Description
Rural IT Services Market- The Road Less Travelled
Rural IT Services Market- The Road Less
Travelled
By: Amit Bhushan Date:
8
th
Sept !"#$
The marketin% thou%ht has &or years 'een restricted to tar%etin% ur'an
customers &or IT products and services( 'e it )*M +ommerce or simply
)mail o& SMS services( e-learnin%( in&ormation or ,e'-sur-n%*%ames or
any other Accordin%ly no &ocus ,as imparted to ho, a rural user can
'ene-t or to evolve a mutually 'ene-cial en%a%ement*commercial
model as ,ell as ,as no &ocus to o.er services in lan%ua%es o& rural
customers in India and many other developin% countries This is
despite that several o& them can 'oast &or a healthy domestic IT 'ased
service industry as ,ell as development skills It is almost al,ays
assumed that rural customers do not have need or do not have payin%
capacity or 'ehavioral inclination to adopt technolo%y products and
services
This has helped neither the IT companies nor their clients*users This
so 'ecause it has kept scores o& the IT 'and,a%on and as a result the
markets have su.ered Think a'out used %oods resellin% ,e'-services
I& the products can 'e o.ered to more customers( the prices o& the
used %oods %o up throu%h 'etter price discovery( transactions
materiali/e more 0uickly due to more 'uyers and many more %oods
are availa'le due to ne, sellers and more %eo%raphies 1many o& ,hich
may not 'e participatin% currently2 'ecome availa'le
Same thin% a'out Rent*Leasin% online industry 3ot only more rent
seekers are availa'le 'ut also more properties come to market 3ot
only this( it is possi'le to open several ne, &rontiers like say rentin% o&
4arm implements +urrently many &armers use &arm implements &or a
limited period 'ut are &orced to 'uy these I& the implements are
availa'le a.orda'ly( the levels o& rural prosperity may improve and
money 'ecomes availa'le &or more use&ul thin%s( like move a,ay &rom
oversold &arm implements like tractors to say( threshers or others
This is despite the &act that IT technolo%ies have %enerally 'een used
&or 5mana%ement6 applications like ,ork 7o, mana%ement or supply
chain mana%ement etc Mana%ement or 'etter mana%ement is one
thin% that is needed 'y 5all6 rather than 8ust the ur'ane corporates It is
needed 'y the rural entrepreneurs as ,ell as rural populace A rural
&armer may need tools that may help him mana%e his &arm 'etter &rom
the start o& soil analysis to the kinds o& croppin% pattern is to 'e
&ollo,ed and recommendations &or seeds( &ertili/ers and insecticides
etc &or ,ork7o, ,hile to have supportin% e-commerce &or supply
chain 9nly the scope o& comple:ity o& the applications re0uired ,ill 'e
lo, and correspondin% payin% capacities ,ill also 'e in accordance
Besides these ,ill have their typical ad8ustment re0uirements like local
lan%ua%e in so&t,are as ,ell as support services &rom call centers
The need to push &or technolo%y adoption in rural markets thus has
potential to open up many more potentially trans&ormational ideas and
drive productivity Thou%h the idea has 'een ne%lected &or lon% and as
result the markets have su.ered
doc_699833337.doc
Rural IT Services Market- The Road Less Travelled
Rural IT Services Market- The Road Less
Travelled
By: Amit Bhushan Date:
8
th
Sept !"#$
The marketin% thou%ht has &or years 'een restricted to tar%etin% ur'an
customers &or IT products and services( 'e it )*M +ommerce or simply
)mail o& SMS services( e-learnin%( in&ormation or ,e'-sur-n%*%ames or
any other Accordin%ly no &ocus ,as imparted to ho, a rural user can
'ene-t or to evolve a mutually 'ene-cial en%a%ement*commercial
model as ,ell as ,as no &ocus to o.er services in lan%ua%es o& rural
customers in India and many other developin% countries This is
despite that several o& them can 'oast &or a healthy domestic IT 'ased
service industry as ,ell as development skills It is almost al,ays
assumed that rural customers do not have need or do not have payin%
capacity or 'ehavioral inclination to adopt technolo%y products and
services
This has helped neither the IT companies nor their clients*users This
so 'ecause it has kept scores o& the IT 'and,a%on and as a result the
markets have su.ered Think a'out used %oods resellin% ,e'-services
I& the products can 'e o.ered to more customers( the prices o& the
used %oods %o up throu%h 'etter price discovery( transactions
materiali/e more 0uickly due to more 'uyers and many more %oods
are availa'le due to ne, sellers and more %eo%raphies 1many o& ,hich
may not 'e participatin% currently2 'ecome availa'le
Same thin% a'out Rent*Leasin% online industry 3ot only more rent
seekers are availa'le 'ut also more properties come to market 3ot
only this( it is possi'le to open several ne, &rontiers like say rentin% o&
4arm implements +urrently many &armers use &arm implements &or a
limited period 'ut are &orced to 'uy these I& the implements are
availa'le a.orda'ly( the levels o& rural prosperity may improve and
money 'ecomes availa'le &or more use&ul thin%s( like move a,ay &rom
oversold &arm implements like tractors to say( threshers or others
This is despite the &act that IT technolo%ies have %enerally 'een used
&or 5mana%ement6 applications like ,ork 7o, mana%ement or supply
chain mana%ement etc Mana%ement or 'etter mana%ement is one
thin% that is needed 'y 5all6 rather than 8ust the ur'ane corporates It is
needed 'y the rural entrepreneurs as ,ell as rural populace A rural
&armer may need tools that may help him mana%e his &arm 'etter &rom
the start o& soil analysis to the kinds o& croppin% pattern is to 'e
&ollo,ed and recommendations &or seeds( &ertili/ers and insecticides
etc &or ,ork7o, ,hile to have supportin% e-commerce &or supply
chain 9nly the scope o& comple:ity o& the applications re0uired ,ill 'e
lo, and correspondin% payin% capacities ,ill also 'e in accordance
Besides these ,ill have their typical ad8ustment re0uirements like local
lan%ua%e in so&t,are as ,ell as support services &rom call centers
The need to push &or technolo%y adoption in rural markets thus has
potential to open up many more potentially trans&ormational ideas and
drive productivity Thou%h the idea has 'een ne%lected &or lon% and as
result the markets have su.ered
doc_699833337.doc