Business Reporter: Equipping scale-ups with the tools for growth

Scale-ups may comprise half of the UK's SME economy but, battered by the pandemic, their future hangs in the balance

LONDON, Nov. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In an article published on Business Reporter, Romain Gauthier, Customer Officer, SAP EMEA North, describes the importance of scale-ups to the economy. These innovative companies, driven by digital native thinking and ambitious in their scope, are expanding fast, shaking up industries and challenging many established businesses.

But scale ups are facing very real challenges as a result of the pandemic, including a massive funding shortfall of up to £15 billion.

As start-ups move to scale-ups, they need to change from a highly entrepreneurial and risk-taking mindset into a more mature, but still flexible, approach. Investment in sophisticated back-office solutions is part of this change because the stability these platforms provide supports the rapid growth that scale-ups experience. In addition, investors at the scale-up stage will audit systems to see whether they are robust and professionally structured.

The merits of intelligent technology suites are clear; they should not be seen as aspirational for scale ups but rather as essential. This is why the Grow by SAP initiative has been launched. This is a programme designed for scale-ups that provides essential back-office business requirements, from finance, to procurement, project management, core HR and business analytics. It comes with fast implementation schedules and minimum up-front financial risk.

Scalability and the ability to attract talent are key reasons why European tech scale-ups are failing. These fast-growing businesses represent the future of the European economy. Powering their back-ends with cloud-based, automated solutions is key to attracting the investment required to propel these businesses to achieving their potential and retaining the talent they need to succeed.

Learn more about supporting scale ups with intelligent technology platforms here.

About Business Reporter

Business Reporter is an award-winning supplement published in the Sunday and Daily Telegraph, City AM and online, delivering news and analysis on issues affecting businesses to a global audience. It also hosts conferences, debates, breakfast meetings and exclusive summits.

About SAP

SAP is a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: 77% of the world's transaction revenue touches an SAP® system. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers' businesses into intelligent enterprises.