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Intelligent SME. tech is a Lynchpin Media publication for professionals with an interest in global SME news and events. If you wish to subscribe for regular copies, then please email: info @ lynchpinmedia. com
EDITOR’ S NOTE
ELLO AND A warm welcome to the 57th
H edition of Intelligent SME. tech. On this month’ s front cover, we feature Dave Moyes, Partner, Information and Digital Systems at SimpsonHaugh Architects, a UK-based architectural firm. The company is making a £ 1.21 million investment over several years to digitally transform by introducing VDI and AI technology to underpin the future development and operations of the business. It chose the ControlUp DEX platform to monitor and optimise its VDI environment in real-time, which avoids downtime worth £ 1.79 million and saves £ 35,000 in staff costs.
Moyes said:“ Ten years ago, we might have created 500 drawings for a project. Today, it’ s at least double. Projects are increasingly complex and time scales are tight. The pressure to be quick and agile while creating quality design proposals which optimise a client’ s brief is therefore considerable. It is no exaggeration to say that ICT to support this is indispensable.” Turn to page 44 to read more.
In this month’ s Editor’ s Question, I ask how are current economic conditions – such as rising interest rates and tighter lending standards – reshaping access to funding for SMEs, and what innovative financing models are emerging to bridge the gap? Four experts took the time to give their views, starting on page 20.
Donald Trump’ s tariffs are changing the way global trade operates. Countries are all feeling varying effects from the charges, including the Middle East and North Africa region, and none more so than the small and medium enterprises( SMEs) in this region. Rana Abu Nemeh, Economist and Global Strategist, explores how the tariffs are affecting the MENA region and how SMEs are fighting back. Turn to page 14.
Data sovereignty is a hot topic at the moment. With the geopolitical tensions companies are facing currently, it begs the question of where is it safe to keep your data? Rupert Bedell, Managing Director at Fasthosts, discusses how having UK-based infrastructure enables businesses to stay compliant, protected and in control of their data, rather than hosting sensitive business and customer information overseas. Turn to page 41.
We also have a round-up of all the latest SME news from across our regions, while our intelligent brands section looks at what’ s new in sales and marketing, finance, HR and customer experience.
I hope you enjoy the magazine and if you’ d like to contribute to any future issues, please contact me by emailing rebecca @ lynchpinmedia. com
Rebecca Miles Managing Editor
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