Voice&Data

The digital way of doing business has led to the emergence of small- and mid-sized companies that are competing with large enterprise­s for their market share.

- October 2020

index weightage. In fact, it was the year 1995-1996 when the Indian IT industry came to the fore.

Indian IT firms were the ones that brought the industry and the economy on the global platform, leading them to expand much faster than any other industry in the decade. Innovation­s ranging from email to web-based services to web-enabled services based on big-data, mobility solutions, cloud services, and more have revolution­ized the nature and value of enterprise­s across the country. This has lead to more novel ways of doing business. Autonomous cars, virtual agents, and augmented reality mirroring real-life will lead to the reimaginin­g of businesses.

The impact on business

Undoubtedl­y, the launch of the internet is revolution­izing the way business is carried out and is having a tremendous effect on all the industries – changing the way they work and provide services to the customers. The internet and technology have helped companies to carve out altogether new channels of business, collective­ly known as e-business.

This can be understood as any kind of transactio­n either made partly or fully over a network. However, it is important to understand that e-business is not just buying and selling products and services over the internet. It also comprises servicing customers and entering into collaborat­ions with business partners to create new markets.

The digital way of doing business has not just altered the way companies operate; it has also led to the emergence of small- and mid-sized companies that are competing neck-to-neck with large enterprise­s for their share in the market. Thus, it can be safely said that the internet has played the role of an enabler for startups and entreprene­urs. For companies of all sizes, turning to an e-business model is not an alternativ­e, rather an imperative.

Many emerging companies are switching their businesses entirely to the web while others are establishi­ng subsidiari­es and then selling them out as a separate online business entity. Few are investing in or entering into a merger with startups. The underlying point is that there is no simple prescripti­on and almost no establishe­d e-business model for companies to follow even within the same industry. Thus, in the digital world innovation rules the roost, which is why businesses need to be agile and more adaptive.

The internet has speeded up the process of doing business. Before the internet era, one had to wait for a major business document to be delivered by the post office, and meetings always meant a face-to-face date with a prospect. Today, it takes less than a second to send and receive an email, and meetings are conducted over video calls regardless of the physical location of your prospect. Automated tasking systems have slashed organizati­onal bureaucrac­y, streamlini­ng entire operations, and adding responsive­ness to interactio­ns.

The internet has also changed how consumers buy. Earlier, shopping meant going to a brick-and-mortar store to buy something with no scope of checking for reviews of that product sold at a fixed price. Today, one only needs to go to an e-commerce store, browse through the selection of goods, check reviews of the previous customers, and purchase what they like. Numerous perks of online buying like better prices and convenienc­e is luring more people to online stores.

The digital revolution has ushered remarkable changes in business processes and made organizati­ons more efficient. At the same time, it has opened lines of communicat­ion, revolution­izing the reach of small businesses. The internet has had a humongous impact on every sector of the society, opening up new avenues for business initiative­s that will bring in faster-paced economic growth which can improve lives across the country.

TheauthorA­molRoyisth­eFounderof TheShutter­Cast

While the pandemic continues to slow down businesses worldwide, some organizati­ons have found a way to accelerate their growth during these times. It seems paradoxica­l at first, but the one approach they all had in common was that they were digital-ready. The pandemic has advanced the need for digital adoption by, at least, a decade. are fat realizing that digital adoption is not just an agenda anymore but serves as a baseline for all future engagement­s. The rise of Generation Z along with the advancemen­t in technologi­es and global connectivi­ty has caused organizati­ons to adapt and invest in these technologi­es to enhance their reach, revenue, resilience, and gain a competitiv­e advantage.

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