By Nishant Arora

New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS): As Indian enterprises look forward to digital transformation, Deskera, a leading global Cloud-based business software provider, has plans to invest Rs 400 crore ($62 million) in the country to help 51 million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to adapt to Cloud.

With more than 3,000 businesses and approximately 80,000 users that manage their companies using Deskera products -- including Intel, Google, Starbucks and Grant Thornton -- the firm also aims to expand its operations in 20 more cities.

"We have offices around the world, including in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the US. In India, we have offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Pune and will expand to 20 more cities over the next one year or so," Shashank Dixit, Founder and CEO, Deskera, told IANS in an interview.

"We plan to invest Rs 400 crore in the coming years. The intention is to grow marketshare in our existing regions and expand sales in new areas through geographical representation," Dixit, an IIT-Kanpur alumnus, added.

Deskera, which began operation in 2008, offers close to 90 per cent of the solutions a business requires -- from Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), inventory control, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), payroll and Human Resource Management System (HRMS).

The firm has also added a Big Data Analytics tool, which provides prescriptive analytics with "advanced mathematical, statistical and algorithmic models" for accurate capturing, processing, curating and managing of data.

According to a new Accenture report, Artificial Intelligence (AI) could add $957 billion to the Indian economy by changing the nature of work to create better outcomes for businesses and society.

The integration of AI with applications like ERP and CRM is proving to be an excellent tool for businesses to transform operations globally.

"AI-enabled ERP software can heavily impact the core of an organisation's everyday business processes. It is like having a system which innately understands an organisation's goals and can adjust existing processes or institute new ones in order to achieve, and potentially exceed, those goals," Dixit emphasised.

AI can help achieve the goals by streamlining routine tasks, reducing operating expenses and eliminating manual errors.

"It would also help organisations utilise employees to perform other important tasks that require innovation. With the advent of this new technology there would be considerable cost-reduction in business operations by supporting employees' workflows," Dixit said.

Deskera employs 350 people and plans to add 1,000 more in the next 12-18 months.

"The objective is to reach out to the maximum number of SMEs and help them perform. Deskera is expanding its footprint into the tier II cities in India. We are adding people to our skilled sales team and building a robust infrastructure in the local markets," Dixit told IANS.

The company is also in talks for a data centre in Andhra Pradesh.

"We also plan to set up a bigger fulfilment centre for sales and launch products pan-India. This will enable Deskera tap opportunities with SMEs which are aiming to go digital and global," Deskara CEO added.

Deskera is also providing a one-stop, GST-ready business solution for accounting and ERP.

"Our Cloud technology helps streamline inventories at multiple business units/warehouses, thus providing real-time input tax credits, which are most critical for GSTR filing," Dixit said.

SMEs typically have multiple on-premise software (accounting, CRM, HRMS, inventory, etc.) through different vendors. Most often, these software do not talk to each other, leading to multiple data entry operations, increased man-hours cost and time-wastage.

To help SMEs, Deskera is offering an integrated suite comprising ERP, CRM, Material Requirements Planning (MRP), Project management (PM) and HRMS.

"These applications can be accessed from any Internet-enabled device, encouraging SMEs to move out of premise-based system and build a road map for global business reach," Dixit said, adding that Deskera sees a positive trajectory in sectors like manufacturing, education and training, and health care.