Technophobia threatening the future of SMEs

Experts from TelephoneSystems.Cloud have warned that the future of many SMEs is at risk after the pandemic accelerated technological change across the wider business sector.

They warn that thousands of small and medium sized UK businesses are struggling to adapt to these changes with many finding their businesses are struggling as a result.

Now the experts are encouraging SMEs to come to terms with their technophobia and to adopt new innovations such as cloud and VOIP technologies.

Those failing to evolve with the digital landscape are losing out on valuable business because of their fear of change and reliance on outdated systems.

Communications experts say that fear of new technology is still deeply rooted in many leaders who are deterred by a lack of in-house tech knowledge and resistance to intimidating change.

Juliet Moran, from TelephoneSystems.Cloud said: “Technology may seem scary, but decisions should never be based on what leaders are comfortable with.

“Rather, the decision to change should be based on what will most benefit a company, aka the effectiveness of a system for operations, efficiency, and profitability.

“The business owners that have seen earlier technological opportunities have had the advantage of accessible and streamlined systems and are now taking huge strides in the post covid climate.

“It can be used for many benefits, including expanding customer base, improving internal and external services, minimising admin, optimising markets, and streamlining communication threads.

“There was once a time when people only shopped on the high street and watched films on video cassettes, but with time these industries have transformed, and the companies that didn’t adapt and embrace the change were left behind.

“This will be the case for SMEs failing to keep up because new technology has been proven to revolutionise business operations.

“Being on the wrong side of the digital divide will only continue to have negative implications for businesses as success continues to balance on their ability to modernise.”

The business world drastically changed during the pandemic and traditional working methods were questioned more than ever when lockdowns left millions without sufficient technology or software to work away from the office.

Recent research has revealed that 48% of SME leaders in the UK still lack a tech investment strategy. Meanwhile, over 50% of small and medium-sized enterprises have accelerated their digital transformation since the pandemic, and those failing to adapt are now falling behind.

The success of markets like cloud computing since the pandemic has demonstrated that technology can be used within businesses to reduce costs while improving overall efficiency and productivity.

The cloud market is estimated to have reached almost 400 billion pounds worldwide in 2022 as more businesses realised these technologies make work easier and more cost-effective, not harder, and more expensive.

In spite of this, there are still myths within traditional workplaces that concepts like “cloud computing” is too complex, and they’d rather stick to what they know best. Fear of change and a lack of technical knowledge is now incredibly destructive for a business.

Without innovating with technology, UK businesses will fall behind. Finding technology partners that can help assist with the continual change can be really helpful for the SME business.

It is important to understand that today, nothing is static with technology and businesses need to embrace the idea of continual change and innovation, overcome the fear and build it into their way of working.

Written on 2023-03-28 by Juliet Moran