Redington, Google and CIMSME comes together for MSME digital transformation

Redington, Google, and CIMSME have joined forces to accelerate digital transformation for India’s MSMEs. Through affordable cloud solutions, AI-powered tools, and capacity-building programs, the partnership aims to empower micro and small enterprises to scale into larger businesses. In this exclusive interaction with Dataquest, Sachin Dubey, Vice President – Cloud, Redington, and Mukesh Mohan Gupta, President, Chamber of Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (CIMSME), outline their vision, strategies, and roadmap for enabling millions of MSMEs to compete in a digital-first economy. 

Can you start with a brief about the MOU?

Sachin Dubey: It is a very strategic partnership between Redington. It is a three-party engagement involving Redington, Google, and CIMSME. The main objective of this partnership is to strengthen digital adoption in the MSME segment.

In this initiative, we will be doing a few things practically. First of all, we will be working with Google and MSME to provide very specialised pricing for our customers, especially for Google Workspace, which will also include AI-enabled capabilities, for example, Gemini.

Second, we will be helping them with capacity building and training. We will be addressing digital literacy, organising workshops, webinars, and on-the-ground training as well. Redington has a very extensive partner ecosystem, and we will be using that ecosystem to deliver training and support for our MSME customers.

What is the role of CIMSME in this initiative, and what objectives are you looking forward to?

Mukesh Mohan: The objective is very clear. The micro enterprises need to be taken to the level of large enterprises. Micro to small, small to medium, and then medium to large.

The vision and agenda of CIMSME are very clear—we want to empower the MSMEs step by step. We want microenterprises to become large enterprises.

How will this benefit the overall MSME ecosystem of India?

Mukesh Mohan: One of the very important characteristics of MSMEs is that they are the largest employers. As of today, when the MSMEs registered on the Udhyam portal are only 6.7 crore, the number of persons employed by these MSMEs is more than 28 crore. As the number increases, there will definitely not be any problem of employment in the country.

Another important point is that the contribution of MSMEs to GDP is more than 30% as of today. Most of these MSMEs are micro or small—95% are micro enterprises out of the 6.7 crore MSMEs. If we can just push them from micro to at least small, that will be a great contribution.

You have a very vast distribution ecosystem. As a key player in the distribution space, how will you utilise your existing network to provide support and services to MSMEs in terms of digital solutions?

Sachin Dubey: Redington is a partner-first company, and we have a very extensive partner network. Most of them are tech-savvy partners, particularly in the cloud.

We will be using our capable and enabled partners to provide on-prem technology support, implementation support, tools, and know-how for MSME customers across India. We will be selecting specific partners from each region and geography who will act as points of contact for the MSMEs and fulfil their needs.

Another important factor in this program is the presence of Mitras. There are around 32,000 to 34,000 Mitras already registered with CIMSME. We will also be providing training to them so that they can support and serve MSME customers.

How are you planning to utilise your regional networks to make sure this program reaches MSMEs across the country, including smaller cities?

Sachin Dubey: We have taken two or three steps. One, we are conducting events like this across the country. In such seminars and events, we invite MSMEs of the local area and bring experts from different fields—finance, GEM, TReDS, SIDBI, the Ministry, and other stakeholders. We try to educate them and answer their questions then and there.

Second, we have a YouTube channel with more than 1 million subscribers. We post videos on all schemes, notifications, and government or stakeholder orders.

Third, we have MSME Mitras—more than 34,000 of them—who go out and educate MSMEs on various schemes.

As you are providing digital solutions, how are you helping MSMEs to be prepared not only for today’s digital world but also for the future with advanced AI adoption, agentic AI, and IoT?

Sachin Dubey: This is the first step where we are taking them on the cloud journey, starting with collaboration services through Google Workspace. The next step will be to guide them into larger cloud and AI adoption.

We will work with them to evaluate the different cloud services available, broadly categorised as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Google alone offers around 200-plus services and 700–800 functionalities. We will help them choose the right services, the right functionalities, and the right way to adopt them.

The second thing is integrating AI into their day-to-day operations. There are a lot of misconceptions in the market, and many businesses struggle to identify relevant AI use cases. That’s why many initiatives fail to go beyond initial testing or POCs. Costs can also escalate, which becomes a negative factor.

