An IT Infrastructure for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises Willing to Compete in the Global Market

Context: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the economy of most countries. There is large evidence in the literature that digitalisation improves the market performance of enterprises and, as a consequence, it helps the growth of their businesses. Aims: The present position paper sketches the authors' vision about an IT infrastructure for SMEs willing to compete in the global market. Method: A literature review is conducted on relevant topics concerning SMEs. In light of the published studies, two factors are essential for the survival of SMEs in the global market: (a) ally themselves with SMEs operating in the same market segment; (b) offer an amazing shopping experience to their customers. Results: The pillar of the proposal is the notion of Digital Network (DN), i.e., a network of collaborating SMEs physically distributed over a territory, which share the objective of selling goods and/or services to potential consumers through a digital platform. We envision the availability of a "generator" of DNs as the main pillar for helping SMEs. Each instance returned by the generator consists of two integrated portals: the SMEs Portal and the Customer portal. The present study provides preliminary findings that give substance to the soundness of the started project.