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The term small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) denies the significant contribution these organizations make to the economy and labor markets. According to World Economic Forum“Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which make up about 90% of all companies in the world, provide about 70% of all jobs and, by some estimates, contribute 70% of global GDP.” They are also embedded in their communities, providing progressive products and services that play a key role in accelerating economic development.
However, achieving all this while remaining competitive requires small and medium-sized businesses to strike a balance between three key goals. They must speed up their products and services to market, must build customer trust, and at the same time must work to scale back costs. So how do these small but mighty SMEs fare? And – more importantly – how can they make it easier and higher? Answer, upvoted by the latest Accenture reportinvolves implementing services and technologies in the cloud.
Leveraging Cloud Tools to Unlock Billions in Benefits
The report estimates that by 2030, small and medium-sized businesses in the healthcare, education and agriculture industries using the cloud will unlock $161 billion in productivity gains. These cloud-based small and medium-sized businesses will support 95.8 million jobs, representing an average of 8% of total employment in the 12 countries surveyed. Meanwhile, U.S. small and medium-sized businesses in these sectors stand to achieve a projected $79.8 billion, representing a 26% increase in current productivity advantages. In cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are expected to have the biggest impact: 78% of surveyed enterprises ranked these technologies as most vital in driving social impact in 2030.
Many corporations have already moved services and computing to the cloud. About 63% of all corporations in the U.S. (and 44% globally) are now using cloud technology. Most of them are large enterprises with the digital expertise and resources to make this move. This signifies that many small and medium-sized corporations are missing out on the opportunity. First, to attain this delicate balance between three key goals. Second, to build on current achievements and proceed to steer positive change in communities and economies.
By using on-demand services and products, SMBs will have access to tools and approaches that were historically reserved for large enterprises. This means they’ll leverage emerging trends by being first to market (Key Objective One). They may deliver high-quality, secure products and services, protect customer data, and provide reliable customer support to assist build customer trust (Key Objective Two). Finally, through more efficient processes and higher resource allocation and supply chain management, they’ll streamline operations and ensure financial resilience (Key Objective Three).
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Advanced Deployment
The OECD’s definition of cloud adoption levels includes primary adoption, comparable to web-based email services or cloud storage solutions, and intermediate adoption, comparable to customer relationship management or enterprise resource planning tools. The average primary adoption rate in the countries covered by Accenture’s report is 44%, and indirect adoption is 19%. A big proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises are clearly missing, and yet they are still in the implementation phase advanced technologies hold the biggest untapped advantages. The OECD’s third level of cloud adoption includes AI and machine learning tailored to complex tasks. The average adoption rate for advanced cloud is currently 13%, but 78% of respondents to the report identified AI and machine learning as the technologies that may have the most transformative impact on society.
To achieve this vision, this gap must be filled. Given this, what can we expect to see in key sectors by 2030 and what can we expect? In education, SMEs might help make learning more accessible and provide students with personalized content and personalized feedback. In healthcare, they might enable more clinicians to investigate outcomes more accurately and synthesize large amounts of knowledge for research and development: generative AI is expected to play a role in developing as much as 30% of all latest medicines by 2025. In agriculture, we might see greater use of AI and machine learning technologies for data-driven precision farming that uses fewer resources and produces higher results.
Reduce costs, enable scalability and gain expertise
This vision and the prospect of adopting cloud technologies will likely be of great importance to many small and medium-sized corporations that may understandably want to start out small. Fortunately, the nature of the cloud supports this. Instead of investing in latest infrastructure, small and medium-sized corporations can use cloud services and virtual resources in a pay-per-use model. Moving from traditional fixed costs to a variable cost model means organizations only pay for what they use – which might scale up and right down to meet demands – reducing operating costs and freeing up capital. Starting small also means working with a cloud service provider that understands the needs of each SMB it really works with and offers tailored support and training.
Of course, just because we start small does not imply we won’t think big. When it involves migrating to latest cloud technologies, SMBs should adopt a company-wide cloud migration strategy and draw on the knowledge and experience of other organizations that have already migrated. For corporations operating on any market, these advantages will likely be attractive – especially in the context of profits. Finally, achieving this 2030 vision can’t be achieved without the support of other markets and sectors of society. Pursuing this goal and leveraging the required cloud technologies means ongoing coordination between governments, educators and other industries.