To succeed in a competitive and challenging market, SMEs must find fresh ways to innovate, increase efficiency and deliver better value to customers. The pandemic has driven the adoption of digital solutions which are helping to improve processes and productivity in industries as diverse as manufacturing, gaming, transport and healthcare. However, overall, SMEs are lagging behind large businesses on the digital journey and further delays threaten to undermine flexibility, resilience and performance. As SME leaders strive to accelerate the transformation, it is not easy to determine what advanced technologies will actually bring in terms of tangible benefits and returns on investment. There are questions around upfront costs and skill shortages, as well as concerns about the challenges for management and security posed by the increasing number of connected devices and amounts of data being generated.

To address these questions and more, the Financial Times, in partnership with Huawei, was delighted to host this webinar for SME executives tasked with building capabilities and supporting growth. Join your peers to discuss the most effective means to reap the benefits of digital technologies and achieve better results for your customers, business and employees.

Topics of discussion:

The business case for technology

When considering the value of digital technologies, how can you quantify the impact on productivity and customer service, and assess the ROI? What will they mean for growth prospects and competitive advantage? With limited resources and tight budgets, where should investment in data-driven solutions be focused for maximum effect? How do you manage upfront costs?

The realities of tech adoption

What factors will drive the take-up of technologies such as AI, blockchain and 5G by SMEs? In what ways are early-adopters leveraging innovations and what are the outcomes for operations and performance? What are the lessons learnt and hurdles overcome by data-enabled businesses? How do you integrate next-generation technology into legacy systems? What role does big business have in smoothing SMEs’ tech transition?

Risk management and security

In undertaking the digital transition, what security challenges can you expect to face? What are the implications for data management and cyber protection? What monitoring and procedures should be put in place to cope with more connected devices and a greater volume of information? How do you respond to changing regulatory frameworks?

Bridging the digital skills gap

Amidst mounting concerns about skill shortages, what does it take to recruit and upskill your workforce? How do you develop digital capabilities to ensure you have the right people and expertise to manage the technology and adapt to a data-driven economy.

Understand

The big picture, not just the individual strands of the business you work in

Connect

And build relationships with some of the biggest names in your industry

Discover

New approaches and strategies to help win market share

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