Indian mid market to grow in spite of slowdown: IBM

By siliconindia   |   Friday, 24 July 2009, 16:54 IST   |    1 Comments
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Indian mid market to grow in spite of slowdown: IBM
Bangalore: Indian mid market decision makers including COOs, CFOs, CIOs, and others, expect their IT budget to increase by 50 percent this year, in comparison to the previous year despite the economic slowdown, states a global study conducted by IBM. The majority of Indian companies surveyed referred supply chain management (SCM), information management and security management as critical business priorities for improving business performance and efficiency. Most of the midsize companies find that companies also recognize that a 'working alone' strategy may block their chances for success, and finding strategic IT partners who can collaborate with them to realize the vision is the key for success. The mid size companies continue to grow and innovate through technology investments in the country, the study says. This is especially true in growth markets, where IT budgets have been remaining largely intact. The study is performed on about 1,879 business and IT executives at companies with between 100 and 1,000 employees across industries and in seventeen countries including India, Australia, Benelux, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, UK, and U.S. "Midsize companies in India are constantly innovating while deploying resources to create sustainable business value. They are investing in the future making changes and taking risks to survive, compete and thrive," said Ramesh Narasimhan, Director, General Business, IBM India and South Asia. Inability to implement and lack of required skills in-house are some common obstacles for successful IT implementation at growing organizations. Many midsize firms work with IT providers and consultants to overcome these barriers. In terms of selection criteria, 70 percent surveyed prefer to partner with an IT company who has expertise in their business to help them work smarter, as 67 percent look for partners that can provide the highest quality IT infrastructure solutions. Major business challenges include improving efficiency and productivity, improving customer focus and sharpening the business agility. 83 percent midsize companies believe improving efficiency was a key priority, while 80 percent cited increasing employee productivity as a critical challenge. With the ability to create a highly personalized and responsive environment for today's consumer, the midsized companies gave highest priority to enhance customer service and prospecting for new customers. Over 70 percent of the executives identified improved decision making and improving collaboration across employees, partners and suppliers as critical areas to improve their overall business performance. The study found that a large percentage of the organizations are rethinking, not reducing, when it comes to budget. 64 percent reported that their IT budgets remain unchanged or are actually increasing for the coming fiscal year, with nearly 40 percent stating that their priorities have shifted. Fewer than four in 10 are actually reducing their IT budget. By using information, relationships and technology in new ways to create greater value and efficiencies, organizations can grow, survive and improve the way they manage and run their business and gain a competitive advantage. Through this, the companies can achieve measurable and sustainable improvements through cost reductions, service level increases and productivity gains ultimately leading to stronger profit margins. The Indian marketplace has more than 35 million small and medium businesses, and many of the businesses are planning to expand their business beyond India.

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