Cloud technology: Don’t get left behind

Kiwi business owners are primed to take advantage of the immense opportunities afforded by cloud technology. The challenge is to show them how these changes can benefit their businesses, writes Joanne Stanyer.

In the past few years, how many of you dragged your toes a little when it came to embracing cloud technology? Adopting new technology and leaving old systems behind is always a little bit daunting.

Unfortunately, there were many New Zealand small businesses delaying the move to the cloud when Covid-19 took us all by surprise. When we entered the first lockdown some businesses scrambled to get remote technology in place while others were forced to shut down completely.

Ready or not, cloud technology quickly became an integral part of our everyday lives, for individuals and businesses across the country. 

The struggles we’ve faced so far in 2020 have been enormous. As our economy starts its path to recovery, we need to use all the resources we have to get ahead.

Okay, so what are the benefits to my business?

There’s plenty of evidence to suggest a move to the cloud would be beneficial for Kiwi small businesses.

In fact, prior to COVID-19, Xero worked with the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research to develop economic modelling on what would happen if more Kiwi SMEs embraced the cloud. The conclusion?

A 20% uptake in cloud-based technology nationwide would deliver huge productivity gains and contribute up to $6.2 billion in annual GDP growth for New Zealand’s economy. Money that’s currently being left on the table and out of our small business’s pockets.

Kiwi business owners are primed to take advantage of the immense opportunities afforded by cloud technology. Our challenge is to show how these changes can benefit the average New Zealand business owners.

After the first lockdown, we spoke to a range of local business owners to get their thoughts on the matter.

Speaking directly with SME decision makers, 42% of them wish they’d had better processes in place prior to lockdown, with nearly three quarters of them making quick decisions to adopt technology to keep functioning.

So why aren’t businesses upgrading?

Of course, making the investment in these changes can be scary, especially for those who are less familiar with technology.

Roughly half of all small businesses thought the cost of investing in cloud-based technologies was too expensive, while a third said they simply didn’t have enough time or knowledge to upgrade their business processes. These problems can easily be solved.

When asked, 49% of small business decision makers said they would use a subsidy to support them adopting these tools into their business. This is why we have welcomed the recent announcement of a $75 million investment for small businesses to grow through digital technology use. This is a positive start.

We are convinced of the benefits of strong cloud-based technology policy and the adoption of these solutions across our small business sector, especially during the rebuild after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Future-proofing the economy

We now have an opportunity through policy to accelerate the digitisation of our small business economy and drive significant productivity gains for New Zealand.

Change can seem scary at first, especially with technology. But Aotearoa could be a global leader, setting the standard for digital economies that will have long lasting impacts on our nation for generations to come.

And that’s what we need right now. COVID-19 has rocked our small business sector and will continue to have huge ramifications on various industries into the foreseeable future. We need to turn to technology and the cloud to future proof our economy.

Article by Joanne Stanyer (pictured), Director of Strategy APAC at Xero.