Technology ranks number one in investment priorities for SMEs
As small businesses battled with the impact of the pandemic, many turned to technology to adapt and thrive. According to a new McKinsey Global Survey of executives, companies have accelerated the digitisation of their customer and supply-chain interactions and their internal operations by three to four years; and IT expenditure by UK small businesses increased 20% by June 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels.
This trend shows no signs of slowing down and many of the technological advancements made over the last two years will be here for the long term. New research conducted by Cynergy Bank showed that technology investments are the number one priority for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the year ahead.
Respondents listed technology as the number one item they were looking to invest in, with 34% of SMEs listing it as their top priority.
As well as technology, SMEs are keen to invest in other areas of the business. Investing in people, hiring, promotions and training also ranked highly, with 33% of SMEs stating these as urgent in the upcoming year. In addition, 33% of SMEs stated they would be looking to grow existing product lines in the next year.
Nick Fahy, CEO of Cynergy Bank commented, “As companies look to bolster their digitally enabled product offering, it’s no surprise that technology investment is a priority for SMEs. At Cynergy Bank, we are creating the human digital bank of the future for those small and medium sized businesses looking for human relationship management as well as the latest technologies. We understand the importance of providing the right services to customers, in the right way.”