish a solid foundation for their future growth, likely to be powered by cloud and AI technologies.”

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By leveraging AI technologies, SMEs can achieve performance and innovation boosts across multiple areas of the business, from financial management to sales and marketing to human capital management and product development.

The global AI market is expected to grow from $208-billion in 2023 . For SMEs, the growth of AI holds huge promise: one study found that .

However, AI is still in its relative infancy. While technology providers have made huge strides in the power and quality of their AI tools, the technology has not yet reached its full potential and can be prone to error if not deployed in an optimised environment.

The intelligent SME

The adoption of AI forms part of a broader shift among businesses to establish intelligent enterprise capabilities. An intelligent enterprise consistently applies advanced technologies and best practices��within agile, integrated business processes.

For SMEs, this means establishing a powerful core that links departments, integrates business processes, connects data, and embeds intelligence to accelerate innovation and growth. And AI is the latest essential technology in the intelligent enterprise mix.

However, a successful deployment of AI in an SME requires accurate, relevant and reliable data. The better the data, the better the AI-generated outcomes.

For example, deploying AI to make decisions based on unstructured third-party data – such as social media posts by potential customers – can lead to inaccurate or downright incorrect outcomes. In contrast, deploying AI to trusted business systems, such as an SME’s enterprise resource planning solution, means the algorithm is basing its recommendations and outcomes on data that is accurate, up-to-date, reliable and relevant, leading to higher-quality outcomes that can truly drive the business forward.

Practical applications of AI

Despite the technology still being in its relative infancy, AI holds huge potential to SMEs. Unlocking its value will be a critical aspect of the success of any business in the coming years.

For SMEs, the journey to value-generating AI for business really starts with a digital transformation process that establishes a single source of truth for all business data. Here, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are key: cloud ERP systems enable greater speed and predictability across all of an SME’s core business processes and can scale as the business grows or expands to new markets.

With the core ERP in place, SMEs can choose to deploy AI to a wide range of business processes to accelerate daily tasks, minimise human error, cut costs and boost innovation, including:

Human Capital Management: Generative AI integrated with human capital management software can streamline content creation and provide access to in-depth analytics that provide valuable insights into the talent management and hiring process.

Finance: SMEs can increase the performance of their finance operations by leveraging AI for expense management, invoicing, auditing, financial forecasting and payments. One of the biggest challenges for SMEs is managing cash flow. AI can reduce the sales outstanding days with intelligent invoice matching to improve cash flow and keep the balance sheet healthy.

Supply Chain: In the wake of ongoing supply chain challenges, SMEs may want to leverage AI to better predict customer demand and increase production efficiency with intelligent auto-dispatching. In the manufacturing sector, SMEs can mitigate risk with preventive maintenance guided by AI that is integrated to the core production systems.

Procurement: Buying and procurement can become more agile, with AI simplifying the buying process while maintaining compliance with various internal and external controls. The use of AI can also automate the creation of sourcing events, drawing on past successes and real-time business information to provide an intuitive automated sourcing capability.

Sales & Marketing: Considering the importance of customer engagement and CX in the sales process, SMEs may also want to leverage AI for hyper-personalised product recommendations across multiple channels, with AI predicting customer behaviour to enable companies to minimise costly customer churn.

Innovation: Finally, SMEs can accelerate their innovation efforts by deploying and running AI models at scale without compromising data privacy. By leveraging the work by leading technology providers such as SAP, SMEs can also build AI into their core business applications with a library of pretrained models, accelerating the time-to-value of new innovation projects.

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In today’s fiercely competitive retail landscape, prioritising customer experience has become crucial for attaining sustainable competitive advantages and ultimately ensuring long-term success.

This underscores the need for retailers now more than ever to prioritise customer engagement, and aim to enhance the overall customer experience and deliver unparalleled customer satisfaction.

Customer engagement has a direct impact on customer loyalty, revenue growth, and brand reputation. Engaged customers are likely to make repeat purchases and become brand advocates. Furthermore, customer feedback offers valuable insights for improvement, making a well-crafted engagement strategy essential for building and enhancing trust and credibility with customers.

AI presents retailers with the most significant opportunity to fundamentally reshape and elevate customer experiences. By facilitating customised and personalised customer interactions, AI-driven pricing strategies, streamlining processes for enhanced efficiency, and anticipating customer needs with greater certainty, AI stands out as a true game-changer.

Personalised and tailored customer interactions

��AI significantly enhances customer experience by empowering retailers to personalise their interactions with customers. By leveraging machine learning algorithms, businesses can meticulously analyse extensive customer data sets. This analysis delves into customer preferences, purchasing behaviours and purchase histories.

This comprehensive understanding empowers retailers to customise their interactions, offering customers tailored recommendations and personalised offers. As a result, customers receive a more individualised and relevant experience, fostering a deeper connection and satisfaction with the brand.

