Microsoft has rolled out a new cloud adoption program for small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India. SMBs can now adopt value-added solutions and offerings supporting their specific requirements on the cloud through Microsoft ‘Cloud Solution Providers (CSP)’.
Cloud Solution Providers are partners who build solutions leveraging Microsoft cloud for SMBs across the country on a pay-as-you-go model.
To initiate this initiative, Microsoft has appointed seven Cloud Solution Providers in India. This program enables SMBs to work with a CSP of their choicefor various IT requirements.The CSP will own the complete customer life cycle, provide direct billing, offer combined and customized solutions, directly provision, as well as manage and support Microsoft cloud offerings for their customers.
The program will enhance value to SMBs and expand business opportunities for them and the CSPs. It will allow CSPs to own the complete customer relationship – starting with understanding customer requirements, designing customized solutions and offers with Office 365, easy billing and support. SMBs will benefit from the subscription-based payment model that will ease their OpEx pressures.
Karan Bajwa, Managing Director, Microsoft India, said, “Cloud adoption in India is growing in triple digit percentage year-on-year. The new Microsoft Cloud Solution Providers will make SMBs more competitive with enterprise-grade technology and value-added services from Microsoft cloud.”
“Our partners in India work closely with SMBs and understand their specific requirements and challenges. Microsoft Cloud Solution Providers will make it easier for SMBs to adopt the cloud in a manner relevant, financially viableand most beneficial for their business”, said Meetul Patel, General Manager, SMS&P, Microsoft India.
Microsoft has launched the program with seven CSPs in India – GlobalOutlook, ZNetLive, Trimax IT Infrastructure and Services Limited, Sify Technologies, Emkor, Opto Telelinks Limited and XcellHost Cloud Services. Details of the service offerings currently available from these CSPs is appended. This number is expected to grow over time with more partners becoming Cloud Solution Providers.
Here is what the Cloud Solution Providers think about the latest SMB program.
- “LiME, our Cloud based business process management solution has become more compelling with Office 365. We are now able to offer a complete business management suite for SMBs giving them complete control over their business while focusing more on their core business and being profitable and productive,” said Vikram Dham, CEO, Emkor
- “Online presence is helping SMBs expand the geographical spread of their business. Office 365 helps to connect them effectively with customers across the world. As a Microsoft CSP, our value to SMBs is comprehensive online presence at economical cost,”asserts Munesh Singh, CEO, ZNetLive
- “As a Cloud Services Partner of Microsoft, we can now offer our clients the full suite of Office 365 products in addition to our comprehensive portfolio of domestic data services extended on a scalable, reliable network infrastructure. This will free our customers from multiple vendor billing and offer connectivity, productivity and support from a single provider,” said Debanjan Kumar, President – Applications Integration Services, Sify Technologies
- Our CSP status will help us to provide SMBs with Microsoft Office 365 with the much required flexibility, scalability, security and reliability of cloud to satisfy a wide range of online business,” saidSamir Jhaveri, CEO, XcellHost Cloud Services
- “This program by Microsoft has enabled us to provide a value bundle of unique human panoramic tele-presence perspective to O365 users. It works seamlessly with Microsoft Lync in an easy-to-use, affordable solution offering an immersive and interactive experience,” said Raghu Kumar, CEO, GlobalOutlook
- “Our CSP status allows us to offer integrated soft PBX, Collaboration, Conference Service with global foot print and Global Voice services to SMBs to connect to the world. Their Unified Communications experience will now be unparalleled,” said Kanwal Wadhawan, CEO, Opto Telelinks Limited
- “Our customers have been seeking end to end services from us to cater to their diverse business requirements. Microsoft CSP program has enabled us to address this requirement by extending our existing hosted messaging and collaboration offerings with comprehensive Unified communication solutions integrated with Office 365,” said Rajesh Tapadia, COO, Trimax IT Infrastructure and Services Limited
