Digital transformation is vital for any business wanting to step into the future. After all, the world is becoming increasingly digital, and failing to move with the world will result in being left behind.
As an SMB, taking a step into the cloud is one of the best ways to be able to transform your business into the digital sphere. After all, the cloud is a foundational technology for businesses to be able to reach their full potential while also reducing costs and becoming more agile all around.
In this article, we’re going to go over how SMBs are at the forefront of digital transformation, and how you can take the step to make sure your business hits the ground running in the digital era.
The Importance of Digital Transformation for SMBs
Digital transformation is no longer a luxury for large corporations — it’s a necessity for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) too. For SMBs, embracing digital technology will give you a competitive edge, improve efficiency, and enhance customer satisfaction tenfold.
Here are some of the ways that digital transformation can transform your business —
- Enhanced Customer Experience: Digital tools help tailor experiences to individual customers, improving all-around satisfaction and loyalty.
- Increased Efficiency and Productivity: Automating mundane tasks saves time and reduces errors. On top of this, analysing data helps you identify trends and make key decisions, much faster than without data analysis capabilities.
- Innovation: Digital tools let SMBs innovate and offer new products/services.
All three of the above are empowered fully by digital transformation — for example, moving to the cloud and utilising artificial intelligence and other new technologies to boost your business. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg — digital transformation is becoming one of the most important decisions a company can make, due to the sheer limitless potential the digital space has.
Between the cloud and the innovation behind new technologies, it’s becoming easier for businesses to grow to new heights using the cloud. Gone are the days when capital expenditure was necessary to facilitate growth — instead, you simply pay an operational cost as your business scales to the moon.
Migrating On-Premises Services to the Cloud
Migrating your on-premise services to the cloud is amazing for your business. After all, the cloud brings many benefits to your business. However, there are a few different ways you can go about migrating to the cloud.
The first way is by looking at a full cloud implementation like Microsoft Azure. This will give you a cloud infrastructure and the ability to use the cloud to create your own server infrastructure, letting you essentially make a 1 to 1 copy of your on-premise infrastructure within the cloud.
While this is great for a lot of businesses, sometimes businesses just need file storage. For this, Microsoft also offers OneDrive — which will allow you to store files in the cloud. A lot of SMBs use basic computers with files saved on the desktop, and tools like OneDrive give you access to the cloud without the complex nature of a service like Azure.
For a great in-between, you can also move your file servers to Microsoft Sharepoint — giving you a great way to ensure that files stay accessible for your whole business within the cloud, without having to take the full step into a cloud implementation like Azure.
Leveraging Business Intelligence Tools for Better Decision-Making
Data is the key currency of the modern business. After all, every decision you make should be based on data, and so using business intelligence tools to be able to leverage data for better decision-making is fundamental for businesses.
Business intelligence is simply a requirement to be a modern business. After all, data is simply powerful. Being able to understand what makes your business successful and what you need to be aware of when making decisions shouldn’t be taken lightly. Business intelligence gives you all of this information and helps you understand how to navigate the future.
Microsoft has a range of tools such as their Power Platform and Azure Synapse that have a multitude of business intelligence utilities built-in — meaning that you can fully take control of your data and ensure you have all the information you need.
Enhancing Security with Enterprise-Grade Cybersecurity Solutions
Cybersecurity is a vital consideration in the modern world. After all, the dangers you face are no longer just social engineering attacks and basic malware. Attackers are using the newest technologies to cripple businesses of all sizes, so protecting yourself is paramount.
Digital transformation allows you to take advantage of the best cybersecurity solutions, and the latest technologies that will help you be able to combat these new attacks. By using enterprise-grade cybersecurity solutions that leverage artificial intelligence and other new technologies, you can protect your organisation and ensure that you’re prepared for any attacks that may come your way.
It’s important to be technically ready, as doing so will ensure you can have the latest cybersecurity tools as fast as possible to protect your business.
Microsoft is an industry leader when it comes to cybersecurity, with tools such as Microsoft Defender that use new technologies to be able to defend your business. On top of this, Microsoft is at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution — and artificial intelligence is growing to be the best way to stop attacks proactively.
Practical Steps for SMBs to Begin Their Digital Transformation Journey
The journey to digital transformation isn’t the same for every business. After all, some businesses might already be looking towards the cloud, while others focus more on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
In any case, reaching out for support is vital — a trusted partner will be able to help ensure you have everything you need and will give you the advice necessary to begin your journey and take the step into digital transformation. Reach out to our experts for around-the-clock support and a team that cares about you.
Get in touch now and see how we can help.