CLOUD COMPUTING TO SHAPE THE NEXT WAVE OF GROWTH
Cloud computing in India is currently estimated to be USD 2.5 billion in 2018, dominated by IaaS & SaaS India’s cloud market is expected to grow at a rate of ~30% (CAGR) and is estimated to touch over USD 7 Billion in 2022, i.e., 3-times the current marke
Cloud as a concept has been around for two decades, but has picked up steam with the growing presence of “hyper scale” cloud providers in big data, analytics, artificial intelligence and IoT. Today, cloud is a compelling proposition for the Indian SMEs, enterprises and government. In the light of this the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) today, unveiled its report titled ‘Cloud – Next Wave of Growth in India’. The report was done in collaboration with Google Cloud and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP highlights the present and the future state of the Indian cloud market, identifies the major technology trends, issues and concerns with respect to the industry. It also focuses on the adoption levels of cloud computing across industry verticals, the IaaS and SaaS ecosystem and, analyses the cloud policy framework & its impact on the overall cloud industry.
The report highlights that cloud spending is on a growth trajectory propelled by factors (both demand and supply) such as: Increased awareness of Cloud, consumerization of IT, proliferation of start-up ecosystem, diverse landscape of supplier ecosystem, rising investments in infrastructure, talent, strategic partnerships and the impetus from key digital-led Government programs. And here, both IaaS and SaaS are estimated to contribute to this growth. Factors that can drive the IaaS uptake in India are – an improved infrastructure, economic benefits, increased innovation, vibrant start-up ecosystem and connected ecosystem. On the other hand, lower cost of workforce, abundant talent availability, mature sales eco-system, adoption of newer technologies like AI, ML to build world- class products will boost the SaaS ecosystem.
Further, to accelerate the cloud growth momentum in the right strategic direction, the report recommends the government of India to set out tangible time-bound targets for cloud and a sharper focus on the multitude of other infrastructural & operational factors (reliable power, sustainable land regulations, high-speed connectivity).
Globally, the cloud spending on IT is growing at 16.5% (CAGR) and is expected to touch USD 345 billion by 2022.
Ghosh, President, NASSCOM said, “India’s cloud computing market is poised for growth and, the technology is increasingly being embraced across businesses as well as consumers. Complementing the ecosystem are the futuristic technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Advanced Analytics and Immersive media that are aiding in the seamless adoption of SaaS, IaaS and PaaS offerings. However, to bolster India’s cloud market story we need to exercise innovation. Innovation to reduce the cost of services and thus, a wider usage of cloud. This report will be a ready reckoner for all to understand the imminent need for Cloud and the underlying opportunities”.
Challenges
The report also draws attention to a few challenges such as data security and lack of internet infrastructure specially in Tier-II and rural markets of India. However, holistically cloud spending is catching up fast and some of the key drivers are consumerization of information technology, availability of skilled talent with deep domain knowledge, rising investments in infrastructure, government initiatives in support of
—Debjani Ghosh, President, NASSCOM “India’s cloud computing market is poised for growth and, the technology is increasingly being embraced across businesses as well as consumers. Complementing the ecosystem are the futuristic technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Advanced Analytics and Immersive media that are aiding in the seamless adoption of SaaS, IaaS and PaaS offerings. However, to bolster India’s cloud market story we need to exercise innovation. Innovation to reduce the cost of services and thus, a wider usage of cloud. This report will be a ready reckoner for all to understand the imminent need for Cloud and the underlying opportunities”.
Most of the offline retail players are working towards customer first strategy but are not able to enhance shoppers experiencecompletely. How can this be improvised?
The study suggests that the expectations of the Indian shoppers are on the rise. While retailers are addressing fulfillment challenges, they also need to provide a more trusted, personalized shopping expe
The study suggests that the expectations of the Indian shoppers are on the rise. While retailers are addressing fulfillment challenges, they also need to provide a more trusted, personalized shopping experience that gives customers what they want, where and how they want it.
rience that gives customers what they want, where and how they want it.
However, this has been lacking in Indian retailers which has led to a direct impact on their businesses. The lack of convenience is one of the key reasons cited by Indian customers for shifting to online shopping from offline. Therefore, Indian retailers should consider solutions on this front to meet the expectations of its customers.
Today, offline retail players feel the threat to be taken over by the gigantic E- commerce industry. Hence, they are putting forth their best efforts to make sure that they enhance the shopperexperience and make it as convenient and feasible as shopping online. However, there is always scope for improvement to enhance customer experience in the light of ever-increasing competition in India.
Zebra’s study suggests that the retailers should consider equipping their store associates with smart devices, as 66% of surveyed associates believe that they can provide better customer service and improve the shopping experience if they are equipped with tablets. This coincides with the finding that up to 83% of surveyed retail decision makers and 74% of store associates concur that shoppers can have a better experience with technology- equipped sales associates.
Interestingly, nearly 60% of surveyed retailers plan to increase their expenditure on handheld mobile computers by more than 6% and 21% of them plan to spend more than 10% on rugged tablets over the next three years.
How can your solutions help Indian retailers at large?
The retail industry is witnessing a paradigm shift with the rise of e- commerce and Omni channel fulfil
ment. Hence, Indian retailers need a partner who understand their unique challenges and can help them transform the overall customer experience. Zebra Technologies provides a performance edge to retail associates to help them deliver better, faster service with end-to- end visibility from inventory to shopping behavior, allowing them to give the customer what they want, when, where, how and at the price they want it.
Zebra constantly works on innovative solutions which can also help Indian retailers to know everything about their businesses and outperform their competition, by providing them with visibility and actionable insight into their customers, inventory, and other valued assets from the point of sale to the distribution center with purpose-built scanners, printers and mobile computers.
What are some of the challenges retailers face while deploying new technologies?
Technology is humungous and its integration in any form of work needs time for a smooth and long-term assimilation. Hence, there are certainly various challenges that are inevitable and faced by the retailers when deploying new technology. These challenges may include budget availability, change management, the need to demonstrate its return on investment and the integration of the new technology to the existing system. However, these can be easily addressed by having the right technology partners.
How are you seeing 2019 and what’s your vision?
In today’s digitally enabled and technologically advanced world where humans and technology-powered systems interact in more connected and intelligent ways, enterprises that strive to achieve future growth do understand that it is critical to lead with digital innovation, to keep up with the expectations of an increasingly discerning end user and an evergrowing competition.
With this, Zebra Technologies is expecting that the edge of enterprises will become increasingly important as that is where real-time information is captured for enhanced operational visibility and analytics to generate actionable insights. We see a shift towards a more connected, collaborative system where physical and digital entities will converge across multiple channels and models. With further development of new technologies, people will be increasingly dependent on the immersive experience offered by the smart edge devices that surround them.