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// EDITOR ’ S QUESTION ?
AHMED AL-FAIFI , SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND MANAGING DIRECTOR , SAP MIDDLE EAST NORTH
A cross the Middle East , the current economic climate has presented a variety of challenges for SMEs . According to the recent Oxford Economics survey Digital , Resilient , and Experience- Driven , SMEs have a major opportunity to transform operations based on new technologies and human experiences .
Four recommendations for success are :
• Customer experience matters most . SMEs should put the customer experience at the centre of processes and organisational structures
• Employee experience is also critical . SMEs can boost employee performance and talent retention with meaningful work experiences
• But data to support decision-making is weak . CIOs need to bridge process and technology gaps in data collection and analysis to improve their business outcomes
• Digital Transformation is a priority . SMEs that advance Digital Transformation can better adapt to change with more flexibility
Although we tend to think of Digital Transformation in the context of large enterprises , SMEs are operating in a complex business environment . As a trusted partner in Digital Transformation , SAP and our channel partners are providing small and midsize enterprises with the same level of tools and solutions as for a large enterprise .
In their Digital Transformation journeys , SMEs should align with channel partners and technology vendors that have the knowledge and experience in developing Digital Transformation roadmaps , identifying the right solutions to meet business needs , evaluating KPIs and supporting skills development .
Since the coronavirus pandemic , organisations of all sizes – including SMEs – have been reevaluating their business strategies . According to a separate Oxford Economics survey , Beyond the Crisis :
• A total of 32 % of organisations are investing in new technologies to analyse data
• Top three technologies seeing investment are Artificial Intelligence ( 34 %), Internet of Things ( 33 %) and analytics ( 27 %)
• A total of 34 % are retraining employees to work with data
• A total of 25 % are extending data governance policies across the business ecosystem
• Technology investments are contributing to organisational success , including improving citizen and customer experiences ( 48 %), employee experiences ( 47 %) and employee productivity ( 46 %)
In the Middle East , we ’ re seeing a major move for SMEs to run on the cloud , supported by SAP being the first multi-national enterprise applications provider going live on cloud data centres in the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ( KSA ).
At SAP , we continue to evolve our Channel Partner Program to meet market needs , especially on educating our channel partners about migrating customers to the cloud . In our experience , Middle East SMEs that digitally transform on the cloud can become intelligent enterprises that can emerge stronger , more agile , resilient and competitive post-pandemic . �
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IN THE MIDDLE EAST , WE ’ RE SEEING A MAJOR MOVE FOR SMES TO RUN ON THE CLOUD .
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