FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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SAGE ADVICE for SMEs 

SAGE ADVICE for SMEs 

A UK SOFTWARE FIRM EASES TECH WORRIES TO LET BUSINESSES CHASE THEIR DREAMS 

WITH THE AIM of helping local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand take advantage of the transformation promised by the digital era and Thailand 4.0, Singapore's Sage Software Asia has committed to increasing their investment in Thailand. And this country will be its base for expansion into the Indo-China region.
Robin Chao, vice president and managing director of Sage Asia, said the software company has plans to bring more partners on board as well as to establish a physical presence in Bangkok. 
"A local office will help us better connect with our local partners here, to not only handle the booming Northern and Southern regions of Thailand, but also to expand into the Indo-China area," said Chao.
Sage believes in the huge potential of the Asia-Pacific region. Beyond increasing their own sales, the company also wants to help institutions of higher learning, in cooperation with government bodies or private organisations, to help equip Thai students with the necessary skills to stay relevant and employable in the digital age.
"Sage's solutions are created from the ground-up, with the core of our solutions being a deep understanding of the specific characteristics and needs of SMEs," said Chao. This understanding has allowed the company to tailor software to suit SMEs perfectly, instead of the traditional approach of scaling back enterprise solutions. "This has set us apart from other players in the market," he said.
"Like many of the SMEs we serve, we started small and have grown beyond what seemed imaginable. We take real pride from how many of our customers have flourished and that our products have grown with them as they moved from start-up to successful, international businesses."
Even the leading-edge technologies can be suitable for smaller companies.
Because artificial intelligence (AI) is still in its early days, businesses may have the misconception that AI can only be utilised by larger companies, or by those with in-house tech know-how.
"This cannot be further from the truth, as there are many applications of AI for businesses of all sizes," said Chao. The most immediate benefit of AI is that it can offer businesses new tools to work smarter.
By adopting AI, a company would spend less time, and money, to enter data, and more time getting valuable intelligence and insights from the services used, he said.
AI can be used to augment decision making, which includes everything from choosing which products to feature on your website, to where to spend your advertising budget, and down to something as simple as keeping track of payments and updating users on how much money has been spent or saved.
"Having such minute information will help to drive better business and life decisions for large and small companies," said Chao.
He points to the example of Pegg, a chatbot created by Sage for use on Facebook Messenger and Slack. Pegg lets users manage business finances, including expenses - something that small businesses find appealing since it will allow them to focus on doing their core work.
And what of the government's Thailand 4.0 aims vision to transform the nation's economy through the adoption of technology?
SMEs are usually viewed as slow adopters of emerging technologies. It doesn't have to be that way. Sage helps SMEs navigate their way around new technologies such as AI by answering salient questions like: "What does this technology mean for me?" and "Where and how do I start?"
The role for Sage is to take on the client's technology worries. That frees local business builders to focus on chasing their dreams of leaving a legacy by concentrating on their core mission.
"Through our enterprise management portfolios like Sage X3, Sage 300 and Sage CRM, we enable SMEs to be on par with the latest technologies and developments, including Industry 4.0. We focus on bringing the best to SMEs," said Chao. "Business builders are the backbone of Thailand's economy. By supporting their expansion goals, we hope to drive the economy and ultimately the success of Thailand 4.0."

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