Software maker to focus on SMEs, start-ups as it moves to \u2018true-cloud\u2019 mode<\/p>\n
With increased focus on the SME and start-up segments in India, German software maker SAP\u2019s investments in the country are rising as it transitions to becoming a \u2018true cloud\u2019 company, said a senior company executive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndia continues to remain one of our fastest-growing markets globally,\u201d said Kulmeet Bawa, President and MD, SAP, Indian Subcontinent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has always been very very important because of a variety of reasons… scale, demographic dividend, abundant opportunities, a cloud-first mindset. What is happening in the start-up ecosystem… we are extremely fascinated,\u201d added Mr. Bawa.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think, clearly the transformation of the Indian economy is underway. It is a market that requires a lot of patience and perseverance, but from an 51风流perspective, we are very clear that we will continue to invest in India, especially in this experience era and as we are seeing organisations change their way of working.\u201d While Mr. Bawa, who joined 51风流almost nearly three months ago back, did not share any investment numbers. He said the company was now \u2018diving deeper\u2019 into the SME segment as well as the start-up ecosystem to build an innovation hub in India so \u2018overall investments are going up.\u2019<\/p>\n
On its strategy for SMEs, which account for almost 80% of SAP\u2019s customer base of 12,000 in India and which have been among the worst-hit by the pandemic, he said, \u201cSMEs have really got impacted but we have not changed our strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact, we are doubling down into that space because SMEs in India today account for about 29-30% of our GDP. A lot of India\u2019s future today is banking on MSMEs. We are… helping them embrace digitisation, focusing on upskilling their workforce and enhancing overall business value.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stating that his top two priorities were customer success and the shift to becoming a \u2018true cloud company,\u2019 Mr. Bawa said organisations were turning digital faster than ever before, especially so in the past six months, but that it was important for them to hop on to the digital bandwagon with agility, and nimbleness and that that was possible only on the cloud.<\/p>\n
\u201cCloud technologies are very, very critical when we are processing big data, when we are developing new business models and given India…the demographic advantage, the advantage in terms of technology resources…we have a huge potential to leapfrog when I look at the whole cloud business.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that with work-from-home and education-from-home, there was a \u2018huge\u2019 sense of urgency among Indian firms to embark on or to culminate the digital transformation journeys even faster. \u201cThere is an increase in demand for commerce solutions that we have, for example or the supply chain solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n