Singapore firms are more confident about a longer-term business recovery than a short-term rebound, a study by Workday revealed.
Two-thirds of businesses (66%) are not confident in their business recovery prospects for the first quarter of 2021, but 76% say they are more confident over the next 12 months, said the company.
Study highlights
- 46% of Singaporean industries are still struggling to manage business disruption.
- 62% of companies said that it would take over four days to resolve a significant business disruption.
- For Singaporean industries, Financial Services (18%), Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals (14%) and Industrial and Chemicals (14%) are the most prepared for managing disruption.
Tech has a role to play
Looking at what new technologies specifically would be helpful for companies in responding and recovering from business disruptions, Singaporean companies cited AI and machine learning (68%), new communications infrastructure (62%), and centralised IT support and software integration (59%), according to the study.
In addition, Half (50%) said that the adoption of new technologies would have helped them to reduce financial losses from the impact of COVID-19.
A similar number said that the adoption of new technologies have also helped their companies better manage operations throughout COVID-19, with the most impact seen in cash flow and liquidity management (58%) and the supply chain (56%).
However, there are some significant barriers to overcome when investing in new technologies, Workday pointed out.
Many Singaporean companies cited the rapid pace of technological evolution, and the risk of investments being outdated (45%) and that company stakeholders generally not seeing the value of technological investments (43%) as their top barriers.
Perception of tech investment
A majority (96%) of Singaporean companies said that their industries were proactive in driving digital and technological transformation while a similar number (95%) said that their company CEOs are equally invested in this transformation, according to the study.
However, 54% of Singaporean companies believed that they are behind their peers regarding investments in technology, said Workday.
Across Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, this trend was seen to be the highest in the higher education (84%), public sector (75%), real estate & construction (73%) industries, the firm added.
This highlights that more work may need to be done in targeted initiatives to boost sectoral recovery, Workday advised.
