The benefits of ERP systems span business operations and processes. According to a recent report, around of companies said they improved all business processes post ERP implementation. A business-aligned ERP system can assist MSMEs in:

• Integrating processes and workflows across the organization to boost productivity
• Moving beyond automation to contextual and role-based autonomy
• Scaling operations sustainably, flexibly, and strategically
• Solving business problems and altering core capabilities to boost revenues
• Automating key processes and focusing on innovative growth opportunities as well as rapid deployment
• Connecting people, networks, and devices empowering business users to act with speed and agility, and improving in-team collaboration
• Leveraging built-in analytics for driving best practices and informed decision-making related to all aspects of the business such as HR, financials, procurement, supply chain management, and so on

However, the ERP system implementation must be done correctly. It is especially important for MSMEs because any adjustments made afterward would cost a lot of money, time, and effort. Many smaller firms are hesitant to implement an ERP system due to complexity, high maintenance costs, and increased cost of ownership. Plus, selecting the right ERP partner is as crucial as selecting the right software.

To ensure that an MSME鈥檚 ERP journey goes smoothly, it is therefore essential to understand the common pitfalls and how to avoid them.

The top 5 most common mistakes in selecting ERP systems

The implementation of ERP in any MSME helps it in moving up the value chain in terms of market credibility and stakeholder confidence. However, it is a long journey from recognizing the need for an ERP to the time it is implemented. This includes identifying company needs, budgeting for product and service procurement, evaluating various products to meet business objectives, beginning the installation process, and finally, ERP implementation. There are multiple traps to avoid on the way.

Here are some of the most common mistakes enterprises end up making when selecting an ERP system:

1. Not understanding the exact ERP needs of the enterprise:听To truly understand the need for ERP, it is essential that organizations conduct an internal audit of the current processes and policies. To do this, they can start by asking questions on the following five parameters:

• • What is the employee size of the organization?
  • What is the industry type?
  • What is the preferred type of deployment option?
  • What kind of business complexity does the organization struggle with?
  • What is the expected employee growth in the coming months?

In addition to the questions mentioned above, enterprises can brainstorm on the following pointers too:

• Will the ERP software help the MSME become more competitive and improve the customer experience?
• Will it reduce informational silos and integrate disparate systems and processes?
• Can adoption of the software tool result in saved time and costs? Can it boost employee and operational efficiency?
• Will the ERP tool make the enterprise less dependent on third-party organizations?
• Will the tool help improve the business processes and drive sound decision-making?

Organizations should look at the entire length and breadth of workflows to gauge which processes can be automated. By prioritizing the processes (and important features), and charting out the core needs, enterprises can adapt and evolve at an accelerated speed with the chosen ERP system.

2. Not selecting a software that provides industry best practices and covers all the business functions: A robust ERP software should come with in-built industry best practices and allow complete coordination between business functions as well as teams. Selecting a software that鈥檚 devoid of these features can lead to delays in platform deployment and prevent the business from accessing real-time analytics and business intelligence that ultimately drive productivity and efficiency. The end result would be a disjointed workflow where teams operate in silos and struggle with complex operations day-in-day-out.
3. Not selecting a software that scales as the organization grows: An ERP system that does not scale with the enterprise鈥檚 needs is already setting the organization up for failure. As MSMEs grow, which they inevitably will, the ERP system should seamlessly integrate with the existing office systems. The right ERP software should assist the organization in building an end-to-end digital core鈥搊ne that can help connect the people, business networks, and futuristic technologies such as Big Data, AI, IoT, machine learning, and so on.
4. Not selecting an ERP system that鈥檚 available anytime, anywhere:听For organizations to make the most out of their ERP system, they should be able to access it anytime and anywhere. It is essential to select an ERP system that empowers employees to access it on the go and drives greater work flexibility.
5. Not selecting an experienced partner ecosystem that supports rapid deployment: When selecting an ERP software, most organizations do not factor in the need for it to be supported by an experienced partner. From on-point implementation to round-the-clock service and support, the ERP vendors should support enterprises in their unique needs. The partners should be able to provide industry-specific rapid deployment packages for a convenient and results-driven ERP implementation.

Additionally, here are a few important factors to keep in mind when selecting an ERP software:

• Create an ERP evaluation team: Do not involve too many stakeholders in the decision-making process as it can create conflicts in prioritizing requirements. Instead choose stakeholders who will directly be impacted by the software, which could comprise the CIO, IT head, developers, controllers, and so on.
• Avoid 鈥楨RP fatigue:鈥� To prevent ERP burnout, select a smaller group of people who will sit through the demos and bids. Once the team has narrowed down 2-3 options, everyone else can chip in to choose the most functional ERP software that鈥檚 in perfect alignment with the business objectives, and team goals, among others.
• Go beyond the software requirements: When evaluating an ERP software, don鈥檛 just consider the technical features, account for the expertise of the implementation team as well as the execution process. Enterprises need to partner with vendors who are experienced within their specific industry and line of business. Ideally, MSMEs should also factor in key considerations such as customizations, configurations, specialized services, and so on when choosing an ERP software vendor.
• Include additional costs: There are numerous additional costs such as the cost of the implementation partner, costs for custom requirements, project management costs, data integration costs, network structure costs, etc., that should be included within the ERP budget. According to a recent report by , organizational issues (48.3%), additional technology needed (41.4%), and data issues (39.7%) were the top three reasons why ERP budgets shoot up. These need to be kept in mind at all times and a financial buffer needs to be created for the same.

