Todd Pruzan, HBR
Welcome to the HBR Video Quick Take. I’m Todd Pruzan, senior editor for research and special projects at Harvard Business Review. Over the last few years, midsize companies have made huge leaps in adopting technology to survive, enabling their employees to work remotely, switching to online stores, improving supply chain visibility, and offering online learning.
Today, we’re talking about that with David Hamilton, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at SAP Concur and chief marketing and solutions officer at SAP Midmarket. David, thanks for being with us.
David Hamilton, SAP
Thank you for having me.
Todd Pruzan, HBR
David, how did technology play a role for companies to survive all these recent disruptions?
David Hamilton, SAP
It’s been really tough. These have been challenging times. IDC Research, commissioned by SAP, showed midsize companies that have completed or [are] in advanced stages of digital transformation were much more successful in continuing to drive growth in revenue and market share. And they were able to positively navigate the pandemic.
These leaders have adopted technologies that may have seemed available only to large enterprises in the past. For instance, one example is, of those leading companies, 92% of them have adopted or plan to adopt an ERP system.
Todd Pruzan, HBR
Ninety-two percent—that’s pretty impressive. David, as you said, many of these technologies only seemed appropriate for the big guys in the past. So what’s changed?
David Hamilton, SAP
It is really interesting. I think what we’ve seen is this democratization for these midsize companies. And it’s the ability to consume technology through the cloud that’s at the heart of that because the cloud allows companies of all sizes to adopt advanced tech functionality without having to invest in servers or expand their IT departments.
For instance, companies can benefit from technology with embedded AI and machine learning without having to be experts. It’s a real-time value-add, since software continually gets more intelligent. Also, companies that have higher adoption of cloud technology, because it’s pushed directly to employees, can immediately use it.
Todd Pruzan, HBR
Well, that makes sense. David, how does technology support growth?
David Hamilton, SAP
Well, technology supports growth in many different ways. It can provide connections across the business. It can help automate repetitive tasks, which helps teams to be more efficient, freeing them to focus on projects that drive business value. Technology can provide increased visibility across the business and give you scale to align with company growth. Technology could also help with flexibility and agility. You can seize opportunities in new markets without having to worry about compliance, or respond to new customer demands and innovative products, and deal with supply chain disruptions more quickly. It is at the core of growth opportunities for companies of all sizes.
Todd Pruzan, HBR
OK, so what do you recommend midsize companies do to take the next step to be ready for growth?
David Hamilton, SAP
The first thing I really recommend is companies do an internal review of their biggest pain points. Perhaps it’s the ability to manage employees remotely or improve supply chain diversification—it could be many different things—and based on this, make the right technology decisions to support these pain points.
For instance, one of the first things to consider is likely a core ERP solution that can serve as the foundation for growth and help address a number of pain points. An ERP solution can give visibility across the business, reducing the data needed to make decisions, automate processes, and reduce costs.
Todd Pruzan, HBR
OK, well, that’s a great overview. David, thank you so much for a great conversation, for all of your insights today.
David Hamilton, SAP
Thank you so much for having me.
David Hamilton is the senior vice president and chief marketing officer at SAP Concur and chief marketing and solutions officer at SAP Midmarket.
