'IT vendors must know requirements of MSMEs'

BANGALORE, INDIA: IT vendors must do a profiling of requirements and evaluate the computer literacy in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) before implementing their products, according to Gulshan Haersh Bhaktiani, director, Lilac Insights, a provider of wellness products.

He was delivering a speech on 'India MSME Opportunity — Last Mile Challenges' at the 'India Product Conclave 2011', organised by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) here on Wednesday. 

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“Some IT vendors who want to sell their products to SMEs fail to explain how their solutions would help them improve productivity and enhance their businesses. Also, they are not able to explain how that solution works in accordance with various situations,” he said.

“They also need to evaluate computer literacy in the enterprise because most of the workers do not know how to operate it. The funny part is that before they learn the working mechanism of the solution, they learn the shortcomings and flaws of it,” he quipped.

Bhaktiani also said that Indian MSMEs need to develop an emotional bonding with customers in order to succeed in their ventures. “India is a peculiar market, where emotionality has been proved vital. You have to connect with your customers emotionally to win their hearts, so that you can convert that into good business,” he said.

Sailesh Patil, director of Mumbai-based travel company Kesari, who spoke at the event, said that IT is integral to help improve productivity. “IT is so vital that it helps businesses improve their productivity. MSMEs in India must make the most of IT, which will help them accelerate growth. We have been using various IT solutions to connect with our customers 24X7. Our uniqueness is that we have developed and deployed our own IT products so much that we do not depend on any IT vendors for software/hardware solutions.”

GoFrugal Technologies' founder Kumar Vembu, who played host to the programme, said that IT vendors must learn the art of convincing to win more customers in India.