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October 5, 2022
As we underwent a recent kitchen remodel, we discovered an advancement in new oven technology – that’s right, the oven.
Now, an oven can be both a microwave and a conventional oven, which means there is no longer a need for a microwave oven in addition to your typical oven – which in turn gave us more valuable cupboard space.
Much like at home, significant technological advancements are also being made in the business world.
One of the most significant in the small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) realm recently is a single login to all your software.
Imagine logging in first thing in the morning at work, and you enter one password to access all your software – one password to access your accounting, CRM, strategy and human resources software.
In fact, your accounting software has already updated your metrics in your strategy software.
Can you imagine how much your business will improve when your software is connected within a single login?
It would be a game changer.
According to the Small Business Council, more than 99% of all U.S. businesses have fewer than 500 employees.
Think of the tangible available market (TAM) of capturing, let’s say, 60% of all SMBs on a single login – we’re talking billions of dollars of potential revenue for whoever wins the race to a single login.
Intuit’s purchase of MailChimp (an all-in-one marketing platform) in September 2021 was their first move in the race.
In addition, I believe Intuit is now working on bolting on a Tactical Human Resource (HRIS) software to their platform.
As a result, Intuit could offer a single login to all SMBs for integrated accounting, marketing and tactical human resources software when that happens.
The beauty of capitalism is that other software integrators see this opportunity and the TAM will not let Intuit run away with it.
Over the next two to four years, expect a wild ride, as software integrators consolidate the industry in a race to be a dominant single login provider.
What does this mean to SMB leaders, and what should they do about it?
This future is coming – it’s not if, but when.
Preparation is key.
Here are few steps businesses can take to help them thrive through the SMB technology disruption:
Form your own point-of-view (hypothesis) of where technology is going for SMBs – Based on almost three years of research, we believe strongly in the future we see coming, but you still need to have conviction in your vision of the future. Use your thoughts to develop your vision, but don’t stop there – research, talk with experts in this space and continue to develop your vision for the future.Create/document your current and future technology stack – Begin by documenting the current software you use to run your business and then lay out a vision of where you want your software (tech) stack to be in three to five years. You can start with one department’s tech stack (leadership team) and complete the exercise if you have an enormous tech stack.Develop a technology plan to close the gap (current to future) – Now that you know the gap (i.e., from where your tech stack is, compared to where it needs to be), you can create a plan, with an owner, to close the gap. Include your technology plan in your upcoming strategy and talent planning process. Out of this plan will come action plans, sprint goals and talent decisions (i.e., hiring technology talent) to help move you closer to your future tech stack.
Like any vision, the road to a single login will likely have challenges.
For example, what if you move to a single login, but don’t like the accounting software compared to the one you currently have?
Those issues will resolve themselves, but the fact of a single login future for SMBs is inevitable.
If you’re like me, I was initially hesitant to be all in on technology, but I quickly realized we had two choices for the future of our business – be part of the technology disruption or a victim of it.
Looking at it that way, can help make it an easy decision.
Steve Van Remortel is the Founder/CEO of MyTalentPlanner, chief strategist and talent advisor at Stop the Vanilla, LLC and is a speaker, trainer, advisor and three-time author.
