The Answer to Building Business in the New Digital Economy

The global and pan-regional economies are changing rapidly.

Immense progress is being made with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations – the most substantial trade agreement ever conceived for the Asia-Pacific region. The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is slated to be established this year. And, several maturing technologies have converged to catalyse a transformation across Asia that will lead to a new, hyperconnected future. With these changes new economic geographies are being formed. Thus, it is vital for Australian business leaders to consider new business models.

Wake up to a World of The Borderless Enterprise

With TPP, existing barriers are broken and borders are erased. This provides an opportunity for significant gains for Australian businesses as a better trade environment fuelled by the TPP promotes economic integration of Australia into the region.

In 2012, Australian exports to partner countries were worth nearly $100 billion. Currently, more than 70 per cent of Australia’s trade is with Asia-Pacific but in order for Australian businesses to fully grasp the opportunity at hand in this new economy, they will have to change their business models and expansion plans to be globally compatible.

While it is certain that the TPP will provide the Australian business community with opportunities for innovation and growth, it is also certain that businesses will be met with an influx of fierce competition from overseas.

Connect Your World on the Cloud

At the same time as trade agreements like AEC and TPP are changing the face of business from a regulatory point of view, enterprises of all sizes are facing an even bigger challenge as technology and connectivity transform the global economy into a digital one.

In this digital economy, individuals, businesses and societies are more inter-connected than before and this further lowers barriers to foreign competition, as well as adds another level of complexity for growing businesses. To compete effectively, businesses must be able to operate seamlessly across borders, be more collaborative, intelligent and responsive. To do this, they must leverage the Cloud to ensure they have the resources and agility they need to flourish in an increasingly connected marketplace while running simply

The adoption of Cloud-based technologies provides Australian businesses with opportunities to drastically improve the way they operate in the new economy. By leveraging the cloud businesses can: quickly leverage the most current and innovative applications and software; streamline processes providing businesses the agility needed to run simply across geographies; develop and run custom applications to suit unique growing business needs; and, improve channels for collaboration with customers, partners and suppliers.

Harnessing the Power of Partners

In addition to adopting the right technology to capitalize on the opportunities in the new economy, businesses must also possess a sound understanding of the local and regional markets they aim to expand in. Here, partners can help.

Local partners with local knowledge are critical for companies who want to leverage overseas opportunities. A strong partner ecosystem provides Australian businesses with competitive insights into the business environment they aspire to operate in, from customer behavior and needs, to regulations and best practices.

By mobilizing partners across borders, companies can bring in more revenues and gain an edge over their competitors. Take SAP for example – today, the company has more than 12,800 partner companies around the world. To ensure strong and profitable partner relationships, SAP implemented the PartnerEdge program. The award-winning program empowers SAP partners to successfully sell, build, and deliver solutions and services to transform their businesses to meet the growing needs of today’s market. At SAP we are aware of the incredible value strong partnerships bring to the table for growing businesses. This is why we continuously look to build new relationships with local partners who create tailored and specialized offerings to help businesses excel in their industry.

In Australia, 51 per cent of SMEs say their company is increasingly focused on new geographic markets. SAP’s partner network provides deep local expertise and industry knowledge, as well as experience in helping Asian and Australian SMEs access other markets via their own Partner networks or multi-regional entities.

With the global economy becoming borderless and increasingly hyper connected, economic models are being reshaped requiring businesses to work with partners hand in hand to better compete. By harnessing the power of a strong partner ecosystem, Australian businesses will be better equipped with an essential, robust understanding of the local markets they choose to expand in, their systems ready for compliance to local and international regulations, positioning them on a stronger footing for success in the new digital economy.

Anthony McMahon is SAP's Senior Vice-President of Global Partner Operations for Asia Pacific and Japan

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