��An e-commerce app can enhance the shopping experience by utilising AI to suggest products tailored to a customer’s browsing history and purchase patterns. For example, if a customer searches for a pair of sneakers and their preferred colour is unavailable, the app can proactively prompt them to add it to their wish list. Subsequently, the app automatically notifies the customer when the desired colour becomes available, ensuring a seamless and personalised shopping journey.

��Streamlining processes for better efficiencies

Retailers can harness the power of AI to streamline workflows and inform data-driven decision-making. By drawing insights from historical data and adjusting to dynamic scenarios, they can automate repetitive tasks. This automation not only accelerates processes but also frees up valuable human resources, allowing them to focus on more complex, creative, and revenue-generating tasks.

Additionally, AI-driven predictive analytics helps in anticipating and predicting potential bottlenecks in processes, optimising resource allocation, and improving overall operational performance. Whether in manufacturing, finance, retail or other sectors, AI has the capacity to continuously learn and improve, enabling businesses to achieve higher levels of efficiency, productivity, and adaptability in an ever-evolving business environment.

In customer service environments, the transformation is underway with the integration of AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants. These intelligent systems adeptly manage routine or repetitive queries, delivering instant responses and providing uninterrupted support 24/7 without the need for human intervention. This not only improves response times but also frees up human resources to concentrate on tackling more complex and sensitive issues, culminating in customer service experiences that are both efficient and responsive.

Predicting customer needs and simplifying the buying process

Predictive analytics is another area where AI excels in enhancing customer experience by analysing historical data and predicting customer needs and preferences. This enables businesses to proactively address customer requirements, whether it’s restocking popular product lines, anticipating service issues, or offering timely and personalised promotions. This predictive prowess can help retailers stay one step ahead, fostering customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Through advanced analytics, AI can identify patterns in customer behaviour, preferences, and historical interactions and purchases. By tapping into this predictive power, retailers can accurately predict the changing needs of their customers. This foresight enables the tailoring of product recommendations and personalised offers, creating a more engaging and satisfying shopping experience.

Lastly, chatbots not only guide customers through the buying journey but also enhance the accuracy of inventory management, ensuring that products are readily available when customers search for them. This minimises delays and enhances customer satisfaction. In essence, AI not only predicts customer needs but also transforms the entire buying process into a more seamless and customer-centric endeavour.

��Driving the segment-of-one and cross-channel consistency

��Omnichannel encompasses both retail and e-commerce, representing a seamless and integrated approach to sales and customer service across various channels, including physical stores, online platforms, mobile apps, and other digital channels. Omnichannel recognises the interconnectedness of these channels, aiming to deliver a consistent and cohesive customer experience. It reflects the idea that modern businesses must operate across multiple channels to address diverse customer needs, preferences, and expectations.

On the other hand, segment-of-one refers to the idea of tailoring products, services, or marketing strategies to meet the specific needs and preferences of individual customers. The concept of segment-of-one underscores the move away from mass marketing strategies towards more targeted and personalised approaches. It aligns with the idea that treating each customer as a unique segment can lead to more effective and satisfying interactions, potentially enhancing customer loyalty and overall business success.

The seamless integration of omnichannel and segment-of-one approaches enhances customer engagement by delivering highly personalised interactions across various channels. Here the emphasis is on the use of data and transformative technologies such as AI to create a seamless experience tailored to individual preferences and characteristics of each customer.

AI stands out as a true game-changer for the retail sector

AI is indeed transforming customer engagement and redefining experiences. The real-time capabilities of AI empower retailers to promptly address customer needs and adapt their strategies in response to the ever-changing market dynamics.

By seamlessly integrating personalised recommendations, facilitating smooth interactions, and leveraging innovative technologies, AI emerges not only as a technological enabler but as a catalyst, ushering in a customer-centric revolution within the retail sector. Retailers that harness the power of AI will not only attain a competitive edge but also forge enduring and meaningful connections with their customers.

��AI is a powerful tool for retailers seeking to elevate their overall customer experience. The integration of AI technologies into customer engagement strategies is pivotal to unlocking unprecedented levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. As the retail sector continues to embrace AI, the future of customer experience looks increasingly intelligent and customer-centric.

��

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In comparison to other industries, the technology sector stands out for its unprecedented dynamism, continually leading the way in pioneering innovation and creative approaches to addressing business and societal challenges.

The tech industry is inherently transformative by nature, with disruption as a central theme in its evolution. As a result, the role of tech marketing differs fundamentally from marketing functions in other sectors. While marketing skills can indeed be transferable across various industries, the intricacies of the tech sector demand a distinct set of skills and competencies.