The top 5 common mistakes in implementing ERP systems

Once the right software is selected, the next step in the process is to ensure that the ERP implementation is strategic. Without investing the right kind of time, resources, and money, an ERP implementation can fall between the cracks and lead to cost overruns, lost productivity, and unnecessary delays. Here are five mistakes to avoid when implementing an ERP software:

1. Not calculating the time and resources required accurately: Integrating an ERP system is not a one-person job. It requires extensive effort from all the key stakeholders involved. As a result, organizations must accurately estimate and provision for the time and resources required. One way to calculate the time needed is to divide the cost of the software by 100. For instance, a $10,000 software will need 100 man-hours to be implemented effectively. And it is advisable to leverage professional help instead of self-implementing the software, which can cause issues later on.
2. Not getting the right people on the team: Without the right talent on the team, the decision-making process can become flawed or derailed. It is a common blunder that many organizations remain laser-focused on getting approvals, instead of building a diverse team of stakeholders from varying functions such as operations, manufacturing, finance, marketing, and IT. Setting up an ERP will work as well as the people driving the process. By involving the team members early on in the process, enterprises can benefit from an active and highly-engaged team.
3. Not investing in training and change management efforts: To drive successful ERP execution, the team members need to be comfortable with the software 产别蹿辞谤别听it goes live. Not establishing a proper training mechanism and a line of communication will prevent employees from using the software to its full potential. After all, irrespective of the ERP software chosen, every tool comes with a certain learning curve that employees must understand. Organizations should also focus on creating a change management program to enable seamless ERP implementation, keeping in mind the following best practices:

• • Focus on getting stakeholder buy-in and maintaining engagement as well as awareness by analyzing their mindsets, aspirations, and goals
  • Assess how the ERP project will impact other business operations
  • Hold workshops with employees to understand their goals and how it can align with the ERP project
  • Conduct a wide-ranging training strategy which includes end-user testing by way of classes, workshops, and practical sessions

4. Not setting realistic expectations and taking the kitchen sink approach: It is understood that an ERP system can solve key operational issues, but one system cannot help managers manage a business end-to-end. Thus, managers should set measurable and realistic expectations. Ideally, the leaders should focus on adopting an ERP software to track costs and optimize key milestones within the value chain.
5. Not vetting the ERP vendor properly: An ERP vendor鈥檚 job is not simply to implement the software and call it a day. They need to educate the team on the functionalities and capabilities of the software. This means putting in extra effort into training and offering added support even after If the client鈥檚 team is unable to get an in-depth understanding of key features, the software becomes pointless. It can lead to missed opportunities and an inability to meet business goals. One way of ensuring that you are partnering with a suitable vendor is to ask for references and client testimonials.

There are several other critical factors to consider while implementing an ERP system. Some of them are briefly explained below:

• Ensuring proper programming and procedural parameters to reduce errors and gain accurate data that can be fed into the ERP system
• Decommissioning legacy applications so that the ERP system can streamline the workflow and reduce costs instead of adding to the issues of maintenance, hardware upgrades, etc.
• Setting up an active load test environment by simulating your user load to understand the real-world effects of the software integration
• Engaging in preventive maintenance to take full advantage of the ERP investment and ensuring that the business processes do not become obsolete
• Make sure that the ERP solution is compatible with the existing infrastructure
• Weighing the pros and cons of an on-premise versus cloud-based ERP system

The importance of having the right partner on board

Implementing an ill-aligned ERP tool is a wasted opportunity. The right resources鈥搊r a lack of these 鈥� can act as the reason for an staying afloat or going down. This is why collaborating with the right partner is crucial.

With , leverage a 360-degree and systematic approach to ERP implementation and access a simplified execution process. With cutting-edge technology and the right people in the right places, every client of ours gets access to the highest-quality ERP deployments.

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• Enabling cloud adoption and showcasing the full range of ‘‘ offerings to mid-market enterprises, an immersive experience center will travel over 7,000 kilometres across 13 cities.
• 51风流will foster industry-academic partnerships to familiarise next-generation youth with emerging technologies to make them future-ready.
• Over 7,000 saplings will be planted to mitigate climate change and support India achieve its sustainability goals.

DELHI 鈥� April 12, 2022 鈥� 51风流India today announced the launch of an immersive mobile experience center, 鈥楾ransformation Express鈥�, to advance cloud adoption and drive business transformation for Indian mid-market.

An IDC Info-brief on the 鈥楽tate of Indian Mid-Markets鈥� indicated that 74% of enterprises are likely to move applications to the Cloud in 2022. To address the needs of this market, SAP鈥檚 鈥榗loud on wheels鈥� initiative will provide the much-needed support for the industry to remain competitive and to stay relevant in the rapidly changing business landscape.

Speaking at the launch, Kulmeet Bawa, President and Managing Director, 51风流Indian Subcontinent, said, 鈥淚ndian SMEs are the engines of economic growth and equitable development. They contribute to more than 30% of our GDP. As the sector grows and expands, moving to cloud is becoming an imperative for organizations to scale. The 鈥楾ransformation Express鈥� initiative reaffirms our commitment to empower Indian SMEs to improve cost efficiencies and agility, and transition into intelligent, sustainable enterprises.鈥�

51风流Transformation Express – Key Highlights

As the Transformation Express embarks across length and breadth of India, joining 51风流is our global strategic service partner, Tech Mahindra, to collaboratively bring SAP’s ‘RISE With SAP’ cloud momentum to customers who are across phases of their digital transformation and to give them an entirely new method to reimagine processes for improved business outcomes.

The initiative focused on enhancing customer value lifetime is built on the following 3 pillars:

1. Experience center: Designed as a traveling centre, the bus is equipped with the state-of-art technologies like Rise with SAP, SAP鈥檚 Digital Core, Procurement, Customer and People Experience solutions providing businesses a front row view of how they can speed-up their cloud migration and digital transformation initiatives.
2. Skilling the future: 51风流India will work with local industry/trade associations and academic institutions to give young students a first-hand view of power of Cloud technology and how it can help businesses grow and scale.
3. Driving Sustainability: For every kilometre the bus travels, 51风流India will plant a sapling to offset carbon footprints.

Subramanian Ananthapadmanabhan, Senior Vice President Mid-Market, SAP, Asia Pacific Japan, further added: 鈥淭he mid-market sector has embraced technology enthusiastically and witnessed exponential growth. By collaborating with our customers, associations, government bodies, and industry-academia partnerships, we鈥檙e building an ecosystem that can co-create, empower, enable these organizations in their digitalization, and fast-track their cloud journey.鈥�

In 45 days, the bus will travel over 7, 000 kilometres offering SMEs a first-hand glimpse at how a cloud-based digital core may help enterprises plan and adapt more swiftly. It is combined with interactive product demos, a virtual reality exhibition, and informative sessions. Starting from Delhi, the bus will travel to Gurgaon, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Coimbatore, Kochi, and Bangalore.

Check out the听听for more details.

Visit the听.

Follow 51风流on听,听,听听补苍诲听

About SAP

SAP鈥檚 strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent, sustainable enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 51风流customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers鈥� businesses into intelligent enterprises. 51风流helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want 鈥� without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, 51风流helps the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives. For more information, visit .

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This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ.听 Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP鈥檚 2021 Annual Report on Form 20-F.

