Digitization in SMEs: How digital Swiss companies are
The University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland has published the results of a study that examined the status of digital transformation in Swiss companies. From the results, the study authors have derived several fields of action for digitization in SMEs.
The study on digital transformation was first announced at the Digital Summit for SMEs at the end of August. The first results were already presented at that time. According to the study authors, this is the largest Swiss study on this topic to date. The study was supported by well-known sponsors and partners such as PostFinance, Abacus, AECS Swisscard, Die Post, Dreamlab Technologies, Gewerbezeitung, GS1, KMU Next, Mobiliar and Nemuk. Around 2500 participants took part in the survey. The study deliberately focused on SMEs. There, a high relevance of this topic is determined. As a consequence of the study results, the FHNW School of Business has developed a practical guide to support SMEs in implementing the digital transformation.
Effects at different levels
Digitalization in SMEs is driven by technological developments and new digital ecosystems that have an impact on society, politics and the economy, according to the report. Nevertheless, many companies still forget what digitization is supposed to be about for them in the first place: Namely, finding a competitive position in the digital age, as Prof. Dr. Marc K. Peter already expressed on the occasion of the Digital Summit for SMEs. The results of the study now show that the transformation of companies is driven by the need for optimized processes (82 percent of SMEs), changes in customer requirements (59 percent) and newly available technology (53 percent).
According to the study, the effects of the transformation are perceptible at various levels:
- For 85% of the SMEs, digital transformation has an impact on the business model and internal collaboration.
- In just under 70% of SMEs, digital transformation has an impact on corporate culture.
- 63% of SMEs have already adopted new technologies.
- 62% of SMEs have adjusted their market positioning.
- But only 30% of SMEs are satisfied with their own digitization efforts.
Digitization in SMEs: Seven fields of action
The large amount of time required and the lack of knowledge among managers and employees continue to prove to be barriers to successful digitization in SMEs. The study identified the following seven fields of action for digitization:
- Constant customer orientation
- New strategies and business models
- New approaches to leadership and culture
- Optimized workflows
- Digital marketing
- New technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT)
- Cloud & data, i.e. a modern IT infrastructure
"With these fields of action now available, we have created an important orientation aid to support these important projects," says Marc K. Peter. The published practical guide includes checklists, short case studies, a process model for transformation, and specialist articles for practitioners by well-known authors. Both the study and the practical guide can be downloaded from the website www.kmu-transformation.ch be obtained.
