We encourage SMEs to use ICT. They grow, you grow.

You may be able to manage your company well without a system when the company is small. When sales are RM50,000 no problem, at RM100,000 still no problem. The problem starts cropping up when the sales got bigger, and the staff gets larger. At RM200,000, manageable with some headaches. Once it reaches RM300,000 you will understand what I am talking about. Once your sales increased to half a million you will feel the pain, the strain, the headache and sleepless nights. You have more staff now. Many things need to be organized now. Sales, account, payroll, staff, purchasing, invoicing, cash flow, just name it, it will be there for you to handle. Now you will find that you are the reason for your company not growing. You become inefficient, you forget things, you delay things and you become too busy, too stressed, and finally, you will feel burnt out. Don’t do this. We learn earlier that we must have definite chief aim, we must have the plan of execution, now we will learn that we must also have a system, a tool to help us manage our company well. 

ICT is a wonderful creation. The latest technology is cloud technology and mobile technology. At this stage, you are one of the thousands of SMEs now. SMEs used to be behind in ICT adoption as compared to large companies. No system. Less efficient. However, the playing field is more level now with the cloud technology. You now can get access to the sophisticated and powerful solutions that were used to be out of reach. ICT used to be a very expensive capital budget item. With the cloud, it became monthly fees that are much more affordable. Because the cloud is used by thousands of other users, the cost per user became very economical. The cost factor is one of the major benefits of the cloud to SMEs. Of course, the technology and the sophisticated solutions will make the SMEs more efficient, more competitive. The cloud technology allows them to get access to their business operation from anywhere, anytime,  from any device including from their mobile. This is fantastic for entrepreneurs because they are normally out there meeting with prospects and customers all the time.

Actually, for SMEs, there is no investment required as in the typical ‘capital budget’. Just pay a small number of monthly fees to use the cloud solutions. I have met with thousands of SMEs every year and once they understand about the powers and the benefits of cloud solutions, most of them will become cloud user. Just talk to the relevant ICT entrepreneurs about the available system, they will tell you.

All businesses have to face competition including you. It is becoming more intense nowadays. We need to be very efficient, look after our cost, our overhead and have the correct information at our fingertips so that we can make the correct decision, fast. The cloud technology with powerful and comprehensive solutions, access from anywhere, from any device will help tremendously.

You need to use technology especially cloud technology and mobile technology. As a user of the cloud technology you will benefit from the powerful solutions and able to become very efficient and effective in your company operates. You become more competitive, more efficient and your company can continue growing without the headaches that I mentioned earlier. 

At the company level, we actually use a system called OfficeCentral. Actually, we developed it for our own use and then it became our best seller with thousands of users coming online. OfficeCentral provides us and other SMEs a powerful and comprehensive solution to manage the company operating efficiently and effectively. The system provides us with many modules like accounting, accounting, payroll, finance, human resource management, customer relationship management and purchasing and point of sales including mobile applications. 

Many entrepreneurs like this because now they can operate their company from anywhere they are, not limited like before. They can get information, approve things and instruct staff while they are outside the office. They especially like the mobile module where they can operate from their mobile from anywhere. You should use ICT technology especially the cloud and the mobile in order to give yourself and your team the efficiency and speed required to bring your company a level above your competitors.