Muscat: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Sultanate of Oman are witnessing rapid transformations in the fields of digitisation and innovation.
The integration of digital technologies with an innovative approach is a critical factor in enabling these enterprises to achieve sustainable growth and enhance their competitiveness in local and global markets.
Digital technologies provide powerful tools for improving operational efficiency, expanding customer bases, and accelerating innovation in the delivery of products and services.
They also contribute to adopting innovative thinking in developing flexible business models, exploring new markets, and meeting changing customer needs more effectively.
Therefore, digitisation and innovation are an essential strategy that enables SMEs to keep pace with changes and helps them grow, expand, and compete in a rapidly changing economic environment.
Sajd Juma Al Salti, a digital transformation consultant, told Oman News Agency (ONA) that digitisation and innovation are fundamental factors contributing to enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs, especially given the accelerating technological transformation witnessed across various sectors.
He indicated that digitisation is not merely the adoption of technology but a comprehensive transformation to improve processes, expand markets, and achieve continuous innovation that enables these enterprises to adapt and grow in the changing business environment. It is a key to opening new markets for SMEs through the adoption of modern technologies such as e-commerce and digital solutions.
Al Salti added that these enterprises can expand their operations and reach local and international markets without the need for massive investments in traditional infrastructure, noting that digitisation provides the ability to reach customers quickly and easily, which opens up new opportunities for growth and expansion.
He pointed out that digital innovations contribute to improving operational efficiency and reducing costs, which is crucial for SMEs seeking to excel in a competitive market.
Through the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data analytics, these enterprises can improve their internal processes, enhancing their ability to make better and faster decisions.
Thereby, these enterprises can increase their competitiveness locally and internationally and achieve excellence in improving the quality of their products and services, he added.
Within the same context, Maha Mohammed Al Habsi, an artificial intelligence trainer, said that artificial intelligence and emerging technologies such as cloud computing, blockchain, and the Internet of Things are key and essential tools in enabling SMEs to achieve sustainable growth and expand into new markets.
She added that this trend is no longer a luxury or a future option but has become an urgent necessity in an economic environment that requires flexibility, efficiency, and the ability to keep pace with rapid changes.
She explained that many small enterprises in the Sultanate of Oman have begun exploring these technologies to achieve higher operational efficiency and reduce operational costs.
In his turn, Ishaq Hilal Al Sharyani, a specialist in training and qualifying entrepreneurs, said that despite the promising opportunities presented by digital transformation, SMEs face tangible challenges in adopting it, most notably limited financial and technical resources, a lack of specialized digital expertise, and resistance to change within some administrative bodies.
Al Sharyani added that cybersecurity and data protection also pose an additional obstacle to a full transition to digitization.
To overcome these challenges, he affirmed that enterprises must adopt comprehensive strategies that include continuous staff training, seeking digital consultancy, enhancing cooperation with emerging technology companies, and leveraging government initiatives supporting entrepreneurship. He noted that these steps enable enterprises to invest in digital infrastructure and maximize the benefits of digital transformation.
He affirmed that digital transformation is a real opportunity for SMEs to enhance their competitiveness and innovation, thereby increasing their contribution to the national economy and placing them on a sustainable growth path in the modern business world.
Meanwhile, legal advisor Mazen Salim Al Zidi said that legal legislation has directly contributed to the growth and prosperity of SMEs.
Examples include the issuance of the Law on Simplifying Litigation in certain specific disputes, such as commercial disputes related to foreign investment, rental disputes, labour disputes in the private sector, construction disputes, and disputes related to documents containing an acknowledgment of debt.
This law, he said, has contributed to expediting work and adjudicating cases that often arise from SMEs and companies with foreign investment.
