AWS Launches SMB Vidyalaya to Accelerate Digitization of India’s SMBs

Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the launch of SMB Vidyalaya, a comprehensive technology upskilling program to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) digitize their operations and offerings by using AWS Cloud. SMB Vidyalaya includes more than 50 technology education modules specific to SMBs and the opportunities they have to drive business growth across the country. AWS also announced that it has expanded its Amazon Digital Suite, a curated set of software solutions developed with local third-party technology providers, which enables India’s SMBs to more easily and quickly digitize operations and bring their businesses to the internet. AWS made these announcements at Amazon Smbhav, Amazon’s flagship annual summit.

SMB Vidyalaya is available to SMBs through a hybrid training model, which combines online and in-person channels. AWS is working with SMB-focused associations like the World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME), which will help drive awareness for the program with SMBs across India through downloadable product brochures, educational course videos, and webinars. AWS also plans to equip local professionals with AWS product training and courseware.

“We remain deeply committed to further driving the digital journey of SMBs in India,” said Puneet Chandok, President of Commercial Business, AWS India and South Asia at AISPL. “Cloud education is key to the success of India’s large and diverse SMB market, and SMB Vidyalaya will help SMBs understand the business benefits of digital transformation and enable faster implementation together with AWS and our partners. SMB Vidyalaya is a comprehensive educational program addressing a variety of SMB digital needs, and it helps to expand cloud skills and technology adoption to a wider SMB audience across the country.”

“We have been supporting India’s SMBs over the last two years during the COVID-19 pandemic and have found that digitization is critical for these companies to sustain, revive, and scale their businesses,” said Sanjiv Layek, Executive Secretary at WASME. “SMB Vidyalaya presents an opportunity for India’s SMBs to acquire the skills they need to digitize rapidly and better serve their customers using AWS and the transformative power of cloud computing.”

Originally launched at Amazon Smbhav Summit 2021, Amazon Digital Suite is a set of easy-to-use software solutions designed by leading India-based technology partners that SMBs can use to quickly and easily digitize their operations. Running on AWS, the suite provides more than 27 SMB-specific solutions from seven AWS Technology Partners in areas like accounting, customer support, and human resources. Several new solutions are available today, including Tally enterprise resource planning (ERP), QuickHeal antivirus, the MSwipe payment acceptance merchant app, and Onsurity employee health care solutions. AWS is expanding these bundled solutions to include new use cases, like defect detection and electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC), to meet SMBs’ needs in the manufacturing, finance, retail, and professional services sectors. AWS has also incorporated systems integrator (SI) and independent software vendor (ISV) partners into the Amazon Digital Suite portfolio to empower SMBs to access on-demand educational videos and other resources about Amazon Digital Suite and AWS bundles, anytime and anywhere on the newly updated AWS India SMBHub.

Tally is one of the most recognized software providers for SMBs in India and has partnered with AWS on several SMB-focused initiatives. “Tally has always been at the forefront of assisting SMBs in their growth journey by providing the right technology and guidance in business management. Our recent collaboration with AWS to launch ‘TallyPrime powered by AWS’ allows SMBs to manage their operations in distributed environments easily. This has benefitted over 1,000 SMBs, and we intend to reach out to thousands of more businesses in the near future. The initiatives by AWS to promote digitization among SMBs has synergies with our efforts, and we believe we can collectively add a lot of value to the community,” said Tejas Goenka, Managing Director of Tally Solutions.

Amazon Smbhav Summit 2022 is a two-day virtual event hosted with “Pragati,” an Indian term for “progress,” as this year’s theme. The summit will primarily focus on four key pillars—innovation, skilling and job creation, digitization, and exports and startup enablement. This focus will bring together diverse perspectives from eminent business leaders, policymakers, solutions providers, and Amazon leadership in areas most relevant for India’s growth. A key highlight of the summit will be the annual Amazon Smbhav Awards, which recognize local sellers, home-based entrepreneurs, associates, and individuals who are AWS Partners and have contributed immensely to the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat as a self-reliant India. At the first edition of Amazon Smbhav, held in 2020, Amazon pledged to digitize 10 million micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); enable $10 billion in cumulative exports from India; and create 2 million jobs in the country by 2025. Amazon is on track to fulfill these pledges and go beyond in certain areas. The company has already digitized over 4 million MSMEs, is on track to enable $5 billion in cumulative exports, and created over 1.16 million direct and indirect jobs in India.