In an endeavour to provide IT solutions to Indian SMEs and expand their own business, Oracle India has decided to extend its Oracle Partner Network (OPN) programme to SMEs in small cities and towns across the country. As part of the programme, OPN partner companies get access to Oracle’s products and services.

“Oracle is a huge name in the IT services sector and it would benefit SMEs if they are guided by the company. The software and services Oracle offers are very sophisticated and can help SMEs reduce their time spent on maintaining client or consumer databases,” said MV Rajeshwara Rao, secretary general at the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) to a Bizxchange correspondent.

Significantly, the OPN service can be availed by SME units from various sectors such as telecom, financial services, manufacturing and retail, among others.

“Oracle customer relationship management (CRM) applications being very reliable, they are ideal for IT-based SMEs which need to store plenty of data. Besides, Oracle is usually a low maintenance services provider, so it could bring down the extra costs SMEs spend on upgrading and maintenance of their IT applications,” said SP Sharma, owner of Creative Infocom Private Limited, a small-sized unit in Noida which provides IT solutions to domestic customers.

In the meantime, the Ministry of MSMEs announced the trial run of the MSME Call Centre, which is expected to guide MSMEs on issues related to setting up of businesses, financing options and government subsidy schemes.

Sreemita Bhattacharya