Tag: digitisation

If there is one thing 2020 has shown, it’s that the late Romantic poet Robert Burns was right, when in the 1700s he wrote, 'The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry'. COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our ability to predict the 'what’s next' factor in our business environments and this year has seen businesses scramble from Plan A to Plan B, before working their way through the rest of the alphabet.

While some may have viewed 2020 as a write-off, the technology sector has seen a massive upswing. As a result of forced, mass digitisation, 2021 promises to be a fruitful – albeit challenging – year for technology. Globally, there are three key predictions that could shape success in the year to come.

As a consequence of the global COVID-19 pandemic, companies and individuals have had to rapidly adapt to the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) to remedy the unprecedented socioeconomic challenges faced by consumers. A key facet of 4IR is a shift towards digitisation, and the vulnerable communities across the globe find themselves trailing even further behind in their endeavour for financial equity as a result.

The weaknesses inherent in franchised businesses and the health of relationships between franchisor and franchisees are being revealed as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds. Excessive reliance on retail infrastructure, insufficient investment in digitisation and poor delivery capability is severely impacting franchised networks. 

A recent World Economic Forum report has highlighted evolving trends in the workforce, globally and in South Africa, as the local labour market faces the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR).

The lockdown, interruption of supply chains, and the emergence of a distributed workforce are accentuating the need for innovation and entrepreneurship, with countless technology opportunities emanating from these unusual times. We are facing unprecedented disorder, with COVID-19 highlighting the need for bold, innovative solutions at all levels of society.

Following the endless stream of COVID-19 headlines, extended lockdowns and associated economic hardships, we are all suffering from Armageddon fatigue. It is easy to become pessimistic in the face of the very real challenges we are grappling with.

The relentless drive towards digital banking is making banks ‘invisible’, leaving customers looking for more value, human engagement and diversity of transactional channels according to the South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SA-csi) for banking.

The impact of digitisation on small and medium enterprises is significant. Savvy SMEs can turn this to a huge advantage as they can do things quickly and in a more agile manner than big businesses. However, challenges abound when trying to protect innovative products and processes.

A study conducted by research firm In On Africa revealed that 86% of Small Medium Enterprise (SME) owners use their smartphones for business purposes. While 60% of the SME owners also feel that limitations posed by lack of a reliable internet connection, reliable services or financial solutions pose a threat to the success of their business.