Inadequate IT penetration is amongst the chief reasons for inefficiency of the sector in the global competition. Majority of the SMEs are unaware of the knowledge and experience of application of IT for improved business performance and growth.

While the developed countries increase their efficiency by employing it for functional automation and cross functional integration, its bulk usage by the Indian SMEs has been for office automation and accounting. There also exists a large-scale gap between SMEs demand for information and its level of achievement that inhibits competitiveness, especially the knowledge of markets, finance availability, man power and institutions.

Poor decision making is exhibited through heavy reliance on informal information – information gained by knowledge and experience of the business owner, enterprise-specific learning and informal local networking – which, though crucial, often leads to poor decision making. Lack of sync between systems designs and SME realities is also one of the obstacles often leading to failure.

The “VIKAS” Project is anticipated to be extremely fruitful and is seen as a long-term collaboration between NMCC and Microsoft India. Numerous potential benefits from the collaboration and challenges to overcome are in the waiting. The “VIKAS” Project, being a tangible public demonstration will display significant results to make the manufacturing sector more competitive. The stimulation ICT absorption in the manufacturing sector will be a bold, positive step in that direction.

For a global market, IT ownership is viewed as the minimum requirement for survival in the SME sector. An integrated approach to ICT is anticipated that will result in effective use of technology while bringing the opportunity cost to its minimum.