By Ongopotse Motlhanke, CEO: Khumbula Tech
Few of us could imagine a mechanic trying to do his job, as best he could, without the appropriate tools. Similarly, could we expect a bricklayer to do a neat job without his builder’s square, trowel and level?
It will always be the age of certain mainstay trades, but we are now also firmly within the realm of technology as the electronic replaces the mechanical.
The bits and bytes revolution today touches every aspect of our lives and this is especially so with start-ups. Whether the early-stage business is selling ice cream or inverters matters not. What truly matters is whether or not that start-up has access to the right business tools.
In 2025 and beyond, the ‘right tools’ for a small business increasingly refers to technological tools. Some years ago, we would probably be referring to the latest word processing or spreadsheet software. Just dispensing with pen and paper in favour of the desktop PC would be deemed enough to get on the tech bandwagon.
Today, all things technological have moved on to such a great extent that we’re talking about Artificial Intelligence and just last month, I was amazed to watch events from the first World Humanoid Robot Games! Who would’ve thought?
UWC says some 70% to 80% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa fail within the first five years of operation. The reasons given range from a lack of financial skills that sees entrepreneurs struggling with managing finances, to an inability to develop proper marketing strategies that secure adequate visibility for the new start-up.
With more than enough reasons for SMEs to not succeed, let’s not add ‘technology failure’ to the list. Fortunately, South African entrepreneurs have a wealth of trusted tech advisors to call on.
Practically all technology integration consultants would agree that there are a core of certain technology non-negotiables that should exist within any SME’s technology stack.
First-off, all profit-seeking enterprises, whether small, medium or very large, established or early-stage, need to engage with all manner of stakeholders and CPAAS solutions are the way to go.
CPAAS or Communications-Platforms-as-a-Service are Cloud-based communications tools aimed at various internal and external stakeholders. They include essential communications features like text messaging and video conferencing packaged within one convenient platform. For the owner-managed start-up where individual employees are wearing many hats, the convenience of CPAAS solutions to talk to business partners and others cannot be overestimated.
When it comes to engaging directly with current and potential customers, every early-stage business would similarly benefit significantly from highly-efficient, technology-centred multi-channel messaging.
Messaging aggregator partners can simplify the complexities of multi-channel messaging by providing a single point of access to a wide range of messaging channels, including SMS, MMS, WhatsApp, Viber, and more. Reliable message delivery, real-time analytics, and marketing industry compliance allow SME businesses to reach their audience responsibly.
Next up, we have Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platforms. Forget cybersecurity worries, privacy concerns and POPI requirements, basic corporate best practice dictates that the SME cannot have its intellectual property or creative output scattered between a mix of physical and virtual content stores.
From a nice to have just a few years ago, the secure ECM now provides the smart SME with ready online access to management data, documents and communications, including archived material. In this tech-savvy day and age, all of the SME’s data-at-rest must be encrypted and access provided via secure keys that can be revoked at any time.
Correctly implemented by a team that understands the SME mindset, the above core tech solutions can streamline the customer journey, deliver cohesive experiences across channels and devices, and reduce the complexity of business communication, all while deepening trust.