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A key driver to this anticipated growth is the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan which aims at creating a self-sufficient India.听听The program is built on five major pillars:听

1. ‘Economy,’ which drives quantum change rather than incremental change听
2. ‘Infrastructure’听补苍诲
3. ‘System’听which is based on 21st-century technology-driven arrangements;
4. ‘Democracy,’ which is the source of energy for a self-sufficient India; and听
5. ‘Demand,’ in which the strength of our supply chain is fully utilized.听

MSMEs in India play an important role in reducing regional imbalances. They ensure a more equitable distribution of national income and wealth by offering substantial job opportunities at a lower capital cost than major businesses. MSMEs are known to contribute to the industrialization of rural and backward areas.听

The Missing Middle and Challenges in Scaling Up

Unlike other economies though, the Indian MSME segment finds it harder to scale up. What economists call 鈥榯he missing middle鈥� has become a perpetual puzzle difficult to solve. Whether in the manufacturing sector or other verticals, the 鈥榤issing middle鈥� is ever-present. A natural progression is for enterprises to be micro-sized, grow to small entities and scale up to become mid-sized and later large companies. In India, a peculiar situation arises. Companies start small, stay small and fail to scale up. This is the 鈥�鈥�.听 听 听 听听

Anemic growth and lack of employment opportunities are just some of the challenges this segment confronts as it fails to scale.听Lack of access to finance and technical know-how, inadequate skills (both operational and technical), poor infrastructure facilities, high production costs and socio-economic constraints are just some of the challenges that MSMEs face in taking their businesses to the next level.

To compete globally, MSMEs need a听听in digitally skilled workers by 2025. Such competencies include data analysis, cross-network collaboration, on-demand learning, and real-time response to operational change.听

While the answer partly lies in providing MSMEs with easy, equitable access to credit to boost their manufacturing facilities, the right policies, a supportive ecosystem and pivoting on technology will be key to helping this sector grow.

Enabling Policies for the MSMEs Sector

The Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan was a response of the Indian government to counter the pandemic鈥檚 negative impact on the MSME sector. The MSME sector has been given a significant allocation and priority in implementing the measures that will revitalize the economy. Various announcements have been made under the package to aid the MSME sector immediately.听

The Government of India,听for example, has lately embraced a clustering and networking approach to assist MSMEs in improving their competitiveness during difficult times. The government is also working to address the needs of the various industries by offering various level courses through its training institutes distributed across the country.

The reason for the government to stress on the importance of MSMEs can be understood by the contribution the MSMEs can provide to achieve the dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat. Here are the听five main ways听in which MSMEs are playing a crucial role in Atmanirbhar Bharat:

• MSMEs share in GDP-听As per the report by听, the number of MSMEs in India has increased as a CAGR of 18.5% from 2019 to 2020. MSMEs鈥� contribution to Indian GDP is expected to increase in the future with the startup boom and formalization of the economy. The facilities like Government e-commerce Marketplace (GeM) are helping the small and mid-sized companies to grow further. As of June 25, 2021, the GeM portal has fulfilled 6.87 million orders worth $15.67 billion. One of the biggest hindrances for MSMEs has been their slow adoption of technology. But, with the government impetus, the technological adoption might increase, and the MSMEs might become more competitive.
• MSMEs鈥� share of exports-听Exports are essential for any economy. The Indian economy has had a constant balance of trade deficit for many years. This balance of trade has been funded by remittances and foreign investments over the years. If India really wants to become self-reliant, the exports need to increase.听The share of MSMEs in exports is 45%. The companies involved in exports are more profitable than the companies involved in serving the domestic market in India. Thus, exports are an essential part of the government鈥檚 mission of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.听The government has introduced the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). It is an incentive program to help the Indian companies become more competitive and to increase the export of goods manufactured or produced in India, in the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) for 2015-2020. MSMEs participating in exports are rewarded in duty credit scrips. Policy measures like these are expected to further increase the share of MSMEs in exports in the coming years.
• MSMEs鈥� growth is more inclusive-听MSMEs in India employ around 11 crore people. The types of jobs created by MSMEs include unskilled workers as well. The MSMEs are known to create many jobs at a low capital cost. Thus, even a low capital can get inclusive growth. Inclusive growth is an important parameter of Atmanirbhar Bharat. As per the government data, 13% of registered MSMEs are providing 42% of the total jobs. Thus, there is a need to provide the required funds to MSMEs to help them grow as the growth will quickly trickle down into various jobs.听

The United Nations commemorates 27^th听June as World MSME day. The United Nations understands the inclusive growth promoted by MSMEs and is taking various steps to help the MSMEs get back to business after the pandemic. They have recognized that the services sector is more impacted because of the pandemic, and they are putting their efforts into the services sector. The services sector is known to provide employment to temporary workers and to promote inclusivity. MSMEs are being helped by the Indian government and United Nations as well.听

If India is to become a $5 Trillion economy by 2025, the听听is expected to reach 50%. Thus, MSMEs will contribute to growth in the future. Also, informal employment in India is very high. With the formalization of the Indian economy and high growth in the MSME sector, inclusive growth can become a reality, with jobs being created even in the remote areas of India. If jobs are provided to remote areas, India can truly achieve the dream of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.听

• MSMEs in the manufacturing sector-听A key aspiration of being Self-Reliant is to make India a manufacturing powerhouse. This is envisioned by the Make in India policy of the government. As per听, the share of MSMEs in manufacturing is around 37%.The contribution of MSMEs is expected to be huge if India is to increase its manufacturing output. Manufacturing requires a fast time to the market and changing the requirements as per emerging trends. Also, it requires a marketplace to sell the goods. With the growth of e-commerce and the Government e-commerce Marketplace (GeM), the selling opportunities are immense. Also, the emerging trends are easy to identify because of the easy availability of information.听Indian manufacturing is showing signs of cyclical growth, and the contribution of MSMEs is immense. India has increased its ranking in Ease of Doing Business and is currently ranked 63^rd. Schemes such as PLI schemes are expected to increase the manufacturing output of the country.
• MSMEs in the Services sector-听India鈥檚 share of the services sector in the economy is 55%. Just as the manufacturing sector is essential, the services segment plays an important role as well in India鈥檚 economic growth. Most of the informal jobs exist in the services sector, and the services sector was the most affected because of the pandemic. As far as SMEs are concerned, around 33% of Indian SMEs are into services as compared to 67% in manufacturing.Most of the startups are also in the services sector. MSMEs have an important role to play in the services sector to provide employment to the gig workers, temporary workers, unskilled workers etc. If India is to be self-reliant, the importance of the services sector must be highlighted and the sector should be prioritized.听

