SBs to buy over 4.8 million PCs

KOLKATA: India's small businesses (SBs) constitute the vast majority (over 98%) of the country's commercial universe in terms of number of enterprises. Yet they lag behind their larger brethren when it comes to the adoption of information technology-related products and services, said a survey.

The survey results by New York-based Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc. continued that this is borne out by the low PC penetration rate among India SBs; only a little over one sixth of these businesses currently possess a computer.

However, the situation will change quickly since India is unquestionably on its way to becoming a major IT power. Over half of India's non-PC SBs located in major cities have expressed the intent to embrace the benefits of computing technology by the end of 2005.

AMI said in a statement that this translates to an enormous planned PC-hardware market of over 4.8 million computers.

"India SBs are definitely price sensitive when it comes to the purchase of computers," observed Dev Chakravarty, senior analyst at AMI. "However, non-PC SBs have clearly stated that there are other factors to be considered - such as the high cost of PC maintenance/support and the expense of training courses. Moreover, there appears to be a dearth of PC financing/leasing options and a lack of awareness among SBs about such finance programs. PC vendors need to introduce financing schemes targeted at India SBs.

Additionally they must spread awareness of these programs and educate small business owners about the advantages of computers."

Over 60% of India's non-PC SBs still maintain that computing technology has little relevance to their businesses - or that the benefits are not worth the cost. Some are reluctant to adopt computers due to a fear that data "may get stolen or copied." Close to two in five SBs admit that they are hampered by the "complexities" of PC installation, support and utilization. Introduction of short-term computer training programs could go a long way toward overcoming these barriers and promoting PC adoption, the statement said.