The age of digital transformation and digital disruption is upon the personal and business world. In recent years covering digital transformation, I have seen some of the technological changes that have taken place in the business world. How fast or slow is your country/industry changing and evolving in this age of digital transformation and disruption? For Singapore’s (SG) small-medium enterprises (SMEs) are among the lowest in Southeast Asia (SEA) to adopt sustainable business operations, from a research conducted by Epson.
Epson, the global leader in printing and projector technologies, revealed the findings of its report, SME striving for Digital Transformation amidst many hurdles, which states that Singapore small-medium enterprises (SMEs) are among the lowest in Southeast Asia (SEA) to adopt sustainable business operations. This is despite Singapore SMEs having the strongest understanding of the ‘Digital Transformation’ concept amongst organisations in the region.
Ms. Tan May Lin, Director – Sales, Marketing and Customer Service of Epson Sales division, Epson Singapore said, “There is a large misconception among SMEs that adopting new tools and technology is expensive. While the upfront costs might seem daunting, SMEs will see huge savings in the long term due to lower running costs and improved productivity. At the same time, the environmental and operational benefits far outweigh the initial upfront costs.”
Businesses in Singapore as well other countries in SEA have started changing and adapting in this new era of digital transformation and also moving into a low carbon economy, a transition phase at this time. They are starting to take the threat of climate change more seriously, evaluating and improving their products and processes in their business, in response to changes in consumer behaviours, preferences and expectations. Over time, SMEs in SEA has started to be more aware that hardware footprint and innovative products can successfully lower their business impacts on the environment.
SG SMEs have a large hardware footprint
Here are some insights into how SMEs in Singapore are using hardware in their office.
Office Printer
57% of SMEs in Singapore infected that they would prefer an office printer that is environmentally friendly consumes less energy and have a lower impact on health, such as dust particles and heat. Some Singapore SMEs also believe that the use of collaboration tools such as interactive projectors will help optimise the waste of natural resources.
However, the environmental impact is one of the least considered factors influencing purchase decisions when it comes to printer choice, with lower running costs (77 per cent) and reliability (74 per cent) taking precedence. In addition, compared to SMEs in SEA, Singapore has the lowest number of SMEs (47 per cent) using inkjet printers.
Interactive Projectors
SMEs in Singapore haven’t exactly caught up on this particular technology bandwagon yet, they are still at the early adoption stage, despite citing the ability to interact with documents (78%) and the ability to collaborate (74%) as top drivers for projector choice. 68% of SMEs in Singapore still own standard table or mounted projectors.
Robotics
87% of SMEs in Singapore have considered using robotics solutions for their businesses, robotics are known for their speed, productivity and scalability benefits. 1 in 4 Singapore SMEs said they do not have plans for automation in the near future.
71% of Singapore SMEs believe that digital transformation will bring about significant improvements to their business performance and customer experience. For all the SMEs out there in Singapore, who are looking at the digital transformation for your business. Do check out this report, SME striving for Digital Transformation amidst many hurdles.
The pace of disruption and changes have been quite fast and furious in the last decade in my humble personal opinion, thanks to internet, technology, social media and digital innovation. More changes could be coming soon, partly thanks to COVID-19 situation that the world is currently facing, forcing and changing companies internal working style, communications, teamwork as well as with partners, suppliers and associates.
Watch the digital transformation sector in today’s digital economy, more changes are coming in the years ahead. Digital transformation is not just a must-have, it is currently ongoing among the businesses, it’s a must-do in this fast paced changing business and world environment today.
How fast and how much digital transformation has your business embarked in this current digital economy?
* Information courtesy of Epson Singapore and LEWIS Communications *