Technology can unlock the next phase of growth

Indian SMEs face significant obstacles in the globalization and liberalization period despite all significant efforts made by the government. The country can become Atmanirbhar if MSMEs can scale up to compete with global peers and participate in international market opportunities. It鈥檚 possible to make this a reality if MSMEs are more vigorous in adopting technology to get a competitive advantage.听

Indian MSMEs are starting to integrate new and innovative information and communication technologies on a big scale, such as Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). MSMEs in India may hire external consultants or take other actions regularly.听

Technology transfer, such as vertical technology transfer or horizontal technology transfer, is another option to be considered by the Indian MSMEs.听

Despite the obvious benefits that technology can provide micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, this segment has not been as aggressive in undertaking digital transformation. Digital proficiency is the need of the hour if this sector is to survive disruptions and build business resiliency. Digitally connected MSMEs can get better access to the market and take advantage of a borderless marketplace.听

For MSMEs to compete globally, programs such as SAP鈥檚听听initiative can be of great help. Besides enabling digital skilling for the workforce, this program also provides access to B2B marketplace. Growing businesses need to have an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in place since it helps bring in efficiency and enhance productivity. From automating routine business processes to reducing human intervention to integrating key business processes, ERP is extremely beneficial to MSMEs.听

Some of the benefits of having an ERP system include the ability to minimize errors due to automation, see real-time inventory and gain insight from well-structured data.听听A cloud-based ERP provides flexibility and real-time analytics. Having real-time analytics can help faster decision-making based on up-to-date, real-time information. As an MSME, having access to real-time information will help the decision-making process while optimizing resources and costs.听

MSMEs are beginning to realize the advantages provided by ERP systems. India is adopting ERP solutions at a faster clip than the rest of the Asia Pacific region. According to a听听study, SMEs can contribute up to 30% of the cloud market. The study showed that 60% of the SMEs are already using cloud, although half are at the early stage of adoption. Of course, adopting cloud has helped SMBs reduce operational costs while increasing productivity.

Change is inevitable, but if MSMEs are geared to deal with change, then it becomes easier to cope with challenges that arise. RISE with 51风流brings together offerings that can help transform business strategically. From being able to stay agile to bringing in efficiency that lets MSMEs stay in control of their business, this initiative is specially designed for MSMEs.听

Staying connected to business owners going through the same challenges offers unparalleled opportunities to learn from industry peers. Stay in touch with over 15000 business owners to learn how they rise above challenges and stay innovative. From engaging with the MSME community to learning about the latest technologies, the听,听a vibrant online community, provides insights and helps keep track of the upcoming trends and growth opportunities in the MSME business.听

The post Role of MSMEs in Making India Atmanirbhar appeared first on 51风流India News Center.

Unlike digitally native start-ups, MSMEs have different practices and processes and generally show a lack of technology adoption. MSMEs aren鈥檛 as agile in their responses to disruption compared to their digital peers and lack the right ecosystem to address the challenges they face. But with , the central theme of India鈥檚 economic recovery, this mindset may just change.

Setting the Stage for High-growth Potential

MSMEs are beginning to realize the criticality of digital transformation when surviving and adapting to changing market conditions. According to听,* midsize companies are strengthening their competitive position with rapid digitalization and business formalization. More than a quarter are moving forward with plans to deploy business applications with artificial intelligence to surface insights, accelerate decision-making, and operate with greater resiliency and agility.

For MSMEs, technology adoption enables greater agility and faster decision-making. While developing the right ecosystem of IT providers and service partners, they can bridge the information gap to improve the transparency of their supply chains and financial performance and seize opportunities once reserved for startups. Meanwhile, larger corporations can onboard Indian MSMEs more confidently by fully understanding their value, operational performance, and compliance standards.

The good news is that this momentum toward revenue growth and global expansion is within reach for every MSME. However, there is one caveat: their operations must keep up and adapt to a marketplace that evolves every day.

Growth begins with Fast-paced Operational Change

The principal challenge of Indian MSMEs is boosting the production of smaller batches for a marketplace that values individualization and contributing to a more extensive supply network that expects consistent regulatory compliance and credible sustainability. With the steady stream of new product configurations, government mandates, and green initiatives, the traditional concept of reskilling and upskilling the workforce is not enough to pivot operations fast enough to address every nuanced update.

Instead, MSMEs need to harness the power of their data to make in-the-moment shifts in their entire operation, such as scaling up or down inventory, redirecting critical supplies, and addressing customer expectations. But more importantly, they need an interconnected system built to manage all these business elements together with data and intelligent technologies 鈥� such as artificial intelligence 鈥� to drive the best outcomes.

Take, for example,听. The business recently pivoted its business model from just selling mattresses to becoming an end-to-end home furnishing brand and retailer, sparking a rapid expansion of its inventory and manufacturing capabilities. As a result, the midsize business experienced over 200% revenue growth during the pandemic. However, its supply network was challenged to scale fast enough because its 20 manufacturers and warehouses used their own set of business systems.

Although the pandemic hit Indian businesses hard, Wakefit continued its growth trajectory by improving its productivity with increased scalability and visibility. The company brought its growing network of assets, plants, warehouses, and innovations under a听. It also eliminated long-term reliance on multiple stand-alone systems that not only impacted employee productivity but led to compromised accuracy in critical areas such as financial reporting.

With the support of a local partner throughout this digital initiative, Wakefit is now on a connected cycle of extracting insights. As a result, all departments, manufacturing locations, and warehouses can access the same set of advanced technologies and real-time analytics to acquire information on any device, foster high scalability, adjust to changing demand, and reduce development costs. Best of all, the company achieved concrete outcomes and improvements within only four months of the initial deployment.

Preparing for a future of game-changing growth

The current economic recovery is unquestionably affected by price pressures, labour shortages, supply chain disruptions, and inflationary risks. But Indian MSMEs can still keep up 鈥� as long as they have the right mindset and technology backing them.

The key is to think like a startup, pivoting operations in real-time to take on opportunities and mitigate risks as they emerge. With a digital transformation journey that follows their timeline and pace, companies can navigate around today鈥檚 and tomorrow鈥檚 challenges and fulfil their customers鈥� changing needs 鈥� signaling the performance of a prosperous, productive, and growing business.

