Yesterday night, after I returned from work, I turned on my television. And no matter which news channel I switched, I could only find the news of our prime minister’s speech in which he talked about a new equation for information technology to take India even more forward globally.
In case you missed out on this important news, and wonder how this relates to your business, you will find everything about the new equation that you need to know, in this article.
Modi in his latest speech, broke the stereotypical image of a politician and rather remoulded himself in a futuristic scientist for our country. He devised a new equation, “IT + IT = IT” that led everyone to think about how Information Technology can impact their lives and economy of the country as a whole.
In case you are confused with this equation, it expands to:
“Information Technology + Indian talent= India tomorrow”
As I looked around, I found myself surrounded by information technology in every walk of life. From paying internet bills to paying the cab driver, everything in our daily lives has been affected by Information Technology’s Midas touch.
If you are an entrepreneur, nobody can better understand the cause and effect of IT in the market, than you. IT has not only impacted the marketing strategies of a business but also helped them develop an altogether different and unique business model for different kind of audiences in the society.
Consider the email marketing for an example. Think about how marketing for a business has changed in the past couple of decades. Even Small and medium enterprises have turned to email marketing instead of traditional marketing methods such as print media or televisions. Though, there are a number of ways by which businesses benefit from IT, it is still limited to certain sections of our society.
Read the statement of Steve Ballmer:
The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential.
In his speech, Prime Minister Modi focussed that it is equally essential for a common man and an influential entrepreneur to join hands with Information technology for the collective growth of the country. The future of our country India heavily relies on Information Technology and many young talented individuals. This is what he exactly meant by his innovative equation.
But certainly, there is also a need to embrace technology in a more collective manner than in a piecemeal fashion. If the country wants to witness the real impact of IT on India’s growth, IT has to be embraced by all sections of the society.
But it is not only that large businesses can be the change makers for this cause.
“Embracing technology can’t happen if only few people are keen on it. The scale must be large.” the Prime Minister said.
If the small and medium enterprises, especially the start ups, start realizing the perks and profit gaining properties of Information technology, there will be a considerable growth in the country’s economy. Though, it is still a major affair to deal with the ‘mindset issue’ of the people, which was also highlighted by Modi in his speech.
Mindsets of businesses and prospects have to change and that will be the beginning of the ultimate growth. No matter how much we automate things, it doesn’t matter until mindsets change. When we send someone an email or a message, we later call them up asking ‘Did you get my email/message’? Thus, old mindsets need to change.
And even though we have such large and facilitated channels of communication such as an email, companies still believe in traditional methods of door to door communication. If you are considering these traditional practises as the golden goose of marketing for your business, then you are not only standing in the way of your own success but also blocking India’s path to global growth.
Sarv.com is one such change maker of the competing market, which has led various business campaigns to unprecedented growth with the help of latest marketing and business trends of Information technology. Gone are the days when a huge infrastructure had to be set up for a call typical centre for a product or a business.
Interactive voice responses have changed the way call centres used to function. Now, the customers don’t have to wait in long queues to get their simple queries answered or tell their details every time that they reach out to a business.
IVR and toll free numbers have not only opened new and welcoming doors for prospects, but also provided major benefits to the businesses.
Image source: slideshare.net
When a business sheds the ‘mindset issue’ and embraces information technology, a major benefit that can be seen, is the reduction in marketing costs. With email marketing and transaction marketing coming into play, market research suggests that entrepreneurs are experiencing major cost reductions and expanded customer base for their businesses.
This has also led them to expand their business strategies to cross platforms such as desktop, mobile applications etc rather than being restricted to anyone.
Prime Minister Modi, through the medium of his ‘IT + IT = IT’ equation, also highlighted the importance of e-governance for the country’s economy. Imagine how much paper work would be saved if businesses started storing all their data on cloud platforms?
Thus, e- governance turns out to be easy, efficient and economical at the same time. Also, paperless offices will benefit the environment, as we are already battling a major environment concern.
Image source: brain-company.com
It is surprising to see the wide range of venerated technology that is available to us. Isn’t it amusing to be able to communicate in a hundred different ways, with a device that just fits your pocket? Though, there is always something new on the horizon, we must be keen to look forward to it and embrace it.
We can take quite an inspiration from PM Modi’s latest initiative, Supreme court’s IGNIS which is basically a digital initiative that will enable people to file complaints online. This way we can understand the never ending benefits of IT and come out with an unique business strategy, not only for the growth of one’s own company but also adding to the economical development of the country.
