Many SMBs are turning to digital to help their business become more agile and efficient – and resellers have a vital role in this change as trusted advisors, says Sippora Veen, global head of partner marketing at Sage.
As businesses rapidly adapt to shifting market dynamics, there is a growing demand for technological innovation to meet these changing requirements. The market expects technology to not only keep up but also to drive the adaptation necessary for businesses to stay competitive. This push for innovation is not just about creating new products or services, it’s also about adopting new technologies and processes that enable businesses to be more strategic, proactive and adaptable to market changes. For SMBs, this means leveraging digital tools and solutions to enhance their operations, customer engagement and competitive edge.
For expanding SMBs, channel companies – including value-added resellers, managed service providers and independent software vendors – play a crucial role in helping them fully embrace digital agility. By adopting advisory roles, understanding the specific needs of their customers’ industries, and focusing on enabling SMBs to swiftly identify, adapt to and leverage digital innovations and market shifts, these companies can unlock significant growth opportunities.
Embracing digital agility
Digital agility for SMBs is about swiftly adapting to new technologies and rapidly changing market conditions. This involves being responsive to shifts in customer preferences, emerging industry trends and competitive pressures. It means staying ahead of regulatory updates, economic fluctuations and technological advancements, allowing businesses to pivot strategies, optimise operations and seize new opportunities as they arise. Unlike a comprehensive digital transformation, digital agility focuses on continuous, incremental adjustments that keep businesses competitive and efficient in an ever-evolving landscape. By embracing this approach, SMBs can enhance their operations, improve customer engagement and maintain a strategic edge in the market.
SMBs are increasingly recognising the transformative power of digital agility and are adopting it enthusiastically. Sage’s global report, SMBs Demand for Digital Advisory Services Fuels IT Channel Growth, underscores this trend, revealing that 90% of channel leaders are confident in SMBs’ ability to achieve digital agility within the next year. This confidence highlights significant growth opportunities for channel partners and reinforces an ecosystem that strengthens SMBs’ digital capabilities and competitiveness. This synergy highlights that SMBs not only understand the necessity of digital agility but are integrating it to foster innovation and drive growth. Channel partners play an essential role in this journey, providing the expertise and support required to navigate the complexities of technological and economic changes. By prioritising continuous improvement and strategic adaptation, SMBs and their channel partners can thrive together in a dynamic business environment, ensuring sustained success and resilience.
Many forms
In practice, how digital agility plays out and the ways channel companies can assist take many forms. Take the example of a small manufacturing company that traditionally relies on manual processes for its accounting and inventory management. If facing increasing demand and the need for efficient operations, the company will need to adopt an integrated financial management solution that automates its entire financial process, from invoicing and payroll to inventory management and budgeting. This new system allows them to instantly access financial data across different departments, streamlining processes and enabling quick decision-making. For instance, the system could automatically update inventory levels as products are sold, provide real-time financial insights to manage cash flow better and generate accurate financial reports quickly. This implementation showcases digital agility by adopting advanced technology to improve efficiency and adapt to growing business needs, ensuring they can respond faster to market changes and opportunities.
Supporting SMBs
Channel companies can support SMBs in several ways to ensure successful implementation and utilisation of the new system. It could help the SMB evaluate various financial management solutions then advise which solution to deploy to best fit their needs. They can ensure that the chosen solutions integrate smoothly with other existing systems and manage the data migration and system configuration for the SMB. Longer-term, channel companies can ensure customer success by offering continued training on how to maximise the solutions effectively. They can also continue to optimise the solution’s performance to take on increased demand and more complex financial scenarios as their customer grows and their needs evolve. This might involve adding new features, increasing system capacities or integrating additional tools for enhanced functionality.
Industry focus is key to levelling up from provider to advisor
For channel companies, this scenario gives them an opportunity to elevate their services beyond technical support to trusted advisors that helps their customers drive growth and innovation. However, it’s crucial that they are industry-focused and fully understand their customers’ sectors to maximise the value of their consultancy. Each business sector comes with its own set of challenges and different technologies may be more effective in certain sectors than others. Understanding these nuances can help channel companies tailor their services and solutions more effectively, which can lead to more successful technology implementation and higher customer satisfaction.
Supporting channel companies’ transition to trusted advisor
SMBs are quickly embracing digital agility, and they are looking for advice from channel companies to help them fully take advantage of this, which in turn unlocks new growth opportunities for the providers who can become their trusted advisors. Fortunately, they don’t have to go it alone. A network of channel partners that fosters a collaborative ecosystem and encourages sharing innovative solutions, best practices, insights and strategies enables channel companies to look at customer challenges from a holistic perspective and collaborate to develop the most effective solutions. By leveraging the collective expertise and capabilities within the ecosystem, channel companies can address more complex and varied business needs, driving significant value for SMBs.
