The urgency to get businesses on the digital bandwagon is ever more crucial now then it ever was, evidently the pandemic has shown how vulnerable a business can be if it relied on its traditional way of operation. Today technology is assisting the most successful company to navigate through this crisis, digital adoption is no longer an option but a necessity.
To help businesses accelerate their aspirations to be digital ready, Maxis is assisting companies of all sizes to gauge their level of digital readiness with a Digital Readiness Index self assessment tool. During the launch event attended by Minister of Entrepreneur Dato Sri Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, the Minister pointed out to the challenges the global community is facing and how the SME sector continues to play a vital role as a buffer for Malaysia’s economy. This has prompted the Ministry to be committed in helping SME’s through these digitalisation initiatives, preparing them for both the domestic market and even expand into international markets where digital readiness will be imperative.
Paul McManus Chief Enterprise Business Office added that from studies and engagement with SMEs over the years, it’s clear that this segment needs strong support to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape and to accelerate digitalisation. The DRI has the potential to generate actionable insights on the state of digital transformation of businesses and industries in the nation, including for Government particularly as a consideration for policy implementation and best practices for digital adoption.
In conjunction with the launch, Maxis and MEDAC will be collaborating on several initiatives through the Ministry’s agencies including incorporating the DRI tool into National Entrepreneurship Institute modules and programs and also working with on similar initiatives TEKUN Nasional and Co-operative Institute of Malaysia.
During an initial test of its DRI tool among 2000 SME’s across various industries, Maxis discovered that 58% of those were categorised as ‘Not Ready’ while 61% are at basic level with just email and 40% using social media as their main communication channels. A glaring showcase on how far behind some of these companies are in terms of adoption.
The telco has been initiating various solutions to enable companies to start their journey, recently Maxis launched its Retransformation campaign as a commitment to partner corporations on their large-scale digital transformation aspiration. Maxis is part of MDEC’s Technology Solutions Provider list where SME’s could tap into. With the SME Digitalisation Grant these companies can build their digital marketing programs, electronic Point-of Sale, remote working and eCommerce solutions without the worry of over spending.
