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Nov, 02 2015

Technology behind the making of a tech entrepreneur

Growing e-commerce sector, boom in startup ecosystem, government initiatives like Digital India and huge investment in the country have brought the IT sector into the limelight once again. The sector, which is bubbling with mammoth growth, is also throwin

From being serving as a mere back-end office workforce for multinationals, the Indian technocrats have gradually grown on to become a brand in themselves as several aspiring IT sector people are launching their own ventures. Be it software or hardware, the sector is not only providing a large number of jobs but is also opening business avenues for many as the IT companies are seeking franchise partners to grow at a faster rate. And the growth is immense.   

According to India Brand Equity Foundation, the IT-BPM (business process management) sector in India grew at a Compound Annual Growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent over 2010-15, which is three to four times higher than the global IT-BPM spend, and is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 9.5 per cent to US$ 300 billion by 2020.

 “India is quite clearly a leading beacon in the global technology ecosystem. While through the 1990's our USP as a country lied mostly in the fact that we could get good work done for a cheaper cost - driving MNC outsourcing towards India - the 2000's have seen an increase in actual R&D and innovation in India. The most recent Startup boom has proven that India is in a very exciting space, and this just the beginning,” shares Ronak Kumar Samantray, Co-Founder, Nowfloats, which helps companies manage their online presence.

“The market is great and ever-growing. With the penetration of smart phones with internet, today technology is in the hands of everyone - young, old, rich, poor. Technology is killing the divide,” adds Manu Jolly, Founder, CEO, Digiperform which imparts digital skill training to a million people.

Growing big via franchise route

Many IT brands are looking for franchise partners pan-India. “There is a huge opportunity for our franchisees to train and generate revenue. The other opportunity comes from servicing the trainees who run their own business and act like a digital marketing agency for them. We are present in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad and are looking to expand to Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Jaipur and Chandigarh. We are now opening our first overseas office in Sydney this year and then expand to the Middle East and Africa,” explains the Digiperform Founder.

While, Ronak  says, “People thinking about starting franchising or running them would likely find our technology very useful for marketing, online discoverability, and tracking how many customers and what kind of customers land on their sites and make purchases. We're a one-stop-solution for online discoverability. Currently, while we are headquartered in Hyderabad - we have eight offices in Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, and most recently Rajkot. These are all mostly sales offices. We hope to expand to other smaller cities which have proven to show interest in the products that we have to offer. Goa, Lucknow, Nagpur and Jaipur, are our next targets cities.”

Another interesting technology brand, Puresight Systems Pvt Ltd has brought iRobot brand to India and the brand is a service provider for home robotic appliances in India. “We believe India has a great potential with the increase of a working upper middle class and the need for a reliable help at home. Our plan is to set up flagship stores where customers can experience the product. We will also have full-fledged service centres to provide complete post-sales support. We plan to expand to other cities as well,” Asaf Merary, Director of the company, which is exclusive distributor for the brand in India

Helping retail sector to grow

The technology sector is helping the retailers grow with the help of the franchise route. “Our technology helps retailers and other business verticals get online within minutes and then become easily discoverable at a hyperlocal level. How do we do this?- Our products are run on a Local Auto-SEO technology which automatically optimises the content that business owners add to their sites for hyperlocal search - driving people who are searching online, to purchase in stores offline,” says Ronak.

Jolly also explains that how retail sector and technology has come together well. “The face of retail is changing. Who could have thought that one could buy everything from needle to elephant online just with a few clicks using ones phone. Every retailer is benefiting from the advent of technology-retailers today are not only selling from their store but also selling on various e-commerce platforms, selling on social media and also using various digital marketing techniques to sell and reach out to their customers.”

With businesses revolving around the technology, franchising in tech businesses has also become demanding. The time is for the one who can adapt. This is bigger than the industrial revolution, green revolution or white revolution. Digital revolution will change the face of India and India is going to show how it is done, to the world.

Some of the major developments in the Indian IT and IT Enabled Service sector:

  • Indian e-commerce industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 35 per cent to reach US$ 100 billion size in the next five years, as per a study by ASSOCHAM-PricewaterhouseCoopers.
  • India's internet economy is expected to touch Rs 10 trillion (US$ 151.6 billion) by 2018, accounting for 5 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

What’s in store for technocrats

  • A new McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) report identifies a dozen technologies, ranging from the mobile Internet to cloud computing to advanced genomics, which could have a combined economic impact of $550 billion to $1 trillion a year in 2025.
  • By 2025, electronic payments could help 300 million Indians join the country’s financial system.
  • To capture the full potential value of technologies, India will need to address barriers such as its limited telecom infrastructure and a lack of computer literacy among Indians. In addition, policymakers can create an environment in which the technologies flourish by adopting appropriate regulations that protect the rights of citizens and by helping to foster an environment for innovation.
  • Government can encourage the growth of tech industries and applications by supporting efforts to create standards and can help entrepreneurs scale up ideas into major companies through reforms to regulatory systems.
  • India can raise its investment in research and development, which in 2010 was 0.87 percent of GDP, compared with 1.7 percent in China and 3.36 percent in South Korea. - Source: McKinsey

 

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