While 2020 will be remembered as the year where a global pandemic emerged, 2021 was equally notable.
It was the year where businesses, ranging from multinational corporations to small and medium businesses (SMBs), strengthened their footing in a new operational landscape.
Many employees are now comfortable with working from home, and digital technologies have played a huge role in this shift.
We expect a continuation of digital growth in 2022. These five digital trends will probably persist in the new year:
1) Widespread availability of 5G
Singapore will continue to make progress on its 5G rollout. Officials have said that 5G broadband cellular networks will cover half the country by the end of next year, and the whole country by 2025.
5G promises ultra-fast speeds of up to 10 times faster than 4G, and allows users to process large amounts of data with little delay. It can boost efficiency for SMBs, particularly at a time where many work processes have moved online.
However, not all 5G networks are created equally. While 5G non-standalone networks rely on existing 4G networks, the 5G standalone (SA) network does not.
The Singtel 5G SA network connects devices to hundreds of supersites across the country. It is scalable and driven by multi-access edge computing.
SMBs will be part of a robust ecosystem of industry players, and they can test the network at the 5G Garage facility before enabling it business-wide.
2) Moving to a hybrid office model
The pandemic has permanently changed the nature of work. Businesses are likely to continue embracing a hybrid office or work-from-home model in 2022.
Collaboration platforms such as Microsoft 365 will undeniably play a key role in supporting business functions. Just as importantly, they help employees remain connected to one another, the management and the organisation at large.
With this move to a more digitally connected workforce, cybersecurity should also become a greater focus for SMBs. With employees working remotely, small business owners need to take steps to ensure networks and data outside the office is safe from malicious attacks.
3) Customer engagement through messaging apps
Messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook’s Messenger are part of a consumer’s daily life. SMBs need to extend customer service offerings to these platforms. If you make the customer experience effortless and integrated into the same platforms consumers use each day, they would be more likely to return.
Businesses should keep operating with their customers digital habits in mind. A messaging app also provides a better customer experience, in an event where it is inconvenient to make a physical trip to stores.
4) Move to cloud-based services
Businesses have thought about moving to cloud-based services for years, and there is hardly a larger catalyst than a pandemic.
If you have not done so, it is time to move from on-premise legacy systems to the cloud. Operating in the cloud means important business apps are available anytime and from anywhere, manual processes can digitalised to drive efficiency and collaboration tools can be used to improve productivity.
Singtel’s cloud solutions for SMBs range from cloud hosting to cloud backup and software-as-a-service, and help businesses migrate, collaborate and work securely on the cloud.
5) Cashless payments and e-commerce
Brick-and-mortar stores are reeling from the impact of movement restrictions, but many online retailers have managed to stay afloat.
The pandemic has changed the way consumers shop and pay. SMBs thinking about riding the trend could consider starting an e-commerce arm for their business.
They can also work with more payment providers, to enable a wider range of cashless payment methods at their brick-and-mortar stores.