How to bridge the digital divide for small businesses
The digital divide, as it has been called, has morphed into the equivalent of the Grand Canyon for these firms to overcome. They struggle with productivity, customer satisfaction and, thanks to cybersecurity risks, they have become the weakest link in the supply chain.
Not only do they need to urgently modernize their operations and bring their practices up to today’s standards, but they must do this while competing for their survival.
For all the hype and publicity around companies rolling out the latest AI tool, there is another group that is still wandering the proverbial technology desert. These are the small businesses that time forgot. Worse than being labeled as dinosaurs, they are, in fact, stuck. Stuck in the 1990s, to be exact.
Handcuffed to the past
When I got my start in IT in 1997, it was an era when dial-up modems were how you connected to the Internet, Netscape Navigator was the main browser, Windows 95 was the hottest software in town and a fax was still an essential mainstay of every office.
Business was done face-to-face or on a landline. For the lucky few, they had a Nokia 2G mobile phone that supported a revolutionary new communications tool – SMS. No emojis, no pictures, just good old 160-character text you paid upwards of 50 cents a pop for.
Quotes, orders and purchases were spat out through the facsimile, and so too did the odd junk fax. Before email spam became a problem, the junk fax was how you spammed a business if you weren’t cold-calling them.
Novell NetWare was king of the networking playground; Lotus Notes was the collaboration tool of choice and Microsoft Office 97 was available on CD-ROM or 20 floppy disks.
This ‘digital time capsule’ isn’t merely about nostalgia or reluctance to change – it’s often rooted in the real costs, complexities and skills gap associated with digital transformation.
Fast forward to 2025, and these endangered species are still around, running on Novell and sporting the odd Windows 95 logo on a PC display for all to reminisce.
Before we pile on to these forgotten relics, don’t look past our government, where the Australian Bureau of Statistics had to take a pass on testing Microsoft’s Copilot AI tool because their records are gathering dust in an antiquated Lotus Notes system.
Despite the rollout of the National Broadband Network, the plethora of free cloud software and commodity-like pricing of devices, these small businesses have been handcuffed to the past.
This ‘digital time capsule’ isn’t merely about nostalgia or reluctance to change – it’s often rooted in the real costs, complexities and skills gap associated with digital transformation. Too often, they have a manufacturing or factory system they won’t upgrade, an owner who can’t let go, and staff who like stepping back in time every morning they go to work.
Moving forward
The idea of overhauling a company’s technology can seem daunting, and the costs may appear prohibitive. However, the return on investment far outweighs the initial expense, and there are numerous ways to bridge the gap.
The first step is acknowledging that unless you part with old machinery or systems that can’t connect to modern technology, you will forever be driving with the handbrake on.
Once that is released, start to create a plan on how you can migrate low-risk activities to the cloud, like email, which most of us moved to in the 2010s. Then expand the plan to advance in areas as the need requires, like files, messaging, collaboration and productivity.
Then it’s time to think about your team. There is nothing worse for them than when they can track their food via Uber Eats from the comfort of their La–Z–Boy while they stream Netflix, but logging into work remotely is completely off-limits. Your plan should branch into examining areas most stuck in the dark ages as well, like paper forms or manual processes that sink morale.
The return on investment far outweighs the initial expense, and there are numerous ways to bridge the gap.
From here, it’s time to hit the common customer frustrations, especially around items like digital payment options and ecommerce websites, making it easier to do business with.
Threading its way through this Back to the Future road map is cyber risk. Outdated hardware or software might as well have a neon sign that says, ‘Attack here’. Ensuring you mature your cybersecurity throughout this journey is critical to keep you moving forward.
While upgrading may feel like a leap into the unknown, the benefits of modernizing far outweigh the costs of remaining in a 1990s time capsule. Today’s digital landscape offers immense opportunities for those willing to adapt, which also contributes to a stronger, more resilient economy.
Don’t wait. Tools may change, but the entrepreneurial spirit remains timeless.