Business recovery strategies must include innovative digital technologies and business models for them to become more resilient as the country transits into the endemic phase.
Building business resilience with Maxis Business partnership
OVER the past two years, digital transformation has been seen as a path to business resilience and longevity, answering questions about what businesses can do to continue their operations despite lockdowns and movement control orders.
While businesses were already making the slow but sure digital transition prior to Covid-19, the new normal requires businesses to incorporate resilience into their digital transformation strategy.
A survey done by McKinsey & Company last year showed that businesses have “vaulted five years forward in consumer and business digital adoption in a matter of around eight weeks.”
What has become clear is that as the virtual world becomes the primary channel for engaging with customers, a resilient business is a digital business – especially for small businesses looking to recover and to boost their sales.
As all businesses are different, it’s crucial to have a network solution that's tailored to individual needs, beginning with a strong network foundation. To do so would mean engaging a technology solution provider like Maxis Business to create digital strategies that’s tailored to specific needs.
Maxis Business SME segment head Kevin Lee shares his insights into the rapid digitalisation of businesses and SMEs and shifts in consumer behaviour.
“Through active development of partnerships, we’ve been able to develop more digital solutions that accelerate the benefits of technology adoption for businesses”, says Lee.
How has consumer behaviour changed in the last two years?
We have seen the rise of remote or hybrid working arrangements and the proliferation of the gig economy.
People are also consuming entertainment at home and online, which is evident in the demand for high-speed connectivity due to streaming, gaming, and on-demand content.
Another trend in the retail industry is the surge in ecommerce as consumers are drawn to the convenience of online services, with an increase in preference for trusted brands. Consumers have shifted their buying behaviour towards online – from product enquiry, research to buying decision.
Digital channels will continue to be consumer’s expectations moving into the new normal, and all retail businesses must step up their omni-channel readiness, to cater to this hybrid consumer purchasing behaviour.
What about smaller businesses that may not have the means or knowledge to digitalise their business?
Having worked with SMEs for years, we understand the reservations they have towards digitalisation, because it seems intimidating or complex.
One of the common questions is how do they get funding to make the necessary investments. There’s the perception that digitalisation requires a substantial amount of spending.
There is also a misconception on the lack of incentives among some SMEs as they aren’t aware of the support that they can have, like the SME Digitalisation Grant.
SMEs also feel that they lack the ability to hire people with the right capabilities to embark on digital transformation.
Many are also concerned about managing digital security and privacy risks, mainly due to a lack of awareness, resources, and expertise to assess and manage risk effectively in compliance with data-protection regulations.
It’s important for SMEs to actively seek collaboration and innovative people-private-public partnerships that can propel their digital transformation to the next level.
Even without Covid-19 accelerating digital adoption, is going digital a worthwhile investment for SMEs?
There has never been a more critical time to digitalise and companies must rethink their digital strategies if they want to survive, build resilience, and thrive.
Digital adoption is a journey, not a destination, and all businesses need to start somewhere.
We have helped many of our own SME customers reap the benefits of digitalisation, from manufacturers, F&B shops, apparel retailers, companies that sell juicers, to pet stores.
Some of our customers have gone on to win regional ecommerce awards as a result of their efforts in digital adoption. For example, we helped a family-owned pet shop managed by a mum-and-son duo in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. They saw the potential of increased online sales, and while they lacked the knowledge and experience in digitalisation, they sought the help of our SME Help Squad which assisted them in applying for MDEC’s SME Digitalisation Grant with which they were able to take up the Digital Marketing Starter Kit solution. This solution enabled them to optimise their ads across platforms such as Google and Facebook, reaching customers online more effectively and boosting revenue at the same time.
What is Maxis Business’ role in helping SMEs go digital and in staying digital?
In 2020, Maxis Business was identified as a technology solutions provider for the SME Digitalisation Grant. With this role, we enable SMEs who apply for the grant through us to choose from the widest range of connectivity and digital solutions to accelerate their digital aspirations, including digital marketing, electronic point-of-sale, remote working and ecommerce solutions.
SMEs will benefit from this single touchpoint as we help them manage the entire application process end-to-end, with a complete digital onboarding experience. To-date, we have helped more than 20,000 SMEs digitalise via the grant.
We provide value and act as a catalyst by increasing awareness – helping businesses to understand the benefits of technology and the value of collaboration through our many initiatives, like our SPARK series and UsahaWIRA programmes.
For businesses already looking to invest in digital solutions, what key things should they be looking for in a digital solutions partner?
It is critical that SMEs look for the right digitalisation partner who doesn't just sell solutions, but will also help them leverage insights and data that will empower their business decisions.
A one-stop provider that can offer converged solutions bundled with reliable and seamless connectivity and fully managed services with high SLA (service level agreement) makes it easy and convenient for SMEs to cater to all their business needs.
Essentially, the aim is to simply guide them every step of the way, ensuring that their transformation is frictionless and worry-free.
Importantly, our wide range of digital solutions are supported by our spectrum of market-leading enterprise connectivity propositions, be it 4G, 5G, satellite or fibre, on the most extensive converged network in the country.
As a key fixed infrastructure player, Maxis Business also builds fibre networks for enterprises and offers a wide range of business fibre connectivity solutions for a converged experience. Through
our fibre network and capabilities, we’re able to open up more possibilities for these digital solutions.
Meanwhile, our next-generation Maxis Programmable Network is the first programmable software-defined network that caters to all enterprises for their fixed voice and data requirements.
Our customers can benefit from us as a one-stop provider for their full spectrum of digital and connectivity needs, so that they can stay connected in every possible way.
To find out more how Maxis Business can help you embark on a digital journey: https://www.maxis.my/1PRX
