Defying Gravity - SMEs go Global

The small to midsized enterprises (SMES) sector is one of the fastest growing business sectors; that represents new opportunities for innovation and growth. Despite the often high level of competition that exists in this space, SMEs remain optimistic. The recent episode of Coffee Break with Game-changers hosted by Bonnie D. Graham, focused on the current SME space. It discussed the momentum this sector has been experiencing, and the importance for innovative and growing companies to continue growing - lest they be overcome by their competitors.

According to Aviva Freudmann, Research Director for the Economist Intelligence Unit, despite economic challenges facing the space, research demonstrates that businesses are optimistic about their prospects, focusing on growing sales revenue. “Starting and running a small business is like riding a bicycle. You either move forward or you fall down” stated Freudmann.

However, such views are not replete with baseless optimism; indeed SMEs have many reasons to have a positive outlook on their future prospects. According to Vision33 TOTAL CARE Manager, Carl Lewis, SMEs have several advantages over large enterprises. Decision making for one is much quicker; adopting things such as automation, workflow and mobility into the mix is possible at a much lower price point than the competition. Even without dedicated IT resources or an IT department, SMEs are able to leverage the benefits of technology to support their growth through new deployment models for ERP solutions. This infrastructure enables SMEs to deploy quickly and support operations on a global scale, maximizing their investments in IT.

Furthering the point, Kevin Gilroy Senior Vice President of Global Channel Operations SAP stated that, “SMEs have to change their mindset regarding IT in order to excel, understanding that IT is their friend, not their foe.” Vision33 supports a number of attractive and cost-effective SAP on premise ERP solutions, such as SAP Business One; cloud systems like SAP Business ByDesign; and hybrid solutions including SAP Business One onDemand. These solutions take into consideration the requirement of SMEs to be capital efficient by providing the flexibility to keep variable costs low and allowing the company to scale rapidly.

Listen to the full recording of SAP Business One - Defying Gravity: SMEs Go Global to get more insight on trends facing SMEs and to find out how you can support your business growth and keep up your business' momentum.