One has to only log on to Twitter or drive past a Reliance store to get a sense of the excitement generated by the Reliance Jio launch. At one point, it seemed to be the only thing Indians were talking about. The promise of fast, affordable Internet access really seems to have struck a chord with the average citizen. Of course, a lot of this has to do with the fact that broadband speeds and tariffs in India remain amongst the worst in the APAC region, and any improvement would be welcome, but you cannot deny that a lot of the excitement is also due to how better access to high-speed mobile data services could revolutionise how we live and work.

Why businesses love the internet
The generational jump India took, leapfrogging landlines over to the mobile stage, is often credited with having changed our society – and the economy – in unprecedented ways. New ideas, new opportunities, and new tools, these are what moves a society forward, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say mobile Internet access provided just that. But the changes so far might just be the tip of the proverbial iceberg, and as mobile Internet access becomes faster, cheaper and more accessible, our economy is bound to see transformational changes. While some of us might be tempted to dismiss this as hyperbole, to do so would be to unfairly dismiss the one technology that touches everyone, from a startup founder in a big city, to a school student, to a farmer in a far-away tehsil. As access improves, as lower prices allow greater adoption, and as faster speeds allow for usage in ways we wouldn’t have imagined till now, our love affair with the Internet is bound to grow. Yes, we love the Internet, not just because it’s challenging television as a source of entertainment, but because of how it promises to make our economy more robust.

Mobile internet and the Indian economy
In 2015, a study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group threw up some interesting perspectives on how mobile technologies have an impact on our economy. Conducted in six countries, including India, the study found a quarter of SMEs that use mobile tech in a big way can expect double the revenue growth and job creation at 8 times the rate of their peers. And that’s not the only study which points to a correlation between mobile technologies and economic growth. In 2012, Deloitte and GSMA released their study, What is the impact of mobile telephony on economic growth?, which found that a shift from 2G to 3G increases GDP growth rates by 0.15 percentage points. At the same time, it suggested that a doubling of mobile data usage could boost GDP per capita growth by up to 0.5% points.

The shift towards data
Reliance Jio’s impact cannot be solely measured by thinking of it as a ‘traditional’ cellular operator with an emphasis on voice. Jio’s network and strategy revolves around data consumption, and that’s what makes this exciting for the SME sector. As faster, cheaper data connections become available, common sense suggests we can expect every sector of the economy to take advantage of this.

This prospect of change holds especially true for a sector that has the ambition and skills required to take on the world, but has faced a technological and financial crunch – the SME sector. Giant corporations have the deep pockets to implement new technologies at a price point that seems prohibitive to smaller enterprises. But once data access becomes more democratised, it would be natural to expect SMEs to push towards technology-oriented solutions in a bigger way. According to a report by Ernst & Young and ASSOCHAM, mobility-related products accounted for 14% of all SME IT spending in 2013. At this juncture, it would be wise to point out that this not-insignificant figure relates to a pre-Jio era, where data speeds and tariffs were much higher than what they are now.

Going forward, with even cheaper data accessible to more people, we can see changes that reach into every corner of our nation, and economy. Some of the benefits we might see include:

Greater efficiency
One of the first benefits we can expect to see is that of greater operational efficiency. Faster speeds and cheaper devices will enable a shift towards new tools and services tailor-made for SMEs. From your sales teams to customer support, the ability to use greater automation and ‘smart’ tools will help save time, and therefore, cost. As data becomes cheaper, and automation becomes more common, SMEs will see a rise in productivity.

New ideas come into play
From online courses to early access to new tech, the Internet enables a whirlpool of ideas that benefit everyone. Jio, and those that follow it in enabling affordable access to data services, will only deepen this effect. These new ideas will eventually coalesce and result in on-the-ground changes, and that’s when we’ll see the true magic of mobile Internet.

More opportunities for entrepreneurship
Better tools, better efficiencies, an influx of knowledge, easy access to government services, and a larger customer base, this all adds up to one straightforward (yet monumental) result – more opportunities for entrepreneurship. This boom will not just be relegated to the app economy or those that make the tools, but will also enable traditional and offline businesses to expand into new markets by taking advantage of the latest technology.

A homegrown app and service ecosystem
From logistics and HR to sales and communications, Indian start-ups have been quick to turn out solutions targeted at Indian SMEs. Despite this, global giants still dominate this field. However, greater access to the mobile Internet will encourage Indian developers to come up with new tools and services targeted at Indian SMEs. As demand for solutions (which take into account Indian laws, regulations, and business environment) grows, so will the supply.

The future is closer
Many of the changes we’re likely to see were inevitable and what the entry of Jio and its ‘data first’ strategy really promises is to accelerate this shift towards a more technologically oriented way of doing business. New markets will open up, new ideas will come into play, and new tech will emerge – a trifecta of changes that are bound to make the future brighter for all SMEs and startups.

By Ambarish Gupta, CEO & founder, Knowlarity Communications

Source: Economic Times