Find out how your business can pivot with the resilience and agility of a startup. Check out and share the IDC paper, 鈥�,鈥� sponsored by SAP, for additional insights on the road ahead.

*, an IDC Info Snapshot, sponsored by SAP听

May 2021听|听Doc. #US47674721

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With approximately听听currently contributing to approximately听听towards India鈥檚 GDP through national and international trade, this robust growth is welcome news after last year鈥檚 contraction of 24.4%. However, this level of success cannot last forever.

MSMEs must capitalise on today鈥檚 red-hot economy to rebuild their operations for sustained resiliency like any other company. But equally important, according to听, is their ability to anticipate risks and initiate change while avoiding adverse consequences along the way.

Finding the Way to Business Success

One of the biggest challenges facing MSMEs is increasing production capacity or expanding market reach to satisfy worldwide demand. But investing more money in existing facilities and building new ones is not enough. Companies should also plan their future digital strategies 鈥� whether gradually migrating their existing IT landscape to the cloud or immediately adopting new forms of digitalisation.

For organisations that have never fully embraced technology, this moment is a critical differentiator as they enter the national and world stages.

A听 already recognise the importance of an intelligent, data-driven platform to enable speed, innovation, and increased efficiency in every aspect of the midsize businesses.

For example,听听quickly shifted from one-on-one, face-to-face meetings with customers, partners, and other stakeholders by using collaboration and self-service tools that help ensure continuous communication and order-taking in various languages.听, on the other hand, accelerated its digital adoption plans to make daily work more efficient by automating simple activities, such as transferring money. And听, which was already underway in its digital transformation before the pandemic, maintained 24×7 continuity and growth.

While such success stories can be exciting, this is not where the impact of digitalisation ends.听听revealed that 28% of surveyed midsize companies plan to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) within their business applications to automate processes.

Such听听is important for MSMEs when you consider half of them lost revenue in 2020. By transforming operations with the cloud, AI, and other intelligent technology, companies decrease their chances of experiencing further loss by as much as 10%.

Building Agility with Experience and Guidance

听helps MSMEs optimize the advantages of the cloud to drive business agility. For example, our听听补苍诲听听programme empower Indian MSMEs to nurture self-actualised professional and personal success. Organisations can develop business agility by observing and learning from businesses that share their challenges, demonstrating new ideas, and proving new possibilities. Over time, they gain a level of resilience that enables them to proactively fend off risks and disruption better than their competition.

Ready to renew your sense of resilience? Read the IDC paper, 鈥�,鈥� sponsored by SAP.

Source:

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The third season of the Dare2Dream Awards 2021 presented by TV9 Network and sponsored by 51风流India, aimed to recognize SMEs in India, which have innovatively defied the challenges of the pandemic. The award ceremony had a total of 1147 nominations and it was attended by approximately 2100 attendees. The event was live-streamed on Facebook and more than 256000 viewers tuned in to watch the live telecast. The awards recognized more than 150 MSMEs and were held in several Indian cities. The award categories were as follows:

• Company of the Year
• Business Transformation through Technology
• Emerging Company of the Year
• Business Person of the Year
• Women Entrepreneur of the Year
• Young Business Leader
• Inspirational Leader

Top policymakers joined as keynote speakers and congratulated the winners. There was also a special Guiding Light segment that celebrated India鈥檚 inspirational icons鈥攑ioneers who have left their mark through outstanding achievements in sports, medicine, social work, and education.

The D2D award ceremony commenced on November 30 in the city of New Delhi. Shri BB Swain, Secretary, Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Govt of India, was the chief guest and the keynote speaker. Shri BB Swain stated that the driving force behind the success of the MSMEs through the pandemic was their positive attitude, willingness to take risks, prudent strategies, successful identification of products and markets, and the ability to turn adverse situations into opportunities. He concluded by applauding and congratulating the winners.

Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj was Guiding Light guest speaker and shared his wisdom and insights with our audience. Suhas spoke of how he hoped to inspire the youth and entrepreneurs alike to Dare to Dream and follow up their dreams with discipline, hard work, and determination. He said that it was important to try and fail rather than not try at all, because life would always be full of ups and downs and that one must be focused on the goal and overcome one鈥檚 fear of losing. The winners for November 30 can be found .

The December 1 edition of the awards took place in Mumbai. Subhash Desai, the Minister for Industries and Mining, Govt. of Maharashtra was the keynote speaker. He spoke of how some of the largest corporates today were small entrepreneurs when they got started, and that MSMEs today should pursue the same goal through their hard work, determination, and taking advantage of relevant government schemes.

Dr. Prakash and Dr. Mandakini Amte graced us with their presence on the occasion of the Dare2Dream Awards held in Mumbai as our Guiding Lights. While relating his experiences, Dr. Prakash Amte spoke of being inspired by his father Baba Amte, who often stated that 鈥榃ork is Worship鈥�, and that this tenet had guided many of his endeavors. Dr. Prakash and Dr. Mandakini Amte stressed the importance of selfless service and emphasized that the satisfaction and happiness gained from serving others were much more enduring than that derived from material possessions. The winners for December 1 can be found.

The next award ceremony was held in Ahmedabad on December 2. Our chief guest on this occasion was Shri J. Ranjeeth Kumar Commissioner, MSMEs, Govt of Gujarat. He spoke of several government measures to help MSMEs including the MSEFC Delayed Payment Monitoring System. He praised TV9 for recognizing outstanding MSMEs and congratulated the winners.

Our Guiding light speaker on this instance was a world-renowned cardiologist and is well-known for his pioneering work in the interventional cardiology domain, Dr. Tejas M. Patel. He spoke about his aspirations as a youth and the factors that drove his ambitions. He also spoke of his goal to bring India to the forefront when it came to cardiology and most of his efforts have been driven by this goal. Dr. Patel also gave the audience some valuable tips for maintaining a healthy heart including yoga, cardio, and meditation. The winners for December 2 can be found .

The December 3 edition of the Dare2Dream awards were held in Hyderabad. Karikal Valaven, IAS

Special Chief Secretary To Industries & Commerce, Govt of Andhra Pradesh, and E. Venkat Narasimha Reddy, Vice Chairman & MD, Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation were the keynote speakers. Mr. Reddy spoke of the importance of the ecosystem of MSMEs and noted that both the cost and ease of doing business should be conducive for the development of MSMEs. The Special Chief Secretary mentioned how the government has established MSME supporting cells for every district in Andhra Pradesh and loan restructuring schemes for the benefit of MSMEs.

