This year has thrown up more challenges than anyone could have foreseen.
Not only have firms had to respond to the human impact of the coronavirus pandemic, prioritising staff health and wellbeing, but many have had to completely overhaul their working practises at pace to continue to trade.
Decisions taken pre-Covid to delay updating legacy systems or investing in digital infrastructure have put many firms on the back foot.
But they won’t be caught off-guard again.
According to a survey by GC Business Growth Hub on future business development, 15% of businesses said they want to progress adopting digital transformation.
Also, of the almost 200 Greater Manchester firms that took part, just over one in ten said that accelerating digital plans is one of the positives of the current crisis.
For many North West businesses, it has been the wake-up call they needed to embrace digitalisation.
And it’s needed, as data from global management consultancy McKinsey shows, we vaulted five years forward in business digital adaptation in a matter of eight weeks during the height of the pandemic.
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Applied Futurist Tom Cheesewright, of IO Communications, said he can believe it.
He said: “As with many trends the pandemic has accelerated an existing shift in focus: from optimisation, to adaptation.
“Organisations and their leaders are looking for technologies, partners and structures that can help them be more adaptable in the face of ongoing shocks, of which the pandemic is just the latest.”
To achieve this, businesses are increasingly turning to AI, robotics and automations to get that competitive edge.
As an example, robotic process automation (RPA) is a way of speeding up repetitive and time-consuming tasks, to unlock the potential of a workforce.
By automating data-led tasks such as payroll, invoice reconciliations,making payments or on-boarding new customers it frees up staff to take on more meaningful work.
Agile Automations CEO Martin Keelagher said: “You don’t have to work harder, you just have to work more intelligently.
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“RPA improves your proposition; it increases efficiency, improves customer service and the wellbeing of your staff.”
The Manchester-based tech business, based in Blackfriars House, has been building bespoke automations for the last five years.
Working across financial services, property and insurance they count multi-national banks in their client list as well as SMEs – helping to save millions in efficiency.
Asked about the threat of automations to a physical workforce Martin said he is resolute.
He said: “The biggest misconception of robotics is that they are going to replace your job, but that’s not the case.
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“Bots are there to do the leg work on monotonous everyday tasks so employees can get on with intuitive work which needs a human touch. In turn, their role becomes more fulfilling leading to a lower turnover of staff and better productivity in the workforce.”
Implementing technology is clearly a priority for many in our region, so much so that the Government invested £20m into the Made Smarter programme to address the adoption challenge in the North West.
With 50% match funding available, the chance to improve leadership skills and utilise the skills of a digital intern it feels like a great support network.
Alain Dilworth, programme manager of the Made Smarter North West Adoption Pilot, said: “As lockdown has eased we have seen increased demand for our support.
“Many businesses who had engaged with us previously are fast-tracking the next phase of their technology journey and others who had made an initial enquiry are re-engaging to start the digitalisation of their business.”
Of course, there are still barriers which hinder the uptake of new technology by businesses.
Jude identifies these as: SME leaders are too time poor, confusion around which strategy is best, a perception of high level of risk/cost aswell as fear that they are already too far behind competitors.
However, as Tom points out, it may be more detrimental for businesses to resist change in the long run.
“Think about the cost of not doing it,” he said
“Think about how much time you waste wrangling data from spreadsheet to spreadsheet or the risks of a typo. Think about what happens when the only person who knows how that process works, leaves.
“However scared you might be of the cost and complexity of new technologies, a frank assessment of the current situation is often a good motivator.”