Midmarket Organisations need to Make the Technology Pivot

In the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, MYOB engaged Forrester Consulting to conduct research and better understand the challenges and opportunities of midmarket organisations. As the world emerges from operating under restrictions and constraints, the midmarket is uniquely poised to capitalise on their advantages by remaining active, lest they be left behind. More than ever, customers are demanding adaptiveness, connectivity, and a smooth experience. However, most organisations did not revamp their internal systems during the pandemic. This leaves those who were able to accelerate their digital transformation able to immediately take advantage of new opportunities to meet customer and employee needs.

What does a modern midmarket organisation need from their software?

In a hypercompetitive, globally connected world, your business management solutions need to be easily scalable, enable collaboration, and be future-proof. A single platform to encompass finance and accounting, payroll, and workforce management is key to maintaining your advantage.

At a time of constant change, midmarket businesses in ANZ need the right tools to help them make critical business decisions quickly and efficiently.

After surveying 420 ANZ businesses, and interviewing seven midmarket decision-makers, Forrester Consulting identified four challenges for midmarket organisations:

1. Standard business practices are no longer the best option

Midmarket organisations spend 28% more on inefficient processes or when working with ineffective solutions. Productivity, the customer experience, and profitability are all compromised when working with an outdated solution that is not fit for modern organisations.

Employees waste an average of 12.5 hours per week on manual and repetitive tasks because of outdated solutions and practices.

2. Growth suffers when you are unable to adapt

Relying on old and unoptimized systems limits your opportunity for growth. Flexibility, adaptability, and speed are paramount when looking to explore opportunities. Cloud-based platforms help simplify processes and unlock growth potential.

Modern solutions are smart and, with the right automated and predictive capabilities, they are able to streamline processes and unify information needed for business decision making.

3. A focus on short-sighted success

Decision-makers have found significant barriers to improvement, such as a lack of leadership support and a short-sighted focus on initial technology costs. Achieving appropriate buy-in depends on clearly highlighting the cost of inaction and the benefits that a centralised platform can have on efficiency, productivity, and profitability.

Organisations need leaders with a clear vision and call for action to inspire change. However, leaders are historically unaware of the link between operations software and business goals.

4. A digital arms race to improve productivity

The pandemic has forced a shift in focus to digital platforms. Early adopters of these solutions have seen significant advantages in productivity and cost-effectiveness. It is the businesses who fail to digitise their processes and transform their business management systems that will fall behind their more adaptive competition.

Nonetheless, the competition doesn’t wait. Midmarket organisations using outdated solutions are already at a disadvantage.

Read about MYOB’s previous research about Transforming the MidMarket here.

Download the full report to read the detailed investigation, as well as explore all of the recommendations for midmarket organisations. If you have any inquiries or want any more information, please contact us by emailing sales@kilimanjaro-consulting.com, or by calling 1300 857 464 (AU) or 0800 436 774 (NZ).