Attrition and Other Concerns
After technology, the biggest concern for SMBs is to find a person to man it. Attrition is an issue that stalks all organizations alikebig, small or medium. SMBs have a tougher time, as they are good poaching grounds for big firms. Often big firms think of SMBs as a training ground for future employees. Also, the fact that SMBs cannot afford to dole out the sum offered by bigger players, puts them in a tight spot.

	"We interact with vendors constantly to understand the product thoroughly, and during this stage we also obtain market statistics/information about the product"
	Ketan Shah, CIO, Angel Broking

At India Book House, employees give their thumbs up for the work atmosphere, little wonder that most of the people working there have been around for ages. According to Sharma, attrition is a fact of business. "As we have to live with it, why not start making adjustments. I am completely against the Ostrichian approach, attrition is best solved if you take it head on," he says.

Pricing is another niggling issue with SMBs. As there are umpteen number of channel partners, the companies do not know for sure whether the price that they are buying at is rock bottom or can it slide further. Also, since most vendors prefer to deal through channel partners, there is no real way of ascertaining what the channel guy is saying, except cross-checking with other channel guys. But, that is changing as well as vendors are putting in people in each city to deal with these issues.

Shah bats for the vendors. "In technology, pricing plays a vital role. It has been observed that the pricing mechanism is different for every vendor as it involves not only the product, but also post sales support, maintenance, and services. It is also important for users to make sure that they do not squeeze vendors beyond certain levels as it is important that they make reasonable profits out of the deal so that they can support the same on a sustained basis. We believe that it should be a win-win situation for both, the vendor and we as a customer," he says. Vendor management is an equally important challenge for SMBs, how well they are able to handle different vendors decides how smooth the sailing is.

Customization is another big pain point for SMBs. Till quite recently, the solutions that were available to these companies often used to be withered down versions of software for large companies. For instance, an ERP solution for SMB would be quite similar to ERP solutions for large enterprises, except for frills and features. These uni-size applications are more of a headache than a solution. Thankfully that is changing as well, as vendors go in for micro-verticalization, they are offering solutions that are customized and tailored to the needs of the SMB segment. This has eased life a bit, but not entirely.

In conclusion, SMBs in India have moved up from the position where they questioned the very need for IT and newer technology. All emphatically agree that IT is not merely important, but critical for success. And, this heralds a new change. As these companies consume more and more technology, the country will, in turn, become more competitive and prosperous. It is not surprising then to see Uncle Pai bending over the monitor and checking out the to-be published Tinkle. If at this age and time he can master the computer, there is little reason or excuse why anybody else cannot.

Shashwat DC
shashwatc@cybermedia.co.in

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