Singapore-based cloud-services provider Deskera partners with IIT Kanpur

Singapore-headquartered Deskera, a cloud-services provider, partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of south-east Asia and India access to research opportunities.

According to the partnership deal, around 100,000 SMEs associated with Deskera will be able to benefit from modern facilities offered by IIT Kanpur for industries such as manufacturing, aviation, logistics, and supply chain.

“IIT Kanpur as a host to one of the largest innovation ecosystems in an academic setting and cutting edge state-of-the-art research in all disciplines of science, engineering and management is poised to provide both technology and product intervention support to SMEs across India and Asia region making them globally competitive,” said Professor Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur.

IIT Kanpur is well-equipped with cutting-edge capabilities and will provide an additional layer of research to help enterprises in improved decision-making, added Karandikar.

According to a World Bank study, there are 365-445 million formal and informal micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the emerging markets. Of which, the former contributes up to 60 per cent of total employment and 40 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in emerging economies.

Shashank Dixit, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Deskera, also an IIT Kanpur alumni said, “SMEs in the emerging countries are going through a transformative phase. They need access to world-class research and analysis.”

“Further, the Deskera partnership would leverage the R&D effort of MSMEs and help them to grow faster in this competitive world,” said Professor S Ganesh, Dean, Research & Development, IIT Kanpur.

The governments of various nations especially India and south-east Asia are encouraging the growth of SMEs by introducing several initiatives and policies.