Business to business collaborations in India are going virtual. Many Internet savvy businessmen here are finding a partner and even landing deals online. Though at a nascent stage, experts say it is redefining the age-old ways of doing business and has great potential.
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Online networking is being touted as the new-age way of doing business, where people need not travel physically to remote locations for promoting their businesses. Moreover, it's faster, there are more choices available and it is more economical.
It is estimated that in 2006, the annual retail business in US alone would be worth around 105 billion dollars. The net global online trade is fast approaching the trillion dollar mark. In India about Rs 2500 to Rs 3000 crore worth online business was done in the last financial year.
Industry watchers predict that by the turn of the century, almost all forms of collaborations would be done via a software or using online process. This would save the companies millions of dollars in travel, infrastructure and promotion cost.
Internet is fast emerging as a reliable medium for doing work globally, and companies in India are catching up with the advantages of doing business remotely, without the costs of travel and sending people abroad," says Mahesh Murthy of Pinstorm Technologies, an online marketing firm.
Though the brick and mortar model of business continues to flourish, a silent revolution is taking place where people need not travel physically to remote locations for promoting their businesses. Though the birth of e-commerce happened some time back, its significance in the form of cutting costs across the enterprise has been realised quite recently, says Gurudatt Shenoy of Netalter, a software company.
For B2B collaborations, a proliferation of new collaborative tools is taking place with almost all major software vendors bringing out multiple business to business and business to client tools, says Shenoy, whose group has developed a browser, which forms virtual network with the client, dealers, agents and vendors.
"There are various factors which drive online retail businesses in India and also affect its growth. One is the penetration of ISP and the other trust and security of online transactions... People are still not very confident of sharing personal information," he says, noting not many people are even aware on online networking other than using sms on mobile phones.
However, broadband penetration is increasing in major cities and this would lead to increase in online transactions, notes Shenoy.
In fact, Murthy notes corporates in India are already doing business with other companies online. They handle marketing for large business clients from Europe, USA and South East Asia, work with them on the Internet, are able to demonstrate results, track projects in process, bill them and even get paid online through fund transfers and credit card payments.
"There is much more chance of your credit card being misused by a waiter in a restaurant than by a miscreant online," says Murthy, noting "we are yet to come across any instance of cheating."
"The Indian cyber laws are a step in the right direction to build confidence among consumers and businesses that their data will be protected and their transactions are secure. However, the laws need to go a step further and keep up with the times," notes Murthy.
Advertisement
Online networking is being touted as the new-age way of doing business, where people need not travel physically to remote locations for promoting their businesses. Moreover, it's faster, there are more choices available and it is more economical.
It is estimated that in 2006, the annual retail business in US alone would be worth around 105 billion dollars. The net global online trade is fast approaching the trillion dollar mark. In India about Rs 2500 to Rs 3000 crore worth online business was done in the last financial year.
Industry watchers predict that by the turn of the century, almost all forms of collaborations would be done via a software or using online process. This would save the companies millions of dollars in travel, infrastructure and promotion cost.
Internet is fast emerging as a reliable medium for doing work globally, and companies in India are catching up with the advantages of doing business remotely, without the costs of travel and sending people abroad," says Mahesh Murthy of Pinstorm Technologies, an online marketing firm.
Though the brick and mortar model of business continues to flourish, a silent revolution is taking place where people need not travel physically to remote locations for promoting their businesses. Though the birth of e-commerce happened some time back, its significance in the form of cutting costs across the enterprise has been realised quite recently, says Gurudatt Shenoy of Netalter, a software company.
For B2B collaborations, a proliferation of new collaborative tools is taking place with almost all major software vendors bringing out multiple business to business and business to client tools, says Shenoy, whose group has developed a browser, which forms virtual network with the client, dealers, agents and vendors.
"There are various factors which drive online retail businesses in India and also affect its growth. One is the penetration of ISP and the other trust and security of online transactions... People are still not very confident of sharing personal information," he says, noting not many people are even aware on online networking other than using sms on mobile phones.
However, broadband penetration is increasing in major cities and this would lead to increase in online transactions, notes Shenoy.
In fact, Murthy notes corporates in India are already doing business with other companies online. They handle marketing for large business clients from Europe, USA and South East Asia, work with them on the Internet, are able to demonstrate results, track projects in process, bill them and even get paid online through fund transfers and credit card payments.
"There is much more chance of your credit card being misused by a waiter in a restaurant than by a miscreant online," says Murthy, noting "we are yet to come across any instance of cheating."
"The Indian cyber laws are a step in the right direction to build confidence among consumers and businesses that their data will be protected and their transactions are secure. However, the laws need to go a step further and keep up with the times," notes Murthy.
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