Analytics is no More About Technology, it’s Pure Business

Cloud adoption is not a selling idea any more. It is now all about the advantages it has for technologies that are now the biggest business enablers. Bi and analytics play a huge role in strategy. It is not about merely crunching, analyzing or reporting data. BI is more about the enterprises taking control of data, nudging it, guiding it and understanding it for much bigger benefits than warranted now. Hence, Big data is not the terrain of the CIO any more, it is a business concept. This is more so in mid size enterprises, the layer beneath the top 2000 companies. That is where the biggest adoption is coming from, says Sujit Mohanty, Head- Technology Infrastructure Business, India   at Sonata Software.

What trends has Sonata seen over the last two years, specifically with respect to adoption to the cloud technologies from your various principals?

Cloud adoption has taken off in India over the last three years. However, it is over the last one year that we have seen the adoption in the true sense. Conceptually, our customers have realized that some part of their business need to move to the cloud and some parts of IT are better off on the cloud. Today, we don’t need to sell the idea of cloud computing. Most of our customers are already aware of cloud, and it is only a question of what they move to the cloud and how fast they move it.

What is your projection for BI and analytics?

BI and analytics are set to go faster and higher. These are not new concepts by themselves, but the way they were approached say, seven or eight years ago and the way they are approached now are very different. Today, BI and analytics are no longer limited to data crunching and reporting. Today, it is about the business users taking control of their data, or the availability of their data, and making better decisions based on the data they have direct access to.

Unlike earlier, the business users do not need an IT team to gather data and make analytics out of it. They (business users) like to do it themselves with a free hand to slice and dice the data. Thus, BI and analytics have moved from a CIO or CTO led MIS concept to a business user concept. They (business users) are looking for user friendly tools that are powerful in churning data, cleaning data, sharing analysis with stakeholders, etc.

In which verticals do you see maximum opportunity for companies such as Sonata?

Rather than industry vertical per se, the untapped market should be seen from the view of size of the company.

The SMBs or emerging markets is where the potential lies. If we leave aside the top 2000-3000 companies – the enterprise segment – the next tier of companies that are aspiring to get into the enterprise space by expanding their business are the ones who are taking to the next wave of technology adoption. Because they are doing it in this new age, they needn’t look at classical ways in which business has grown. Such companies need not look at setting up new IT or MIS departments as they expand. Rather, they are looking for good partners who can provide specialized services, so they are free to do their core business tasks. Therefore, the potential is from these emerging companies. That’s where the business lies today.

Where do you think your customers stand on open source versus proprietary software? Even Microsoft made some big announcements with open source.

Of course, this boils down to customer choice. As consultants we can tell them what the industry is following, what might suit them better, the pros and cons of each approach, but it is eventually their choice.

We have seen that there are specific areas where customers opt for open source. In other areas customers clearly want to go with ‘branded’ software (or what you call proprietary). A defense application may be done on open source for security reasons (the ability to view and modify code freely), while a similar application in the corporate world may be done on proprietary framework (for assured support). Therefore, many a times the decision is not based purely on technical reasons.

Coming to Microsoft – I think Microsoft’s steps to work alongside open source is a business need. The way the company is positioning its business proposition is different, and in this new position, they have to open out.

What is your take on the social media and mobility space?

Today, social, mobility and cloud are the buzzwords, from both, the supplier side and the consumer side. As a technology service provider we provide tools to manage social media for our customers.

How do you see Sonata a year from now, in dealing with customers as well as vendors?

Our priority now is to become a one in top five players in the area of cloud consulting and software and software distribution. On the customer side, we will ensure that our existing customers continue to stay with us, provide them with the best software for their needs to help them reach their business goals.

When we help them grow and increase their revenue, it means more business for us.

On the principals’ side, our goal is to become one of their key business partners. This is more than just selling their software. This is about being a full-fledged vendor representative for our clients. For Microsoft, we should be a small Microsoft; for Oracle, we should be a small Oracle; for IBM, we should be a small IBM – that’s how our clients and principals should see us.