iWeb Technology Solutions offers an ERP solution with a difference – it offers dynamic configurability for SMEs in one solution that spans both the web and mobile. Read the feature for details…..

PRODUCT SHOWCASE – iWeb Enterprise Suite™ from iWeb Technology Solutions: an ERP solution

The product

iWeb Technology Solutions offers an ERP solution with a difference. iWeb Enterprise Suite™ is an enterprise resource management application comprising several modules that together provide an integrated end-to-end business solution. “I was exposed to SAP early in my career,” explains Akshay Shah, Executive Director, COO and Co-Founder of iWeb. “And I realized that it was not really suitable for SMEs, being too expensive and also not really customizable to suit the needs of a small enterprise.” And from this recognition of a gap in the market was born iWeb in 2005, with a vision to build an ERP product that was flexible and affordable for the SME market.

iWeb Enterprise Suite™  is built around a unique Business Process Management framework called AgileWiz™. The solution can be delivered either on-premise or using a SaaS model. And in 2010, iWeb launched the iWeb PDA / handheld version of the solution as well.

Product features

• iWeb Enterprise Suite™ comprises six modules that cover functionalities for Customer Relationship Management, Manufacturing Resource Management, Finance Management, Quality Management, Enterprise Business Intelligence, Sales Force Automation, Supplier Relationship Management, Payroll and Employee Relationship Management. The solution is flexible and allows the client to deploy one or more modules, or the entire range, as per his requirements.
• The solution can be customized to adapt to any geography, any industry and any process.
• iWeb Enterprise Suite™ is essentially a platform that allows the client to define any kind of display output, including the creation of screens for the mobile or PDA. Shah details the experience of one of his clients using the PDA-enabled inventory management feature for rural healthcare delivery:  “World Health Partners is an NGO in the rural healthcare space that has recently won the coveted first prize amongst hundreds of entries at the IT @ Networking Awards 2011 competition held in Brussels, Belgium. WHP NGO is jointly funded by the prestigious Warren Buffet and The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation. On approval by the representatives of both the foundations, WHP selected & deployed the entire iWeb Enterprise Suite™ ERP with the CRM module of our solution on the mobile. Using this, they can check stock levels at various places like the regional logistics offices, Tele medicine centers, distributors, chemists and place orders directly from their PDAs. These are then updated on the ERP server and the stocks replenished seamlessly.” Rural areas may sometimes have connectivity and electricity issues, both of which are avoided using a handheld device. The solution stores data locally and then updates the server automatically once GPRS connectivity is established.

“Having a solution that is mobile-enabled is especially beneficial in the rural areas,” points out Shah, “and in situations where processes are carried out on the fly, like when visiting retailers to assess the demand-supply situation. Thanks to AgileWiz™, our product can be configured for any kind of screen display and for any operating system.”

Product promise

The solution is offered at a price point far lower than peer products in the market. “iWeb Enterprise Suite™  promises a TCO that is 10 times cheaper than any other standard ERP packages,” claims Shah.

It also offers a great deal of flexibility, given that each module can be customized to meet the smallest need of the client. Additionally, a client can choose to deploy it either on-premise or in the cloud. “He can even deploy some modules on-premise and others in the cloud – that’s the amount of flexibility we offer!” states Shah. “We call this the hybrid-SaaS model.”

Perhaps the greatest value accrues from the fact that multi-vertical and horizontal applications can be created easily enough without need for extensive coding and intervention by technical teams. In that sense, it is self-customizable. Shah details, “We are essentially offering a configurable platform that the customer or his software partner can easily make changes to and deploy. The BPMS suite uses a drag-and-drop approach that is so easy to use that even a non-technical person can add business rules, and configure and customize the solution.”

It is this very feature that allows domain expertise to be built into the product as well. “If I have to deploy the product in a new industry tomorrow, say oil and gas,” continues Shah, “I can do this easily. The product already has the basic processes built into it. Once I understand and map the new domain, using AgileWiz™, I can configure the solution within 2-3 days to deploy it for the client.”

Tipping the scales

Evidently, iWeb Enterprise Suite™ compares favourably with its competitor products when it comes to price since it is designed to be low-cost and affordable to the SME segment. But more importantly, its features demonstrate an in-depth understanding of how the SME market works, especially in India. “You may have more than 5000 processes,” exclaims Shah, “but whichever business you are in, we can map all your processes using the same suite, work the same way you work and deliver the product to you.” According to Shah, some of the bigger competitor products, though they do add value, also suggest processes that may be redundant. “For instance, if my client is a diamond merchant in Surat, in all likelihood, he has no need for four levels of approvals for each transaction since he is probably the end-user himself. So the deployed product needs to have the ability to adapt to such circumstances.”

“Finally, there are many ERP solutions in the market, but no one gives you a configurable platform that is so easy to use that the client can customize it himself!” says Shah.

The road ahead

Other product companies have said it before him, and Shah echoes their sentiments – “The biggest challenge we face is the lack of a product mind-set and ecosystem in the country. This often poses barriers to growth and holds us back when we could be forging ahead.” This can be seen especially in the realm of capital. “Banks will never give you loans till you give them collateral – software IPR is not a concept that is understood by them. So we are essentially stuck in a Catch-22 situation – without capital we cannot grow the product and popularise the brand. But the system expects us to first invest, build the products and get customers before they infuse capital.”

The second biggest roadblock comes from clients themselves. “Where cost is not an issue, clients generally don’t think much of a local brand. They prefer the German product (i.e. SAP) or Microsoft.” Shah feels that the government can help Indian product companies here by having the PSUs & eGovernance projects reserve some business for local product companies so they have an opportunity to build their brand and then expand globally.

Shah and his team believe in the immense opportunity confronting their company. “Demand is not an issue since ERP is so generic and everybody needs it,” he points out. “Provided we have the ecosystem, funding and government support, we can do wonders!”

“Devices are the future for any product, and of course, for ERP. Smartphones are here to stay and grow and iWeb is geared to meet this need with AgileWiz. Our vision is big, but achievable – we aim to be the first billion dollar product company out of India!” signs off Shah.

Contributed by Kritika Srinivasan, Prayag Consulting for the NASSCOM Emerge newsletter.

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