Harika Dronavalli is a chess grandmaster, was the Guiding Light speaker for the Hyderabad edition of the awards. She spoke of the importance of learning from failures and advised that rather than dwelling on them, to focus on doing one鈥檚 best irrespective of the circumstances, and the importance of setting ambitious goals rather than taking a risk-free approach. The winners for December 3 can be found .

The December 7 Dare2Dream awards were held in Bengaluru. Mr. Murugesh R Nirani, Minister for Large and Medium-Scale Industries, Government of Karnataka, was the chief guest and keynote speaker. He spoke of how the government was working to increase land allocations for MSMEs through new amendments and industrial policies for several districts.

Nalini Shekar, an entrepreneur and tireless social activist was the Guiding Light speaker for the award ceremony held in Bangalore. She has not only impacted the lives of waste pickers in a positive way but has also created an entirely new business model for waste management in the country. At the ceremony, she spoke about how she saw waste pickers as entrepreneurs and that she was very proud of how far they had progressed, with many of them even filing tax returns and employing more people in turn. The winners for December 7 can be found .

The next edition of the Dare2Dream awards was held in Chennai on 8th December. The Industry Secretary, Govt of Tamil Nadu, Thiru S Krishnan, was our chief guest. He spoke of various measures that the government had taken to help MSMEs including quick processing of loans, innovation voucher schemes, seed grants, and cluster facilitation centers. He congratulated the winners for their tremendous efforts.

Ms. Vinisha Umashankar, a young pioneer, who has set a new precedent for what it means to be proactive was the Guiding Light speaker on this occasion. Vinisha has been widely applauded for her innovation of the Iron-Max which is solar-powered and has allowed vendors to forgo the use of coal which damages the environment. She spoke of her experiences and congratulated all the entrepreneurs who won awards and were working towards making the world a better place. The winners for December 8 can be found .

The December 9 edition of the Dare2Dream awards was focused on MSMEs in North India and hosted two chief guests: Shahnawaz Hussain, Industry Minister, Govt of Bihar, and Gurkeerat Kotli, Industry minister, Govt of Punjab. Mr. Kohli noted that the MSME sector was the backbone of the MSME sector and stated that the government of Punjab has been focusing on encouraging MSMEs through several initiatives.

On the occasion of the Dare2Dream Awards – North India edition, it was our pleasure to host Anand Kumar, a mathematician and one of the most renowned tutors in the country, as our Guiding Light speaker. He spoke of how his inability to enroll at Cambridge University because of financial constraints motivated him to help other such students succeed. Specifically, he intended to help children from economically weak backgrounds gain admission to the prestigious IITs. He emphasized the importance of being grounded and setting challenging goals. The winners for December 9 can be found .

The final chapter of the Dare2Dream Awards was held on 10th December in Kolkata. The keynote speaker for this occasion was Dr. Partha Chatterjee, Minister, Industry, Commerce & Enterprises, Govt of West Bengal. Dr. Chatterjee discussed the West Bengal government鈥檚 emphasis on industrial development and congratulated the winners.

Dola Banerjee, one of the top-ranked archers in the country and was the Guiding Light speaker for the Kolkata edition of the Dare2Dream Awards. She talked about her initial struggles while preparing for competitions and how her family鈥檚 unflinching support and disciplined training helped her tackle many challenges. Dola concluded by saying that Indian players who compete on an international level have come a long way, however, there was a need to gear up mentally to get ahead of international players. The winners for December 10 can be found

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New Delhi, December 8, 2021:听 India Midmarket enterprises have truly embraced the power of digital, to be more agile, flexible, and scalable. As they embark on their journey to cloud, they are gearing up to adapt to business disruptions while competently capitalizing on the changing business landscape. While priorities varied from industry to industry, the aim is to service customers better through touchless solutions, enable uninterrupted operations through automation, and provide a seamless user experience through adoption of cloud. indicated that 82% of midmarket enterprises are reducing their focus from on-premises business applications.

鈥�While digital transformation can accelerate growth, it is innovative business models, cloud transformations and reconnecting with customers which will determine long-term and sustainable success鈥� said Kulmeet Bawa, President, and Managing Director, 51风流Indian Subcontinent 鈥�The Indian midmarket segment is poised to play a significant role in the country鈥檚 quest to become a $5tn economy. 51风流is committed to co-create, empower and enable mid-market enterprises in their digital-first business and growth journey.鈥� he added.

The rising trend of digital resiliency among the midmarket enterprises showcased an increasing optimism to invest more in cloud, cybersecurity, analytics, and business intelligence. The orchestration capabilities to interoperate across different cloud environments is considered as one of the top drivers for cloud-related investments in 2022. The survey findings also indicated that 68% of midmarket enterprises either intend to increase (5-10%) or retain their IT spend in 2022. 听

The survey indicated the following key findings:

75% of Midmarket Enterprises Will Return Operations to Pre-Pandemic Levels by End of 2021

Leadership Resiliency

• 83% of enterprises are focusing on resiliency objectives like business continuity

Operations Resiliency

• 58% of enterprises have an ERP system providing full visibility of operations across different departments
  • IT & ITeS, Retail and Engineering, Construction and Operations leading this adoption

Financial Resiliency

• 58% if enterprises have introduced scorecards, visualization and simulations to analyse their financial performance to take critical business decisions

Workforce Resiliency

• 50% of enterprises are taking an integrated approach towards employee experience & engagement post the pandemic as compared to only 36% enterprises in pre-pandemic.
  • IT & ITeS and Retail are the top industries focusing on an integrated approach

Customer Resiliency

• 40% of enterprises are adopting an end-to-end approach for managing the customer journey across all departments based on customer behaviour.
  • Profound adoption by IT & ITeS, Life Sciences & Pharma, Retail and Engineering, construction & operations.

Brand and Reputation Resiliency

• 74% of enterprises in India will increase or retain their spend on IT Security, Governance & Risk Management in 2022.

