Indian small businesses adopting cloud, AI can unlock Rs 1.6 tn in productivity by 2030: Report

Small businesses that embrace artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-enabled technologies in India are expected to unlock up to Rs 1.6 trillion in annual productivity gains and support 45.9 million jobs by 2030, a new report said on Thursday.

The jobs are likely to be created across the healthcare, education, and agriculture sectors by 2030, representing 9 per cent of total jobs in the country, according to the report by Amazon Web Services (AWS), conducted by global professional services firm Accenture.

India’s current rate of at least basic cloud adoption for all businesses, such as the use of web-based email services or cloud-based storage solutions, is at 28%, the report said.

“By adopting advanced cloud-enabled technologies like generative AI, small businesses can accelerate their growth and digital transformation,” said Deepti Dutt, Leader, Verticals, Public Sector, AWS India Private Limited.

Notably, moving to the cloud can facilitate remote healthcare consultations, improve access to education, and enhance precision agriculture, among others, which contribute to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

The report further estimated that small businesses in India can help unlock Rs 1.1 trillion in annual productivity benefits in agriculture. In the healthcare sector alone, cloud-enabled small entities can help unlock Rs 199.5 billion in annual productivity benefits and support 47 million telehealth consultations in India by 2030.

In the education sector, cloud-enabled small businesses can help unlock Rs 291.6 billion in annual productivity benefits in education and provide 99 million students in India with e-learning solutions by 2030.

“While there are significant benefits that are unlocked by small businesses adopting at least a basic level of cloud technology, there is still a huge opportunity for them to further advance their cloud adoption as this will accelerate their ability to address some of the biggest challenges in society,” said Aaron Hill, Managing Director of Economic Insights, Accenture Strategy and Consulting.

To be sure, another research conducted by LinkedIn in April 2023 revealed that despite the economic upheaval, Indian SMBs are banking on cloud and AI technologies to advance business priorities.

The research has also found that nine in ten (90%) SMBs are investing in areas such as marketing automation, AI and online communities as part of their budget, with over nine in ten (93 per cent) agreeing that ChatGPT could help their business with marketing," it said.