Anil Bakht, Managing Director, ESS on current ERP market scenario

P options to become simpler so that the user can get to use an ERP even more effectively.
ITVN: Give brief on your clientele and partners?
AB:We have customers in the SMB space and even some of the large companies are our customers. Our partner mainly consist of people who are in the hardware space or the system integration space.
ITVN: How ERP implementations at these challenging economic times can help businesses?
AB: It is known facts that companies who invest in a downturn emerge much stronger than their competitors when the economy recovers. However we have to understand that in a downturn the most precious asset a company has is cash. Therefore to spend cash has to be a very considered decision. Having said that given the fact there is a slowdown companies do have the

time to manage change required due to the implementation of an ERP. However it is a very fine balance that needs to be achieved for success.
ITVN:Education and training is key for ERPs. How do you ensure that your partners give right solutions to consumers and the right implementation of the solutions?
AB: I think more than education, handholding is thekey to success of an ERP implementation. ESS is very closely involved with all customer implementations. We have very well defined processes to ensure there are no gaps in an ERP implementation. Our processes ensure that any problem is discovered much before it becomes a big problem.
ITVN: What are the challenges do you find while implementing the solutions to Retail, SMBs and Corporate?
AB: The challenges of implementing are similar but not

the same in the above segments. For example most SMBs do not have well defined processes so it may be easier to implement an ERP however a lot of SMBs like to just automate their current operations which can result in a lot of customization which can be costly. Large corporates have well defined processes and do understand that customization can cost a lot of money. The implementation speed maybe slower for large corporates but they like to make sure that the implementation of an ERP is done correctly.
ITVN: How do you ensure the right usage of the solution by the customers? Do you provide any counseling to them as well?
AB:Even at the stage of selling ebizframe we are giving suggestions to our prospects as to what is the best way of implementing an ERP. We want all our customers to have a cost effective ERP implementation. As I said earlier we have defined process

es during implementation which enables our staff to get involved with customer and give him the correct advice at the right time.
ITVN: How do you ensure the security of data?
AB:we use and implement industry standard data security solutions for our customers. It also depends on how much does a customer wants to invest in security.
ITVN: Do you agree that there should be loan or subsidized loans from bank facilities from bank for IT infrastructure? Give you viewpoint? How will it help IT industry and economy?
AB: I think there are already things like this in place. There is a technology upgradation fund for SMBs and also preferential working capital norms for SMBs. As the world becomes a smaller place even SMBs are exporting a large part of their turnover. For any company t

o compete in an international environment the use of technology is a must. Like all investments, IT is an investment that pays off over a period of time. I think individual corporates must take a long term view of their business and invest in technology. I am not in favor of any subsidies as the potential of misuse is high.
ITVN:Multiple taxation issue has eroded software sales in the country. What do you think is the solution of this problem? What would be the strategies to tackle this problem?
AB: I do not agree that taxation issues have resulted in lower software sales. Everybody wants taxation to be simplified but to blame it for erosion of software sales is not correct. The issue is whether the end users feel that software is a good investment for their business. I think Indian businesses are still not convinced about the use of technology as a competitive tool. This is a cultural cha