鈥淔or small and midsize businesses, 2021 represent the dawn of a golden age. , it is very clear that smart business leaders are investing in cloud technologies that will help them meet their future goals. Doing so is not just what鈥檚 right for the business but also for their employees, customers, community and our country鈥檚 economy,鈥� added听Subramanian Ananthapadmanabhan, Vice President, 51风流Indian Subcontinent. 鈥淚t is heartening to witness Indian midmarket enterprises embrace the power of digital, to be more agile, flexible and scalable enterprises of tomorrow.鈥�

This study assessed over 350 Indian midmarket enterprises with an annual revenue of INR 500 Cr to INR 2000 Cr. The respondent demographics consisted of 55% CXOs and 45% directors with responses across all dimensions of digital resiliency such as Operational, Workforce and Customer, Brand and Reputation, Leadership and Organization, and financial resiliency. The industries covered by the survey were Chemicals, Industrial Manufacturing, Life Sciences, Professional Services, Retail & Consumer Packaged Goods, and Engineering, Construction & Operations.

Commenting on the study, Sharath Srinivasamurthy, Research Director, Enterprise Solutions & ICT Practices, IDC India said, 鈥淲hile the power of digital has been well embraced by the midmarket enterprises; the surveyed enterprises acknowledged agility, performance, and availability as the key drivers for adoption of cloud platforms. This rising trend of digital resiliency is prominent across industries such as manufacturing, healthcare and pharma, and professional services.鈥�

About SAP

SAP鈥檚 strategy is to help every business run as a sustainable intelligent enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 87% of the world鈥檚 total global commerce touches an SAP庐 system. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers鈥� businesses into sustainable intelligent enterprises. 51风流helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want 鈥� without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, 51风流helps the world run better and improve people鈥檚 lives. For more information, visit

For further information please contact:

51风流India

Chaya Arora

Head 鈥� India Communications

chaya.arora@sap.com

鈥�IDC Infobrief commissioned by SAP, The State of Midmarket Enterprises in India, A Perspective on Digital Resiliency, December 2021, Doc.#AP241284IB鈥�.

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The MSME sector in India has been a role model for others in navigating uncertainties and disruptions. As the MSME sector continues to fuel the recovery and growth of the Indian economy, 51风流is all set to recognize pioneering business leaders who leveraged technology and innovation to turn adversity into advantage.

TV9 in association with 51风流is taking a big step towards enabling an Atmanirbhar Bharat. To empower homegrown businesses under the , we鈥檙e proud to launch the

Presented by TV9 Network in association with SAP, the 3rd season of Dare2Dream Awards brings to the forefront industry champions who displayed single-minded focus to outpace not only the competition but trigger industry-wide disruption!

Armed with a comprising of seasoned leaders and industry experts who have worked with leading media houses:

BV Rao, Group Editor, TV9 Network听– A journalist with experience spanning over three decades, he is currently heading TV9, India鈥檚 leading news network and the jury chairperson

Rakesh Khar, Editor & Business Head, Money9听– Serving the newsroom in various leadership roles for over two decades across leading media outlets, he also serves on the Executive Council of Indian Institute of Mass Communication.

Vishnu Shankar, Editor, Convergence 鈥� TV9听Network听鈥� With over 30 years of experience in journalism he has the rare distinction of having worked in all formats of mass media 鈥� print, radio, television, and digital.

R Sridharan, Managing Editor, TV9 Kannada听鈥� A seasoned journalist with experience of writing extensively on pharmaceuticals, auto, retail, and private equity.

Sarbajeet K Sen, Financial Journalist听– A financial journalist with over 30 years of experience, he has worked in several leading news organisations in India and Dubai

Vivek Law, Founder, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, The Money听Mile听– A business journalist with over 25 years of experience across print and electronic media, he is a leading voice on many financial issues.

Our respected panel of veterans with their significant expertise and thought leadership on multiple topics and industries bring to the awards a truly global perspective and uniquely innovative outlook. Recognizing businesspersons who had the vision, determination, and grit to not only tide over the crisis but also reset their business models.

The awards aim to identify industry gems across 10 , giving out 150 coveted awards to celebrate business leaders on the cusp of greatness. To be telecasted on TV9 Bharatvarsh channels, in 8 regional languages and the final awards will also be webcast across various TV9 Network Digital platforms.

It鈥檚 time to share your inspiring journey with the world and be seen as an innovative leader who sets benchmarks for the industry to follow. Visit the website to learn more about the simplified nomination process and submit your nominations before 20th November to be a part of this celebration of innovation.

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Nearly 9 in every 10 countries tracked by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) contracted in 2020, making COVID-19 the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression of 1929. India was no exception as its economy too contracted for the first time in four decades. Government enforced lockdowns and self-isolation measures resulted in a near freeze of supply chains and most businesses found themselves amidst a very real existential crisis.

The percentage of disrupted companies (operating in non-essential sectors) in India 鈥� those impacted by government restrictions or changes in the workplace practices 鈥� stood at 99% in April 2020, according to data from the Dun & Bradstreet COVID-19 Commerce Disruption Tracker. This figure remained above 80% until late August 2020.

A closer look at the business performance data reveals that the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). 鈥檚 preliminary analysis of around 3,000 companies shows that median net sales of MSMEs fell by 47% (y-o-y) during Q1 FY21 as against a 43% contraction for large companies. While the large companies have reported an 8% median growth in net sales during Q3 FY21, MSMEs have reported only a 2% growth.

Recognising this, the government and the RBI have been undertaking a host of measures. In the Union Budget, the government proposed more than double the allocation for the MSME sector to Rs 157 bn in FY22 from Rs 56.6 bn in FY21. 听The allocation of Rs 100 bn (64% of total allocation to MSMEs) for Guarantee Emergency Credit Line (GECL) facility will help MSMEs meet their operational liabilities and restart their businesses in the post pandemic world. The increased allocation for Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (13% of total allocation to MSMEs) will help in generating new self-employment ventures. Enhanced infrastructure spending to the tune over more than Rs 5.5 tn will also benefit the MSME sector through a multiplier effect.

Further, the budget has taken measures in two core areas – access to finance and ease of doing business – to support the MSME sector. Proposal to strengthen the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) framework, implementation of e-Courts system, and introduction of alternate methods of debt resolution and special framework for MSMEs, coupled with measures to strengthen the balance sheets of financial institutions, are expected to ease the credit constraints of MSMEs. The government鈥檚 agenda of improving the ease of doing business is clearly visible through the various measures announced such as the revision in definition of small companies, increase in the audit threshold limit, decriminalization of the LLP Act, incentivization of One Person Companies (OPCs) etc.,

However, much more needs to be done to make MSMEs truly competitive in the post COVID-19 era. The government and private sector have a collective responsibility of activating three growth levers for MSMEs 鈥� access to finance, digital transformation, and access to markets.

