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Trends in SMB Communications
May 12, 2008
Report: Larger Businesses in India Spend Most on IT, CRM, VoIP
By Michael Dinan TMCnet Editor Large businesses in India, especially in manufacturing, spend more money on information technology and telecommunications solutions than other companies in the nation, according to a new study.
In 2007, large businesses in India spent nearly $2.3 billion on IT and telecom, more than two-thirds of that on products and services, according to a study from Manhattan-based Access Markets International Partners, Inc.
Though they make up just .3 percent of the entire personal computer-owning business universe in India, large businesses spend nearly 17 percent of all IT spending, according to Swati Sasmal, senior research manager at AMI.
As a result, the large businesses are coveted clients of IT vendors who can earn large contracts without investing in marketing, Sasmal said.
“(Large businesses) possess a high level of knowledge and expertise regarding IT solutions and a well-structured and systematic purchase process,” Sasmal said. “They are also the frontrunners in trying out newer technology solutions. These factors make it easier for IT vendors to approach them for prospective sales.”
According to the report, called the “2007 India Large Business Overview and Comprehensive Market Opportunity Assessment,” smaller businesses spend proportionately more money on basic computing. Larger businesses spend money on Internet applications, networking and connectivity, the report said.
That’s because a majority of larger businesses already have built up their basic computing and are looking to leverage their networks, Sasmal said.
“In this phase, there is a greater focus on deployment of advanced technologies such as enterprise applications (ERP/CRM), remote-access solutions (RAS, VPN), wide-area networking (WANs), VoIP
 , networked storage (SAN/NAS), intranets, and managed security solutions,” Sasmal said.As more and more businesses set up satellite offices in India over the next year, it’s going to become important for those companies to establish reliable network connectivity, according to AMI. Three-quarters of respondents in the study said they were focusing on those branch offices and other remote locations, AMI said.
“This has become almost imperative, in view of the rapid expansion of these enterprises,” according to AMI officials. “Two other strategic focus areas are security and storage, indicated by two-thirds of large businesses.”
Within security, applications such as anti-spam and anti-spyware show that more than half of the businesses’ systems are penetrated, the study said.
According to the study, large businesses also have developed so-called “enterprise” software, or enterprise resource planning, in order to save time and money. Two-thirds of India enterprises currently own and use some form of ERP with many of them planning to update those plans within the year, the study said.
Michael Dinan is a TMCNet Editor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page. |