We will help MSMEs not only adopt the right cloud services but also identify the right use cases and products when it comes to AI, including agentic AI.

How are you going to help MSMEs transition into the AI or cloud ecosystem?

Sachin Dubey: Once we take them to the cloud through this MSME program, we will help them adopt the larger cloud ecosystem.

For example, if they want to deploy websites, run databases, build specific applications, or ensure their data is always available, we will support them. Many SMEs also serve global customers, and we will enable them to adopt the right products and platforms for those needs.

Cloud adoption typically goes through multiple phases. It starts with consulting to identify the right services, followed by a cloud assessment, then migration. After migration, we ensure the environment runs optimally with FinOps and DevOps services. We will support MSMEs through this entire lifecycle.

What role does Google play in this partnership, and how will Google Workspace be integrated?

Sachin Dubey: Google plays a pivotal role. They will provide AI-powered products and tools such as Gemini, which brings AI capability to Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

Additionally, Google Workspace offers smart collaboration tools like Meet, Slides, and Sheets. Google will also support our partner ecosystem by fostering technology adoption, supporting Mitras and customers, and developing base-box solutions.

Is Google’s role restricted to applications like Gemini, or are they also providing cloud and AI services?

Sachin Dubey: We leverage the entire Google ecosystem, not just Workspace but also Google Cloud.

Many MSMEs still work with legacy or traditional systems and may hesitate to adopt digital platforms. How will you build trust among them? Are you planning workshops or pilot programs?

Sachin Dubey: We are taking a comprehensive approach to cloud adoption. Beyond helping them identify the right cloud services, we will assist with Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Return on Investment (ROI) analysis.

We will support secure adoption starting from the architecture design of applications and workloads, performing secure migrations with minimal or no downtime, and ensuring no data loss during transitions. We will also provide proper change management.

Post-migration, we will ensure that the environment follows well-architected review (WAR) guidelines. This will help build trust and confidence among MSMEs.

Cost is one of the biggest challenges for MSMEs when transitioning from legacy systems. How are you addressing this?

Sachin Dubey: This collaboration with CIMSME is strategic, specifically to address the cost factor.

First, we will provide specialised, heavily discounted pricing to make services affordable. Second, we will offer pre-configured, plug-and-play solutions to fast-track adoption. Third, we will conduct training, workshops, webinars, and provide localised support so that MSMEs can adopt the cloud with confidence.

From a future perspective, what is the biggest transformation you hope for in the next 2 to 5 years through this partnership?

Sachin Dubey: Technology will be the biggest factor for the MSME industry to win in the future. This program will not only embark MSMEs on their technology journey but also enable them to compete on a larger scale.

By adopting the cloud, MSMEs will gain access to the innovation ecosystem, where almost all new developments are happening. Google is investing billions of dollars in AI—through Gemini, Vortex, and other initiatives.

In the next 2–5 years, we will see a major shift in technology adoption led by agentic AI. Since MSMEs will already be in the cloud by then, they will be fully equipped to leverage agentic AI, adopt innovations, and maintain competitiveness in the market.

Do you think government assistance or better policies are needed to drive the MSME ecosystem?

Sachin Dubey: The government is already playing an active role. We have seen many new announcements and rewritten policies focusing on digital adoption for MSMEs. New programs are being launched regularly. This push from the government will help MSMEs and the industry at large.

How do you plan to collect feedback from MSMEs to ensure that adoption brings real business value and ROI?

Sachin Dubey: At Redington, almost all customer deployments and partner engagements include a mature feedback mechanism. We collect multi-level feedback regularly.

Feedback is not limited to satisfaction levels; it also includes their experience with adoption, the support they received, product implementation, and any new requirements. We even share relevant feedback with hyperscalers, which has influenced the creation of new solutions and services.

It is a continuous process because without addressing feedback, we cannot maintain growth or sustainability.

Do you have a target number of MSMEs you plan to onboard through this initiative?

Sachin Dubey: We want to reach millions. There are around 6.5 crore SMEs in India, and our ambition is to address all of them.

In phase one, we are targeting at least 10,000-plus seats to be onboarded under this program.