10 Technologies Every SME Must Use

The SME industry in India is transforming and how! With competition increasing every minute, they need to use smart technology solutions to stay ahead of the curve, always!

Here are 10 technologies that every SME must use, to keep the flag flying high.

1. Next -Gen Mobile- Smart Devices & Tablets –
   Smart devices put your office in your pocket. While a smart phone allows your employees to communicate well, check emails and operate several business operations remotely, tablet helps them in presenting well. Your employees don’t need to carry a notebook with an operating system to give a professional presentation, because tablets can be very easily connected to a projector. Smart devices are the new choice of efficient employees.
2. Social Media –
   Connecting with thousands of followers at once is not the only benefit of social media. Small enterprises all over the world are using it to get a target market, expand their audience, improve their market intelligence, increase website traffic and receive instant feedback etc, and the list doesn’t end here.
3. Cloud Computing –
   Cloud is becoming the new normal. Almost all the enterprises will be using at least one cloud service in the near future. Cloud not only helps in controlling the cash flow but also helps in improving the efficiency. Automatic updates, flexibility of usage, remote access and better and improved data security are some of the many reasons to use cloud computing.
4. Big Data –
   Businesses are piled up with huge data; however have no access to use it. Big Data refers to the technologies and techniques that help in maintaining the large databases which enterprises cannot handle manually. Big data offers better ROI on valuable enterprise data sets, although being able to rectify entirely new business problems that were quite difficult to solve with conventional techniques.
5. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software –
   The ability to see what is exactly going on with the company is the main advantage of an ERP system. ERP systems are already helping thousands of small and medium businesses save time as well as money by integrating all management functions including planning, inventory management, financing, human resources and many more.
6. Human Resource Management System (HRMS) –
   HRMS systems are being widely used by not only large organizations but also small and medium enterprises all over the globe. SMEs need very talented and hardworking workforce because they can afford a limited number of employees only. HRMS solution helps in addressing the employee problems, simplify the recruitment process, monitor KPIs and are very easy to integrate in the HR systems. So, integrate a HRMS and improve your business performance.
7. Business Intelligence (BI) –
   Small and medium industries have a better knowledge and understanding of their customer because they are closer to them, which actually gives them a competitive advantage on Business Intelligence. BI provides better historical as well as forecasted data, a proper customer insight and better solutions to business problems, thus eliminating the guess work.
8. Customer Relationship Management System (CRMS) –
   CRM systems enable the small business owners to scale their sales and service operations by sharing critical information throughout the company. For any company it is important to maintain a healthy relationship with its customers. It gives company leaders unprecedented insight into the lives of regular customers. Basic customer management software tracks the real interaction between a customer and a company’s product or service.
9. Content Management System (CMS) –
   Content Management System provides networked access to assets and can access a file through its entire lifecycle. It manages the permission to access the documents on per-document or user basis, and also enhances the collaboration and speeds up the publishing time.
10. Document Management System (DMS)-
    A DMS works just like a CMS, but is entirely a different thing. A DMS’s main function is to digitize, archive, manage and track the data stored in specific files like MS Word, MS PowerPoint etc throughout all phases of production whereas, a CMS manages all type of structured and unstructured data like raw data collected by any means e.g. images, videos, code etc.

SMEs don’t need paper and labor intensive controls like big companies, and that is why they require technologies like these, that are fast, and cost-effective methods to manage the nuts and bolts of the business.