“Delayering” during the recession could be worthwhile for SMEs as a cost-cutting measure while increasing operational efficiency. The process involves trimming the business hierarchy, especially in terms of reducing management.

Delayering would improve performance in the lower-middle management levels and improve communication by promoting direct dialogue between lower-level managers and executives, Ret. Lt. Col. Nageshwant Roy Vaid, CEO of Orbit Industries Limited, told the SME Times.

In an attempt to minimize costs and fight competition, small businesses in India are increasingly investing in data storage and other solutions, according to the latest NetApp India and Nielsen Company study .

Titled as ‘Data Explosions in India - Trends and Challenges’, the study states that the data explosion among SMEs has been caused by IT applications and e-mail. The deployment of IT applications like enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) has applied pressure for facilities to continuously monitor and upscale storage capacity to meet requirements. Among the chief sources of rapid growth of data, IT applications make up 43 percent, followed by e-mail at 19 per cent.

Small and medium enterprises in various sectors are moving towards a new model of information technology to gain a competitive edge in the market.

Deploying software-as-a-service (SaaS), software hosted over the Internet and leased out as a subscription, avoids the upfront costs of on-premise software and server infrastructure needed to host the solutions. Minimizing operational and capital expenditure, SaaS gives business owners the flexibility to scale up the business while scaling down the investment.