CII has states that Information Technology is very helpful in bridging the gaps between MSMEs and large companies. According to the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) survey, Information Technology had changed the fortunes of the SMEs in India. It has stated that, technology will help increase productivity, reduce the time and cost as well as increase the competitiveness of the company. The usage of IT amongst the Indian SMEs and the presence of a website has resulted in the increase in turnover. And the survey also reported that, accounting and inventory management are the two key areas where E-commerce is being currently used.
According to the CII, it might be difficult for MSMEs to adapt technology, because employees are not equipped to handle technology or fear of loss of jobs, and embracing technology also involves additional costs. But all the above issues can be addressed by providing proper training and counseling.
Most of the respondents (78%) have reported that their turnover increased due to use of IT. 12% of respondents indicated that their turnover increased between 5 to 25% and 8% said that increase of 25-30% in their turnover. The increase in turnover can be attributed to the various benefits of IT to the SMEs. There has been an increase in the percentage of respondents using IT with a gradual increase in the degree of IT usage when compared to last year.
The survey has predicted that, this trend of using IT applications for different functions may be same in the year 2011. Finance is the area which is attracting maximum IT usage in an organization. This is followed by sales and marketing, Research & Development and corporate affairs. The awareness is increasing among SMEs to have their own website or home page. SMEs have also registered savings due to the presence of a website.