As expected, the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digitalization process in the business environment. If big companies have already had certain plans in this direction, small and medium-sized enterprises may encounter a series of difficulties that are likely to complicate the process.

In this context, the Romanian IT company EXE Software talks about a series of obstacles that companies may encounter when moving from offline to online, as well as how they can approach each situation.

1. The cost of investing in digitalization

The good news for many businesses is that you can use Cloud platforms, such as those offered by Amazon, Microsoft or Google, or you can turn to local hosting providers, which eliminates large initial investments in hardware and software licensing. This leads to more affordable monthly costs, while also ensuring a high level of data security. Besides that, there is an online marketplace offering e-commerce, ERP, CRM, SFA and other enterprise solutions that are accessible in exchange for a monthly subscription.

For those organizations whose business model does not match any of these online platforms, the best option is to choose a custom-made solution. The costs can be covered mostly by non-reimbursable funds or long-term loans. In this case, the initial investments are the cost of professional equipment for communications and security, which would be installed on-premises. However, these costs are decent, so it should not be an impediment, compared to the resulting benefits.

2. Choosing the most suitable technologies

When choosing the Could solution for your company, an important thing to consider is the supplier’s availability to guide in identifying the best hardware and software configuration, as well as their ability to offer technical assistance and support after implementation. Therefore, partners with a local presence are preferable. Regarding local hosting solutions, pay close attention to data security and communications, as well as scalability possibilities in terms of resources provided.

First and foremost, software solutions must answer business needs, without ignoring user-friendliness, because that is what makes users comfortable. If a company decides to use more than one tool from different providers, they must make sure they have safe integration options, which can ensure 100% automated data transfer. To this end, Cloud solutions are the best choice, because they have a simple and modern design, are scalable, offer the possibility of working both online and offline, can be configured according to business needs and have integrated data analysis and forecasting features.

3. Implementing new technologies and integrating them with the existing business processes

The first step for a successful transition is mapping, analyzing and revising the existing business processes because sometimes, some of these prove to be quite costly given the great number of resources used and the results they deliver. The next step is identifying the most suitable software solutions, ones that can bring new opportunities because digitalization means more than just technology, but also the modernization of business itself. At this point, for flawless implementation and data migration, it is recommended to collaborate with an external consultant, which will save you money and also time.

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