Using technology to develop improve communications and relationships
TECHNOLOGY has shrunk the globe and increased the speed at which we communicate, and do business, in so many ways that it can be very difficult to remember what our working lives used to be like.
But while technology is more immediately aligned with global, its role in local, and hyperlocal, should not be overlooked.
Microsoft, a company which is a byword for global, has embraced the importance of small and local and has been active across the region in engaging with SMEs and business organisations through its network of partners and also partnership.
It is working with Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, Leeds City Council, higher education organisations, as well as everyone from small businesses to big banks.
One recent manifestation of its partnership with Santander was its involvement in the bank’s business conference for SMEs in Leeds which was designed to inspire and challenge business owners and managers.
Chris Rothwell, Microsoft’s small and medium business customer lead, said: “The culture has changed the investment required for an SME. For example, any business can now have a CRM system.
“It’s a huge change that’s putting a lot of that power within reach of the SME.
“It changes how you work with your customers, how you share information.”
That change can also reduce the reliance on individuals, a constant challenge for small businesses.
He added: “Technology can help people take information out of their brains – which is particularly important when people leave.
“In every size of business you work in a networked way. Business needs software to reflect how people work.”
Damian McGann, Santander’s divisional managing director, said: “Microsoft have clearly got good technology but they have also got some really great people who make the complex simple.
“‘Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’ is one of my favourite sayings.
“We are working with Microsoft because they have a really super way of engaging with SMEs. In a complex arena of technology they are very user friendly. We very much support that agenda.”
He added: “It’s part of our strategy to grow in the SME space. To do that we need to work with partners who are the best in their field.
“That’s why we are working with Microsoft who are helping us to harness the opportunities in technology and who can speak to business about technology and the opportunities for them.”
Mr Rothwell believes those opportunities are not only for businesses that are looking to grow.
“Every business has some sort of connection to digital,” he said. “There are 2m businesses in the UK that don’t have a website. That’s terrifying. If you think about consumer behaviour, if you are looking for a restaurant, a butchers, a hairdressers, you look online.
“There are lots of businesses that say they aren’t looking to grow dramatically or find new customers but it can be about whether people can find you, for example on mapping programmes. “People assume that if there’s no website, you aren’t trading.
“Even at a basic level those things are really important.”
