Although only about 20% of German companies have planned funding for AI/ML, these technologies show a high budget allocated for 2020/21. According to the study results, about 40% of companies have planned a budget of over $51,000 for AI and ML.
The study results reveal three key trends for 2020 and 2021, which we would like to present below. With each trend, we provide concrete tips and recommendations for action to help SMEs implement these trends.
1. Trend: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence
The rapid pace of technology change is impacting small businesses, changing their technology deployment and investment strategy and speed of adoption. At the moment, standard systems such as accounting and project management systems dominate small business IT spending. Funding for emerging software technologies is often still limited. However, emerging technologies powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence are also slowly making their way into small businesses and are being budgeted for over the next two years. New technology trends for SMEs are emerging and areas of investment will shift in 2020/21 - away from standard systems and towards the disruptive technologies .
Large companies are already using the technologies and are ahead of SMEs in terms of implementation. However, the rise of cloud technologies has made artificial intelligence accessible to companies of all sizes and not just reserved for large companies. By outsourcing to third-party providers, artificial intelligence can be introduced to SMEs early and without much effort. Companies already have easy access to cloud-based AI services and the computing power they require.
Tips for SMEs:
Explore how AI capabilities can improve the performance of your key employee activities and customer satisfaction.
Look for AI features when selecting software : Choosing the right AI-enabled software will be crucial for companies in the future. Ask your new and existing software providers to describe how they will implement artificial intelligence in upcoming software versions and how they expect this development to benefit your company.
Conduct a competitive analysis : Actively research how your comp brazil telegram data etitors are beginning to use the technology. Evaluate the potential for artificial intelligence as part of your strategic planning.
2nd trend: data-based decision-making
Data-based or data-driven decision making is not a new trend, but something every company is already doing. Small businesses use various tools to manage data. Excel shows forecasted growth and Google Analytics provides companies with a lot of traffic data. What will change in the next 1-2 years is that SMEs will use business intelligence software to manage data . BI gives companies a central dashboard to monitor and manage their data. They don't just look at the individual components, but at the bigger picture. This not only helps reduce costs and increase sales, but also prevents errors and problems.
With BI, employees spend less time searching for the information they need. Instead, they have more time to use this information to make data-based decisions. With the necessary data, employees can concentrate more on "big picture thinking" than on the routine work of data collection. Customers can be addressed more appropriately and strategic decisions can be made more effectively. The data relevant to action is always up-to-date, and companies' response times increase. Furthermore, the BI solution can be integrated into existing systems (such as ERP systems ).
In the past, business intelligence was mainly used in large companies. The technology was not affordable for small companies and took a lot of time. Large companies had the necessary infrastructure (people, technology, financial resources) to invest in BI. However, cloud computing makes BI affordable for small companies too.