Airtel has announced its partnership with National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) to accelerate the digital transformation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India. It is an initiative by the Government of India, in partnership with Airtel, to help MSMEs in their digital transformation journey. It is the right time to invest in digital tools to stay relevant and enhance your processes, productivity and ROI.

Here are few reasons why MSMEs should embark on their digital transformation journey right away.

Current Challenges Faced by MSMEs

• The pandemic has forced upon us the new normal where customers need contactless customer experience which feels convenient and personalized.
• Due to a competitive digital market, brick and mortar stores are turning out to be a liability
• The work-from-home and social distancing trend has made it challenging to find resources that can work at a physical branch or office.

MSMEs need to evaluate their current business strategy and make room for digital transformation to curb those challenges. As with every business, MSMEs differ in size, industry and level of experience. No matter what the differences are, going digital is proven to be a key advantage. Digitalization can help MSMEs reduce costs, standardize and automate business processes and reduce the reliance on manpower. Moreover, going digital will enhance MSMEs competitiveness and their ability to understand consumer behaviour.

Enabling the Digital Transformation in MSMEs

The Government of India plays a major role in helping MSMEs in their digital transformation journey by introducing and granting nation-wide schemes to incentive and ease the MSMEs’ digitalization process. MSMEs are the backbone of the nation’s economy and it helps in economic growth, job creation and productivity, innovation and consumerism. IT Service Providers help MSMEs to design and implement digital strategies faster. They also help with training incumbent resources and creating skill-sets for new and innovative technologies that helps in creating a future-ready talent pool. It enables MSMEs to transform and compete on a larger scale and reach global markets by creating a larger digital footprint.

Digital Transformation Benefits

• Accurate Decision making – Business Intelligence tools can help MSMEs to make well-informed decisions in the areas of marketing, production & sales by understanding customer behaviour, purchase decisions, and current trends
• Enhanced Customer Experience – Omni-channel customer experience tailor-made to serve them individually using data with the help of artificial intelligence, machine learning and chat-bots. This helps in enhancing customer delight and retention.
• Cost Reduction – Predictive business analytics and machine learning helps in the identification of defects in the production line which further helps to reduce the cost
• Enhanced efficiency – Identification and automation of redundant business processes reduces human intervention and eliminates the chance of human error resulting in higher productivity and efficiency
• Increased Profitability – Due to technology being scalable, MSMEs can reduce their total cost of ownership, and expect increased revenue from digitally optimized processes.

Way Forward

MSMEs need to rethink and redesign their business with a focus on leveraging digital platforms and tools such as social media, web apps, data analytics, and cloud computing. The digital transformation must be integrated into all areas of the business in order to deliver value to customers and to ensure business continuity.

It is a continuous process as technologies keep evolving. MSMEs need to change their strategies, be dynamic and adapt to these changing landscape in order to stay afloat. As the main driver of regional economic growth and innovations, the digital transformation in MSMEs’ will help to build an inclusive and sustainable economy for the future.

At Clover Infotech, we help you to take your first step towards your digital transformation journey. By understanding your ICT landscape, the digital experts at Clover Infotech will help you design a customized solution based on your business objectives. Our focused approach to your digital needs will help you to optimize costs, enhance your process efficiency, improve your ROI, and help you become a digital-ready enterprise.