Internet of Things

44 • Electronics Bazaar • March 2015 • www.electronicsb2b.com

In the digital era, electronics manufacturing has tremen-dous scope and a big role to

play in economic development. With a good knowledge of the domestic market coupled with innovative ideas, the small and medium enterprises, which form the backbone of the Indian elec-tronics as well as manufacturing industries, stand to gain a lot.

“IoT, like any other industry

By Deepak Pandey

Internet of Things to provide new business avenues to Indian SMEs

in the country, is growing. It has the potential to bring about many innovations, which could be dis-ruptive technologies. SMEs tend to come up with innovative solu-tions. They use open platforms and the kind of technology that enables the launch of innovative products in the market. Most importantly, they are poised to ex-ploit the growth avenues like the government’s decision to build smart cities and smart grids,” says Shyam Ananthnarayan, VP,

marketing, product engineering business, Tata Elxsi.

Market for innovationsA Circle Research report commis-sioned by SAP stated that SMEs in India are the most ambitious and have the desire to be first adopters of new technologies. The report said that the biggest single ambition for SMEs in India is cus-tomer success (44 per cent of the respondents). Thirty-four per cent of the respondents were primarily keen on achieving growth, while the prime focus of 12 per cent was business improvement.

The electronics industry will be driven by miniaturisation, power-efficient electronics and available spectrum. To support this, it needs an IoT hub that pro-vides the necessary infrastructure and testing solutions for niche and high quality consumer goods.

“IoT comprises existing tech-nologies; so young entrepreneurs who know how to manage these resources can use IoT to their ad-vantage,” says M N Vidyashankar, president, India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA).

According to experts, IoT is an industry that offers growth opportunities to everyone, be it a big established corporation or a recently formed start-up. Interna-tional electronics companies like Intel, Cisco, Samsung and others are investing heavily in India

With the Modi government’s focus on manufacturing products in India, Internet of Things (IoT) will become one of the industries in which small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have a lot to contribute

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Internet of Things

45 • Electronics Bazaar • March 2015 • www.electronicsb2b.com

through some start-ups and joint ventures. Recent trends indicate that SMEs that have expertise in the Indian manufacturing in-dustry are becoming investment channels for big technology and electronics giants.

“You look at any big company like Cisco or Intel—they are al-ways interested in staying ahead of the technology curve. They have access to capital to spend on R&D but not necessarily the bandwidth or the technology depth in every area. At the same time, they like to monitor different niche segments, particularly the start-up ecosystem. They want to look at potential acquisitions and partnerships, so that they can stay ahead in the technology road map. There is always potential investment from the big players and that also helps local entrepre-neurial activity to attract capital,” says Shyam Ananthnarayan.

“Rarely do global leaders and power brands enjoy a first-mover advantage in IoT; so there is a fair chance for every local enterprise and entrepreneur to leverage and profit from it,” believes M N Vid-yashankar.

Going by the views of Ganesh Ramamoorthy, VP research, Gartner, “The big corporations are just investing in the ideas of the small companies. The latter need venture capital to develop their products and big corporations are ready to invest in their products.”

IoT is also very significant from the consumer perspective. As the IoT market matures, one can see a big transition in the behaviour of consumers who are now looking out for more op-tions and more value-for-money deals. This gives SMEs and local manufacturers the ideal chance to showcase their products along

with other foreign brands.“IoT is definitely going to

bring about a lot of changes. A lot more consumption will be seen in the Indian electronics market. More and more international companies with new products will enter India and the competi-tion will increase,” adds Ganesh Ramamoorthy.

Future outlookThe electronics and IoT industries are slated to grow at a robust pace in India but will require a contri-bution from every segment in the market to do so. Going by recent reports, India’s electronics import bill will surpass the oil and gold import bills by 2022, making it mandatory for the Indian electron-ics industry to concentrate on its own manufacturing capabilities. This is an ideal opportunity for Indian SMEs to showcase their expertise to global electronics giants looking for either a direct entry into India or collaborations with local companies.

“Companies aspiring to be-come true digital services compa-nies on a global scale have to look for complementing business syn-ergies in IT/ITES and hardware, and this requires them to leverage strategic technology domains. This enhances the firms’ services delivery and technological capa-bilities to better meet the needs and expectations of customers, enabling them to transform their businesses,” believes Milind Ka-mat, executive VP and CEO, Atos India.

The electronics industry is expected to deploy IoT at the next level, further optimising the production processes. This will create new opportunities and lead to new partnerships in the SME domain.

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