Strategic partnership in India

Industry media in India are reporting that Bharti Airtel has entered into a strategic partnership with Microsoft to offer a range of software and services for small- and medium-sized business on the Subcontinent.

First step in the partnership is an offering of Microsoft solutions for host messaging and collaboration. The companies will also offer CRM, ERP, accounting, unified communications and select Microsoft ISV applications. This services to be managed by Bharti are expected for a January 2007 release.

“The SMB vertical has huge potential and offers an exciting opportunity for Bharti,” said Bharti Enterprises vice chairman Rakesh Mittal. “We estimate total telecom spend in the SMB space to be around Rs 18,000 crore.” (That’s approximately US $405 million.)