SAP announced the findings of its ‘Planning for prosperity: assessing family business future-readiness in South and South-east Asia’ study, which was conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
Family Businesses and the Future
Singaporean family businesses are embracing emerging technologies for business success. A new study by The Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by SAP, found that Singapore family businesses are ready to utilise emerging technologies to drive business success, such as data analytics, automation, machine learning, and cloud computing. These results show that businesses are prepared to put aside traditional business models. The majority of businesses believe that they need to change at least somewhat in order to overcome challenges in the next three years.
The regional multi-country study, ‘Planning for prosperity: assessing family business future-readiness in South and South-east Asia’, assessed and benchmarked the readiness of family businesses to meet future challenges. Singapore family businesses, many now in their third generation, are also very confident about their future. Businesses are collaborating with other organisations for better business outcomes, with half saying it is likely they will launch new products and services. A third of the businesses surveyed are saying the primary benefit of partnerships with other organisations is access to new geographical markets.
A Focus on Singapore
According to the study, family businesses in Singapore view partnerships as crucial to ensuring survival and growth. They are also open to collaboration with other companies to develop new products and to cultivate new customer segments These new partnerships drive product innovation and expansion into different markets.
“Family businesses are trusted, home-grown enterprises that form an important part of the bedrock of Singapore’s private sector, and their optimistic outlook towards the future bodes well for the economy,” said Michael Gold, EIU editor of the report. “To strengthen their legacy and seize opportunities in the digital economy, they cannot continue to depend solely on connections or customer loyalty. Family businesses and SMEs need to future-proof themselves with digital know-how and innovation, in order to compete successfully in the international arena.”
The full report is available for download .
