3 Steps To Digitise Your Business Today

A survey by SME Corp in 2018 had revealed that many small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) face problems from computing to the digitisation part of their business operations. Among the problems reported include the high cost of going digital and getting proper infrastructure in place.

Fast forward to 2020, SMEs are making that very leap into digitisation right now. Are you one of the business owners facing this problem? Here’s what you should be doing to digitally transform your business.

Try these three steps to take your business digital today.

1. Prioritise digitisation based on your business needs

You will first need to decide on which part of your business needs digitising the most, and how to go about it. Depending on the nature of your business, you should first identify whether it’s your customers, work delivery or employee management that is in urgent need of going digital.

There are three areas that you should focus on:

• Keeping in touch with your customers (customers are happier if you provide automated services like auto-billing and online payments).
• Moving your business management online (going digital makes your internal processes more efficient).
• Allowing your employees to be mobile (people are happier and more productive if they have a choice of how they work).

Whichever decision you make to take your business digital will require money to make it happen. This brings us to the next step.

2. Do you need government funding?

Funding the digitisation process doesn’t have to come from your company alone. The government has provided resources for SMEs looking to upgrade their systems. Both the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) offer solutions for SMEs looking to go digital.

MDEC covers digitisation areas that it has pinpointed as the most critical for SMEs to adopt. As such, it will provide a 50% matching grant of up to RM5,000 per company that wants to go digital in its targeted areas.

On the other hand, MaGIC is currently focused on economic recovery due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes in the form of a government loan for the purposes of buying hardware, software, and IT solutions. Don’t wait too long as this funding is only available until December 31, 2020.

3. Invest in the right hardware/software affordably now

Once you’ve decided on what you need and how much you’re going to spend on it, you now need to get specific about what you’re buying. While it’s tempting to try to get as much as you can for your budget, it may be a better idea to opt for higher quality technologies.

HP for Business offers SMEs a financially flexible method for converting your business from paper to electronics. The HP for Business Instalment Plan is an easy payment programme that spreads the cost of upgrading across 36 months.

The plan* offers:

• HP ProDesk computers from RM85.50/month.
• HP ProBook laptops from RM96.08/month.
• Hardened security features to ensure that you remain safe from cyber-attacks.
• A 12-month complimentary subscription to Deskera (Essential Plan worth RM5,000) for five users with access to a full suite of business management tools to handle bookkeeping (invoicing, accounting, financial reports), sales (CRM, Leads, Pipeline) and even employee management (payroll, leaves, expenses).
• HP On-site service support

^{*Terms and conditions apply.}

The shift to a fully digital workplace is already in full force, and you do not want to be left behind. There’s no excuse to put it off either, as the government is already offering financial assistance to make SMEs more competitive in the era of the internet.