National Post (National Edition)
Small and medium-sized businesses leverage technology to persevere in a post-pandemic world
According to a survey conducted by Abacus Data for Shaw Business, 80 per cent of Canadian small-and-medium sized business leaders say investments in technology made during the pandemic put them in a better position to compete and thrive.
While Wi-Fi has always been necessary for day-to-day operations at The Bro'Kin Yolk, this layer of connectivity became a central ingredient during the pandemic.
The farm-to-table breakfast and lunch restaurant with locations in Calgary and Edmonton had been relying on Wi-Fi to power their point-of-sale system and their tableside digital tablet menus, but when COVID-19 dining restrictions hit, they found themselves quickly integrating another element into their connected operations: online ordering.
“We value the experience we provide our customers in our restaurant and so we were never really focused on take-out before the pandemic, but we had to get creative,” says Carly McKenzie, The Bro'Kin Yolk's General Manager. “Once we integrated food delivery apps into our system, our online orders skyrocketed. We're now doing double or triple the orders we were at the beginning of the pandemic.”
Fulfilling these orders meant McKenzie and her team were even more reliant on Wi-Fi as they integrated the food delivery apps into their point-of-sale system to manage orders, but spotty internet from another provider almost sabotaged their process. “Before we had reliable internet from Shaw Business, we'd frequently have to re-start the internet,” says McKenzie. “We would lose orders consistently throughout the system, so people had to wait longer for their food.”
“Wi-Fi is something you take for granted because you don't think about it all the time, but without it, we couldn't run our business at all,” says McKenzie.
Faced with unprecedented change to their operations many small-and-medium sized businesses like The Bro'Kin Yolk realized they needed to adopt new technology to become even more digitally focused, and fast.
As a result, many turned to new connected technologies, including managed Wi-Fi, network security, remote VPN access and e-commerce solutions, along with faster internet to help navigate these challenges. And those who have adopted this technology have reaped the benefits.
According to results of a recent survey compiled for Shaw Business by Abacus Data, 73 per cent of entrepreneurs surveyed say that being connected and using technology has helped their business adapt to the pandemic, while 62 per cent say the shift toward connected technology during the pandemic has fundamentally changed the way they do business.
As a provider of industry-leading connectivity solutions and expert advice, Shaw Business knows the vital role connectivity has played during the pandemic. “Having access to fast connections is everything. Whether you're a restaurant, a school, a non-profit or government institution, transitioning online has been a lifeline that has helped keep operations running – especially when it comes to small business,” says Katherine Emberly, President, Business at Shaw Communications.
The Abacus survey also revealed that 80 per cent of small and medium-sized business leaders feel that they are in a better position to compete and thrive because of the new technology tools they've implemented during the pandemic. Of these businesses, 91 per cent believe that technology they've implemented over the past 19 months will be critical to their success going forward.
For Emberly, this optimism is the result of Canadian businesses having overcome technology hurdles in the early days of the pandemic, only to discover the true power and benefits that these technology solutions provided.
“We were all forced to learn new things and adopt new tools, and I think it really helped people overcome the discomfort of that technology transformation,” says Emberly. “All of a sudden, your employees and connections had to learn how to use these new tools and become comfortable with them, which helped them to adapt and grow.”
The Bro'Kin Yolk's adoption of an online ordering process allowed the restaurant to reach new and existing customers, but it also increased the amount of sensitive data it stored, which brought additional risks. As a safeguard, The Bro'Kin Yolk deployed Smart Security through Shaw Business. “Knowing our customers are protected provides peace of mind,” says McKenzie. “That extra security goes a long way.”
When it comes to security, The Bro'Kin Yolk is not alone. When respondents to the Abacus survey were asked to rank technology in terms of its impact on future business success, network security solutions ranked near the top, behind only online banking tools and access to a fast internet plan.
“With everyone conducting more of their business online, we're seeing a lot more potential cybersecurity issues, and people want to make sure their businesses, their employees, and their customer data is kept safe,” says Emberly.
Shaw Business has met this need for advanced, out-of-thebox and easy-to-use technology solutions by taking enterprise-grade products, and pricing and packaging them for the small and medium-sized business owners. This includes SmartWiFi, a marketing analytics tool called SmartTarget, SmartVoice, SmartSurveillance and the next-generation network security tool SmartSecurity, among others.
Shaw Business is there to be a trusted advisor for small businesses that have not made this transition and are unsure of what they should add. “You're an expert at running your business. You don't need to be an expert at technology, too,” says Emberly.
That's a relief for The Bro'Kin Yolk team, which can keep its focus on creating a flawless Florentine Benny.
“We experienced unreliable internet before Shaw Business, and that was stressful.
Energy is contagious, and if I'm stressed out because the Wi-Fi isn't working, then our customers and our employees are going to feel it,” says McKenzie. “Now I never have issues with our connection. It's an important worry off my back.”