What is the current scenario of tech adoption by SMEs and MSMEs in India?

In the current world business and technology go hand to hand And technology is continuously evolving. Tech companies also need to change at a rapid pace. Big companies struggle to adapt to the change as they have many hurdles like resistance to change, communication gap due to complex hierarchy system, preference to old/legacy systems.

In such scenarios small and medium enterprises can easily adapt/change according to market needs. We have already witnessed the startups opting for platforms like whatsapp, shopify and video conferencing system which enables them to run business effectively during covid times.

Also, I find below reasons that SME/MSMEs are better at adopting the new technology:

• Technologies give them an advantage over existing competition by allowing them to build something that hasn’t been able to be built before, or improve an existing service or product therefore gaining an advantage over the competition already providing the service/product.
• They can quickly adapt and change to solve the problems. As everyone is up for challenge and that is what keeps them ahead of the competition
• Employees are also one of reasons they can quickly adapt to the change as they love challenges. Hence the they build ecosystem where everybody thinks differently
• Open environment, everyone is reachable. So, anyone has viable solution to problem, they ideas will not go unheard

By stating above we can see why it is important for SMEs to adopt the latest technology. Below are some technologies which companies can adapt to boost their productivity

• Blockchain: It is a distributed, decentralized ledger to store blocks of data. If you are willing to act as fast movers and follow the plant the flag strategy, there is a golden opportunity to conceive and grow a community before space becomes too overly crowded with Blockchain business applications.

• Virtual Reality: Virtual reality is a technology that attempts to regenerate computer images and videos to produce real-life visual experiences that are beyond those achieved on the ordinary computer monitor and phone. There’s a massive opportunity right now for small businesses to start offering interactive augmented reality solutions and create winning customer experiences.

• IOT: It is a process to connect all the physical places and things in the world to the internet. It can provide 24/7 monitoring, companies can track performance and key metrics which enable small and medium sized businesses to analyze the data and act accordingly.

• Artificial intelligence: Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. It has been assumed that such technologies can only be used by big companies but nowadays with the availability of AIaaS (AI as a service) SMEs can also use it for their benefits. It can simplify the operation or mundane tasks which we carry out on a daily basis.

All these technologies enable the businesses to continuously improve their product and offerings with insights into how users interact with them. It can improve the overall efficiency of the company and small businesses can project and compete with the big names.

So, to summarize: All the cutting edge technology makes you stand out from the other competitors and as SMEs and MSMEs always look to provide the extra benefits or offering to customers over legacy systems. SMEs and MSMEs that are utilizing technology, have long-term solutions for all elements of their ecosystem development. All the startups with UPI payments, wallet, have been boosted due to the pandemic and govt too pushing people to use it. Startups with education companies who are utilizing technology are pushing others to do the same.

I hope it gives insights on technology adoptions and why it is important to new businesses. Thanks for reading!

(The author is Mr. Akshay Chouhan, Co-Founder and Technical evangelist at SpeckyFox Technologies India Pvt Ltd., and the views expressed in this article are his own)