Access to finance

Despite the measures taken by the government to ease the credit constraints of MSMEs, the outstanding value of MSME loans from commercial banks as a percentage of GDP stands at 6.4% in India against 10.9% for Rapid Reformers (including Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia), according to the . Accounting for over 80% of the total debt demand, informal sources of finance remain the dominant channel of credit for MSMEs, according to data from the International Finance Corporation.

The current level of supply chain financing stand at less than 1% in India. Improving this penetration can help MSMEs borrow funds at ease as well as at an interest rate that is effectively the same as for a large company. Besides, providing equity funding to MSMEs through government Venture Capital funds and making a robust Intellectual property (IP) finance ecosystem for innovative MSMEs should be considered.

Digital transformation

The pandemic is expected to have a lasting impact on companies in terms of the way they conduct their business. While COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation of businesses by several years, Indian MSMEs haven鈥檛 yet leveraged digital technology to a full extent. 听The percentage of e-commerce sales to total retail sales stands at 2% in India, compared to around 14% globally. With the growing need for digital transformation of the businesses, achieving digital proficiency has also become vital. Digital literacy of MSMEs needs to be enhanced so that they can adopt various digital solutions for their businesses. In addition to improving operational efficiencies, digitally connected MSMEs will also be able to access wider markets i.e. secure more customers and generate more revenue than those who are not connected or choose to remain offline.

Access to markets

Business information portals can play a huge role in expanding market access for firms by mitigating the problems of information asymmetry and reducing the sunk cost of entering new markets. In a study by researchers at the Inter-American Development Bank, the authors find that the probability of a firm exporting to new markets increases by 0.07% with each additional day of time spent on a business information portal.

Parallelly, Dun & Bradstreet鈥檚 survey conducted in Oct-Nov 2020 reveals that over 80% of Indian MSMEs that did not use any marketing or sale intelligence tools felt access to global markets was not easy. Hence, the government and export promotion agencies need to incentivise MSMEs to use business information portals to improve their access to markets.

Learn more about how governments can drive digitization for MSMEs by reviewing Government of Telangana and 51风流India’s recent collaboration.

and discover the business transformation-as-a-service that can be tailored in a way that works best for your business.

Arun Singh is chief global economist, Dun & Bradstreet.

The post Making MSMEs competitive in the post COVID-19 era appeared first on 51风流India News Center.

This news is undoubtedly welcomed by small and medium-size businesses. But only those that can anticipate every nuanced shift along the way will gain the competitive advantages necessary to stay ahead, including improved customer and employee experiences, product and service creation, tight customer connections and fewer skill gaps.

Although every business leader knows that such predictive insight comes from data,听听conducted during the first few months of the pandemic revealed the importance of understanding it accurately and quickly. The study reported only 32% of medium-size businesses are acting on data-derived insights, which could be attributed to struggles in either interpreting data with analytics tools or supporting analytics-based decision-making altogether.

Building data insight with interconnectivity

A considerable challenge to becoming a business driven by data insight is gaining the confidence of the employees who use the information. Data should be viewed as a prerequisite for all decision-making, never as a nuisance or an afterthought.

Ultimately, fostering such a data-driven mindset requires a strong IT infrastructure that helps ensure data is complete and accurate and shared and provided freely and securely across functions, external partners, suppliers, and customers. This step toward interconnected alignment of knowledge, visibility, and insight allows the workforce to immediately understand and embrace the optimized collaboration, transparency, predictability and continuity that today鈥檚 technologies offer.

The IT infrastructure should include three foundational elements:

1. Consumer-grade analytics

This evolutionary step toward 鈥渁nalytics for everyone鈥� allows decision-makers to access and analyze data, predict, and plan scenarios, and report insights, outcomes, and lessons learning all in one application. Intelligent capabilities 鈥� such as natural language querying and processing, machine learning, and predictive analytics 鈥� can also augment and accelerate decision-making without requiring additional training in data science.

2. One platform for data management and analytics

Bringing data management and analytics together on a single business technology platform reduces the complexity of maintaining multiple technologies, such as limited communication, data sharing, and collaborative action taking across departments. This addition to the IT infrastructure provides the structural support needed to collect, integrate, and analyze information in a landscape that includes legacy systems, multi-cloud applications, public and personal data sources, sensors, and smart devices.

3. Embedded enterprise analytics

Don鈥檛 let this phrase fool you: the word 鈥渆nterprise鈥� does not mean that embedded analytics is just for your largest competitor.听It鈥檚 about providing medium-size companies scalable, cross-departmental access to a 360-degree view of the business without switching from one application to another to get work done and collaborate with experts and stakeholders. This capability combines business intelligence, augmented and predictive analytics, and planning capabilities into one cloud environment and in the context of business processes.

Reaping the rewards of interconnected intelligence

By augmenting their IT foundation with these three elements of data management and analytics, employees can make decisions that not only optimize their specific area, but also help each other succeed. Take, for example, the relationship between workforce management and spend management.

HR analytics typically focus on recruitment, talent and performance, learning and development, and compensation and retention. But with the assistance of intelligent capabilities, HR leaders can correlate that traditional information to health and safety compliance, travel and expense management, procurement, and project assignments.

Including people data in these critical business indicators allows professionals outside the HR function to identify and solve potential issues early and generate value as quickly and cost-efficiently as possible. Plus, departments can measure and predict the full impact of their spending decisions while eliminating organizational blind spots, minimizing maverick buying, improving supplier performance, and optimizing the cost of quality, goods sold, and sales.

Bringing to life a stronger, more resilient business

Just imagine the possibilities when every business function can access and act on connected, integrated data from a single landscape. Will your operations realize a responsive supply chain, deliver an engaging and always relevant customer experience, help ensure every employee is successful, or innovate new product or service?

Whatever the answer, this level of interconnectedness unquestionably provides a unique differentiator that medium-size businesses need 鈥� and can acquire with ease 鈥� to positively shift the trajectory of their recovery and growth.

Discover how your business can achieve these goals by consulting the Oxford Economics report, 鈥�.鈥澨齈lus, you can learn more by accessing our guidebook, 鈥�.鈥�

Mario Farag is senior director of Marketing for Analytics at SAP.
This article was originally featured on Forbes, .

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