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The rapid adoption of new technologies could be the key to high growth for smaller businesses who were caught off guard at the outset of the pandemic, new research shows.
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Technology use driving business success: CPA Australia
09 August 2021
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The results of a new survey conducted by CPA Australia present a clear link between businesses that are committing resources to the adoption of new technologies, and high growth, said Gavan Ord, senior manager of business policy at CPA Australia.
“High-growth businesses spend more time and resources on technology,” Mr Ord said. “Their choice of technology puts them even further ahead of their competitors.
“Our survey results suggest other businesses may improve their growth prospects by investing in the technologies used by high-growth businesses.”
CPA Australia’s business technology survey reached 725 accounting and finance leaders across various markets including in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore, who were asked various questions related to their technology stacks and financial performance.
Its results found that high-growth businesses were more likely to use a selection of newer or more advanced technologies, like data visualisation and business intelligence, than their slower-growing counterparts.
“High-growth businesses have been focusing on technologies that deliver greater value to customers, such as data analytics and visualisation software, business intelligence software and artificial intelligence,” Mr Ord said.
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More than 89 per cent of high-growth businesses surveyed reported to be using data analytics and visualisation tools, while just over 75 per cent of stagnant businesses reported doing the same.
Higher-growth businesses also recorded a wider-spread adoption of business intelligence, with 88.6 per cent reporting its use, compared with its adoption among just 74 per cent of stagnant businesses.
Improving operational efficiency and the customer experience were reported as the key drivers for investing in technology among businesses of all sizes. But many reported entry barriers, whether financial or otherwise.
Some 41.4 per cent of respondents reported financial restraints as the leading challenge preventing them from making technological investments, while 33 per cent put it down to a lack of technology talent, and 31.2 per cent said they were having trouble migrating from older legacy systems.
Mr Ord said, for many, it’s still an unlevel playing field, which the government should invest in making fairer.
“When it comes to technology adoption, it’s not a level playing field, and many small businesses struggle,” Mr Ord said. “We support government programs to build small businesses’ digital capability.
“It’s a great way for governments to future-proof the economy.”
However, he said, smaller or slower-growing businesses should be looking to the technology stacks and workflows of higher-growth businesses to mimic their success.
“If you want to do well in business, look at what others are doing well,” Mr Ord said. “The clear lesson from our survey is that technology adoption and making the right choices leads to better business performance.”
Larger businesses, or those with more than 1,000 employees, said they’re likely to spend heavily on data analytics and visualisation software over the next 12 months, along with cloud technology, robotic process automation and artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, small businesses, or those with less than 50 employees, are more likely to focus their resources on cloud technology, video conferencing, group collaboration tools, and data analytics and visualisation software.
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