With digital transformation becoming a key driver for improving productivity and accelerating business growth, MSMEs in India are now moving towards adopting the best technologies. However, selecting appropriate technology, maintaining business continuity and controlling the total cost of ownership are some of the major challenges faced by small & medium sized businesses.
Keeping in mind the dynamic technology requirements of this sector, ASUS has associated with Mr. Rajiv Talreja, MSME Expert and Founder, Quantum Leap, as the mentor for the MSME sector, thus reinforcing the company’s promise of ‘Built for Worry Free Business’ through the ASUS Expert Series. The association is aimed at increasing awareness in MSMEs about the significance of purpose built commercial PCs and how they play an important role in achieving improved productivity, reliability and security.
Speaking exclusively to Electronics Era, Mr. Rajiv Talreja along with Mr. Dinesh Sharma, Vice President – ASUS Commercial PC Business for India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, have talked about the dynamic technology requirements of India’s MSME ecosystem.
This debate explained the reasons why MSMEs must go beyond the price factor while purchasing computers and consider other aspects including durability, performance, data security, battery life, after-sales service, etc. Moreover, the experts pointed out that ASUS Expert Series business PCs meet the needs of organizations that can minimize downtime, increase efficiency of employees, and concentrate on their goals.
On one hand, Rajiv Talreja explained his vision of problems that face MSMEs and the need for smart investment decisions in technologies. On the other hand, Dinesh Sharma told about the policy of ASUS in the area of commercial PCs, its commitment to MSMEs and the features of its Expert Series line of products.
The conversation also touched upon the topic of AI-enabled PCs and future technologies and explained what new opportunities can be created in the future for businesses due to them.
In this way, ASUS wants to emphasize the importance of making the right decision regarding business technology and investment in sustainable development.
EE: This is a first of a kind partnership for Mister Rajiv, Talreja. What makes the collaboration strategy significant for Asus beyond a conventional brand ambassador or influencer relationship?
Dinesh Sharma: This is not a brand influencer relationship, nor is it a brand ambassador relationship. Our collaboration with Rajiv arises out of our common vision of bridging the gap in PC purchases by India’s MSMEs.
We found through our research that a lot of MSMEs buy ordinary retail PCs without fully comprehending the benefits that come with buying PCs meant for professionals. The PCs offer unique benefits like increased durability, higher battery life, better security, after-sales services, less chances of failure, and displays suitable for long work periods.
Our aim is to help the MSME owners understand the benefits through a person who has credibility, experience, and in-depth knowledge of the ecosystem.
Learning from the knowledge of Rajiv on MSME requirements and applying that to consistently improve our products and services is very important to us. Through our association with the ecosystem, we hope to be able to gauge the needs of the ecosystem and offer solutions that will truly help overcome business challenges.
We are confident that if we focus on customer satisfaction and offering our solutions that best meet the requirements of our customers, then they will trust and respect our brands. This association can be considered as an initiative by us to better ourselves in relation to MSMEs and not just seek brand endorsement.
EE: This partnership is built around the vision of helping India’s MSMEs development globally leading competency. What does the term globally leading competency mean for MSMEs, and how can technology contribute to achieving it?
Dinesh Sharma: We at ASUS strongly feel that the MSMEs in India have the same capability and the task ahead for us is to make them technologically competent in order to enhance their performance and help in growing their businesses.
But technology alone cannot help. It is here that the relationship with Rajiv is going to be extremely beneficial. The work being done by Rajiv and his team is going to make MSMEs competent enough to compete globally.
We feel that through the right technology along with proper mentoring and deep knowledge of MSME requirements, we can make Indian firms compete and become global leaders. Now I would like to request Rajiv to share his views about how we can make Indian MSMEs compete and lead.
Rajiv Talreja: Many MSMEs are owner-led organizations where each and every department is dependent on the owner. This is neither sustainable nor scalable. Firstly, we need to have systems in place that will not be dependent on the owner but will have consistency and enable MSMEs to achieve their potential.
Secondly, we need to create an ecosystem that will provide clarity to MSMEs and connect them with the right solutions.
The partnership that we have with ASUS enables us to create an ecosystem because it provides MSMEs with business PCs which are provided to them by a market leader who listens to their needs and offers solutions accordingly.
Overall, MSME development will depend on two things: one is the transformation within the MSME organization through systems and processes, and the other is through the ecosystem outside that gives them access to credit, technology, digital platform, and marketplaces.
EE: Mr. As Mr. Rajiv said that considerable experience advising entrepreneurs on business growth. How will this expertise feed into Asus product and go-to-market strategy rather than remaining limited to awareness building?
