Spotlight

ERP for a small business

ACCPAC India has been able to carve a niche within the SMB segment with its ERP product range and the support of its channels. Vinutha V has the details

In order to compete with their global counterparts, SMBs are focussing on quality and delivery time Rajesh Ghosh Vice-president ACCPAC India

After starting with a direct sales office at Bangalore in January 2003, ACCPAC India, a fully owned subsidiary of Sage Group Plc (ACCPAC India was earlier a part of Computer Associates International), has succeeded in adapting itself to the needs of India Inc. Although its strategy of tapping the small and medium business (SMB) segment was not unique—what with every other vendor also adopting the same tactics—the company took a slightly different tack. Knowing that support was a big factor for an SMB, it tied up with 36 channel partners. This paid off, and ACCPAC has acquired over 50 clients across the telecom, manufacturing, marketing research, property management and BPO sectors. What’s more, its growth has not been restricted to the SMB segment. ACCPAC is making inroads even in the enterprise segment with clients such as Spice Telecom, Sundaram Tyres, Pudumjee, Wipro Spectramind, Fanuc Robotics and Manpower Consulting. In the last two years, the company has sold over 400 licences, and its licence revenues are growing at 100 percent year-on-year.

Choosing channels

ACCPAC International’s presence in Asia was strong, especially in Dubai, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Although the company did not have a direct presence in India, the increased demand for enterprise applications prompted it to go direct. In the initial stages of its operations in the country, ACCPAC made efforts to understand the Indian user’s mindset towards ERP. It uncovered the notion that deploying ERP was a time-consuming affair, and that return on investment took a long time coming. The company therefore adopted a different strategy. It appointed a large number of channel partners. The product strategy was enhanced by providing channel-friendly programmes. The sales team assisted and guided projects to build the brand. This was followed by innovative techniques such as advertising through the Chartered Accountant. Explains Rajesh Ghosh, vice-president and general manager, ACCPAC India, “We decided to advertise through this journal because it reaches decision-makers such as CEOs, CFOs and CTOs.”

SMB potential

The SMB segment is still believed to be largely untapped by major players. “Globalisation is leading small industry players to gear up to meet the requirements of their overseas clients. In order to compete with their global counterparts, SMBs are now focussing more on quality and delivery time,” notes Ghosh. The mindset is changing, and SMBs are starting to realise the importance of IT. Earlier, they used only small stand-alone accounting products. According to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), there are six lakh SMBs in India. Of these, 20,000 have a turnover in the range of Rs 50 crore-Rs 500 crore; the rest have a turnover of below Rs 50 crore. ACCPAC sees tremendous potential in the lower rung. As the needs of an SMB are quite different from those of a large enterprise, solution providers have to offer customised products. With its huge base of channel partners, ACCPAC is looking at making deep inroads in this space.

Betting big

India and China are the fastest growing markets for ACCPAC International. “The Indian manufacturing sector is booming,” observes Ghosh. The advantage of low-cost labour and intellectual capital is attracting many overseas firms to establish a base here. Based on its record in the discrete manufacturing and process manufacturing industries, ACCPAC is betting big on this segment.

The absence of decision-makers for IT implementation in small organisations poses a huge challenge. ACCPAC’s strength lies in its channel partners; these are solution providers and certified consultants. In the last six months, it has opened three Recognised Training Centres (RTCs) at Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai to train its partners. Three more RTCs will be opened at Kochi, Mumbai and Delhi to cater to market demand. In the next two years the company will increase its presence in B- and C-class cities. “We will aid the growth of SMBs, both in the lower as well as higher segments. We can achieve this with our solutions since they can suit any requirement. Because our offering starts from the basic version, we can scale up to a higher one using the existing IT infrastructure,” says Ghosh.

ACCPAC’s immediate focus will be on creating greater awareness and training channel partners. Indeed, the company and its partners have just skimmed the surface of the lower end of the SMB segment.

vinutha@expresscomputeronline.com