The Internet is one of the finest creations of the human mind and cannot become the prerogative of a few.
Ever since the Internet saw its dawn in India nearly two decades ago, it has come a long way. While the origins of the Internet goes back to the 1960s, the World Wide Web's inception was in Switzerland in the year 1991 and within the next five years Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL), the government-owned Internet service provider allowed the Indian public to connect to the Internet. Despite being highly priced initially, within a year, India had almost 14,000 Internet connections. People realised the importance of the World Wide Web very early. Over a span of five years, the country saw various versions of ideas adopted from the west with several websites like www.rediff.com and www.sify.com aspiring to be the Indian Yahoo.
Today, we have progressed towards an era where e-commerce, e-business and social media are the buzz words which give us a fair idea of the dynamic trajectory that the Internet in the country has followed. The Internet can create new genres of opportunities for businesses and the consumers. Portals and apps like Flipkart, Ola, Housing, etc. have ushered the start of this era. India is not simply foraying into the digital world. The country is already a force to reckon with, a driver in the digital world in every sense of the word.
To give a better perspective of the future of the Internet in India from this point onwards, one needs to simply go back to the basics and understand that the Internet is about connecting people. Now envision a market with over 500 million people who are connected through the Internet. This is how the Internet is going to shape the future of India and vice versa. It can create new genres of opportunities for businesses and the public.
The rise of the Internet has also created a huge opportunity for small businesses to access a vast range of software services online, primarily known as SAAS (Software as a Service). The access to SAAS has allowed SMBs to adopt, utilise expensive software benefits by paying on the go. This skips the CAPEX for SMBs and creates an opportunity to improve their effectiveness and management and increase revenue cost benefit. CRM could be another example, an SMB can now utilise CRM features worth millions by paying a few thousands as subscription amount only.
With the increasing Internet penetration, cloud telephony is simultaneously set to reach new heights. The small businesses can now imagine utilising call management systems like an enterprise available for a few thousand rupees only. They can deliver the same customer experience as that of global companies and enterprises. This creates an opportunity for small businesses operating out of small towns to compete with their large, urban counterparts.
Companies like MyOperator have already started seeing adoption of cloud telephony by small, traditional businesses and it firmly believes that over 20% SMBs will be using some form of cloud telephony solution within the next 5 years. Also, with the increasing adoption of the Internet, India will see an increase in SaaS platform usages among businesses with cloud telephony leading among them.
With this vision and opportunities ahead, it is essential to understand that the Internet must be equitable, effective, open-for-all and no one should be able to claim an early arrival benefit. It is one of the finest creations of the human mind and cannot become the prerogative of a few. At the end of the day, it has to connect with the local to become global.
Ankit Jain is CEO & Founder, MyOperator
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