Business management platform MYOB’s latest poll of just over 500 mid-market* business leaders and decision-makers in New Zealand, reveals that more than 8-in-10 of those surveyed saw a return on investment (ROI) on their software upgrades within 12 months. Impressively, just under 1-in-5 said they experienced a positive impact or saw a ROI immediately, and more than a quarter (28%) saw benefits within six months.
In terms of where business leaders are looking to see returns from their spend on technology, respondents called out: revenue growth (64%), efficiency gains (58%), cost savings (55%) and improved customer satisfaction (39%).
MYOB Executive General Manager – Enterprise & Practice, Kim Clarke, says the new insights demonstrate why mid-market leaders can continue to be confident around investing in improvements or changes to their software heading into 2025.
“We know that for many mid-market operators, quantifying cost-benefit scenarios and ROI around new digital solutions or software upgrades can be challenging, but it’s essential to their business case in order to get buy-in and support from senior leadership.
“In an environment where business spend remains tight as enterprises ride out economic headwinds, it’s incredibly important that leaders understand and feel confident that their investment in new digital platforms will see them get a jump-start on their competitors as conditions improve. Looking at the data, it’s evident that strong returns are there for the taking and quick to make a tangible impact.”
MYOB’s latest insights show cloud-based technology is used by the mid-market across a range of key business functions, including finance and accounting operations (50%), asset and inventory management (41%), project management (31%), and supply chain resource management (29%)**.
As for which software and digital solutions are most likely to see investment over the next year, nearly half of those surveyed (47%) plan to add, improve or upgrade their finance and accounting software in the next 12 months, while 45% have enterprise resource planning (ERP) software upgrades in their sights, followed by customer relationship management (CRM) software (42%)**.
“Understandably, given local economic conditions, we’ve seen the local mid-market take a measured approach to cloud software investment over the last couple of years,” Kim adds.
“But with optimism increasing, revenue and sales pipelines growing, and more than half of those we polled aiming for business expansion in the next five years, leaders are now homing in on the digital investments that will lift their performance and accelerate their growth agenda. Those that aren’t in this hunt, will quickly find themselves falling behind the pack.”
On top of a strong and swift ROI, MYOB’s survey highlights the top factors influencing purchasing decisions by mid-market operators when it comes to assessing digital solutions. Employee user experience takes priority (44%), followed by reliability (40%), convenience (31%), and affordability (31%).
Examples of New Zealand mid-market businesses successfully harnessing the benefits of cloud-based software - in this case MYOB’s cloud ERP solution, MYOB Acumatica - to achieve growth and scale can be seen amongst those recently recognised in the inaugural MYOB Acumatica Awards for 2024. Stand-outs included John Brooks and the University of Canterbury Students Association, which were both shortlisted as finalists for the Business of the Year Award.
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Rosie Miller
NZ PR Specialist
E: rosie.miller@myob.com