Archaic regulations stunting the growth of cloud technology
By Aniketh Jain
The entry of cloud technology in the business sphere is a game-changer. Across the globe, cloud telephony has fundamentally changed the way businesses look at voice communication. The growing number of internet-connected devices has majorly contributed in the easy adoption and popularity of cloud services. Forecasts predict that the global market for cloud equipment will reach $79.1 billion by 2018. Such promising statistics imply that this technology not only has a market worth of billions, but is also responsible for creating notable job opportunities. While in the west cloud companies thrive with their full business potential,raising billions in terms of investments,in India, the looming grey clouds of uncertainty have pulled the industry under speculations.
The prominence of cloud-based services in India
Cloud based services entered India about a decade ago and today, accounts for a prominent market share in the economy. Companies- big and small are shifting to cloud services for the technological advantages they have to offer. Services such as cloud telephony helps integrate all communications, substantially minimizing the operational cost, and maximizing the productivity of the sales and support executives. Through cloud telephony, customers can reach companies using any channel they want to (voice, chat, mail, social media and more), and companies too, get a real-time picture of customer communication. It is proven that cloud telephony has helped businesses to take quick action to reduce grievances, create a better offering and increase their sales.
Today, cloud-based telephony services have seen its adoption in almost all sectors such as education, real-estate, healthcare, e-commerce, government and more.Many government programmes including ‘Mann Ki Baat’ and ‘Make In India’ use cloud telephony services to reach out to common masses themselves.However, after a decade of successful cloud adoption, government authorities suddenly declared that many services covered by cloud telephony defy the “Audiotex” agreement. This recent dispute over the legalities of cloud telephony has caused quite a conundrum in the industry.
The regulations and licenses pertaining to this sector are under much speculation. Following the shutdown of many cloud telephony operations, these regulations, which were last updated two decades back,are being labelled as‘archaic’ by the cloud industry. In the era of constant technological change and evolving market trends, the industry needs updated laws pertaining to IT services such as cloud telephony to ensure continued growth and innovations in the sector.
The lack of amendments made to licenses and policies is one of the biggest challenge cloud companies in India face today. Several organizations have suffered immense losses post the shutdown of cloud telephony services in Delhi. The government’s decision based on archaic laws that deem services such as ‘call forwarding’ illegal,has crippledthe what is globally seen as an emerging potential market.
Governing Interventions
The eminent purpose of government’s Make In India initiative draws the motive of increasing contributors to the country’s economy and create job opportunities. The truth of the matter is that cloud technology has shown tremendous scope and caused a radical shift in the voice communication sector today.
At such a point,cloud companies seek acknowledgement and support from the government. Government should play their part to encourage such IT innovations and issue licenses with upgraded amendments that are not covered by the previous versions.
It is disheartening to know that while global competitors continue to generate revenue in billions, Indian counterparts are fighting a battle to replace archaic regulations with smarter ones that are in sync with the technological evolution.This paints a very grim picture for India, from a global perspective.
India is one of the emergent economies, where government initiatives such as Make In India, are fuelling its growth. This only emphasizes the need of progressive rules and regulations that truly support the spirit of start-up India. Companies across various sectors across the globe are understanding the importance of cloud telephony and how it is important fragment of their business. Considering the cloud industry’s vast potential, only through a strong government support and updated laws and regulations, it can become a prime contributor to the country’s economy in the coming years.
The author is the co-founder and CEO at Solutions Infini Technologies