Colombia. Recruiting talent with the right IT skills and experience can not only become challenging and expensive, but in the medium to long term, it is difficult to retain them, which can become a common obstacle for IT leaders in small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
Forecasts point to IT operating models in which more specialized expertise is outsourced. That said, why do SMBs keep chasing the mirage of the ideal in-house IT team if there are challenges to building and operating it effectively?
The reason is simple: the typical IT professional of an SME performs a wide range of functions. They have great knowledge, but they are not usually very specialized in an area. Take, for example, someone who may partially specialize in technical assistance or infrastructure: when a colleague is absent, that person must also perform other IT functions. Consequently, the internal operating models of SMEs lack the depth of specialization necessary to perform with maximum competence in all circumstances, whether crisis or not.
However, small and medium-sized enterprises have begun to become more aware of the importance of designating a larger budget for the implementation of technologies within their businesses. According to a recent study conducted by Dell Technologies, hand in hand with IDC and Intel, 65% of small businesses agree to invest in hardware, software and services; while 16% of medium-sized companies are optimistic about the growth of IT budgets. As a result, the report also identified that, in Colombia, 21% of SMEs would be willing to invest between US$50,000 and US$100,000 in these solutions.
Take, for example, the shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Logging in from home is one thing, but accessing your company's network securely with a stable, remote infrastructure is another. Several crucial decisions had to be made quickly, in some cases, overnight. Without the right IT in place, your organization could face numerous challenges and risks, including lack of productivity and exposure to private data.
In that sense, SMEs have decided to bet on including robust solutions for storage infrastructure and data security, which allow them to develop an optimal work and with the necessary security conditions. This same study reveals that in Colombia 39% of the small and medium-sized companies surveyed will invest budget in servers and 36% in external storage during the next 12 months.
With IT innovation advancing faster than ever, digital transformation is necessary to stay competitive. And with so many new service and application offerings, it can be hard to know which one is best for your organization. Analyzing these and the potential security challenges they may present takes time, and there is still a need for your business to keep running and your users productive. Technical support services are usually overloaded on a good day, and now, there are a multitude of new questions and situations that have been added to the mix.
Unsurprisingly, there is a greater focus on how to deploy remote work applications and infrastructure safely and efficiently. For those SMEs that delayed these decisions, there are now several gaps that need to be addressed, and for those that had already begun to digitally transform their work processes, they are now seizing the opportunity to accelerate those plans.
While the engine of these transformations may be new, the challenges in overcoming and closing these gaps remain the same. SMBs should consider costs, speed of response, data security and privacy, and protection against spyware, malware, and viruses. Some of these, however, are further magnified when it comes to running business processes in full operation and at the same time adjusting to macroeconomic factors.
One of the conclusions drawn by the IDC study points out that there are changes in priorities, such as infrastructure consolidation, cloud computing and customer experience, that drive the entire market to move to a hybrid cloud strategy to acquire new customers, increase productivity and introduce new digital technologies.
There are many companies that technology that have bet on providing first-class IT solutions, which has generated an increase in demand
Thinking about meeting the diverse needs of customers, large technology companies have focused on developing comprehensive IT solutions that meet the demand for these services, which has generated competition that has become evident in the market. According to IDC, Dell Technologies has positioned itself as the top of mind, with 35%, and the top of heart of Colombians, with 30%, in terms of servers.
Technology is creating a new path forward. Embracing the digital future is essential to overcoming the challenges that companies may face. All SMEs have the opportunity to apply a digital approach and strengthen their offerings, create a better service, experiences and emotions for their customers.
Text written by David Hernández, Mid-Market sales director at Dell Technologies for Colombia and Ecuador.
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