Trends for SMEs in 2017
Many regional business owners are giving serious consideration to the trends for medium and small enterprises in 2017 and beyond. Incidentally I have had to speak on this topic recently and so I thought it fitting to share with you some of the latest trends and developments that could impact SMEs.
My first thoughts on the topic made me reflect on the fact that the lines between the digital and physical world continue to blur creating new opportunities for digital businesses. As we look around there has to be the recognition that some element of smartness is being embedded in everything. The future is therefore digital and as such every business is transforming into a tech-enabled business.
There are however some trends that are very evident for 2017 including:
1. Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning are the next big areas for innovation. We can understand why especially when companies like Google are engaging in experimentally projects in these areas geared at making their data centres more efficient. Creating intelligent systems that learn, adapt and potentially act autonomously rather than simply execute predefined instructions is the big challenge for technology vendors through for at least the next 3 years.
2. An increase in the adoption of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are transforming the way individuals interact with each other and with software systems creating an immersive environment. VR is increasingly being used for training scenarios and remote experiences.
3. Working Remotely - Many businesses are reducing their overhead and expanding their talent pool across geographic boundaries with remote workers. In recent times there has also been an increase in the number of companies that connect companies to talent from around the world, as well as provide solution for remote team management.
4. Platform-Based Infrastructure - This is where a cloud provider hosts different combinations of hardware and software platforms on its own infrastructure you and a business pays to use this infrastructure.
5. Connection as a Service - Connecting customers to services and products is big business and lots of small businesses are partnering with connection services to make their products more accessible. We all know the names Uber, Amazon and Airbnb so well because these companies are connecting service providers or sellers to customers who want to buy. Uber for example connects contract drivers to riders in need of transportation while Amazon connects sellers to people looking to buy various products. Airbnb connects travellers to residential property owners.
6. Subscription based businesses Subscriptions are becoming and increasing popular revenue model and it can be built into nearly any service or industry. Subscriptions are an excellent way to make sales projections because customers pay a recurring fee and not a single flat payment.
While many of these trends are not new or mind-blowing as you may have expected them to be, the game changer for 2017 will be the rate of adoption of these trends. In 2017 technology will move very quickly! Smart entrepreneurs should therefore take note and seize the opportunities that clearly exists in areas such as Location Intelligence, Health Technology, Financial Technology to name a few.
To borrow from Bill Gates, “The secret of success in business is in detecting where the world will go and get there first.” Will you be a first mover in Guyana or the Caribbean? I can only remind you that the pillars for growth include entrepreneurship, technology and innovation. Be purposeful about success and make excellence a habit!
If you have a question related to this article or just a general question on entrepreneurship, write to us at guyanabusinesswise@gmail.com . Your question may be addressed directly or in our next article.