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Ankit Khurana, Managing Director, ValueScale provides tech services to the businesses in India, East Africa, West Asia and Europe. Here he talks about these markets in terms of tech services.
How has been the adoption of tech services by MSMEs in India vis-à-vis businesses in East Africa, the UK, and in West Asia?
Ankit Khurana - MSMEs' adoption of technology services has progressed through stages ranging from having no website to having a website, subscription-based services, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), E-commerce, and custom software development.
In India, 10% of MSMEs are developing custom solutions, while the majority are using SaaS or framework solutions for the first time. Today, the majority of Indian businesses have a website. India has the world's third-largest SaaS ecosystem. Motilal Oswal analysis predicts the SaaS ecosystem to grow rapidly and boost its share, leading to a $50-70 billion revenue opportunity for India by 2030. SaaS companies earn a significant amount of money from Indian businesses (30% in CY20).
Meanwhile, in East Africa, more than 80% of businesses do not even have a website, and the rest have begun to use SaaS solutions, with only a handful reaching the SaaS plus custom based stage. There are no large frameworks or unique software solutions being used. West Asia is moving at almost the same pace as India. They're looking into frameworks and custom-based solutions right now. On the other hand, the UK market has matured, with a large percentage of people in the UK working on frameworks or custom development. The majority of them also use SaaS and accounting software.
What are the challenges in this segment for an Indian entrepreneur offering services in East Africa, West Asia, and the UK? How do you resolve these challenges?
Ankit Khurana - The major challenge in East Africa is a lack of understanding of digitalisation and technology. East Africa faces major difficulties in the form of currency freefall or currency deregulation. We address this by structuring our transactions on a SaaS basis, with accounts customised according to their requirements.
The UK market presented the challenge of gaining a deeper understanding of the business while also emphasising the importance of design and the differences in work culture. We have a director in the United Kingdom who advises and guides us in understanding the culture of the United Kingdom. With the support of numerous seminars and workshops, we are also training our team to better grasp the culture.
The majority of decision makers in the West Asian market are from outside the Indian subcontinent. The biggest challenge we encounter is meeting the budget and timeframes they demand. We provide customers with variable pricing and fixed-price projects so that they may stay within their budget.
Which segments of tech services are in highest demand in East Africa, West Asia, and the UK vis-à-vis India?
Ankit Khurana - The East African market is now quite basic; they are seeking basic websites, HRMS, accounting, and billing systems that are ready-to-use, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) based, and can be implemented on premises. These kinds of technological services are in high demand. Right now in West Asia, it's all about e-commerce. E-commerce solutions that work across many channels are in high demand. In the United Kingdom, they are focusing on revamping designs to make them more approachable to UK customers, as well as automating their operations.
However, when comparing these countries to India, the buzz is all about startups, and startups require custom technologies that are not widely available. Therefore, compared to tech services, currently, resource hiring is in high demand in India.
How has your business been in the last year?
Ankit Khurana - It has been amazing. Since the pandemic began, we've had sleepless nights, and people are currently pushing us to our limits in order to complete digital initiatives and shift to a global scale. People are looking for scalable solutions, and we've been preparing for this for a long time. In the last year, business has been extremely good. The main challenge has been catering to everyone, but we are always ready for anything that comes our way.