SMEs in Malaysia Need More Than Email & WhatsApp to Stay Ahead
If your SME in Malaysia still runs mostly on email threads and WhatsApp group chats, it’s time to reconsider. Those tools were never built for scalable business collaboration. While they feel familiar and convenient, they silently drain hours, slow decisions, and limit growth. In contrast, a unified collaboration platform such as Lark Suite lets SME teams work faster, with more clarity, control, and professionalism.
In this article, we’ll cover:
- The hidden costs and inefficiencies of relying solely on email & WhatsApp
- How Lark Suite solves those problems with modern collaboration tools
- Key advantages of Lark over email & WhatsApp, side-by-side
- A rollout plan for SMEs to adopt Lark
- FAQs tailored to Malaysian SME needs
The Hidden Costs of Relying Only on Email & WhatsApp
- Time Lost in Email Chains & Thread Clutter
In many SMEs, decisions get stuck waiting for someone to respond by email. The back-and-forth, cc’ing multiple people, forwarding documents, versions getting lost — these all add up. Studies indicate knowledge workers spend up to 28% of their day just managing email workflows.
- Attachment Chaos & Version Conflicts
Using WhatsApp or email to share documents often leads to multiple versions (proposal_final_v3.docx, etc.). Teams waste time reconciling versions, asking “which is the latest?”
- No Task Tracking
WhatsApp isn’t designed for assigning tasks or tracking status. Email can track via TO/CC, but not effectively. There’s no built-in accountability or reminder system.
- Scattered Communication
Discussions about a project span multiple WhatsApp groups and email threads, making it hard to find context or history.
- Delay in Real-Time Collaboration
You cannot jointly edit a proposal in real time through WhatsApp or email. You must download, send, revise, resend — a slow process.
- Scalability & Admin Limitations
As your team grows, managing group chats, permissions, and data confidentiality becomes a nightmare. WhatsApp groups often have no admin controls; emails have limited role-based controls.
- Professionalism & Branding Gaps
Clients expect smooth, polished communications. A business relying solely on WhatsApp and personal email accounts looks small-scale and fragmented — hard to build trust.
In Malaysia, with rising digital expectations, such inefficiencies can cost SMEs real opportunities.
How Lark Suite Solves Those Problems
Lark Suite is a unified platform that integrates chat, meetings, tasks, and cloud documents into one system, thereby addressing the flaws of email + WhatsApp.
- Structured chat & channels — separate topics, projects, teams. No more mixing personal chatter with business.
- Instant meetings within context — convert chat threads into video calls without leaving the app.
- Task assignment & tracking — create tasks from chat, set deadlines, monitor progress.
- Cloud drive + real-time document editing — everyone works on the same file version with version history.
- Permissions & admin controls — role-based access, audit logs, sharing rules.
- Mobile + desktop support — for hybrid teams, field staff, or employees on the move.
- Search across chats, files, tasks — find anything quickly instead of digging through WhatsApp archives.
- Better user experience & branding — unified look, professional meeting links, branded docs.
Because Lark is designed as a business collaboration tool, all these roles are integrated and consistent.
Key Advantages: Lark vs Email & WhatsApp
Here’s a side-by-side comparison of using Lark vs relying on email + WhatsApp:
|
Feature
|
Email + WhatsApp
|
Lark Suite Advantage
|
|
Chat & Messaging
|
Informal, mixed group / personal
|
Organised threads, channels, DMs
|
|
File Sharing
|
Attachments, size limits, version chaos
|
Cloud storage, version history, previews
|
|
Task Management
|
No native support
|
Built-in task boards, deadlines, reminders
|
|
Video Meetings
|
Not supported
|
Meetings built in context
|
|
Document Collaboration
|
Send attachments back and forth
|
Real-time editing in Docs / Sheets
|
|
Permissions & Controls
|
Minimal in WhatsApp, email control only
|
Granular admin rights & access rules
|
|
Search & Retrieval
|
Limited search in chats or email
|
Unified search across chat, files, tasks
|
|
Scalability
|
Group size & management issues
|
Scales with roles, permissions, structure
|
|
Professional Branding
|
Some emails, personal accounts
|
Meeting links, docs under your domain
|
This table highlights how Lark eliminates many inefficiencies and friction points that weigh down SMEs relying on email and WhatsApp.
Implementing Lark in Your SME: A Roadmap
- Pick one pilot team (e.g. marketing or operations)
- Migrate core files into Lark Drive
- Train champions to support colleagues
- Use chat instead of WhatsApp for internal work
- Introduce meetings & tasks gradually
- Track & measure metrics: response time, deal close time, onboarding speed
This gradual adoption helps minimise disruption.
Conclusion
Email and WhatsApp have their place, but for Malaysian SMEs wanting to scale, they’re no longer sufficient. Lark Suite offers a modern, integrated platform that addresses every gap: chat, file collaboration, tasks, meetings, and admin control. By switching, SMEs gain speed, clarity, professionalism, and operational control.
In Malaysia’s competitive, digital economy, SMEs that adopt proper collaboration tools will lead, not lag.
FAQs (for Malaysian SMEs)
- Can Lark completely replace email & WhatsApp?
Not 100%. External communication with clients, vendors, and regulators still often happens via email or WhatsApp. However, up to 70–80% of internal communication can move into Lark, reducing the daily dependency on email clutter and WhatsApp groups. This shift helps teams respond faster and avoid miscommunication.
- How much time will my team save by using Lark?
According to McKinsey, employees spend about 28% of their workweek managing email and 19% searching for information (source). Lark consolidates messaging, files, and tasks in one place, which can reclaim 20–25% of wasted time per employee weekly. For SMEs with 20 staff, that’s equivalent to adding 4–5 full-time workers without hiring more.
- Will clients need Lark to communicate?
No. Clients and external partners don’t need accounts to join Lark meetings or view shared files. They can simply click a meeting link or file link — similar to Zoom or Google Drive sharing. This makes SMEs look more professional while keeping communication flexible.
- Is Lark secure enough for sensitive business data?
Yes. Lark provides enterprise-grade security, including data encryption, role-based access, and audit trails. With cybersecurity incidents in Malaysia increasing (the MyCERT 2023 report logged over 5,000 incidents source), having a secure platform is critical for SMEs that handle customer data.
- How does Lark support remote or hybrid teams in Malaysia?
Malaysia has 97.4% internet penetration as of 2023 (source), and many SMEs now employ remote or hybrid setups. Lark’s mobile-first design ensures field staff, salespeople, and remote employees can collaborate in real-time with HQ, whether in KL, Penang, or rural Johor.
- How does Lark improve employee onboarding?
Instead of sending scattered WhatsApp messages or long email PDFs, HR teams can create an onboarding channel with tasks, FAQs, and training docs. New staff complete steps systematically and can refer back anytime. This reduces repetitive HR queries by up to 40%, according to companies using centralised onboarding tools.
