A recent survey by Tech Target showed 65% of SMB owners believe that “tech disruption” will be a large portion of their IT spending.
- Disruptive technology is one that replaces an existing technology with a new one and shakes up the industry.
- It is not simply looking at what other companies are doing and improving it; a disruptive technology requires forward looking to know what to build before others build it.
If 65% of SMB owners believe a large portion of their IT spending will be devoted to tech disruption, do SMB companies have the CIO or CTO to lead the charge? One recent survey would say no.
In 2018 only 18% of SMB owners surveyed said their company is achieving their vision. This is down from 23% in 2016. Both numbers are awful if you look at the dollars being spent to only achieve your goal less then 25% of the time.
So why are companies so eager to spend money on disruptive technology or increasing their technological footprint if they do not even know where to properly place their investment?
The simple answer is because they have to in order to stay relevant and viable. As we near the twenty twenties, technology is what will set apart one company from the other.
Forward looking business owners can move their company to accept and then embrace the right technology with a smart plan. However, if you are like many firms and do not have the experienced technical executive guiding the tech decisions or an experienced advisor providing the one to five-year plan, it is never too late to start no matter where you are in your technology curve.
This advisor (internal or external) can take the existing plan and move the company methodically to what the B2C or B2B customer is needing.
Despite owners only seeing an 18% success rate in their investment, 53% of owners believe that emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), AI, and drones will drive business opportunities for their company. Thirty percent have said they have already incorporated some of these emerging technologies in one way or another.
With 30% already looking to emerging technology, is your company benefiting from early adoption or are you the 70% playing catch up and thus spending more dollars faster to get the quick return on investment while trying not to lose your customers to the 30% more advanced visionary companies?
Thirty-nine percent of the businesses that have already adopted new technology said they did so to differentiate themselves from their competition.
One area that is still relatively untapped by the SMB companies is marketing automation. Currently only 13% of small businesses have it in place. This numbers will go up to nearly 30% by the end of next year.
Automating marketing can boost your businesses sales, improve productivity of your sales department, differentiate you from your competition, and meet the customer demands as we go toward the twenty twenties.
When trying to decide where to invest long term improvements and innovation, the following are great areas to research:
- Audio and Visual Search
- IoT
- Everything as a Service
- Cloud Computing
- Machine Learning / AI
- Cyber Security.
These areas all have a purpose for both B2B and B2C companies. They also all have the potential for being large projects and equally important.
Who leads the effort is critical to having your company be successful in achieving the vision and purpose for your plan.
With the success rate being so low (18% for SMB), it is critical to know your strategy.
Don’t waste two precious commodities – time and money.
Have an executive who knows the unknown work with you to create your long-term strategy, develop a plan that improves production, boost sales and increases your customer segment. An investment in the right executive will more than pay for itself with the increased ROI on your investment in the right technology.
Remember – Smart Planning Provides Better Results than just Investing Large Dollars to a Project.