Project Management Software

Continuous technological upgradation is an indispensable step to achieve higher productivity and cost optimisation. However, due to the slump in the global economy, investing in new technology is getting difficult for most of the Indian firms, especially those belonging to the cash-starved SME segment.

TR Rao, Director of Sustainable Technologies & Environmental Projects, said, 'Technology development is quite expensive. It is financially very difficult for SMEs to acquire the necessary equipment and hire skilled manpower to design a prototype.'

A ray of hope for SMEs

To address the concerns of SME units in the country, IBM launched 'IBM Smart ' - an innovative IT solution - to assist these players in acquiring, using and managing technology in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

Juhi Jotwani, VP, Smart , Systems and Technology Group, IBM, informed, 'In general, IBM Smart provides for a 30% reduction in acquisition and administration costs. The acquisition cost is reduced due to single-solution integration, validation and testing, which obviates sizing and installation. In addition, features such as automated patch management, simplified user definition, faster system backup and recovery, and efficient technical support minimise the administration costs.'

IBM had conducted a survey to assess the IT needs of scores of SMEs across the globe before designing this solution. The survey results had concluded that the available SMB IT solutions were too sophisticated and expensive, and restricted the flexibility of small players.

Enhanced capabilities

In line with the findings of the study, IBM developed IBM Smart with some distinguished features. Jotwani said, 'Our solution provides technical expertise in Hardware, operating system, middleware segments and operations. Furthermore, solutions developed by independent software vendors (ISVs) have been integrated into the application to improvise its capabilities.'

Launched as a pilot project in November 2008 in the US, the solution is expected to reach India by the end of 2009. Industry Experts have cited that IBM Smart can be employed across verticals such as healthcare, education, manufacturing, BPO and so on. Moreover, corporate activities, such as finance, leave management, accounting, business management, customer handling and human resource management etc can be streamlined by using this solution.

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About the Author:

David Parks is a well known author and has written articles on SME finance Guide, B2B Portal, Jewellery Manufacturers, suppliers, Manufactures and many other subjects.