Editorials

by Rajen Kumar

No Escaping Social Media

Running a magazine concentrating on issues of small and medium enterprises and managing with limited resources is a like living life on the edge. In this rush of meeting deadlines,...

Special Reports

Apr 2012

EMRC, Brussels Associates with SME WORLD as its New Media Partner

EMRC has promoted business partnerships with the developing world and has organised dozens of business forums in key decision-making cities, such as Amsterdam, Rome,...

Interviews

Cloud Computing is the Future: Prateek Pashine, President, SME, Tata Communications

SME WORLD Bureau
Oct 2011

With Indian SMEs sector rapidly growing at 30 percent, a huge opportunity for cloud players has emerged in India. With over 32 million SMEs, the sector is expected to contribute a sizeable 22 percent of the country's GDP by 2012. According to worldwide cloud services study by an industry expert, SMB spending on cloud computing is expected to reach USD 100 billion by 2014.

Those enterprises in the SME space that want to maintain their size and become more profitable with cost-effective, efficient solutions to answer their needs have ti look to cloud services.

For an unstinted growth, a need for flexible and agile solution has long been felt. Cloud solutions in effect can give a boost to the efforts of enterprises wanting to move to the next level.

Tata Communications, recognized for targeting large enterprises is now extending its focus to SME sector in India. Prateek Pashine, President, SME, Tata Communications, recently interacted with SME WORLD.

Prateek Pashine was responsible for setting up VSNL Lanka operations and served as Director on the VSNL Lanka Board for two years.

Prior to the formation of Tata Communications Internet Services Limited as a separate company, Pashine was responsible for Marketing, Business Development, Technology Planning and Regulatory functions for the Retail Business Unit in Tata Communications.

Pashine is a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship of US and was selected to attend the Fulbright-CII Fellowship programme for Leadership in Management at the Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA, in 2006.

Internet penetration is very low in India especially in tier II and tier II towns. How do you plan to enter into areas beyond metros?

It is quite a known fact that India has one of the lowest Internet penetration levels (particularly in tier II & III cities) worldwide with 35% of Internet connections having a speed of 256 kbps or less. But the trend in internet usage is changing fast with metros which dominated the scene just a year back giving way to the non metro towns now. We are looking a mix of technologies both in wireline and wireless to help penetrate the tier II and tier III towns.

According to a recent survey, over 57% of SMEs in India use the internet as a sales channel and to get direct business leads. However, still accessing email is the main purpose for using the internet for all the SMEs. Keeping in mind the diverse requirements of the SME sector, Tata Communications brings a whole range of Broadband and leased line plans which is targeted to the SMEs, offering business class internet bandwidth at various speeds.

Tata Communications high speed Internet solutions provides its SME customers with a bouquet of services ranging from reliable and dedicated Internet Lease Line (ILL), high speed broadband, high speed Wi-Fi at over 500 hotspots in India and over 150 application & services.

Communications is one area in which yet a large number of enterprises in the SME space are found wanting. In the fast changing SMEs ecosystem, communications is an essential prerequisite for moving to the next level. Do you have any awareness campaigns as one of strategies to go about?

Tata Communications foresee a huge untapped potential in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector in India. SMEs in India have been open to experiment with technology but they are extremely value conscious and that has led to slower than expected adoption of technology. Also given the diversity of the market, the general awareness levels are lower among them about technology.

To cater to these challenges, Tata Communications has been participating in various industry events, trade exhibitions to create awareness among the SMEs on how their business can grow with the help of Tata Communications SME Solutions. Tata Communications is also following direct and indirect (partnership with different channels) methods to reach maximum cities so as to be able to aware most of the SME sector.

Communication plays a vital role in all aspects of a business and cost is the primary concern with SMEs. How do you plan to make thecommunications solutions cost effective for maximum productivity?

Tata Communications offers its solutions at value prices using diverse models like pay per use model, multi month billing, etc to help customers get the best value from the prices that they pay. Most of the solutions provided by Tata Communications are cost effective and ensure maximum productivity. Keeping in mind the needs of the SME sector we bring to the table solutions like Collaborate Online, Equip your office, InstaOffice, InstaCompute and many more to ensure the growth of their business.

What are the major challenges in communications solutions in the SMEs segment?

Key challenges are awareness and the appreciation within SMEs on the value of the money that they would need to invest in technology. Also availability of good deployment partners in various parts of the country is something that has been a factor in the growth of the adoption of technology within SMEs.

It is an age of e-commerce. We can reach the global markets without leaving our office. What are the challenges you see in this area?

The major challenge is the connectivity issue. Many smaller cities today are facing connectivity issue. This is one area Tata Communications has been trying to work out to partner with different channels to reach out to the maximum cities.

What scope do you see the cloud-based services in the SMEs segment in India?

It is predicted by many industry expects that, the market for cloud computing will grow and play a fundamental role in re-shaping how telecom service providers offer apps to end users and how their internal systems are implemented. Solution delivered through cloud technology may eliminate operator's need to invest in its own IT infrastructure, personnel or premises in certain scenarios. Experts also foresee that within 2-3 years, all technologically superior countries will be using Mobile Cloud Computing as their primary method of accessing data through their Mobile Phones and In fact India will lead the show due to its higher Mobile Subscribers rate than any other country in the world.

How do you plan to brace up to face the stiff competition in the area of communications?

Tata Communications has always been the leader in data services in India. We have always been innovative with the services and the solutions we provide to the customers. Tata Communications add value to their services by just not providing plain connectivity but also allowing customer to see the value of the services provided by them. The product portfolio provided by Tata Communications is totally unmatched with any other providers in India.

What are your key communication solutions which are suited to a small enterprise to adopt?

The most basic communication solution is the internet which is well suited to SME in India. We have an entire range of network services and managed services which the SME can adopt to. Right from the set up phase of a SME to a mature SME our portfolio gives a range of productivity enhancing services.

How do you envision the future of communications in India?

Currently, many of our apps and software depend on the storage available on each device's hard drive; hence we're seeing an increasing movement towards cloud-based services. Cloud computing is gaining good amount of momentum from the Indian market as well. Currently, we are seeing both enterprises and SMEs adopting cloud due to its multiple benefits and lower costs per transaction. We at Tata Communication believe that the key factors which will drive growth especially in the SME sector would be lower costs, innovation and secure network.

To be in tune with the fast changing demands, the technology changes at a fast pace. Do you think SMEs will be able to keep pace in the changing technology adaptation especially when the cost is a constraint? How do you plan to combat this trend?

By using a combination of innovation and value offerings, Tata Communicationswill provide a range of services to the customer which at each level of the SME's evolution will be relevant to the SME.

Through various cloud based offerings and a very covered connectivity model, Tata Communications will help Indian businesses to harness the power of IT infrastructure and applications without them needing to invest capital, manpower and management resources.

Large, medium and small businesses immediately benefit from Tata Communications' bespoke Indian delivery model, secure and reliable networks as well as India pricing and support.

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