Are your software tools more of a barrier than a benefit? You’re not alone.

A recent MYOB report found that SMEs are wasting one working day a week on tasks that shouldn’t need to happen, writes Daniel West, Chief Sales and Support Officer, MYOB.

If you’re one of the thousands of businesses who have embraced digital tools to help run your operations in recent years, let me ask you this: Has it all been plain sailing? Have your digitisation goals been realised?

If the answer is ‘no’ – you’re not alone.

The reality is many businesses – in fact 3 in 5 across Australia – are not seeing the promised value from their digital tools.

Software running in silos

MYOB research shows Australian small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are collectively investing around $2.2bn each year in business software. That includes in collaboration platforms, apps to manage customers and content, security technologies or software-as-a-service platforms.

However, 57 per cent of SMEs said their software systems are running in silos. They report that this poor integration causes more headaches than help. In short, they’re feeling digitally disconnected.

With business costs and inflation on the rise, we know SME owners and managers can’t afford to waste money on services that aren’t actually benefiting them.

We need to address this disconnection issue across the board, and ensure all businesses are seeing the value from their digital investment.

Articulating this problem is our first meaningful step towards addressing it. At MYOB we recently conducted research to understand how this ‘bad digitisation’ reality is impacting businesses.
We found it’s costing small business money, complicating IT processes and hindering their ability to scale.

The impact off being digitally disconnected

Productivity loss: Up to a day each week

According to our research, SMEs are wasting the equivalent of one working day each week (seven hours on average) on tasks that realistically shouldn’t need to happen if they’ve invested in business software. This includes things like manually entering data across different systems, or having to duplicate tasks due to errors or inefficiencies with the tools.

Does this productivity drain sound familiar to you?

Strategic risk: Decision makers lacking visibility

You may also find that due to a lack of integration, you’re having to make business decisions based on partial data or limited visibility across the business. This is not only posing a strategic risk, but those we surveyed also noted it makes it difficult to adapt or add certain capabilities to the business – a challenge ultimately stifling growth and risking opportunities for success.

Monetary cost: Errors and underutilisation

Are you paying for, but not using, some of your business software subscriptions? Or perhaps you’re only using a small portion of the tool’s features but pay the premium fee? Again, you’re not alone.

Our research shows there is around $1.4 billion being wasted each year on underutilisation of business software across Australia. Add to this is the fact that for over a quarter of SMEs we spoke to, poor integration has led to costs being blown out – whether it’s paying employees the wrong amount based on inaccurate hourly data, or paying invoices for cancelled jobs.

Fixes you can make right now

So, what can you do if you are currently experiencing disconnection in your business? Some steps you can take right now include:

1. Assess your software systems

Assess the software systems and apps you use on a regular basis to understand if they are truly supporting the fundamentals of the business. Look at your company strategy and long-term goals to gauge:

• Do the systems support your objectives moving forward?
• Which tools are properly integrating with each other, and which are not?
• Are you getting a good return on investment from the software?
• Could you stop paying for any features not being used?
• Could you consolidate subscriptions – or is there a one-stop-shop platform relevant to the business that can support most processes?

2. Check in with your providers

Find out if your chosen software providers are addressing the issue of bad digitisation as part of their business strategy. If they’re aware of this problem, and are tackling it head on, then there is light at the end of this disconnected tunnel. If not, then perhaps it is worth exploring providers who do have a vision to address it.

3. Speak to a tech consultant

Speak to a business advisor or a technology consultant to get their assessment of where your company could improve and what the right solutions might be.

Solving the issue of disconnection

It’s clear this issue needs to be tackled head on, and it’s up to us software providers to do so.

We need to ensure all businesses across Australia can reap the benefits of good digitisation. Where the work just happens, where there’s no start and stop, do over, do again. Where the technology just does its job and – crucially – it truly helps you and adds value to your business.

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