Bharti now eyes SMB pie via Microsoft deal

Microsoft and Bharti Airtel have announced a strategic partnership to offer software and other services to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India.

The partnership will begin by offering Microsoft solutions for hosted messaging and collaboration. It will also offer other hosted applications like CRM, accounting, ERP, unified communications and select Microsoft ISV applications.

Airtel and Microsoft are trying to provide enterprise-class software bundled with connectivity solutions to small businesses that do not have dedicated IT resources. This is aimed at companies with five or more employees, and is expected to be available in January 2007.

The companies will now be able to enjoy the same experience as large enterprise customers without initial investments using a pay-as-you-go model.

This new professional messaging and collaboration service will give small businesses the ability to access secure enterprise grade e-mail, secure instant   messaging  and  intranet portals with rich collaboration capabilities whether they are in the office or on the road.

Also, Airtel customers can access corporate email via direct push technology using Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0 platform.

"We estimate the total telecom spend in the SME space to be around Rs 18,000 crore. IDC estimates that IT spending by SMEs would grow by 17%, cent which is the highest in Asia Pacific," Rakesh Bharti Mittal, vice chairman of Bharti Enterprises, said.