With 2014 came a new buzzword to the IT sphere, SMAC, a trend which is gaining ground in the market. SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud) is now all set to go explosive in the near future. Now is the time to combine these forces to give a different dimension to the businesses by getting an exponential outcome.
The exponential growth of smart device adoption with easy access to 3G or 4G networks and social media gaining popularity, all have resulted in massive surge in business data which acts as a natural resource for the companies to delve upon and analyse it to take better decisions. Cloud, on the other hand, enables businesses to deploy analytics and mobility solutions more efficiently and reduce time to market considerably.
According to the global trade body NASSCOM, the estimated market growth due to SMAC by 2020 will be an annual 30 per cent and touch $1.0 trillion. Market research firm IDC had estimated last year that that 90 per cent of all growth from 2013 to 2020 will come from SMAC, which is slated for 15 per cent annual growth.
Small and medium businesses are coming to the forefront and readily embracing IT. Because, the SMB of today is your Enterprise for tomorrow. A recent IBM C-suite study revealed that there is a need for SMBs to have a strong digital strategy, an increased focus on integrating cross channel touch-points, analytics to capture customer insights, social networks to foster collaboration, and mobile and cloud to achieve advanced operational efficiencies and attract and market to new customers. So if we think of a nexus amongst all these four arenas i.e. Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud, there is a huge opportunity for these SMBs to grow not only business-wise but also gain on customers' confidence and have greater ROIs.
Analytics, mobile and cloud technologies assist SMBs in tapping various social channels and in turn influence and actively engage those customers who are interested in their products and services. This would result in a deeper connect with the costumer in the longer run and will put their brand strategy on the right track. Predictive analytics too can prove to be beneficial in this endeavour. These pillars would help SMBs define a clear-cut market and turn customers into influencers as we have seen that the most flourishing businesses are those that break from tradition to form reciprocal relationships with customers, employees, partners, and suppliers.
SMAC in 2012 was an alternative for organisations. Today these technologies are being termed as growth technologies. Through cloud, SMBs can now afford advanced technologies such as Big Data analytics, once only available to large enterprises. Big Data analytics allows SMBs to help them tap into a treasure trove of information whether it is about patient information, financial activities, health habits and social interactions. Social helps SMBs to increase collaboration with employees within their organisation and better understand what consumers are saying about their brand on social channels whether online or with mobile devices. Mobile today provides a key channel for SMBs to tune in to quickly engage with the on-the-go consumer and access a world of Big Data they did not have before.
SMBs in all industries are challenged to make sense of massive amounts of big data flowing from social media, mobile devices and sensors. Making sense of large volumes and types of data has become essential not only to compete but also to get one step closer to predicting business trends and anticipating consumer needs, rather than reacting and responding. Technologies such as Big data analytics has gotten so advanced and pervasive that it is now available to all businesses, regardless of size. However, it can still be difficult for small businesses to get access to capital and financing in order to be able to easily afford these technologies easily.
So, how can small and midsize businesses (SMBs) capture the opportunities presented by these new buyers who are willing to share their feedback and preferences and in turn, level the playing field and compete with their larger counterparts?
Today's small and midsize business owners also need to consider two key aspects of the Millennial Effect: how millennials (consumers now in their mid-teens to mid-30s) look to consume information and what to do with the valuable data they provide. Think tech-savvy, eager and collaborative. Millennials are self-starters, entrepreneurial in spirit, bringing new perspectives to old ways of doing things. This is no surprise to millennial small business owners, many of whom have created successful businesses themselves by crowd sourcing ideas from their peers, who are equally eager to participate and share. Millennials and the next generations of consumers have never known life without the Internet or mobile.
More and more consumers tap into mobile resources to discover, research and price goods and services; they order and pay, share purchases with social networks, rate products and experiences, and engage with brands post-purchase. SMBs looking to get a step ahead of their larger competitors need to think differently about supply chain interactions.
All this creates a unique opportunity, opening the door for small businesses to act with the speed and decisiveness of a millennial, through analytics, cloud, social and mobile.
The writer is Midmarket & Geo Expansion Leader, IBM India/South Asia.
vmalhotra@in.ibm.com
SMAC — The right nexus for SMBs
Vivek Malhotra | Published: March 24, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: March 24, 2014 18:43:55
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