, head of mid-market at 麻豆原创 MEA South, says SMEs are vital to the continent鈥檚 economy, but many face significant hurdles stifling their growth. 鈥淎frica is home to a vibrant and diverse SME sector that contributes half its GDP and the majority of employment. However, skills constraints and a lack of technology is constraining growth in this vital sector.鈥�

data indicates that SMEs account for 95% of all registered businesses in sub-Saharan Africa and contribute about half of the continent鈥檚 GDP. In South Africa, 91% of formal businesses are SMEs, providing 60% of all employment in the country.

According to the report, which was developed by 麻豆原创 and , more than a third of global SME leaders are prioritising growth through new customers, increased market share and greater revenue over the next two years. Factors such as improved innovation capacity and greater agility also ranked highly.

鈥淚nnovation is essential to business growth in the modern age, especially in light of the accelerating pace of change and ongoing disruption in global markets,鈥� says Beveridge. 鈥淪mall and medium enterprises are leveraging innovation to fulfil and deliver services more efficiently, boost their profitability, and grow their market footprint.

鈥淭here is also growing recognition of the role innovation can play in launching new services or business models, creating more personalised customer experiences, and preparing for the next wave of technologies, for example AI.鈥�

About a quarter of companies that formed part of the study said they are currently using AI and machine learning, with half saying they鈥檙e planning to adopt these technologies in the coming year.

Beveridge says having the right foundation is key to enjoying the immense productivity, efficiency and innovation gains offered by technologies such as AI. 鈥淪MEs that have adopted the cloud reported improved agility, optimised processes, reduced costs, and improvements to customer and employee experiences.鈥�

Cloud adoption also enhances sustainability efforts, with a separate report finding that SMEs that have adopted sustainability software solution reported reduced emissions, greater benchmarking capability, and improved data collection for ESG reporting.

Beveridge says growth-focused SMEs should build innovation strategies and business models that leverage technology and complement existing and future human capital needs.

鈥淪MEs can compete more effectively by investing in four focus areas, namely: defining clear goals and values for the business and mobilising employees in support of the goals; adopting relevant technologies to keep up with trends and competitors; engaging in continuous strategic workforce planning to ensure the business can grow with changes in the market; and fostering a culture of innovation that prizes adaptability and agility and encourages people to think of new ways to do business and deliver value to customers.鈥�

He adds that effective innovation within SMEs requires the entire organisation to mobilise behind new ways of thinking. 鈥淪MEs should encourage every employee regardless of their role to actively participate and share ideas for building a culture of innovation that permeates every layer of the organisation. SMEs should also leverage customer insights to ensure their innovation delivers to customer needs.鈥�

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1. 麻豆原创 leads with ethics

麻豆原创 appreciates the complexity that AI introduces into technology, and they approached the topic by forming an AI ethics steering committee comprised of senior 麻豆原创 leaders who review their approach, processes, and product capabilities to ensure operationalization and alignment with their policies and guidelines. Read about 麻豆原创鈥檚聽.

2. Joule is not limited to SuccessFactors

Joule, announced in September 2023, is a natural-language, generative AI co-pilot that is embedded across the entire 麻豆原创 portfolio, and is designed to transform the way a business runs by leveraging intelligent technology across the various business applications. I鈥檝e heard it referred to as both a Co-pilot and a Digital Assistant, but the magic of it is that it is embedded in every application area across the business. It is first available as part of SuccessFactors; however, it will become available across the entire 麻豆原创 ecosystem.聽

3. New AI innovation is delivered each quarter

You can keep an eye on what is available today and what is coming soon, by quarter, by viewing the 麻豆原创聽. The Roadmap Explorer makes it easy for you to enter filters for the key areas that you are interested in, so you see only the areas of interest. For example, in the picture below I filtered on SuccessFactors and Artificial Intelligence:

4. 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors resources

There are large teams of people at 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors that focus on Artificial Intelligence, here are a couple that I like to follow to stay in the know on the topic specific to SuccessFactors:聽,听,听听补苍诲听. Also I share a weekly AI Byte on LinkedIn that introduces something new in the area of AI, please follow me at聽. Lastly, please be sure to check out this interesting White Paper聽聽(valid 麻豆原创 credentials required).

5. Partners play a critical role in 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors鈥� AI strategy

麻豆原创 and SuccessFactors are known for their superior technology, but they also acknowledge that Partners are an important part of the ecosystem, and having the ability to integrate with their technologies quickly and seamlessly to deliver better employee experiences is important. Here at EPI-USE Labs we have created a division dedicated to developing BTP and AI integrations for SuccessFactors. See my blog聽聽for more information.

