India’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have witnessed massive growth in recent years. But many companies are still struggling to expand their business into cities and countries where project inflows could be significantly higher.
Most small and medium enterprises have a smaller IT budget than larger companies, which prevents them from developing internal IT resources such as hardware, software, and IT infrastructure. Even though they put more effort into scaling up their firm using existing resources or innovative methods, the results are still falling short of their expectations based on profit and sales maximization. Most likely, the reason could be outdated IT resources limiting their companies from scaling operations.
Unsurprisingly, the SMEs sector is flourishing. A recent study on SMEs performance showed this trend to continue for an indefinite future. In India, the number of SMEs is estimated to be 42.50 million, with over 6000 items produced, according to the reports of MSME, India. But only a small percentage of enterprises succeed with information technology. Not all SMEs have access to the information technology they need to grow. Businesses can finally develop a sustainable operating environment to grow due to cloud technologies.
Let’s look at why cloud adoption is the best option for digital transformation.
The notable advantages of using cloud technology by SMEs are effortless help desk operations, such as enhancing customer service, optimizing call management, scalability, and cutting operating expenditure. For simplified business maintenance, the cloud service provider takes responsibility for regular upgrades and the addition of new services.
When it comes to storing data, the firm’s lifeblood, the cloud allows the company to store files and access or retrieve them from any connected device. It also features a simple web interface for data transfers, so employees can acquire the information they need instantly and reliably, no matter where they are. The companies can pay for the storage they use and are free from the worries about storage infrastructure maintenance. For example, Microsoft’s OneDrive Standalone 100GB cloud storage costs just ₹140.00 / month.
User-friendly web solutions for organizing work documents are now available with cloud technology. Work-from-home options for employees are easier to implement on cloud-based platforms. They had their apps and corporate data saved or backed up in the cloud for continuing operations. Cloud-savvy companies can enable the team to continue working remotely in the event of disruption like COVID. Because of the cloud, IBM experienced a surge in demand from the healthcare, education, telecommunications, and retail industries. The nationwide lockdown allowed the employees to work from their homes.
With the implementation of cloud technology, the employees can work from anywhere, resulting in increased productivity and a better work-life balance. One of the most significant advantages is that the firms may hire people from all around the world. They can join web conferences, share data, and do other specified activities using a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
Undoubtedly, every business is concerned with generating revenue and profit. However, a better customer experience is also crucial. Cloud-based CRM applications can help achieve this by saving information about customers, sales, and business analytics in a highly secure data bank that can also be accessed remotely.
According to the Times of India, 16% of SMBs have reached a certain level of maturity, described as the use of 6 to 14 cloud-based apps. While most of this category has utilized websites, corporate email IDs, and social media to engage with customers, the most mature SMEs have used e-commerce sites or third-party portals to sell online.
Swechha, a Delhi-based social venture, using digital adoption to start “Million Kitchen.” An idea to empower 20+ women chefs from Delhi’s slums to work on a mobile-based home food delivery platform. The “hyperlocal homemade food on the cloud” concept drives the smartphone app.
The adoption of Software as a Service (SaaS) models is aided by public cloud computing. Cloud-based applications are easy to manage. The cloud provider handles upgrades and updates, saving the IT department effort and time. Particularly, it eliminates the risk of losing the business data at any time due to serious issues such as server crashes, power failure, desktop problems, cybercrime, natural disasters, and employee sabotage.
Cloud computing is simple to implement in today’s digital era. One needs to be aware of the compatible features with the company’s needs. Cloud technologies, too, are cost-effective in many aspects. Cloud services include many capabilities that can help businesses succeed by nurturing an innovation ecosystem. Digital transformation is a learning experience. Before committing to a specific technique, the enterprises should experiment with a range of small features.
It’s also essential to provide proper cloud computing training to the employees. There is no urge to use a lot of different features. Instead, pick one or two cloud-based features and evaluate how they help scale the business and correct any flaws. It is required to keep track of the effort and outcomes, so it helps to figure out how much the faults are affecting a company’s growth. By incorporating more agility into the operations through cloud computing, the enterprises can reduce risk and drive growth prospects, and also it will encourage further industry development and economic progress.
