THE Covid-19 pandemic accelerated digitalisation across most industries. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were pushed to embrace business transformation faster than anticipated, to keep ahead of the competition.

Yet while 65 per cent of Singapore’s SMEs agree on the importance of digital transformation, adoption remains slow as they face various challenges, according to the Singapore Business Federation’s (SBF) latest National Business Survey.

Another study – by Microsoft Singapore and the Association of SMEs – found that over 80 per cent of SMEs have digital transformation strategies, yet only two in five consider their transformation successful. Why might this be so?