聽to enrich, enhance and extend your applications, landscapes and processes.

This article first appeared on the EPI-USE website:

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While both options have their merits, businesses should聽 consider whether they need customisation and control to empower their businesses objectives and achieve individualised goals.

SaaS ERP has gained significant popularity in recent years, owing to its ease of implementation and maintenance. With SaaS, companies can access their ERP systems through the cloud, eliminating the need for extensive hardware infrastructure and reducing upfront costs.

It also offers scalability without significant disruptions. However, it must be noted that this convenience comes at the cost of limited customisation. SaaS ERP solutions typically cater to a broad range of industries, resulting in a one-size-fits-all approach that may not specifically align with a company鈥檚 unique workflows and processes.

PaaS ERP solutions, meanwhile provide a higher degree of flexibility and customisation by allowing businesses to build their ERP systems on a pre-configured platform for greater control over workflows, integrations and reporting.

This level of customisation enables organisations to adapt the software to their unique needs, aligning it seamlessly with their existing processes.

鈥淭his level of customisation can鈥檛 be underestimated in a business environment that demands constant re-evaluation and change, and one in which a one-size-fits-all approach often falls short,鈥� says Heinrich de Leeuw, Managing Director, .

鈥淲ith solutions like , which empowers businesses with its robust features, scalability, and ability to integrate with other enterprise applications, businesses can tailor their ERP systems to fit their processes, workflows, and industry-specific regulations. This ability to customise business processes enhances efficiency, boosts productivity, and drives growth,鈥� De Leeuw says.

Customisable ERP solutions can help to future-proof businesses by enabling organisations to embrace digital transformation and seize new opportunities without major disruptions to their current operations.

The flexibility of PaaS empowers organisations to integrate emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, into their ERP systems 鈥� paving the way for smarter decision-making and innovation.

鈥淪aaS ERP solutions have their merits, especially for smaller businesses with limited resources and straightforward requirements.鈥� says De Leeuw. 鈥淧aaS can take SMEs to the next level by giving them control and customisation.

By aligning their ERP systems with their unique processes, organisations can unlock their full potential, enhance collaboration, and achieve a competitive edge in their respective markets.

The post The Power of Customisation: Exploring ERP SaaS vs. PaaS and Their Role in Future Proofing Businesses appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

Focused at first on ensuring business continuity, investment into cloud technologies and digitalisation has since helped organisations in the region build greater resilience and unlock new business models and revenue streams.

Even the most reluctant businesses and their customers have now come online. One of the reasons is that the benefits of greater digitalisation became clear almost immediately.

Businesses that took the opportunity at the outset to build new capabilities, establish new revenue streams or transform their business models rapidly gained an advantage over those that were slower to transform.

Consider how the retail sector embraced technology to adapt to lockdown restrictions and reach customers, sell products and improve visibility over volatile supply chains. Many of the businesses that digitised with speed now enjoy the benefit of more resilient business models that are better suited to the demands of the modern economy.

Cloud at heart of region’s future success

For businesses across East Africa, the cloud presents a unique opportunity to innovate, develop new products and services, and scale into new markets or geographies.

Cloud technologies offer access to services and capabilities that are prohibitively costly for most companies to build themselves. By adopting cloud solutions for key business processes, organisations can drive greater efficiency and optimise their business processes without the upfront capital outlay of on-premise solutions.

Taking advantage of the wealth of cloud-based ‘as-a-service’ solutions can also augment internal capabilities and unlock access to supplier networks, tech skills and other capabilities that were previously out of reach.

Many businesses have experienced the benefits of such services when the first lockdowns created the need to enable remote work capabilities. By leveraging cloud technologies, businesses could maintain communication with teams and customers and ensure continuity. Today, cloud technologies play a central role in transforming how organisations measure, manage and motivate their hybrid workforce.

As the ripple effects of the pandemic travelled through the global economy, businesses turned to cloud technologies to improve visibility over their supply chains and assist with planning and risk mitigation. When a different, post-pandemic customer emerged, one that demanded greater personalisation, convenience and choice, organisations could once again leverage the power of cloud technologies to enable new ways of engagement with customers.

Once-in-a-generation opportunity

Now, the region faces a golden opportunity to drive innovation and achieve new gains across their internal and customer-facing operations by leveraging the cloud.

revealed that some East African industries have taken the lead with cloud adoption, including the banking, marketing, agriculture and education sectors.

