INTHEBLACK May 2025 - Magazine - Page 40
F E AT U R E
“27 per cent [of SMEs] said [AI] improved efficiency, 24 per cent
said it improved productivity and 22 per cent said it improved
decision-making.”
GAVAN ORD, CPA AUSTRALIA
Employee engagement is also critical
to the success of any transformation project.
“During our survey, we found more than
two-thirds of employees who were surveyed
felt that AI had a positive impact on SME
workplaces,” says Marks. “Of those same
respondents, 70 per cent stated that they
came to use AI at work because they were
encouraged to do so by their employers.
This shows that employees are
generally pretty accepting
of AI adoption, at least
in small-to-medium
businesses.”
CUTTING
THROUGH
THE HYPE
Before investing
in sophisticated
tech tools,
businesses should
conduct an audit
of the AI tools
being used in
the business [see
breakout] according
to Alan FitzGerald,
founder of software
advisory business Practice
Connections. These may
include Microsoft 365, which
includes AI-powered features.
For example, Excel’s AI-powered functions
like “Ideas” and “Insert Data from Picture”
enable automated data analysis and
visualisation.
“A misunderstanding people have of AI
is that it’s something you have to buy or have
to spend huge amounts of time learning about,”
says FitzGerald. “The reality is that many of
the systems that you already have in place in
your business are using AI in some shape or
40 INTHEBLACK May 2025
form, and that’s the great opportunity.”
Marks suggests starting with a problem
the business is looking to solve and then
looking for the right tech solution.
“When we asked SMEs about the
inhibitors to AI adoption, there was a quote
from someone who said one of their barriers
was ‘the overhyped nature of AI’,” says
Marks. “They said it was ‘probabilistic,
not deterministic’.
“This shows there is some
difficulty for SMEs in
identifying the right
AI products for their
business,” she adds.
“Choosing the right
tech for a business
is really about
remembering
what problem
they’re trying
to solve. It’s easy
to lose focus
on the outcome
and become
distracted by the
marketing ploy.”
MANAGE
THE RISKS
To fully capitalise on AI’s
potential, businesses of all sizes
are encouraged to invest in upskilling
employees and exploring partnerships with
AI vendors for tailored solutions.
However, Marks also encourages
SMEs to not only consider the benefits
of AI, but also how to manage the risks
it may present.
“If you are out looking at new tools,
or want to rely on a product that doesn’t
come from a well-known provider like
Microsoft, how do you know what checks
