how can my small business effectively leverage technology...

Jasjit Sawhney

Chairman & MD

Net4 India Ltd

India MSME Summit

How can My Small BusinessEffectively leverage technology??

A Context

My role this morning - TechnologyFROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER

1. Provide some context

2. Clear up some confusion

3. Provide some definitions

4. Debunk some myths

5. Highlight some opportunities

6. Provide some tips and shortcuts

Small Business & Technology

Typically:

• CONFUSING OR EVEN BEWILDERING

Web 2.0The Cloud

CRM

BusinessApps

CrowdsourcingVOIP

VirtualisationSCM

Small Business & Technology

Typically:

TOO HARD; TOO EXPENSIVE, CAPEX or OPEX?

DON’T UNDERSTAND; NO DEDICATED IT RESOURCE

As a result.....

• SME’s are underutilising and under-investing in technology

• Sometimes OVER investing.

• Viewing technology as a cost rather than an investment

What the stats are telling us..

• 9 in 10 SME’s don’t measure the benefits of IT or have a requiredreturn on investment

• The average investment in IT for SME’s is around 6% of capitalemployed vs. 14% for large businesses

• Only 38% saw IT investment as a “priority” despite 78%recognising technology could improve efficiency and 31% believingit could cut costs

• Why weren’t more investing in IT?• Cost/Lack of Funds (42%)

• Underutilisation of existing technology (35%)

• Lack of Computing Skills (24%)

What the stats are telling us..

• Those who took the leap saw business benefits:

• 92% claimed an increase in efficiency

• 82% said it helped achieve their business goals

• 73% said it reduced costs

• 64% found it helped their business increase revenue

• 62% said it increased their geographic reach

More sobering stats....

• In 2009 LESS THAN 300,000 businesses in Indiahave a website

• There are more than 16 million small businessesyet fewer than 10,000 (5%) have used searchengine marketing or search engine optimisation

The conclusion

OPPORTUNITY

• There is a huge opportunity for Small Businesses inIndia to use technology:

• Improve overall business performance

• Increase revenue

• Connect with customers in a new way

• Try BEFORGOE u PAY & pay as u GO

The Web

What technology ???

• COMPUTERS, COMMUNICATION, NETWORKS,APPLICATIONS, PERIPHERALS (DEVICES)

• The Web

• Industry/Business Specific ‘Smart’ Applications

• Online marketing

• Web 2.0

• YouTube

• Blogs

• Cloud Computing/ SaaS/Web Apps

• Back Up/ Data Recovery

• Virtualisation

• Crowd Sourcing

• Social Networking

• VOIP

• Mobility based applications

These days a website is mandatory

Websites – Which Sell

Online Marketing

• Less than .018% of small businesses have a website

• 80% of internet using people use the web to research purchase decisions’

• There are more than 16 million small businesses; less than 10,000 haveused search marketing

• Fish where the fish are

• Get online!

Cloud Computing

SaaS – Pay as you go

Business Apps – Generic and Vertical

Web Apps

SaaS

Web Apps - Collaboration

Project Management

Knowledge Sharing -Wikis

Meetings & Calenders

CRM & SCM

Unified Communications

Disaster Recovery

Online Back up and Recovery

Virtualisation

Remote Use of Resources

Crowd Sourcing

The Power of the Crowd

Infinite, inexpensive, skilled resource for SMEs

VOIP

Virtual PBX

Number Portability

Inexpensive Calls

Employee Flexibility

Better Customer Service

Mobility

Apps

Streamline Logistics

“Always On” comms

Customer Service

Mobility Revenue Generation

Pizza Hut iPhone appgenerates $1m of salesin 3 months

Hard to find SMEs whohave yet jumped in

Industry Specific ‘Smart’ Applications

Designed to address specific industry orbusiness issues

Demand Forecasting – a nightmare

Conclusion

Technological change is accelerating

Rather than a threat it provides a rich opportunity for SMEsprepared to engage

Increased revenue;

decreased costs;

greater efficiency;

much, much better customer engagement

Access to a larger market

It is not as costly or as daunting as many fear

Take the plunge: Get into it!