The survey of more than 1,000 Australian and New Zealand mid-market business operators with between 20–150 full-time workers found that not only smaller ventures are facing challenges resulting from rapid digitisation in recent years.
The data revealed that 48 per cent of Australian mid-sized businesses and 46 per cent of those in NZ said they’re wasting time inputting data into multiple systems.
Additionally, 43 per cent and 46 per cent of Australian and NZ businesses, respectively, are having to check between these systems to make certain their data is correct while 41 per cent of Australian respondents said they’re sometimes duplicating efforts between these systems.
There was an upside to the survey with some respondents who’ve added or changed their digital solutions in the past year saying they had gained significant benefits where these projects were implemented strategically.
Australian businesses listed the top outcomes from addressing their disconnection issues as improvements in efficiency and productivity (48 per cent), the ability to service more customers (39 per cent), and stronger/more informed decision-making (34 per cent). MYOB’s general manager — enterprise Kim Clarke said they show how integral getting the tech piece right is for mid-market ventures.
“When it comes to changing or improving their digital solutions, mid-market businesses don’t have the same luxuries as larger corporates like large IT departments who can stitch together solutions, or access to additional budget to cover complex integration requirements,” she said.
“Instead, many are cottoning onto the fact that more doesn’t mean better and are now after future-fit platforms that remove the challenges of disconnected systems, like lower productivity and higher security risks.
“They also know they risk falling behind their peers on every level, unless these challenges are resolved.”
