This document summarizes a talk on cloud technology opportunities for small and medium enterprises. The talk discusses how cloud computing provides scalable and flexible infrastructure that reduces costs compared to on-premise solutions. It presents examples of cloud-based applications for customer relationship management, sales reporting, and fitness programs for schools. Potential challenges of cloud adoption like downtime, data security, costs, inflexibility, and lack of support are also covered, along with recommendations to address them.

1. Cloud Technology: Opportunity for MSMEs
FISME’s Seminar on Cloud Computing, April 27, 2012, Hyderabad
Sujit Panigrahi, Co-founder and CTO
Convergent Technologies
April 27, 2012

2. Talking Points
• Brief Introduction of what I do
• What is Cloud Technology?
• Life before the Cloud
• Large Enterprise Segment vs SMEs
• Why Cloud makes sense for SMEs
• Business Benefits
• Technology Infrastructure
• Cloud-based Applications
• Securing your Cloud
• Challenges and Opportunities

3. SmoothXRM: Cloud-based XRM Solution for Retail Industry
• Tertiary Sales Capture
Partner Connect • Capture Customer
Demographics
• Partner Loyalty Program
Partner Plus • Redemption Engine
• Targets v/s Achievement
• Daily Sell-in, Sell through
Daily Sales and Stock in hand
Report
• Issues
• Fleet on Street (FOS) Sales
Force Tracking and
FOS Tracker Communication
• Issues
www.smoothxrm.com

4. Fitness365: India’s first Fitness AIM Program for Schools
www.fitness365.me

5. Everyone is talking about the Cloud. What does it mean?
• Rich Portfolio of On-demand Applications +
Pay only for what you use
• Cloud Offerings
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• Platform as a Service (PaaS)
• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
• Range of Enterprise Applications
Applications What they do?
CRM To connect with Team, Partners and Customers (Sales, Marketing
and Servicing)
Document Sharing Online Storage and Sharing
Project Management Project and Task Management
Screen Sharing and Conferencing
Business Productivity Suites Email and Calendar, Office Web Apps, Websites, Team
Collaboration, IM and Online Meetings
• You do not pay for the whole infrastructure, but only for the Services used

6. Life before Cloud Computing
• On-Premise Solution or Solution hosted in a Data Center:
• Variety of Hardware and Software Required to run an
application
• Whole team of experts to develop, install, configure, run
• Multiply this effort across dozens or hundreds of apps
Easy to see why the best IT departments of large
enterprises can’t get the apps they need – smaller and
mid-sized businesses don’t stand a chance!!

7. Cloud Computing: A better way and it costs less!
• Evolution of Industry Requirements and IT Standardization
• Convergence of Technologies and Easy-to-Integrate Applications
• Management and Operations Discipline
• Great value from business standpoint:
• Elastic, Scalable, Nimble and Flexible Architecture
• On-demand Provisioning, Freedom and Agility
• Eliminate the headache of who is managing the hardware and software
• Shared Infrastructure means it works like an utility
• You only pay for what you need
• Upgrades are automatic
• Scaling up and down is easy
• Applications can be up and running in days or weeks
• Just open a browser, log in, customize the app and start using it

8. Mobility and Collaboration
• Most traditional Business Productivity Applications are adding the Mobile Front-
ends
• Employees, partners and customers can be anywhere for accessing and
sharing information
• Mobility and Collaboration
• Collaborate between Teams
• Work from anywhere
• Use Mobile Devices for Business Productivity Workflows
• ERP and Business Productivity Apps
• Core Business Functions, Finance/Accounting, HRMS, CRM, Project
Management, Email and Task Management, Collaboration, Team Sites,
Communication and Conferencing, Corporate IM
• Employee Self Service Apps
• Leave Applications, Reimbursements, Task and Appointments, Travel Desk

9. 5 key Challenges in Cloud Technologies
• Challenge # 1: Possible downtime:
Cloud computing makes your small business dependent on the
reliability of your Internet connection. When it's offline, you're offline.
• TIP: Look for Application/Server Provider’s reliability. Most of them do!
• Challenge # 2: How safe is your data?
I do not want to use cloud to store organisation data that I am not
comfortable having on the Internet.
Switching to the cloud can actually improve security for a small
business!
Established, reliable cloud computing vendors will have the latest, most
sophisticated data security systems possible as they want your
business and realize that data security is a big concern.
• TIP: Look for assurances of encryption technologies, privacy protection, and
solutions for offline accessibility

10. 5 key Challenges in Cloud Technologies
• Challenge # 3: Cost:
At first glance, a cloud computing application may appear to be a lot
cheaper than a particular software solution installed and run in-house,
but you need to be sure you're comparing apples and apples.
• TIP: To be sure you're saving money, you have to look closely at the
pricing plans and details for each application.
• Does the cloud application have all the features that the software
does and if not, are the missing features important to you?
• SaaS (Software as a Service) applications will have lower total cost of
ownership for the first 3 years because SaaS applications do not
require large capital investment for licenses or support infrastructure.
• After that, the on-premises option can become the cost-savings
winner from an accounting perspective as the capital assets involved
depreciate.

11. 5 key Challenges in Cloud Technologies
• Challenge # 4: Inflexibility:
Be careful when you're choosing a cloud computing vendor that you're
not locking your business into using their proprietary applications or
formats.
• You can't insert a document created in another application into a
Google Docs spreadsheet, for instance. Also make sure that you can
add and subtract cloud computing users as necessary as your business
grows or contracts.
• Challenge #5: Lack of support:
Customer service for Web apps leaves a lot to be desired -- All too
many cloud-based apps make it difficult to get customer service
promptly – or at all.
Sending an email and hoping for a response within 48 hours is not an
acceptable way for most of us to run a business.

12. BOTTOMLINE: Cloud According to Your Comfort Level
• Cloud computing is a great opportunity for small businesses to off-load
the hassle and costs of IT management
• Security issues related to having their business data 'out' on the Internet
seem to be the number one concern of small business owners.
• Start cloud computing slowly; choose the most critical business
applications to replace and see how it goes
• Suggestions: Start with Business Productive Applications like hosted
email, group/one-to-one messaging, online documents repository and
team sites
• Over time you'll become more comfortable with it and able to reap even
further by adopting other cloud based business applications

13. Contact Information
Sujit Panigrahi
CTO, Convergent Technologies
Email: sujit@convergenttec.com
Phone: +91-98102-59395
CONVERGENT TECHNOLOGIES : WWW.CONVERGENTTEC.COM
SMOOTHXRM : WWW.SMOOTHXRM.COM
FITNESS365 : WWW.FITNESS365.ME