According to a small survey, small- and medium- sized enterprises need to be address cybersecurity risks when digitalizing for resilience.
A survey of small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) in nine markets around the world has indicated some trends to watch.
Reaching out to 1,350 business professionals and executives of SMEs in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the survey commissioned by Chubb revealed four megatrends that impacted respondent businesses pursuing digital transformation (DX) amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The trends include:
- Navigating digital-first communications: approximately half of the respondents were focusing on seamless on-demand delivery of products and prioritizing tailored products and services that meet the needs of multiple generations.
- Harnessing the power of data: adopting AI technology, cloud and big data were the top three-year priorities for businesses in the survey.
- Supporting a transformed workforce: respondents were prioritizing the development of new technology capabilities and skills among employees amidst increasing competition to hire and retain workers with the relevant skills.
- Thriving in the global market: 41% of respondents were prioritizing the need to offer products or services internationally.
Stretching the international findings to the Singapore landscape which Chubb Insurance Singapore operates in, its Country President, Scott Simpson, said: “Although Singapore is not one of the nine markets surveyed, the DX megatrends are still relevant. For example, cloud adoption among Singapore SMEs has been on the rise since the start of the pandemic as companies pivoted to online business solutions to enhance operational efficiency and customer engagement. This is also boosted by the government’s support to help SMEs digitalize their business.”
According to Simpson, while increased cloud adoption and government incentives to digitalize present opportunities to grow and scale the business, SMEs will become more vulnerable to new risk exposures: from increased cybersecurity threats to additional liability challenges.
