Querétaro, Qro. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of technology in business units, from micros to large companies, however, areas of opportunity still prevail to optimize the internal processes of some companies.
Assess technological capabilities closely 90,0000 business units of the state is the main task with which the Digital SMEs program was born, an initiative coordinated by Microsoft, the Center for Competitiveness in Mexico (CCMX) and the Secretariat for Sustainable Development (Sedesu).
The program has the objective of having a digital platform, for companies to evaluate their digital capabilities, identify the range in which they are and undertake a process of digital transformation, said the head of Sedesu, Marco Antonio Del Prete Tercero.
“There are four levels of technological maturity, in which the SME company –which wishes to continue competing– will be able to access this platform and determine its degree of digital maturity, so that according to that diagnosis that is evaluated, a plan of action ”, he stated.
After the diagnosis, the second step consists of Microsoft implementing strategies that facilitate the adoption of new technologies, generating financing alternatives and approach to having software systems, among other necessary tools.
“What we are looking for is to invite the largest number of companies, to be evaluated, to determine their degree of technological maturity and from there to start a process of digital transformation that is necessary for the survival of companies,” he explained.
The pandemic accelerated the digitization of companies, however, many still do not have tools that allow them to be digitally included, said the director of the CCMX, Juan Carlos Ostolaza Cortés.
This initiative is one of several in which the competitiveness center collaborates with the state; There is a history of 380 SMEs supported since 2017, through various programs.
Likewise, he said, four business meetings have been generated with the participation of 18 large companies of the Mexican Business Council, which has generated the connection of 1,300 SMEs based in the state.
SMEs, explained the director of the CCMX, contribute almost 70% of the employment generated in the country, in addition to contributing 50% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“For Mexico SMEs are key, they generate more than 70% of jobs and more than 50% of GDP, it is essential to create mechanisms that allow their growth, professionalization and integration into value chains. The pandemic accelerated digitization in an unprecedented way, but SMEs are in the process of development. The technological gap is still large ”, he explained.
The director of Small and Medium Enterprises at Microsoft Mexico, Eduardo Saldarriaga Rengifo, explained that the program consists of five phases: diagnosis, access to a catalog of technological solutions, financing process, training phase and application of technological development.
Reinvention
At the beginning of the pandemic, he explained, it was detected that in the country 48% of the companies were already implementing remote work, meanwhile 42% of the SMEs were already reinventing their business in the face of the health contingency and 61% of the SMEs focused their efforts on reinvent the way you interact with your customers.
SMEs in Mexico, he added, are in a process of reinvention after the health contingency, which is why the technology adoption strategy was outlined.
The program seeks to accelerate the digital transformation, not only of large companies, but also of small companies, highlighted the director of Digital Innovation of Microsoft Mexico, Juan Delgado Arizmendi.
The executive said that this initiative is parallel to Microsoft’s investment plans in the entity and that it consists of the construction of a large region of data centers, although they will have independent facilities, each one will be intertwined.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx