As the presentation started on, the “Economic Development through E-Governance& ICT as A Key Enabler of Export Competitiveness for SMEs”, a middle aged man has started addressing the gathering. It had an interesting start with the presentation of facts and figures before getting to the core topic. With some engaging statements he drew my complete attention,  “Small companies have every chance to work more creatively, to grow at a faster rate and to do multiple tasks”. He then posed some interesting questions to the audience, “How many of you have a website?” More than 90% hands were raised. Then he asked “How many of you are getting business through your website? Only 20% present of the audience raised their hands.  The presenter showcased websites that are selling from Doormats to Diamonds thorough their websites have turnovers running into crores, all of them being Indian companies. While talking about Information and Communication Technology’s (ICT) adoption in SMEs, he gave us an insight as to how most of the ICT applications were adopted for marketing (website, SEO, e brochures, SEM etc.). This was pleasing to hear, since I represented a company from the ICT sphere. Hearing this I could not help forecasting the potential for us by tapping these SME’s, is this possible with the support of the limited internet users? But what if the number of internet user double? Seemed like a very profitable venture. While commenting on the marketing and sales practices, he gave good insights which cleared my myths. The most interesting part of this presentation was the insights he gave on the general thoughts all of us have on selling a product or service, as most of us understand that, price and product play major roles in influencing our sales and marketing decision but it is another way round knowledge, information and responsiveness to customers play a key role in influencing decisions….

Finally all the presentations and talks ended at 9:30 and I found a long line for dinner, we grabbed our dinner and started conversations with the gathering.  As expected ICT was all everybody was talking about, largely most of them discussing how to implement ICT in their companies.  I joined in and shared my experience and introduced our business- iridium Interactive and our achievements as an organization.

Guys I feel that most of the SMEs are not leveraging ICT in their business. There are lot of SME who are not still aware of the benefits and applications of ICT. This presentation made me think about the huge potential of ICT in the domestic market.

NASSCOM Foundation organized a national-level consultation on ICT for Development on 23-24 November2006, that involved civil society bodies, IT industry, government agencies and academicians.

The event “Building ICT Capacities @ the Grassroots” had various eminent personalities speak on the critical role played by ICT in social and economic development of the country and the impact it has created so far.

The consultation focused on the following areas:

• ICT for development projects with a special emphasis on knowledge centers
• Cross-sectoral linkages and public private partnerships focusing on the Common Service Centers scheme of Department of Information Technology (GoI) and the role of Panchayati Raj Institutions
• Content and services required by rural communities
• Path to sustainability for community based knowledge centres
• Role of ICT in building HIV/AIDS awareness
• Synergies between IT Industry’s CSR initiatives and the ICT for development sector and how these two sectors can collaborate to provide crucial and much-needed services to under-served populations in the country

Sriram Bharatam, CEO-founder, iridium Interactive and Cause an effect was one of the speakers at the event. Mr.Bharatam, in his address stressed on the huge role played by ICT in the socio-economic development of the country. In his own words-

In a country like INDIA with a large rural population and limited resources, a sustainable model for ICT empowerment needs to be explored. And that is the strength that we are tapping on at Cause an Effect. Cause an Effect operates by harnessing the potential of ICT (Information & Communication Technology) for sustainable & equitable development, to enable the poor and the marginalized communities to transform their lives.

Some of the speakers who attended the conference were: Dr. Maxine Olson (United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative to India), Mr. Saurabh Srivastava (Chairman – NASSCOM FOUNDATION), Dr. Ramki (Director General – CDAC), Dr. Ramaraju (Principal Scientist, Media Lab Asia), Dr. Chetan Sharma (Founder, Datamation Foundation), Mr. Santanu Sengupta (CEO – GRASSO) and Ms. Vikas Goswami (Corporate Affairs Manager, Microsoft India).

Here are a few snapshots to give you a flavour of the event ….

National Consultation Of Nasscom Foundation 2006