Although industries across India are reeling under the impact of the global economic downturn, the SME segment in the country is showing a remarkable increase in its IT investment. According to a recent study by global IT firm IBM, over 50% SMEs in India are planning to innovate and grow through technology investments over the next 12 months.
The study has also noted that nearly 35% of the SMEs in the country will continue to drive technologies such as collaboration, information management and security management in the coming months to improve their business efficiency.
IT for growth
“SMEs in India are realising that in order to grow and compete in the current economic scenario, it is important to invest in various technologies that will help them create a sustainable business value,” says D Padmanabhan, MD of Appnomic Systems, a Chennai-based mid-sized IT solutions firm.
Mr Padmanabhan further says that with an increased number of mid-sized firms expanding their operations both in the country and abroad, it becomes important for them to rethink their IT budget rather than reducing it.
Experts feel that the IT growth in the country has also been fuelled by the high adoption of the Internet and web-based technologies in the recent past, mostly by small companies.
Gain through collaboration
Currently, a growing number of SMEs are entering into strategic tie-ups with one or more IT providers to stay afloat. The IBM study has indicated that IT managers in SME firms are partnering with IT solution and service providers who can offer them a robust IT infrastructure and support.
“As most SMEs do not have a dedicated IT team for handling complex technologies, they have started to depend heavily on IT providers for the successful implementation of their IT infrastructure,” says Anupam Pahuja, Director of SumTotal Systems, a Hyderabad-based mid-sized IT solutions provider.
Mr Pahuja suggests that IT solutions and service providers should act as consultants to SMEs in order to help them select, implement and maintain the right technology for their business.
Experts feel that the increase in the SMEs’ IT budget will further inspire IT Service Company providers in the country to introduce new and innovative offerings for this burgeoning segment.
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David Parks is a well known author and has written articles on Business Trade Leads, B2B Portal, Trade Shows Directory, suppliers, Manufactures and many other subjects.
