Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Business Desktops over Internet for SMEs

Novoally softwares has launched a virtual desktops for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector in India, these desktops systems are accessible through the internet connection via a web browser. It will help the SME sector by providing a low cost solution for SMEs while lowering the cost of extra hardware and softwares and assisting them in browsing B2B directories, B2B marketplaces and B2B portals for various verticals available in the SME domain.

With more and more SMEs registering at online B2B matchmaking portals like IndiaMART.com and Alibaba.com every single day. The need for an extra input from the software sector is inevitable, this virtual desktop system will work as a virtual and centralized weberp system to manage sales, purchase, inventory, manufacturing, accounts, reporting etc. In a way the virtual desktop will keep a whole some account of all the business development details of the company. And as it is online, it is a fast and a cost effective measure for the emerging SME sector who don't want to invest much on expensive hardware and software systems. All you need is a good bandwidth spectrum because it is accessible over a secure 256-bit SSL connection. The system allows users to securely access their business data from any place that provides Internet connectivity. Though, It will be a fight at certain places because bandwidth is a big issue in India, and fast browsing speed is possible only in major cities. But, in the coming one year, with the advent of 3G technology in India the scenario will hopefully change and such software system will prove to be highly significant.


The only thing a user really needs is a Web browser and an Internet connection. Gaurav Jain, CEP, Novoally, said, "Our motto is to empower Indian SMEs with the same computing depth as any world-class ERP system, allowing them to leverage the power of IT without getting burdened by complexities and cost." The company said the solution costs just Rs. 666 per user. As told to CXOtoday.com staff


Such developments in the IT sector are backing the SMEs growth and are acting as a foothold for the Indian SME sector in the global market. With more and more technological developments are incurring to assuage the plight of SMEs which will thus help in their alleviation and henceforth the GDP of the country as they are the backbone of the country's economy.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Online Advertisement – The Next Big Thing

With the present world being rechristened with digital era, the medium of promotions and advertising is also getting digital. More and more companies are following the online medium of promotions. It has become a promising platform for SMEs to build their brands, as it allow them to be flexible according to their ease and approach niche target audiences in an innovative manner. Online advertising needs a meager amount, but has the potential to be competitive with the large advertisers. This point has become the biggest USP for online advertising which is the need of the hour and latest buzz in the SME circuit after online marketing and matchmaking.

Advertising is one of the inevitable part of branding and promotions and with SMEs making a foothold in the international global business scene. Its indispensable for them to promote and advertise themselves and online medium is so economical that it entice every emerging entrepreneur.

Any one can start advertising at a meager amount of Rs. 200 – 300 per day and on the basis of results they can alleviate the expenses. Companies like carwaale.com, bazee.com earn most of their business through online promotions at various google sites.

Google ads have been the favourite among the SME sector. But now numerous SMEs are availing the services of google and other highly visited sites for their promotions like the popular B2B portals and B2B matchmaking platforms in order to hit the pertinent audience.

“SMEs contribute a significant portion of our ad sales revenue. We are seeing a good proportion of incremental spends from existing advertisers and there is a healthy growth in new SME advertisers signing up with us. A wide range of SMEs find value in advertising on the digital medium. They vary from car sellers to coaching institutes, chemical companies and stock brokers.” as told to business standard by Sridhar Seshadri, Business Head, online sales operations at Google India.

The flexibility provided by the campaigns like to pay on the basis of results make such online promotions once a worth try. And as most of them are producing significant results which thus streamline the business communication.

SMEs are looking for being advertise in various formats, from simple text to more intricate gadgets and videos concentrating their prospectives on the basis of pretext, keywords and content. Nevertheless, in general, for simple products and simple results, text is the preferred medium. It takes less than 5 minutes to actually make the advertisement and can be changed instantly as per the need. Hence, many SMEs prefer this.

Seeing the enthusiasm of SMEs in online media, companies like IndiaMART.com , Hellotrade.com are taking initiatives to educate the SMEs about online presence, ICTs, online promotions and online advertisements. IndiaMART.com is doing this through a drive which includes seminars, events and one to one engagement to enlighten the SME entrepreneurs.

With a hope that SMEs will enter this digital age in order to benefit themselves through the use of various online tools as B2B matchmaking, B2B marketplaces, B2B directories, promotions all of which are present online. But before all this, advertisement is the most nascent step which they have to follow and with the above listed scenario, the future seems to be bright for Indian SMEs.