Midsize companies not cutting back on IT

IBM’s tailor-made solutions help SMBs reduce cost, improve service delivery and enable business innovation, says Sriram Rajan, vice president – South, General Business, IBM India/South Asia during an interaction with Sudhakaran of CIOL.

How do you see the market for “new intelligent solutions” in India? And what are your offerings for the SMB sector?



Most midsize companies are not cutting back on their IT spending. Rather, there’s a re-prioritization taking place around the world.  Projects are being funded based on their ability to pay off quickly.  That is why you see an increased focus on analytics right now. The SMBs are seeking faster and more affordable business analytics solutions that give them the information insights they need to effectively navigate through these difficult times, but without the costs and complexities that come with traditional enterprise solutions.

The market demands that businesses optimize decisions, take action based on quality information and use advanced predictive capabilities – all with speed and efficiency. No doubt, businesses are under pressure to consume and analyze the data explosion with “Real Intelligence”

We have invested in the development of products and services specifically priced and designed for the SME marketplace under the brand name “Express Advantage”. The portfolio  comprises hardware, software, services, solutions and financing and is designed to meet specific needs for SME's.

IBM Express Systems are easy to install, deploy and manage and very affordable. Now with Express Advantage product portfolio, we are offering complete solutions from IBM's Software, Systems and Technology, and Services groups – and will address security, business recovery, employee collaboration and energy efficiency needs of midsized businesses. The offerings are broadly categorized as point products, infrastructure solutions and business solutions.

We launched the Smart Business which is a breakthrough way for small and medium businesses to acquire, use and manage technology that is radically simple. IBM conducted focus groups with hundreds of small and medium business executives around the world. They told us about their IT experience. They said existing offerings from competitors were costly, complex and limited their choice, as well as their business agility.

Could you give a brief picture about 'IBM Cognos Express'?

The midmarket is seeking faster and more affordable business analytics solutions that can give them the information insights they need to effectively navigate through these difficult times – but without the costs and complexities that come with traditional enterprise solutions. To address this gap, IBM recently launched a set of new offerings to respond to this growing midmarket need.

For the first time, IBM has unveiled an all-in-one business intelligence and planning solution, IBM Cognos Express, specifically designed and priced for midsized clients. As a pre-configured, single offering that can be deployed in a matter of hours, IBM Cognos Express enables midmarket executives to quickly launch their business analytics strategy and then evolve it as their needs grow.

How can Cognos Express improve the competitiveness of small businesses in India?

IBM Cognos Express helps small and medium businesses to manage costs and improve efficiency by providing consistent, reliable information throughout a company. Find new opportunities and trends through self-service analysis. It enables them to deliver better customer service with improved insight into customers gained through accurate reporting and rive profitability with revenue growth by optimizing and transforming a business with integrated planning, analysis and reporting.  In short, IBM’s Cognos Express offers end-to-end solutions to SMBs and helps them innovate.

Where do you see Indian SMBs five years from now, as far as IT adoption is concerned? And what would be the role of IBM in this connection?

The world is getting more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent and this applies to midsize companies just as much as it applies to governments and corporate giants. Most successful organizations are embracing the unprecedented change the economy is witnessing.

Leaders in these organization view technology as an enabler for solving problems in today’s smaller, flatter and smarter world. They continue to seek new avenues for IT to produce greater business value and are proactively turning the organizations’ data into actionable insight that can be used to develop better products and services. They are continually exploring new ways of finding and interacting with customers, improving organizational synergy, championing innovation and co-creating business strategy.

The SMB market in India has also evolved in the last couple of years and matured and is no longer just investing in basic IT infrastructure but are looking at partners to manage the increasing complexity of their IT needs as they grow.

A recent IBM survey clearly highlights that 70 per cent of companies prefer to partner with an IT company who has expertise in their business to help them work. IBM’s Smarter Planet initiative is all about co-creating value, driving real-world innovation, and helping businesses make better decisions. It’s about using energy efficiently, eliminating information technology complexity, and working smarter by helping employees, customers, and suppliers all communicate and collaborate regardless of where they are located.