Microsoft introduces business solutions in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Microsoft has introduced business solutions from its partner ecosystem to meet crucial business needs of Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) in Odisha.

Built by Microsoft’s ISV partners Smarter SMB and IDOS, the solutions address key areas like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Finance & Accounting and enhancing organizational efficiency.

These solutions run on Microsoft cloud and will be available at a very low cost.

Odisha is one of the top ten States in creation of job by MSME sector in India. It is also ranked 11th with respect to number of MSME units in the state. A 2015 report compiled by the Reserve Bank of India stated that more than half the entrepreneurs stated in the state were unable to upgrade their business by adopting technology due to lack of access and funds. Microsoft is helping SMBs in the state overcome this barrier by bringing affordable cloud powered solutions that are easy to adopt.

“The SMB sector in Odisha has strong potential for driving growth through technology adoption and Microsoft is committed to providing them with the right set of solutions to achieve it.SMBs in the state understand the business dynamics and realize the need for a robust IT infrastructure to grow and scale up their business. We are excited to provide the set of software solutions and help them enhance their business growth. This sector has witnessed tremendous growth in the recent years,” said Sudhir Nayar, Director – Partner Sales, Microsoft India.

The power of the solutions launched today is their simplicity of use, deployment and maintenance. Specific solutions being made available today include:

Smarter Biz is the next generation mobile CRM tool for SMEs built on two areas natural to the SME segment, Excel and Voice. Unlike all other CRM tools, Smarter Biz stands out for its ease of usage as it only requires Excel and Voice, it’s intuitiveness that enables the sales person make effective calls, a virtual sales assistant which acts like a personalized Bot for the sales manager and a 360 degree view of each opportunity generated from any of the marketing activities.

This CRM tool is one of its kind which can now measure and track the sales team on every opportunity generated from the marketing team and builds trust among teams.

IDOS is a simple to use Accounting and Compliance software fully integrated into Microsoft Office 365. It empowers every business to increase their efficiency and profits. IDOS comes with in-built compliance and real-time internal audit capabilities.

It prevents accounting errors and ensures that the transaction is accurate and authentic even before it is posted into ledgers, thereby avoiding rework, rectifications and reconciliations. IDOS also provides real-time and accurate business intelligence to facilitate decision-making.

“Cloud is turning out to be a great enabler for SMBs.  It is helping them adopt enterprise-grade technology solutions on a pay-as-you-use basis.  All the solutions launched today are built on this principle”, added Mr. Sudhir Nayar.

While bringing these solutions, Microsoft has also announced special pricing and deployment offers on Office 365. The pricing for Office 365 will start for as low as INR 250 per user per month and for organizations with more than 50 users, Microsoft will take the responsibility for deploying the suite.

Odisha, one of the most progressive states in the country, is home to businesses across various industry sectors such as mining, minerals, metal working and food processing among others. This provides an opportunity for technology providers like Microsoft to educate and help them adopt the latest technologies to expand their business.

IT solutions powered by cloud can address key business challenges faced bySMBs and help connect them better with suppliers, distributors and government agencies. Arecent study conducted by global consulting firm, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) found that SMBs that leveraged IT grew 20 percent faster than the ones that didn’t.