Software major Tata Consultancy Services is looking to tap small and medium businesses (SMB) in Andhra Pradesh with its recently launched cloud-based integrated technology service, iON.
With the state accounting for 95 per cent of the SMBs, it provides a good potential for iON and the company would especially focus on auto component makers, pharma and retail businesses, said Venguswamy Ramaswamy, global head - small and medium businesses of TCS.
“Conversion of technology solutions into utility that enables SMBs to pay as they use the service would not only save cost by up to 40 per cent as compared with conventional technology deployment, but would also provide a hassle-free environment for them to focus more on core business development,” he said.
After formally launching the service for AP here on Tuesday, he said 90 per cent of the client base for this innovative solution would come from the existing businesses under the SMB bracket — an opportunity of the size of $12 billion — while the rest will be from startups.
On the investments one has already made into technology and hardware, Ramaswamy said the company would consider unbundling some of the components of the package such as hardware for utilising the existing infrastructure if that suites the new technology environment.
Under the iON solution, the company provides hardware, network and software modules that deal with all the processes of the business in an integrated manner. Quantifying and billing of service would depend on the line of business. If a client is a university, a student is considered as a unit, if it is a retail business, an outlet is taken as a unit for calculating charges, Ramaswamy said.
However, the target of achieving $1 billion turnover in the next five years through this initiative even as the company expects a four-fold increase in the size of opportunity in this segment to $48 billion by 2015 indicates the tough road ahead.
So far, the company has won business from 150 clients and expects to increase the number to 1,000 in a year, he said.