How much growth are you witnessing among SMEs for IT adoption?
Sanjay Agarwala: I think the progress is very good. They (SMEs) used to think "I should adopt technology or shouldn't ". I do not think anybody these days ask that question. Everybody knows it is important to be IT literate. They have to be part of the technology world if they have to succeed in future business. The only challenge is that this is happening mostly in the metros and mini-metros but the same thing needs to go into two directions, one is to the smaller companies and other is to the smaller towns where the business is happening. We know that there are over 2 lakh small and medium enterprises in India. And, the benefit of technology must go to them. It is only the question of time when everyone will become follower and user of technology.

Could you highlight on the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for SMEs?
Sanjay Agarwala: It is a question of what is the definition of SME. Earlier, the company which had a turnover of Rs 100 crore went for adopting the ERP. Today, the companies having turnover of Rs. 20 crore or Rs. 15 crore are adopting ERP. So, the kind of companies or the size of companies are becoming smaller for accepting ERP or implementing the technical backbone for running their business. I think all companies whether it is small or micro should be able to adopt technology.

This also requires potential investment, which is expensive for SMEs. What is your opinion?
Sanjay Agarwala: Yes, it requires investments. It depends on the size of the company, the kind of business they do, the kind of package they adopt and the kind of investment they are putting in. The most important factor is what kind of investment they are willing to get out of it. The investment is definitely there and return on investment is also very high and quick.

What kind of benefits SMEs can get by implementing ERP?
Sanjay Agarwala: For example, the company is able to generated twice the number of invoices that it generated and that is with less than 20 percent of the earlier people appointed for the job. So, in a simple activity like invoice preparation, the cost came down by 90 percent due to the adoption of ERP or a similar software. So, it is possible to bring up efficiency hugely and reduce costs. This is helping for significant reduction in costs and also leading to higher return on investment. This also helps to expand your business much faster. Suppose, if five people are doing one thing but after adoption of technology you suddenly realize that four of those people can be freed up and used to do business in hundred different areas. So, it is not a question of how much money I can save but it depends on how much more money I can make. And, you know this thing happen with little bit of training and orientation. I think that awareness is missing today and it is needed in all segments of business.

How are you making people aware of technology?
Sanjay Agarwala: We are participating in seminars. Unfortunately, today the number of SMEs adopting technology is not that much that it should be. We write in the newspapers and magazines. We have content rich websites where people can download about the technology. We are using the technology to spread awareness. It is not possible for us to go to hundreds of cities to make presentations.  But by using technology and using print media, we are trying to spread the message. It is a reasonable affair. It is not only done in India but in many other countries.

Could you highlight on your products? What kind of products do you have for the SMEs?
Sanjay Agarwala: We have an ERP product called ebizframe. This product has multiple functions -- sales, purchases, inventories, financial accounting, payroll, human resource management, production and production planning, retail management, and so on. And it comes to the SMEs in a reasonable price depending on the number of users and the kind of module they want to adopt. It also comes in a solid technology so that technology-wise SMEs never face challenges. It is also hosted on the Internet so even if you have offices in many locations across the country or across many countries, your official representative should be able to access the ERP in a very economic manner. Besides this, there are ERP extensions. For example, after you have used the ERP for sometime then you will use data analytics and you will use the best triggers for managing your data. Those are different types of ERP extensions.

Financial constraint is another issue hindering growth of SMEs. What is your take on this?
Sanjay Agarwala: From our own side we are very flexible, to the extent of having a deferred payment plan depending on the nature of the situation. At one time, we have in fact boosted the ERP for Rs. 2000 a month and started utilizing the ERP. And such models are available to ensure that such ERP can go down to every potential users and they are not constrained by financial requirements.

Do you think bank plays a big role into it?
Sanjay Agarwala: Our many customers do take financial help from banks for procurement of technology. And, as far as I understand, banks are also very anxious to welcome this  because it helps the banks themselves.

Is cloud computing popular among SMEs?
Sanjay Agarwala: Again, we are talking about lack of awareness. As a technology it is available but to have suitable application and pervasiveness across the SME space is a challenge. The theory is very good and its benefits are beginning to be seen. You can hear that the speed of internet is causing a challenge and over a period of time improvement is likely to occur where the benefits will become more felt and completely availed by the SMEs.

How much growth are you witnessing for IT adoption in rural sector?
Sanjay Agarwala: The adoption has to happen in the small business sector only then we will talk of rural sector. Rural sector is not driven by the MSMEs. They are driven by the need of the relevant information. The kind of application that is required by the rural population are a little different for the ERP products. It is not about cheap products but it is the matter of relevant products. We are not completely in the rural sector but we are mostly in to the Class A, Class B and Class C cities. I do not have exact data on what I have said. But our presence and our customers' presence in small towns have been effective over a period of time.

How much revenue growth are you expecting in this current fiscal and what is your expectation from the upcoming budget?
Sanjay Agarwala: We are expecting to grow by 40 percent. And, our expectations from the budget is that we would be very happy if the government focus on capacity building. Even in the technology segment, we will be constrained by adequate trained manpower; so if the government is able to fix the demand and supply gap of trained manpower, I think that would be of biggest advantage.

(Namrata Kath Hazarika can be contacted at namratakh@tradeindia.com)