Oracle to power Cloud transformation drive in India's SMB sector

Oracle on Friday launched its first Digital Hub in Bengaluru, which will provide small and midsize businesses (SMBs) access to the cloud solutions and resources they need to power digital transformation.

The new facility, one of the five Digital Hubs set to open in Asia Pacific, highlights Oracle's commitment to better serving the midsize market in the new cloud economy. India's new Digital Hub, part of a global network of best practice centres for SMBs, will help small and midsize businesses leverage Oracle Cloud solutions to streamline operations, boost innovation and gain a platform for growth.

"There are over 51 million SMBs in India, many of whom haven't worked with Oracle or used cloud before. They now have access to the most modern solutions in the market, available online, direct via the hub and through our expanded end-to-end ecosystem, working with the vast network in India," said Shailender Kumar, VP and regional MD, Oracle India.

The hub will house Oracle's new digital sales team and focus on helping more midsize organisations transition to the cloud quickly and easily. With a distinctive Indian feel, and exuding the energy of a start-up, the team will provide timely, personalised and effective support to customers, using the latest collaboration tools, techniques and technologies to transform the buying experience.

"The cloud is democratising IT; you just need a web browser or a mobile phone app to take advantage of it. What's more, it has incredible transformation potential for small businesses, enabling them to do things they have never been able to do before, at an affordable price, such as use technology to streamline business processes, gain access to an easy-to-use platform for innovation, and digitise their customer experience. We are simplifying the buying process to help these smaller organisations, as well as branch offices and line of business departments, digitally transform their business," said François Lançon, Senior VP, Oracle Japan and Asia Pacific.

Customers that want to buy entirely online can utilise the click-to-buy Oracle Accelerated Buying Experience. In addition to the simplified buying experience, Oracle's Digital Hubs will provide a complete suite of cloud applications, platform, and infrastructure services as both standalone services and as bundles. The range of choices empowers small businesses to select solutions that directly address their goals or issues.

"The Oracle HCM cloud solution has completely transformed our HR engine to match our fast growth and has given us the freedom to do more with less. It has helped us achieve the right blend of process modernisation and increased efficiencies. The analytics that come embedded enabled us to gain the right insights to drive more contextual collaboration and engagement, and make faster and better operational decisions," said Vivek Vinayak Purekar, VP and global HR head, Simeio Solutions.

The Digital Hub's work with SMBs complements the Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator Programme, which aims to fuel cloud-enabled innovation among startups around the globe.

Following the pilot program in Bangalore, Oracle recently expanded locations across the globe, including opening two new centres in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai to provide mentorship and technology resources to local startups.