SMEs fast growing sector in IT industry: Vyas

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Namrata Kath Hazarika | 27 Jul, 2010
In an exclusive interview to SME Times, Satyen Vyas, Director – Enterprise, SMB of Dell India said that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) spending is not lacking amongst SMEs and they are in the growth path will be a fast growing segment in the IT industry in near future.

Excerpts of the interview...

What measures is Dell India taking for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to make them aware about information technology (IT)?
Satyen Vyas: Firstly, Dell has separate division for SMEs both globally and therefore in India which is probably unique in the industry. All we do is that we provide solutions to the SME customers.

Second, we are also reaching out to our customers directly or through our channel partners. We are talking to them one-on-one through various events and session that we do across the country and tell them the technology road-maps and about Dell products as well. Thirdly, the products of Dell are getting specially designed for SME customers. We design products of high performance but has no fits and fancies and therefore are of low costs and also maintain affordable product focus. So, we have the entire service delivery which is direct from Dell to customers and it is better option for the customers. So, to summarize we have a dedicated set of team which is focusing only on SME customers.

Therefore, we approach to the customers directly and we are available to the customers to approach to us as well through our website, telephone or our channel partners. We design products keeping in mind the SMEs and probably those are the best products for the SME customers.

What kind of products has Dell India designed for SME customers?
Satyen Vyas: For example, for the SME customers we have products such as Dell Vostro. This is the product line on Laptop and desktop which is designed specifically keeping in mind the needs of the SME customers. They want high performance and effective services. There are tools as well as some of the products are with built in video conferencing software so that customers can use it and there is no extra costs.

With dedicated SMB specific offerings, not just for products and solutions but also for the service and support, Dell remains committed to offering simplified IT solutions that free up time and money to foster growth and innovation in the SMB segment. Dell recognized the fact that small businesses need simple, reliable and affordable technology solutions to succeed and their Vostro range of laptops offer the productivity that small businesses expect and just the right features to enable them complete on-the-go business tasks, so small businesses can save time and money.

In fact, the EqualLogic is the ideal enterprise sign product which is meant for mid-sized and growing companies. Once again it is affordable, easy to use, and easy to manage as well. These are two examples which I can give. Some of our servers like our tower servers and the bank servers are easy to deploy, and manage. We have taken away the complexities of running infrastructure and put it in a embedded management system.

How is IT infrastructure development taking place at present in the SME segment?
Satyen Vyas: SMEs are investing in IT infrastructure primarily in communication systems which is email or in business applications which is ERP or CRM. Now the need for doing this is the increasing business demands. Now when they decide to go into that space, Dell offers them the best services. So, to answer that question again any SME customer whose business needs fast services will be able to afford the investment. And, return on the investment is also essential. We also provide customized solutions to our customers. Our sale people usually talks to the customers and understand their requirements and decides the complications for them. We also give them some idea to choose the right products.

Why is ICT spending lacking amongst SME sector?
Satyen Vyas: I think it's a difficult question to answer because there are multiple parameters out there. I would say that all the time the customers are willing to realize the value of IT. I think it is not really lacking but it is in the growth path. But as it was mentioned, any SME customers wants to invest by making sure that what he is going to invest he should get back that. So, it takes time for the customers to understand the technology, option and then invest.

How much growth do you see in the SME segment in terms of IT development and spending?
Satyen Vyas: Dell sees India as one of its key markets and is committed to reaching out to its Indian customers. This is among the fastest growing segments and we are investing significant resources to address this market. Dell’s Q1 results show that (global) revenue from SMBs was $3.5 billion, up 19 percent. Operating income was $313 million, a 36 percent increase. Dell serves more than 10 million SMB customers globally and has more than 50,000 registered and certified partners in Dell’s Channel Program Partner Direct.

As per IDC data for Q1 CY10, Dell SMB India market share is 7%. Dell is now ranked #3 in the overall SMB PC market (we started 2009 at #5). While the SMB market grew year-on-year by 21.2%, Dell witnessed a growth of 88.4%.

We can see that this will be fastest growing segment in the IT industry. In the SME space we are growing faster than other market. I think there are 35, 000-40, 000 customers in the mid market space and around 30 million customers in the entire IT space.

We fully understand the challenges SMEs' have. And, affordable is our approach. So, we will make sure that our products and services all are affordable as we understand the SME customers. Actually, we will be able to offer a better value to them.