IT majors bank on SME biz

Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are expected to emerge as major buyers of the information technology (IT) products by 2008.

Most SMEs do not have IT departments and often are not located in metropolitan cities.

According to Joydeep Datta Gupta, executive director of Deloitte & Touche Consulting, any IT-led SME business transformation project could succeed only if the project was sustained.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Kolkata organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, he said, "SMEs should continuously maintain, upgrade and enhance projects and also have data conversion and data conversion as part of the intgrated project plan".

According to Prathick Sarkar, regional sales manager of SAP India, "For midsize companies, leadership depends on the ability to adapt to changes in the market, build lasting relationships with customers and get to market quickly."

However, meeting these business objectives could be daunting when business systems were not fully integrated and lacked functionality.

Amit Mallik, head-SMB India and SAARC of Cisco, said "With business objectives prioritised and a technology plan to meet these objectives, SMBs can cost-effectively improve communications, streamline business processes and secure communications. SMBs also need to ensure that the technology solutions they buy meet business needs and are flexible enough to grow with evolving business environment."

Added Amitava Bhattacharya, Microsoft India's business development manager for small and midmarket solutions and partners, "Large IT companies like ourselves, have also embarked on tailor-made solutions for SMBs. For instance, Microsoft helps SMBs increase control over costs and ensures predictability and availability of Microsoft software. Moreover, valuable benifits help SMBs realise return on investment faster and increase the productivity of the entire organisation."