SMEs are moving ICT discussions from the realms of IT department to the Board room

Sonal Desai

Prateek Pashine, Head, Enterprise Business, Tata Teleservices, talks about overall the technology landscape, the impact of new technologies on the enterprises and SMEs, in an interview with CIOL

These are good days for the IT vendors. With India Inc. and the consumers adopting IoT, big data and cloud computing in a big way, what are the tactical and strategic changes you see taking place in the industry in the next few years?
While big data, enterprise mobility, the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing were only technology buzzwords earlier, businesses are actually undergoing a transformation towards embracing these disruptive technologies.

The massive adoption of these disruptive technologies around the world is due to the numerous business benefits through a whole new definition of collaboration and connectivity ultimately generating business value.

The transformation phase has enterprises strategize and include enterprise mobility as part of a renewed approach towards business. This is the change that’s already happening within the industry. The integration of new technologies along with their various applications and software make it easier for the workforce to collaborate and communicate with staff, customers, and vendors. This strategic change allows companies to have an unprecedented level of connectivity.

The other bigger tactical change that is seen is the way businesses are utilizing benefits of big data and cloud computing; slowly moving towards a world where IoT will become the new mantra of business operations. The penetration of IoT has increased in the day-to-day functioning of SMEs. The network is continually collecting valuable data that has the potential to fundamentally change the way SMEs work.

What will be the impact?
The impact will be significant. Adoption of smarter technologies like cloud computing and IoT in business not only increases productivity and operational efficiencies for enterprises, but will also help in cost-cutting.

The main roadblocks faced by SME sector in India are the lack of technology know-how, funding options, unclear return on investments, cluttered product portfolio, high cost for technical support and high investments made in legacy systems.

Most importantly, the new technologies will put customer demand, production and supplier data in context at a rate that is faster and more accessible. This in turn will lead to lower costs, increased efficiency and faster response times. SMEs in India are the smartest section lapping to the huge benefits that smart technologies deliver to the changing market dynamics.

Next page: The vertical impact

Which are the verticals that will be the frontrunners, why?
According to us, the verticals that will lead the adoption of cloud, big data and IoT in coming years will be BFSI, logistics, manufacturing, IT/ITeS and Government/PSUs.

The BFSI sector as a whole has undergone notable structural change in terms of regulatory frameworks and securitization. Adoption of these technologies will enable them to overcome a serious challenge posed by extensive network and geographical spread, in terms of managing operations, IT infrastructure and communicating efficiently with customers and employees.

To stay competitive in a sector such as logistics, it will be necessary to streamline operational activities and processes in order to increase productivity and meet the needs of their consumers. The best way to achieve this is by implementing integrated solutions that support and automate business processes.

Adoption of these new-age technologies will play a crucial role in helping manufacturing companies maintain their competitive advantage and sustain long-term growth.

The IT/ITeS vertical has to react faster to the changes in the marketplace by maximizing resource utilization and reducing operational costs. Wide geographical spread and global delivery model of these companies requires enhanced adoption of these technologies, in addition to high bandwidth for voice and data connectivity.

Finally, the sheer scale of projects infrastructure across the length and breadth of the country, presents a complicated problem to the Government/PSU vertical. Since the projects require critical applications and are highly sensitive, there is a pressing need for a robust and reliable network to ensure real-time access to information. At the same time, there is the need to optimize implementation and operational costs and improve citizen services with the most effective and efficient solutions. All these challenges will be resolved by wide adoption of cloud, IoT and big data technologies.

Also, the developments would lead to lot of consolidation in the industry as well as the customer place. How do you view the developments? Will these be a challenge or an opportunity?
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There is a sudden focus on the SMB and the SMEs in the country. What are the new opportunities you see in this space?
As per recent reports, India is home to 48.8 million SMBs which contribute more than $600 billion to the country’s GDP and is set to emerge as the largest SMB national globally.

According to Zinnov study, the sector is growing at a CAGR of 53 percent. A lion's share of technology-ready SMBs in the country is very small in size with an employee base of less than 10. This clearly shows the increased awareness and interest level of base level SMBs in technology which is also an indicator of India's technology progress.

The opportunity in the SME is tremendous and we are well poised to grow our market share across products in this space. The key to doing business in this segment is how quickly and easily can we provide services to these customers.

From the initial days when SMBs were opting for technology only to save on costs, to mature conversations with CIOs, CTOs and CISOs in SMBs, where do you see the new trend?
Agreed, the use and adoption of technology has taken leap to a new level.

SMEs are moving ICT discussions and decisions from the realms of IT department to the Board room now as they understand that technology not only cuts cost but also is an integral part of the business operations for them. Enterprises have realized the power of ICT solutions to enable them to reach their customers faster, service them better and to manage the organization more efficiently by connecting offices, partners, and the larger ecosystem for closer collaboration and proactive customer servicing.

Clearly this poses a challenge and an opportunity for telcos to convert bits and bytes dialogue to efficiency and productivity conversations. Understanding customer challenges, not just for their IT department but also for their business problems by providing them with simple solutions.

The government seems to be an all-time favorite with one and all. Now with large announcements around Digital India, Make in India, Smart City and others, what are the opportunities you are tapping in this space?
Digital India, Make in India, Smart City are bold initiatives which can definitely transform India in the coming years. As far as Digital India and smart cities are concerned, we are beginning to see some traction from government agencies and we are creating the right vehicles to leverage this opportunity. Owing to its key role in India’s smart cities initiatives, IoT is poised to become a significant factor in India’s development.

In fact, the Government of India aims to create an IoT industry in India of $15 billion by 2020. Aiding this objective is the Telecommunication Engineering Center (TEC) that is working with operators like Tata Teleservices to develop IoT standards for the Indian market.