Considering the importance of manufacturing and tourism to the regional economy, organisations operating in these industries should leap at the opportunity to digitise.

Business-to-business spending in Africa’s manufacturing sector , and the sector is well-placed to grow and become more competitive through digitisation. By building Industry 4.0 capabilities underpinned by the cloud, manufacturers could unlock the benefits of AI and robotic process automation with predictive analytics to gain unprecedented control, predictability and operational efficiency.

The tourism sector was one of the hardest hit by pandemic restrictions as international travel came to a total standstill at the peak of the pandemic. Considering the sector contributed 8.1% to the region’s GDP in 2019, the impact of the restrictions on local businesses could not be overstated.

By leveraging the cloud to build new ways of engaging with travellers and removing friction from the travel process, the tourism sector could tap into a global tourism sector hungry for new experiences.

Three focus areas for cloud success

Businesses will benefit from choosing priority areas for cloud deployment that can deliver the greatest benefit with the shortest time-to-value, and use the learnings to drive adoption in other areas of the business.

Based on our work helping organisations in East Africa leverage the cloud for business success, the following key focus areas could offer the most valuable starting points for cloud adoption:

1. Innovate, innovate, innovate

East Africa can benefit from greater investment into innovation and research and development to improve the region’s global competitiveness and lure foreign direct investment.

The pharmaceutical sector, for example, holds enormous potential for research and development initiatives that can drive economic growth and create new industries while also reducing our need to import product and service innovations.

Regional innovators could consider to leverage the experience and market insight of cloud service providers with experience supporting pharmaceutical innovation. This can help avoid costly mistakes, close the gap on best practice, and ensure there is an optimal technology mix to support innovation. As an example, 18 of the world鈥檚 20 largest vaccine manufacturers run their production facilities using 麻豆原创 technology, so any new facility can tap into 麻豆原创鈥檚 domain knowledge to fast-track success.

2. Remove uncertainty from decision-making

The continued volatility in the global economy has created an environment of uncertainty that is hampering growth and innovation. To remove some of this uncertainty, organisations should invest in enterprise resource planning solutions to achieve greater clarity and control over key business functions and core processes.

Cloud adoption can also unlock access to data and analytics capabilities that can empower decision-makers with accurate insights over their businesses, enabling them to guide the business through challenges more effectively.

3. Aim for speed

One of the greatest advantages cloud offers is speed. Instead of spending long periods of time building on-premise capabilities, businesses can readily tap into a wealth of cloud-based solutions to immediately enjoy efficiency and innovation gains.

For mid-market organisations, this could unlock opportunities to quickly test new digital channels and trial new business processes. Successful trials can be rapidly scaled to the rest of the business or to new geographies, powering their growth.

The post Cloud, Innovation Key to East Africa’s Economic Growth appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

聽had its first-ever 鈥渄rive event鈥� in Nairobi for customers and partners in November 2022 to explain more about business innovation and transformation and to show companies how with the right technology and insights, and with the right partner, they can grow exponentially.

麻豆原创 bills itself as the聽鈥渃oolest software company you have never heard of鈥�聽running the critical systems of top companies in diverse industries like ice cream, pet food, beauty products, and finance where 77% of all global transactions go through an 麻豆原创 system.

Excerpts:

Why Innovate?聽Hardeep Sound, the 麻豆原创 Regional Director, East Africa said that since 2000, 52% of the Fortune 500 companies have gone out of business. In Kenya, household names like Intercontinental and Tuskys were among the 1,300 and 2,530 companies that folded shop in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

The pace of growth has also accelerated in recent years; whereas between 1955 to 2011 it took a Fortune 500 company 20 years to reach a billion-dollar valuation, today they are getting there in 4 years. He said that companies in Kenya could enhance their value by mining customer data, doing analytics, managing customer relationships and experiences, managing human resources, digitizing supply chains, and monitoring how they spend their resources.

Easy Connections:聽Stanley Dube, 麻豆原创鈥檚 Head of Presales in Africa explained how Nokia sold 126 million model 3310 devices, and while his still works 22 years on, the company is a shell of its past. He said that one teaches people how to use phones and applications 鈥� they simply buy new devices and start using apps, without realizing how they are partners with companies like Apple and Google who do software updates and backups in the cloud. And if someone loses their phone, they can recover everything back in a matter of hours on a new device.