��Continuous learning, adaptation & evolution

��Whether it is discovering new ways of leveraging technological advancements to solve business problems, creating new products and markets, or helping businesses run more efficiently, one thing is certain, it is up to the marketeer to create, and craft a seamless synergy between the solutions they sell and the pressing business challenges that the market is trying to solve. Tech marketers must, therefore, possess a profound understanding of the current challenges and opportunities in the markets they serve.

Maintaining a strong commitment to learning and nurturing one’s curiosity is crucial in the fast-evolving tech industry. Staying current with the latest trends, tools, and strategies requires a proactive approach, and continuous self-development efforts.

To foster continuous learning and adaptability, it’s essential to thoroughly grasp your organisation’s solutions and value proposition. This involves immersing oneself in industry literature, attending webinars and conferences, and connecting with fellow tech professionals. These activities are crucial for staying up to date in our fast-paced world. Engaging in networking and collaborating with industry peers can lead to the exchange of innovative ideas, sharing practical knowledge, and valuable mentorship opportunities.

The tech community thrives on the spirit of sharing ideas, and active involvement in these interactions can greatly enhance personal and professional growth.

Skills in digital literacy & emerging technologies

To fully understand and leverage digital marketing skills, one needs to understand competencies such as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Social Media Advertising, Content Marketing, and many other digital channels, techniques, and approaches.

Tech marketers must also adeptly analyse and interpret data since modern marketing decisions, including resource and budget allocation, rely heavily on data. Proficiency in analytics tools is also indispensable and leveraging emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation is no longer an exception but the norm.

Tech marketers must therefore understand the workings of these technologies, their potential to enhance marketing efficiency, and their revolutionary impact on campaign execution and optimisation, ultimately leading to superior outcomes and results.

��Aligning solutions with market needs through personalisation

Now, more than ever, customers in both Business-to-Customer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) settings demand tailored messaging that aligns with their industry-specific needs.

To effectively promote their organisation’s solution, tech marketers must fully grasp the significance of personalised marketing and delivering exceptional customer experiences. This entails customising messages, comprehending the anticipated user experience, and selecting the most suitable engagement channels. Focusing on creating relevant content and storytelling enhances personalisation and message effectiveness.

In my field for example, cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) stands out as one of our primary solutions. Marketers have two choices when promoting it: they can highlight technical aspects and competitive advantages, such as ERP modules for accounting, financial management, project management, materials, and procurement, to position their ERP solution. However, a more effective approach focuses on the business value that ERP offers to companies. This includes enhancing efficiency and productivity, improving the customer experience and profitability, and reducing costs.

The key is to enhance your content creation and storytelling skills as a tech marketer. Crafting exceptional content and compelling storytelling is the foundation of effective marketing, fostering a strong connection between your solutions and your customers’ critical business challenges.

��A global mindset with local ethics, regulation & culture

��Marketers must prioritise three key pillars: business ethics, regulatory and compliance laws and global cultural awareness. These elements are essential for responsible and ethical marketing strategies, shaping how tech marketers engage with customers both inside and outside their organisations, on local, regional, and global scales.

Business ethics act as a moral compass, steering marketers towards responsible decision-making in our ever-more socially, environmentally, and governance-aware world. Consider, for example, the significance of privacy laws like GDPR in Europe and POPIA in South Africa; these regulations are vital for protecting sensitive customer data, ensuring legal compliance, as well as fostering and nurturing customer trust.

The focus on cultural sensitivity and awareness is important for global or cross-border campaigns. Ethical considerations, especially regarding data privacy and transparency, are now paramount in marketing. Consumers are growing more apprehensive about data usage, and overlooking these factors can severely impact tech marketers and their organisations.

In a diverse global marketplace, a strong sense of diverse cultural awareness is crucial for marketers. It enables us to adeptly navigate different cultural norms and tailor our strategies to engage effectively with diverse audiences.

Essential skills – communication, adaptability & risk-taking

��Tech marketing involves challenging the status quo and implementing novel approaches and strategies that disrupt the norm. So effective communication, the art of persuasion, willingness to venture into uncharted territories, and a knack for taking calculated risks while staying within the bounds of business rules and priorities are the cornerstones of a tech marketer’s toolkit. Importantly, experimentation and taking calculated risks fosters innovation and adaptability.

Communication skills are fundamental for building relationships, resolving conflicts, conveying ideas clearly, and facilitating collaboration. Marketing often involves collaboration with various departments and agencies, therefore staying adaptable and open to new ideas are valuable assets.

In conclusion, this is not an exhaustive list of qualities for successful tech marketers but rather my personal experiences and lessons that I have gathered from my journey. I firmly believe that honing and harnessing these skills can empower marketers to excel in the tech industry.

