The transformation through technology adoptionis no longer a matter of choice but a question of survival for the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), noted industry leaders at the MSME Growth Conclave, organised by businessline in Bengaluru on Thursday.
A panel discussion on how AI can be leveraged by MSMEs saw participation from Tejas Goenka, MD at Tally Solutions; Sanket Atal, MD – India operations, Site Lead – Technology & Product, Salesforce India; Vidya Vasudevan, Global Head - Zoho Community, Zoho Corporation; and Siddesh Naik, Country Leader - Data, AI & Automation software, Technology Sales, IBM India and South Asia. Venkatesha Babu, Chief of Bureau – Bengaluru, businessline, moderated the panel.
‘Tech needs of MSME’
Technology, especially AI-led transformation, has found its feet in MSMEs, despite the initial hesitation.
“We see a lot of MSMEs on the digital transformation journey making a definite stride, but there is scepticism. MSMEs still use the traditional method for maintaining books and customer relations. But now there is a noticeable trend — tech is becoming affordable,” said Vasudevan. MSMEs must identify time-consuming business processes that require automation. These companies must acquaint themselves with the problems technology intends to solve instead of the know-how of the technology itself, she continued.
Naik added that IT giant IBM is also playing aggressively in the MSME space with its targeted offerings. “Our foundational areas for the MSMEs to level up are bringing in AI from a customer experience perspective and optimising cost from an operational perspective. We always deliberate on how to get an API backbone, and lifecycle management that makes these MSMEs an integral part of the digital ecosystem. Unless each stakeholder benefits from the relationship, we won’t move to the next level,” he added.
However, entrepreneurs have always been very receptive to innovations, accepting most things that come their way, observed Goenka.
“Building something right in India is different from building something right globally. The system must work, keeping the usual business expectations in mind rather than trying to force-fit a set of processes that automation usually demands,” he said.
There still exists much apprehension surrounding AI implementation in the MSME sector since it employs a large segment of India. Goenka of Tally said that his company is witnessing additional creativity instead of replacements, which has caused much worry among job-seekers.
“When one feels the need to digitise something, they often replicate pre-existing products, thus taking away from the company’s core competence. Technology should be an enabler rather than a distraction. There are lots of technologies available to run businesses, so leverage that and focus on core competence, said Atal, adding that nobody needs to become an AI expert, but everybody should learn how to leverage it.
The event was sponsored by Aditya Birla Group