Dinesh Sharma: The team of Rajiv and colleagues understands all aspects of what ASUS provides, but more importantly, provides valuable insights regarding the changing requirements of MSMEs. This allows the company to get more validation of its ideas and feedback on them.
Such cooperation brings two main advantages to our company. The first one is that once we are being validated by experts knowing about MSME needs, we can be confident and expand our strategy accordingly. Second, once the new or unfulfilled requirements are identified during this cooperation, we find an opportunity for developing new products or services.
The feedback that we get from this partnership is used in the process of making decisions; our current offers are aligned with the needs of the ecosystem based on our collaboration. We are going to continue cooperating in identifying the challenges and finding new opportunities for the future.
EE: Mr. Rajiv said that brand associations are seen differently by different entities. How has your journey been to become the mentor for Asus MSME segment, which is your first brand collaboration?
Rajiv Talreja: I have never been at ease with the phrase “brand collaboration” because my biggest strength lies in the trust that I have earned among the MSME sector over the past two decades. In spite of several offers from various brands, I have never put my trust in danger by promoting any brand for the sake of promotion.
What sets my collaboration with ASUS apart is the way it works. Instead of asking me to assist in selling business PCs, ASUS has asked me to assist them in understanding what MSMEs need, promising to build something based on those needs.
For the very first time in my life, I am trying to bring together a technology brand that listens, learns, and innovates along with the owners of small businesses. I will be working towards understanding the problems faced by MSMEs and letting ASUS know about them so that they can develop solutions to meet those needs.
This is an educational and needs-based collaboration aimed at empowering the MSME sector.
EE: You have talked about small businesses working on PCs that are meant for home use and pushing PC issues under the rug. What are the real operational risks or hidden costs these businesses face by using home built laptops for business, workloads and how can the right technology help addressing them?
Rajiv Talreja: Before the collaboration with ASUS, I did not know the existence of a particular category of business PCs. As a micro business owner, I have used the recommendations of my friends or retail laptops with a discount, but now I understand that a business PC is more durable, efficient, secure, and reliable than a consumer one.
Not every consumer laptop is suitable for a business operating 8-9 hours per day. Moreover, MSMEs usually do not have an IT department, which makes it vital to have a reliable device with excellent performance and security. Furthermore, because of the increased number of businesses using AI, their devices should be powerful enough to perform such operations.
From my experience with MSMEs, I can say that there are a lot of issues related to downtime, underperformance, broken hardware, and delayed service. It becomes obvious that it is necessary to make people aware of selecting PCs with the emphasis on durability, security, and performance.
In general, it became my learning and awareness-raising experience through working with ASUS.
EE: India’s MSME landscape is extremely diverse, ranging from digitally mature startups to traditional business in smaller cities. How does ASUS plan to address such different levels of technology adoption?
Dinesh Sharma: ASUS provides an extensive product line-up that meets different demands of MSMEs that includes laptops, desktop computers, and All-in-One (AIO) computers. Therefore, our collaboration goes beyond laptops and involves the complete Expert Series product line.
It was found that a lot of MSMEs choose 15.6 and 16 inches laptops which they use as desktop substitutes. Numeric keypads are very important for those customers. In response, we have provided different options for our whole product line including essential, middle, and premium models with full metal design from basic model P1 to advanced model P5.
Moreover, we have launched the complete desktop computer line-up that uses innovations making their performance better and consuming up to 34% less electricity. Thus, we help MSMEs to reduce energy expenses. Finally, we have prepared some AIO solutions for certain applications, namely retail, and point of sale. They have a touch screen, a battery, and are relatively cheap comparing to point of sale terminals.
In addition to the products, we have substantially improved our service ecosystem to ensure that enterprises’ level of support services are available for MSMEs. Considering that companies normally work between 9 AM and 9 PM on weekdays, our customer support hours are expanded accordingly. It was a costly decision; however, it indicates our desire to disrupt companies as little as possible.
As part of our collaboration with Flipkart, we made ASUS Expert Series business PCs available via common retail websites and enable customers to easily find and buy business-specific devices.
A very important aspect of our efforts is providing door-step service for more than 17,100 PIN codes in India. Customers who buy even one laptop will not need to come to a service center and waste their precious working time. All minor software problems can be fixed by extended-hour phone support; and hardware repair and replacement require physical visits.
In addition, ASUS guarantees that when customers buy Expert Series PCs via Flipkart, they get authentic ASUS service packs, which include upgrade services for warranty, battery, and accidental damage. Repairs, replacement, and on-site services are all provided directly by ASUS.
