GoDaddy has recently joined hands with Microsoft to facilitate Indian SMEs and has announced an enterprise-grade Microsoft Office 365 solution with an introductory price of Rs. 149 per month. Please give more details of your offering.
Rajiv Sodhi: GoDaddy has entered into a strategic partnership with Microsoft to offer Office 365 as its exclusive, premium business-class email and productivity service to small-businesses in India. Using Microsoft Office 365 from GoDaddy, small businesses now have access tools that were traditionally available only to larger enterprises. It allows small business owners to establish a strong professional identity, stay connected on the go and get more done in less time.

As part of our agreement, Microsoft has created a unique domain-based email and storage offering to cater to GoDaddy's small business customers. Currently, in India we are offering three plans customized to suit the specific needs of small business owners in India:

Email Essentials: Starting at just Rs. 149 per user per month, this plan offers 5 GB of email storage with 2GB of secure cloud storage via Microsoft OneDrive for Business. It also allows users to sync email, calendar and contacts across all devices.

Business Essentials: Starting at Rs. 199per user per month, this plan offers 50 GB of email storage with 1 TB of secure cloud storage via Microsoft OneDrive for Business. In addition to the features in the Email Essentials plan, this plan offers simple file sharing and online file collaboration, unlimited online meetings and HD video conferencing along with Office Online Web versions of Word, Excel and more.

Productivity Plus: Starting at Rs. 599 per user per month, the Productivity Plus plan offers several features in addition to those available in the Business Essentials plan. This includes Office desktop, mobile apps for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone, and Office for iPad, making it easier than ever to access, edit and share files. As part of this plan, users will never pay for another upgrade and get the latest updates automatically as long as the customer has an active Productivity Plus plan. And customers can install Microsoft Office on up to 5 PCs or Macs and 5 iPads or Windows tablets per single user.  They can also work offline, as files will be synced with a simple click once back online.

How will this collaboration help Indian SMEs? How can small entrepreneurs take advantage of this partnership?
Rajiv Sodhi: The partnership brings the power of big business tools to every business at a reasonable cost, in an easy to use package and backed by live support. O365 from GoDaddy makes sure a business' important files are always within reach. For example, Office Online features online versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, you can create, edit and save files to the cloud from any Web browser. Everyone you work with, from employees to clients, can work on the same document at once and share it with just a click. No more emailing files back and forth. And customers respond to professional email powered with a business' domain name because your communications look professional and promote your company with every exchange.

With GoDaddy and Microsoft teaming up, a business has the convenience of getting a domain name, a corresponding email address and access to Office 365 productivity solutions, all in one place.  What's more, with Microsoft Office 365 from GoDaddy, small businesses have access to our world-class 24/7 customer care. GoDaddy's local customer care team is well-versed with all technical details required to help customers in setting-up their Office 365 account and assist them with any queries should they may have after.

Before this long-term strategic partnership with Microsoft you must have gone through some market research on the SME sector in India. Could you please share your findings with us?
Rajiv Sodhi: Small businesses are increasingly adopting cloud solutions that help them better compete with larger businesses. Recent reports by NASSCOM also point to this notion, showing how rapidly this segment is advancing towards technology adoption. The report also states that cloud computing is a key technology attracting Indian SMBs -- SaaS adoption by Indian SMBs is growing at a CAGR of 25 percent and is expected to reach USD 370 million by FY18.

Apart from this strategic partnership, what else does GoDaddy offer especially for SMEs?
Rajiv Sodhi: GoDaddy is the world's largest technology provider dedicated to small businesses. Our mission is to empower small businesses by helping people to easily start, confidently grow and successfully run their own ventures.

We offer customers a 'one stop shop' for all relevant products and solutions needed to establish and grow their business online, including access to integrated Web solutions spanning domain registration, email, hosting, website building, marketing tools and aftermarket domain services.

We have noticed that SMEs in India, especially the micro and small businesses, are not very technically sound. How does GoDaddy help SMEs in this direction?
Rajiv Sodhi: We take pride in our easy-to-use tools and services along with our 24/7 local customer care. Not only do we equip our customers with all the information they need, we also offer them the most cost effective way of establishing an online presence.

Keeping that in mind, we have created intuitive design tools through which anyone, with or without a level of technical literacy, can create a website. For instance, using GoDaddy's Website Builder, small business owners can quickly build a customized website on their own choosing from over 300 templates.

For as low as Rs. 99 per month, they can also host their own website as well as get a domain name. Each plan comes with a free domain name and an annual plan along with various customizable designs to choose from, tailored specifically for our users' needs.

We have also made products like Microsoft Office 365 simpler to get started with. We don't expect our consumers to know about SMTP relays or MX records -- our fast, easy set-up process does it all, so they're up and running in minutes.

Additionally, our award winning 24/7 customer care is always there to help in every step of the way. Any customer can call our customer care center and an expert will be available to walk them through the process of creating a website or any other support they require to manage their online presence.

While dealing with Indian SMEs, what are some of the common issues you have found that SMEs face while going online?
Rajiv Sodhi: Many small business owners in India without an online presence either perceive the Internet to be too complex or have security concerns. It is also a popular misconception that building a website is a massive financial investment in itself.

GoDaddy is working to educate customers and business owners about how easy and affordable it really is to take this step. A domain name through GoDaddy costs as little as Rs.99 a year, and an entire website can cost only Rs.99 a month.

We aim to make the Internet relevant for small business owners and help them understand how it can help to attract more customers and run their business 24/7.

Also, India is a 'do-it-for-me' market. Keeping this in mind, GoDaddy has worked towards creating a robust partner and reseller ecosystem to help us reach potential customers.

SMEs are more concerned about their sales rather than building a brand. What is your say on that?
Rajiv Sodhi: The Internet is still in its early stages in India. Out of 40 million SMBs here, only 500,000 of them have an online presence

GoDaddy firmly believes that by establishing an online presence, small businesses can expand their reach to a global audience, increase brand awareness, operate around the clock, and ultimately increase sales.

Having a website is crucial for small business owners for a number of reasons. Primarily, it's an opportunity to connect with customers where they are looking - online. It also helps to create and control your web presence, and to take advantage of search engines. Building a web presence is an opportunity to differentiate yourself and stand out from your competition and develop your brand identity. A website can help reach more customers, nationally and internationally -- and it can do that in a very cost effective manner and more customers mean more sales.

That said, GoDaddy is focused on educating small business owners on the real-world benefits of establishing a web presence. We guide our customers through a step-by-step process of running their business online and slowly bringing them up to speed with market developments.

GoDaddy is the world's largest technology provider dedicated to small businesses. How do you see the Indian SME sector in terms of prospects and future potential?
Rajiv Sodhi: We believe that SMBs will lead the charge for the Internet in India, and GoDaddy is focused on providing a comprehensive range of affordable best-in-class solutions to help them establish their online presence and run their businesses more effectively and efficiently.

What are your future plans for catering to SMEs?
Rajiv Sodhi: India is a very exciting market for us. With just over 10 percent internet penetration, India is poised to overtake the US as the second largest internet user base this year. It also presents the second largest base of SMBs in the world. With India's economy primarily made up of small businesses, 99 percent of all businesses are SMBs.

We understand what small business owners need to succeed, having worked with millions of small business owners globally. We are committed to creating simple, elegant technologies for our customers and delivering superior customer care.