How technologies like AI can facilitate a holistic digital transformation of SMEs

Over the past half a decade, India has gained a sizeable and ever-expanding base of digital consumers and users of digital devices. According to IAMAI, India have reached over 500 million internet users by June 2018. A Google-BCG report from 2017, on the other hand, predicts that digital spending in India is set to reach $100 billion by 2020, tripling from $33 billion in 2016-17.

While large corporations and businesses have spent the last couple of years integrating digital tools along with information and communication technologies, most Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) are still teetering on the threshold of digitisation, debating the value and cost of such a transition.

AI-based solutions driving enterprise mobility and efficiency

Broadly, digital technology offers businesses the following benefits:

-It enhances productivity and efficiency across the enterprise, and allows for better workflow management;

-It enables businesses to reach out to and engage customers in innovative ways;

-It helps reduce various costs and eliminate redundant and time-consuming processes, thus enabling businesses to maximise their profit margin and drive higher levels of customer satisfaction.

More specifically, AI-based solutions like automation can be greatly beneficial to SMEs in reducing several processes such as sales planning, managing finances and supply chain, marketing, etc. These processes which most SMEs still conduct through offline methods considerably reduce the efficiency of the enterprise, since the managers’ focus is largely on the operations, rather than on serving customers and retaining them.

Customised, enterprise-centric solutions with AI and Machine Learning

Every organisation faces a different set of issues and challenges. The solutions, then, to effectively tackle these challenges should also be specific to the business segment, as well as the industry, which the enterprise is involved in.

Automating the sales and supply chain management processes and speeding them up is possible today, thanks to intuitive technologies such as AI and machine learning which can be leveraged to build customised solutions that meet the precise requirements of different industries and businesses. This level of customisation is possible with data and SMEs are known to have a lot of it at their disposal. However, most of this data is usually not streamlined, but that’s where machine learning and the power of data analytics can create a huge difference.

Predictive analytics and recognition of patterns are the key benefits of machine learning. AI and ML algorithms can analyse routine business processes and identify recurring patterns within them, and automate them to provide fixed outcomes, only in a much more efficient manner. And data is the bedrock of automation – the more of it there is, the more efficient and quicker are the outcomes.

Data, AI, and the new paradigms of customer service

The adoption of smartphones and mobile applications – which have emerged as rich sources of data for businesses – has become widespread over the last few years, particularly among young consumers. Among the major benefits of these digital tools is that they provide businesses the means to interact directly with consumers, receive feedback, and provide value-added services to them by using the insights gained from such interactions. Small and medium businesses that have existed for a long time have a huge repository of customer data, but most of them do not what to do with. With the help of relevant data, AI and ML-driven marketing solutions can streamline the entire customer lifecycle management function, from targeting consumers, communicating with them, managing transactions, and providing a range of pre- and post-sales services to create additional value for them.

— Rama Krishna Kuppa, Founder & CEO, Ongo Framework