2018 is coming to a close, and one of the most talked about talks at the InterFuerza office this year was the challenges that the SME sector faces and will continue to face in the Digital Transformation.
We have become accustomed to associating this "transformation" with large companies and multinationals with unthinkable budgets, something that seems far removed from the reality of the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector, which today represents close to sixty thousand businesses in Panama (according to data from the AMPYME).
However, we wanted to ask ourselves, how do SMEs experience digital transformation? We looked for some answers within the set of businesses and organizations that make up the Hub InterFuerza.
From Paper to Cloud, the first big step
JootserJootser, technology consultants specializing in the SME sector, began operations in order to become the business ally in the creation of its digital transformation strategy.
Fabián Escobar and Ana Pérez, its founders, see technology as a tool to boost work, and have seen several cases of business owners facing the difficult task of moving their business from paper to digital.
In their experience, they have encountered businesses without any kind of system, facing the challenge of systematizing their processes after years of sustaining their structure on hundreds of Excel sheets, notebook pages and data in memory. They all have one thing in common: the lack of knowledge when it comes to planning the budget for technologies.
Recognizing the new "Administration 4.0".
For Alexander Mendoza of AE Consultingthe biggest paradigm shift in the implementation of technologies for the Administration is that now SMEs are empowered and learn to deal with all aspects of their business, including accounting.
"Until a few years ago, the accountant was the one who carried the accounting tool, and the client was dependent on approaching him to acquire information that would allow him to plan ahead." For Alexander, the biggest advantage of digitizing processes in accounting software is the control the SME owner gains over his or her own accounting operation.
By having everything automated, the relationship with the accountant and other administrative departments evolves from seeing simple accounting operations to obtaining reports that allow timely decisions, optimizing time and resources.
From his perspective working at Club Contador, the biggest paradigm shift for new clients using accounting software is gaining more control over their business by managing the information themselves and not leaving everything to the accountant.
This is how "traditional" professions such as accountants are also preparing themselves to technological changes and to evolve their way of working to meet the needs of their potential clients in the SME sector.
Are you an Accountant? Learn how to prepare for Accounting 4.0
"For any business owner or entrepreneur starting out, they don't understand and are afraid to manage accounting and finance," explains Ana from Jootser. "The truth is that a new entrepreneur is not going to handle all the knowledge in accounting, finance, marketing, logistics... The advantage for them is that there are easy-to-implement technologies to make their business succeed by moving to the cloud."
Stable operations after implementing
What happens after starting to work in the Cloud? At IPANDETEC, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that monitors the defense of human rights in the digital environment, for more than a year now its daily operations have been managed from the management software of InterFuerza.
"Transparency is the pillar for the day-to-day activities for NGOs," explains Carolina Mendoza, its Communications Director, "that's why migrating from having printed invoices, in boxes, to having a digital platform was fundamental to guarantee transparent processes within our organization."
The example of IPANDETEC shows how the control and backup of information is not limited to the day to day of an organization, but adapts to the reality that SMEs, businesses or any organization in different sectors have to face to keep up with the demands of today's world.
"We have already made an effort to move forward in the digital transformation, to have information fast, secure and just clicks away. The platform has made the work easier and going backwards would mean a risk in the security of the information due to loss or misplacement."
Both for organizations that are still considering options and for those that have already taken their first steps to face the fourth industrial revolution, we believe that no business should be deprived of the advantages of moving to a management system.
That is why we develop solutions together with clients and partners that provide a path towards their own transformation, with tools that accompany their growth in a personalized way.
Do you want to know how SMEs, organizations and startups adapted to the digital transformation together with InterFuerza? Follow our new testimonial series on the Hub InterFuerza throughout November: