The Hindu Business Line : Small businesses may soon invest in computers

Kolkata June 25 A huge opportunity awaits hardware, software and solutions vendors with 40 per cent — or more than one million in absolute numbers — of the 2.7 million non-PC owning small businesses in India expected to invest in computers within the next 12 months.

According to a recent study conducted by the New York-headquartered Access Markets International (AMI) Partners Inc, there arecurrently 2.7 million small businesses in India that do not own computers and a significant portion among them belong to the wholesale and retail sectors.

The study reveals that almost 50 per cent of these small businesses felt PCs had no relevance to their line of businesses. However, such thinking was changing now.

For the AMI study, small businesses have been categorised as those that employ up to 99 people.

Demand for laptops

Fifteen per cent of the non-PC owning businesses surveyed by AMI said they would prefer to buy laptops,,which is indicative of the mobility needs of India's non-PC-owing small businesses.

The local retail store appeared to be the most-favoured channel for PC purchases, since small businesses were keen to weigh their options of buying over the counter and checking available brands and models before making their purchases.

Interestingly, most small businesses said they relied on newspaper advertisements for gathering information on IT-related products. Next in line was word-of-mouth opinion from friends and family.

Key drivers

The need to automate business processes and improving efficiencies were the two key drivers of small businesses buying PCs. Other factors in this regard included the desire for enhanced productivity and to keep up with competition.

It was also felt that maintaining a basic IT infrastructure was necessary to manage mushrooming business growth and to keep up with the demands of business partners, according to the AMI Partners study.

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