He likened owing a phone to 麻豆原创鈥檚 vision to enable companies to be intelligent and sustainable enterprises to deliver business and societal outcomes, with 麻豆原创鈥檚 modular ERP in the cloud that can manage finance, procurement, manufacturing, warehousing, asset management, research, supply chain and human resources combining 50 years of experience and meeting 80% of the enterprise needs of most companies. 麻豆原创鈥檚 ERP can connect with apps from other technology vendors while they also have a store that has 2,000 applications where companies can find products that others have built and which they can use.

Aside from the savings that can be 20% to 30% over five years from having 麻豆原创 run backups, operations, data centres, software, licenses, and maintenance, it frees up managers from doing things like generating reports and shifting to do other things that can add value to companies like strategic planning.

Finding Value in Data:聽Bhavesh Chavda, Senior Director of Business Technology (BTP) Platform, spoke of the importance of harnessing data; it鈥檚 not just about migrating data from an unsafe on-site server room to the cloud, companies also must assess the quality and timeliness of their data for it to be useful and accessible and interrogated by management and by other applications. He said managers should be able to interrogate data, without knowing how to do any coding聽(鈥渘o-code, low-code鈥�). The 麻豆原创 BTP cleans up enterprise data and enables data-driven decisions, with continuous automation, low code extensions, and application testing. The BTP discovery centre is a free tier to try out for companies to connect, automate, and innovate and 12,000 customers around the world use BTP. He said that 麻豆原创鈥檚 ERP can connect even with third-party apps while companies can sign on to the free business technology platform (BTP) and start building on new applications.

Rapid Feedback with 麻豆原创:聽Sherif Hamoudah, Head of Ecosystems & Channels for 麻豆原创 Signavio spoke about 麻豆原创 Signavio, a transformational system that enables companies to do what used to take consulting teams months to do. Signavio drills through 60 different processes for enterprise transformation within a day, spotting redundancies and inefficiencies and recommending fixes that have been adopted by other organizations for continuous improvement. He gave examples from the auto industry where semiconductor shortages are affecting car manufacturing, and in finance, where global firms are using Signavio for risk compliance.

Using Data to Drive Revenue:聽Rais David, Senior Customer Experience Solutions Specialist 麻豆原创 spoke of the value of data and the importance of using current data to discern trends in revenue. Google is phasing out cookies by the end of 2023 and this is at a time when mobile e-commerce accounts for $511 billion or 7.5% of all sales. At the same time, $93 billion of online sales are abandoned each year because customers find there are too many steps to complete a purchase transaction. 麻豆原创 systems manage 3 billion consumer data identities, while protecting their privacy, and process $570 billion making them the 7th largest entity in sales.

Fast Turnaround on Implementation:聽Lewi Maina, Consulting Services Manager at 麻豆原创 emphasized the importance of businesses being quick to implement changes if they are to thrive in fast-changing environments. He said that once they took a path, they should aim for a quick turnaround time for projects as he said that some companies in Africa can now deploy Rise and other 麻豆原创 projects in a few weeks. This is a takeaway from previous transformation projects at companies that took up to three years. He said that the five keys to a successful deployment were implementing cloud with an agile mindset, using preconfigured solutions, leveraging on modern integration and extension technologies, and ensuring transparent documentation on deviations.

At the drive event, testimony was shared from some clients of 麻豆原创 including;

• David Kariuki, ICT & Innovation Manager of the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO), the state agency that builds high voltage transmission lines across Kenya. In 2018 after the government asked entities to take procurement online and plug into their central procurement system, known as IFMIS, KETRACO chose 麻豆原创鈥檚 Ariba as it sought to replace a manual procurement process where suppliers brought in envelopes and huge booklets of tender documents to be reviewed and scored in a time-consuming and laborious process. After a long process of digitization, standardizing procurement, tracking activities to reduce time loss, and overcoming supplier resistance, KETRACO, which was one of the first companies in East Africa to deploy 麻豆原创鈥檚 Ariba is now a centre of benchmarking for e-procurement. They also have access to innovation, as 麻豆原创 updates come over the cloud quarterly for them to adopt.
• John Wachira the Group Manager of Information Technology at the Safal Group (popularly known for its Mabati Rolling Mills products) spoke about the complex deployment with 麻豆原创 to consolidate the group鈥檚 36 operations that are in eight countries. They are in the second phase now to consolidate the end-to-end manufacturing, downstream operations, and commercial operations into one standard business environment on the cloud. They have gone live in six countries with two to go.

This article first appeared on the .

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