SMBs want to stay current with technology

BANGALORE, INDIA: Every IT vendor across the world is today aggressively targeting the small and businesses (SMBs) sector, which has become more aware of the benefits of technology that helps in scaling the business. Networking leader Cisco too is in the race offering attractive services and schemes to woo the Indian SMBs.

"SMB is where Cisco is putting the bet on," says Gautam Munish, country manager, Cisco Capital, India & SAARC.

Speaking on the sidelines of the announcement to launch '0% Financing for Cisco Multi-year Services Program' to help SMBs in India meet the technology demands, Munish said, "With new initiatives like the zero percent finance offerings on services, Cisco has been able to understand how critical service delivery platform has become in helping SMBs optimize their IT infrastructure."

"We have observed that SMBs are wanting to derive optimal functionality from a single box. They are also increasingly concerned about not converting the capital expenditure into operational costs," he added. "SMBs want to stay current with technology. This is where the financing landscape comes in from the Cisco Services division."

"Through the '0% Financing for Cisco Multi-year Services Program', we will be undertaking interest rate risks and also end up taking residual risks in our kits," he said. "It unlocks the working capital when you offer zero percent financing on services," Munish said. "People need to optimize on the technology, that's a real driver."

Highlighting the findings of a study by AMI Partners, G.B. Kumar, senior vice president, Customer Advocacy, Cisco, India & SAARC, said that difficulty in raising finances for growth, rising operational costs and insufficient cash flow were the major challenges faced by SMBs.

The study revealed that Indian mid-sized businesses spent a total of $394 million on IT in 2006. "This shows that awareness on the benefits of technology implementation has increased among SMBs," he said.

Giving more details on the zero financing offer on Cisco's services to SMBs, Kumar highlighted the benefits of the scheme to both customers and partners.

Customer benefits

• Flexi payment plans (no upfront payment)
• Protection against future price acceleration
• Predictable repayments over the term
• Opportunity to redeploy working capital on core business

Partner benefits

• Upfront collection of payments
• Underwrites credit risk
• Lock-in multi-layer deal
• Better positioning for future sale/upgrade of products and services