IBM, Cisco & Microsoft bet big on SMBs
IT Giants including IBM, Oracle, Cisco and Microsoft and many others are betting big on small and medium businesses, churning fresh strategies to tap the growing market here. One such move is to tie up with domestic services firms to market their products. But domestic firms may find it tough to make big bucks as there are very few innovative product companies in India.
Microsoft is planning to launch its Office Live in the country. Office live is an online service specifically targeting SMBs. It helps uers get on the web, engage customers and market the product and currently available in Europe, US, Russia and Japan. The Information Technology market for SMBs has been gathering momentum over the last three years.
Arup Roy, senior research analyst, Gartner said that it was an offshoot of the growth story. He said that the Verticals under SMBs, especially auto ancillary units, biotech and textiles, were raising their headcount and have high export margins.
As part of a globalised world, it is imperative for SMBs to implement Information Technology and service their clients better. However, they lack quality IT professionals and resources to hire high-end work-pool. Companies such as Cisco and HP are the prime movers in this segment. Then comes enterprise resource planning, database management, upgradation of operating system and security management.
So MNCs are tying up with local vendors and regional service providers and regional service providers to implement and maintain products and applications. Oracle has an extensive network of over 430 channel and alliance partners under the Oracle Partner Network. They include Sensar Technologies, Ingram, Wipro, Bluestar, L&T Infotech and Ebzonline among others.
IBM has over 6000 SMB customers in the country and has tied up with 240 independent services vendors and over 2000 partners to provide integrated solutions to SMBs. These firms contribute over 50% of its revenues in the country.
Lingraju Sawkar, VP (global small & medium business), IBM India said that they had set up operations in small cities and would have presence in 22 small centres in the country by that year end.
Cisco systems Network On Wheels (NOW) also focuses on SMBS. According to Jagadish Mahapatra, vice-president (commercial west), Cisco India & SAARC, NOW was meant to bridge the Information Technology awareness gap among SMBs by showcasing a complete range of customised Cisco networking solutions.
