“GoTo has a strong partner network in place which allows us to complement our direct sales efforts and enable wider visibility around the need for IT management across India’s SMBs” – Mr. Mathew Philip, Senior Director & Country Manager, Sales, GoTo
What are the factors leading to the transformation in the IT estate for the hybrid workforce?
COVID has transcended the way we work, and businesses have adopted digitalization on massive scales. One impact of this shift is the widescale adoption of new communication and collaboration technologies. We’ve seen many leaders take action to reenergize their workforce, rethink organizational workflow management, and map it to business growth. Gartner predicts that by 2024, in-person meetings will drop from 60% of enterprise meetings to 25%, driven by remote work and changing workforce demographics. Innovation in cloud-based technology has also provided new opportunities beyond traditional software deployment, and today, businesses can tailor applications on the cloud to meet business-specific needs. There are many factors that collectively explain the growth of collaboration technology, but they focus on the drive to drive efficiency and productivity in a distributed workforce.
Why does the SMB sector need to be empowered with an IT management strategy?
SMBs need greater customization and servicing across network devices but many lack the IT infrastructure or resources to deploy robust support solutions compared to big enterprises. With digital transformation being imperative in today’s age, they must now solidify a cloud-based IT strategy or risk falling behind. Under this new reality, technology leaders of SMBs should look for partners that can solve multiple problems in a consolidated platform to create more efficient and effective IT teams to meet these new challenges head-on. Lack of skills and reskilling, tech apprehension, and limited funds have created a demand for an effective IT strategy that can manage and scale business operations and people in it. In short, SMBs need to be able to do more digitalization work with less, and that’s where solutions like GoTo Resolve are playing a crucial role in the SMB market. GoTo Resolve is a cost-effective, easy-to-use, and unified solution to enable the smooth management and complete support of technology and devices in the digital workplace, with 24/7 dedicated support for trouble-shooting and a robust security approach.
What is GoTo’s market strategy to revolutionize IT management in the SMB sector?
GoTo has a strong partner network in place which allows us to complement our direct sales efforts and enable wider visibility around the need for IT management across India’s SMBs. By coordinating with partners to better understand and meet IT admin and end users’ needs, we can not only reach greater market share, but also improve retention rates and customer satisfaction. Many of our leading India-based Global System Integrators (GSI) partner with us to leverage our support solutions to serve many of their global customers.
How can SMBs invest in an IT management strategy in times of recession and inflationary pressure?
Unlike larger companies, SMBs typically do not have the diversity of revenue streams to help them stay afloat early in recessions, which can lead to resistance against investing in new processes or tools. The good news, however, is that smaller actions will yield bigger results in terms of lowering costs and creating resilience. Removing outdated software and consolidating tech stacks are often easy places to cut costs and provide the foundation for a successful IT management strategy. When doing this kind of pruning, it is also an ideal time for companies to make sure they have the right digital tools and support their IT teams need. Making the decision to invest now in a unified and scalable IT management platform will help to ensure the business is equipped to handle unexpected network or device issues which can otherwise prove disastrous when finances are strained.
What factors should SMBs consider while addressing the proliferating demand for a robust cybersecurity system?
SMBs are increasingly becoming easy targets as they have limited IT resources and often lack awareness of new threats in the cybersecurity landscape. Even worse, any threat or attack on their software system can significantly impact business operations and outcomes. In order to get ahead of and mitigate these risks, SMB technology leaders should look at solutions offering enterprise-grade encryption, high reliability and customer support, and a zerotrust approach to their security architecture. A zero trust approach adds another layer of protection when accessing or remote controlling devices, provides higher control over IT environments and reduces exposure to risks and cyberattacks by requiring users to input a unique signature key before taking any action. Moreover, recent research from GoTo conducted by Frost & Sullivan revealed that support for IT process automation, performance, state-of-the-art security solutions, and 24/7 dedicated technical support are ranked highly in consideration for SMBs adopting a new software system.
What are the key trends and how does the future of SaaS-based remote work tools look like?
The adoption of SaaS technology has accelerated even further in the last several years as businesses have moved out of physical spaces and into a hybrid / remote work model. SaaS-based tools to support both remote collaboration and IT operations have become essential to the new remote workplace. While companies early in the pandemic purchased various tools from different providers, many are now evaluating their tech stacks and looking to consolidate their tools. In fact, our research with Frost & Sullivan found that 95% of companies have plans to consolidate their tools in 2022, with many already in the process of evaluation. Consolidating SaaS is a major priority as companies look to improve accessibility and lower cost barriers, particularly for the many small and medium-sized businesses that rely on the flexibility and scalability offered by remote software solutions.
How can SMBs attract, retain, and upskill the right IT talent for the future and prepare the next generation?
For SMBs to remain strong in the face of worker shortages and the looming economic downturn, they need a strong IT team equipped with the right technology. By investing in a robust tech infrastructure and the proper tools for IT teams need to do their jobs well, business can demonstrate to both prospective new talent and current employees that they are committed to their success. Upskilling employees also lets them know that leadership is future-proofing their organization and that the company is sustainable for the long haul. It’s key for leaders to create a culture of innovation and expose and train IT teams with the newest tools, even bringing in outside experts for training if necessary.
