Digital disruption - the SME imperative

DIGITAL disruption is a phenomenon of the ages. Almost without anyone noticing it, it has irrevocably changed how companies and their boards view opportunities and challenges.

The catchphrase "disrupt or be disrupted" is a handy semaphore for what has become a battle of startups against incumbents. For incumbents, we tend to think of large companies. Video rental giant Blockbuster was caught unawares by Netflix and was bankrupted. Traditional taxi companies are eating Uber's dust. As if that is not startling enough, the average life span of an S&P 500 company - 65 years in the 1960s - is now around 15 years.

In this battle between David and Goliath, it is important to realise that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are not spared. Examples also abound of SMEs that have been disrupted by competitors with new technology-enabled business models. The impact of Amazon's online book business on book-retailing giants like Borders and Barnes & Noble is well documented - as is the almost unnoticed demis…