Indian SMBs embracing the cloud

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Cloud computing has become nothing short of a global phenomenon for small- and medium-sized businesses. While the technology has already gotten IT professionals turning their heads stateside, SMBs in India are now jumping on board as well, according to a recent Times of India report.

"For small businesses, cloud computing offers an opportunity to use sophisticated solutions like enterprise resource planning at less than half the cost by avoiding upfront investments in buying software licenses and any computer hardware," the report states.

One Indian SMB that has turned to the cloud is ETA Technologies, which deployed cloud services for its enterprise resource planning, or ERP, software two years ago, according to the report. By using cloud-based ERP, the company has been able to access high-grade SaaS that simplified its ERP work processes and improved functionality.

Additionally, SMBs have deployed cloud services to improve their data management and IT maintenance capabilities, while trimming costs, the Times of India reports.

The cloud computing market in India has taken off and is expected to grow ten-fold in the next four years. According to a 2010 Zinnov report, the Indian cloud computing market will reach $1 billion by 2015, up from $110 million in 2010.