Dumisani Moyo | Marketing Director | 51����Africa | dumisani.moyo@sap.com | @SAPAfrica |

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Following the devastation caused by the COVID pandemic, business leaders are now faced with navigating yet another set of disruptive market conditions.

Armed with valuable lessons from the chaos caused by COVID, the key question for business leaders in this ever-changing and challenging business environment is how they can future proof their organisations to survive current market disruptions while remaining focused on proactively sensing and responding to future market opportunities.

While COVID left us with many painful scars, it also taught us valuable lessons

While I recognise that the COVID example has been overused, it is still very relevant and serves as an excellent case study for understanding the importance of being agile and adaptable in business.

We went from the world we knew to operating under extremely restrictive lockdown conditions overnight in March 2020. These changes and their subsequent impact were abrupt and far-reaching, leaving business leaders with little time to prepare and pivot their strategies to deal with the ensuing disruption, which would devastate businesses for the next two years.

Before delving into pivoting business strategies and models, it’s worth noting that many business leaders struggled with issues such as ensuring their employees had access to the tools and resources they needed to do their work remotely, as well as how their employees would collaborate and maintain high levels of productivity while working from home.

Consider what most South African company executives went through on March 23, 2020, when the President declared that South Africa would go into full lockdown to contain the impending global coronavirus epidemic.

For many retail executives for example, the ability to quickly pivot their business models from brick-and-mortar operations that relied on customers walking through their front doors to those that could operate in lockdown conditions leveraging e-commerce or online platforms meant the difference between disaster and survival.

Furthermore, the ability to manage the complex processes of selling online suddenly became the most important priority for executives. Managing stock and secure payment processes, as well as ensuring that customers’ purchases were delivered in a reasonable and acceptable timeframe, added to the complexities.

As Charles Darwin argued in his famous Theory of Evolution in the 1800s, if an organism does not adapt to its environment, it will die. Only those who can adapt to their new environment��survive. COVID presented business leaders with a difficult choice: adapt or die.

The role of technology in driving business agility and adaptability

Much has been written about the many benefits of implementing and using technology in business, but is technology truly the panacea? Can it provide much-needed respite and act as a tailwind to assist businesses with overcoming market disruptions?

There are numerous examples of companies that have successfully used technology to overcome disruptive market conditions. Some have focused on simplifying their business processes and operations to improve efficiencies and reduce costs, while others have focused on accelerating their transformation and using technological advancements to better serve their markets and customers.

All these approaches have one thing in common: they use technology to implement agile and adaptive business models that leverage technological advancements such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and predictive analytics, to name a few. This use of technology enables these businesses to be more responsive and adaptable in dealing with sudden changes and disruptive market conditions.

Looking ahead — emphasising adaptability and agility while prioritising and securing the future through innovation

It goes without saying that businesses must develop resilience and adaptability to navigate market disruptions. However, as the saying goes, in adversity lies opportunity. Leaders must also focus on innovation, which is critical in driving growth and enabling businesses to capitalise on emerging opportunities.

Business leaders are increasingly looking to technology as the answer. According to IDC, digital spending in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) is expected to reach $897 billion by 2026, growing at a 15.5% CAGR over the next five years.

According to a survey of 1,200 CEOs worldwide conducted by on the business environment outlook for 2023, the majority of CEOs saw potential reward on the other side of the economic downturn and aimed to emerge stronger than their competitors. These CEOs agreed that to realign their operations and increase investment in their companies’ futures, they needed be agile and adaptable to changing market conditions and disruptions in the macroeconomic environment.

In the African context, technology is a powerful catalyst for innovation. It can help the continent address a wide range of challenges: from access to quality healthcare and education for its people to financial services and logistics networks that facilitate the movement of goods and services, allowing citizens to trade across borders within and beyond the continent.

Take heed of tech opportunity to improve chances at success

To summarise, there are valuable lessons that emerged from the COVID pandemic. I believe these lessons are still relevant and will be critical in assisting business leaders in navigating the current market headwinds. Business leaders must ensure that their organisations are agile and adaptable, and that they have the correct technology to do so.

Of equal importance is ensuring that they focus on innovation to capitalise on emerging opportunities. A titled “Uncertainty and innovation at speed; How digital maturity can boost the ability to innovate” asserted that “to thrive in an increasingly uncertain world, organisations need to be able to innovate quickly, not only now but after this crisis subsides. Those that are more digitally mature may have an edge”.

51����provides end-to-end technology solutions that help companies, large and small, private, and public, with the technology they need to drive agility, adaptability, and innovation. Our solutions address a wide range of business needs, including cloud ERP, digital supply chain, customer experience, procurement, human experience management and spend management to name a few.

51����will host the Africa leg of the Business Transformation Tour on March 16, 2023, at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg, and online. Please using this and join us as we discuss the role of technology in navigating market disruptions.

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