It is in this way that we seek to provide our customers not only with dependable business PCs but also with an entire ecosystem of technology and services that reduce downtime, increase efficiency, cut down on operating expenses, and meet the growing demands of Indian MSMEs.
EE: The Asus experts read is built around the promise of build for worry-free business. From an MSME perspective, how important are factors such as reliability, security, AI capabilities, performance, and after sales support when MSMEs are selecting laptops and computing solutions for their business.
Rajiv Talreja: For MSME owners, who often take care of IT maintenance personally without having an IT department, durability is very important. Their business laptops need to be durable enough to endure everyday life stresses – from travelling in crowded commuter trains and riding two-wheelers to occasional spilling of water. ASUS meets these needs with laptops that were made for heavy usage.
It’s also very important to have reliable performance and high level of data security. As companies get bigger and implement more AI solutions and different applications, their PCs should give them reliable performance without sacrificing data security. ASUS business PCs give this guarantee to them.
But the greatest feature of ASUS products is its service ecosystem. Sending device to repair for a small business owner can be equal to wasting one day’s work, both his and of his employee. ASUS service network tries to solve this problem.
The other aspect to be considered is that of business data. Even the MSMEs that make sales worth ₹10-50 lakh annually may regard the information on their laptop as worth many crores. Therefore, strong security measures are needed for ensuring the safety of such vital information.
What amazed me most about ASUS was its claim of offering the “worry-free business experience” being not just a mere marketing strategy but a truth which is seen through its products, security and support services. In my experience of using ASUS products as a businessman, I believe the company understands the needs of MSMEs. The best thing about ASUS, according to me, is that everything it promises, it delivers.
EE: You have spoken of using the design thinking philosophy to lower the total cost of ownership for small businesses. How do you see this partnership with Rajan helping these businesses move in the direction of becoming growth focused and very free about PCs at work?
Dinesh Sharma: Greater education on business PCs will enable MSMEs to lower the TCO, increase efficiency and obtain better results for their businesses. There are various options that exist in the market, but ASUS Expert Series PCs are the best option due to performance, reliability and service support among others.
ASUS laptops come with enhanced thermal control capabilities as well as more powerful processors to manage heavy workloads. The sturdy build of the laptops will make it possible to minimize the high costs of repair, especially in years four and five, when MSMEs have stopped getting warranty. Some of the problems include cracked hinges, port damage and even motherboard failure, which may require replacement.
Another key benefit that can be derived from the ASUS Expert series PC lies in its upgradeability. As businesses grow, they will need more memory and storage. With additional SSD and RAM slots, the ASUS Expert PCs are able to provide up to 64GB of memory and up to 4TB of storage without needing any existing parts replaced. It can be extremely useful when memory and storage units are expensive at the moment. Users can always use an extra 512GB SSD, for instance, without the need to change the initial 512GB one for a 1TB one.
All these factors ensure a multidimensional and stress-free experience for the business as well as reasonable costs of ownership. Our goal is not only to sell our PC and then leave the customer behind. We want to develop long-lasting relationships with MSMEs of all sizes by providing our customers with consistent value during their development cycle. Our goal is to make business owners see ASUS as a reliable technology partner who is making their work easier and more efficient.
EE: Looking ahead, what is 1 major technology misconception among Indian MSMEs that you would like this partnership to change?
Dinesh Sharma: I mean, like whatever would come as an ask from the ecosystem. And I think it should work two ways. So we will also keep Rajan updated about all the new stuff that we are working on, right? All the new technology that we are working on. And I think with his deep understanding from the MSME ecosystem, he’ll be able to guide us much better in terms of which technologies need to be accelerated even faster or what we can modify in our development approach so that whatever outcomes we deliver are much better for the ecosystem. So that would be a much bigger from this partnership is what I am as such. Because otherwise, there are very, very specifics which we are anyway doing, like for example, AI, et cetera. But that would be a very minor outcome. I think the larger outcome of this whole partnership is to take Rajiv’s input at the design stage, design thinking stage, rather than actually post-factor.
EE: As you work together to empower MSMEs, what advice would you give business owners on using Technology not just to manage day-to-day operations, but to improve productivity, scale faster, and remain competitive?
Rajiv Talreja: The only advice I would give business owners would be that technology is an investment, it’s not an expense. And while making the decision on choosing the technology, if you see it from an expense and cost point of view, you’ll end up making decisions that will paralyze your business. But when you treat technology as an investment, and you do what is necessary to give your business the best technological advantage. The returns of it are multifold. So the business owners need to see this as an investment and not as an expense on their cost sheet.
