For quite some years, the business ecosystem in India has been focused on metropolitan areas where funding, infrastructure and talent have flourished. However, there has been a quiet revolution. As Mr. Veerendra Jamdade, CEO & Co-founder, Vritti Solutions notes, Tier 2 and 3 cities that were considered consumers of innovation – like Indore, Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad – are evolving into exciting sites for enterprise tech adoption. The weaker capital framework and lower digital penetration are now being complemented by a developing talent base, lower entry costs and growing investor interest. The story is changing. As enterprises consider how to scale intelligently while reaching new markets, Tier 2 businesses have emerged as key enablers of India’s next tech-driven growth wave.
CEO & Co-founder, Vritti Solutions
1.The Rise of Tier 2 Cities: For decades, India’s economic tale was intertwined with its metros Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. But this is changing quickly. Chiefly due to improved digital infrastructure, increased internet penetration, skilled talent returning home post-pandemic, Tier 2 cities like Pune, Indore, Surat, Coimbatore, and Jaipur are emerging as engines of growth. These cities are growing fertile grounds for enterprise tech adoption. According to the 2024 NASSCOM report, Tier 2 and 3 cities made up nearly 30% of India’s tech talent pool. Tier 2 cities have lower operational costs and untapped markets, allowing businesses there to leapfrog into the digital age. The focus is not limited to the metros anymore, rather India’s next big tech leap is happening outside the metros.
2. Aspirational Growth Among Tier 2 Entrepreneurs: Tier 2 cities like Indore, Jaipur, Surat, and Lucknow are buzzing with entrepreneurial energy, and it’s changing the face of enterprise tech adoption in India. Business owners here aren’t waiting for trends, they’re setting them. A textile manufacturer in Surat is using cloud-based inventory systems to manage real-time orders; a café chain in Jaipur is leveraging customer data to drive loyalty programs; and an education startup in Lucknow is scaling through AI-led operations. These entrepreneurs are ambitious, digitally fluent, and eager to invest in tools that streamline growth. They don’t see tech as a luxury; it’s a necessity to compete, expand, and scale efficiently. This aspirational drive, paired with a strong appetite for innovation, is why Tier 2 businesses are fast becoming the most exciting hotspots for enterprise tech solutions.
3. Cost-Effectiveness and Scalability of SaaS: The Tier 2 and Tier 3 commercial sectors are rapidly developing as the new frontier for enterprise tech adoption and SaaS is at the center of that revolution. By using subscription models that require little investment upfront, SaaS puts advanced digital tools into the hands of businesses that otherwise found enterprise tech out of reach. From automating inventories in Ludhiana to streamlining HR in Nagpur, these plug-and-play solutions come without the cost and burden of large IT teams and can go live in days. Moreover, they can scale with the enterprise without blowing the budget, allowing cost-conscious entrepreneurs better speed and usability on already restricted budgets. In the current market, where agility dictates operations and headcounts remain modest, SaaSprovides an ideal balance of efficiency and price. For India’s hungry growth-oriented small-town enterprises, it’s technology and empowerment.
4. Rise of Vernacular Digital Interfaces: From Indore and Surat to Coimbatore and Bhubaneswar the growth of digital interfaces is transforming how enterprises adopt enterprise technologies. Business owners and frontline employees, many of whom would prefer to speak in their local language than English, now have the ability to work with multilingual dashboards and voice-assisted technology. This adoption is not only about preference, it is about inclusion. When the language barrier is removed, enterprise technology becomes empowering, enhancing operational smarter and accelerating the ability to grow. For these emerging business centers, regional language support is not merely a function of enterprise technology; it is a competitive advantage driving the next cycle of digital transformation.
5. Local Success Stories Building Trust: Across the enterprise technology landscape, adoption is now governed by relatable, accessible success stories, rather than slick sales pitches. When a textile manufacturer in Surat or an agri-tech company in Indore sees other businesses in the immediate vicinity successfully use cloud-based ERP or AI-powered CRM tools, trust develops organically. Tech companies that are able to leverage this hyperlocal influence by promoting real results from real businesses are able to win new customers quickly. In this world, relatability and relevance trump reputation.
6.Strategic Recommendations for Tech Companies: For enterprise tech to really unlock Tier 2 opportunity, they will need to think beyond existing playbooks. The successful approach here is all about hyper-localisation, think regional GTM teams, onboarding experts who are native speakers, and partnerships with trusted CAs, IT resellers, and consultants. Demo days set up in city halls, webinars in local vernaculars and WhatsApp support can create real stickiness. And with 50%+ of India’s SMBs based in non-metro cities, having a closer-to-home, high-touch approach will not just be a smart move, it will be essential for scalable and sustainable growth through Q2.
7.The Future is Local + Digital: India’s enterprise tech story is developing outside of metros. Tier 2 cities are no longer catching up; they’re leapfrogging. As digital literacy increases, infrastructure expands, and entrepreneurship skyrockets, these markets are experiencing unprecedented adoption of enterprise tech. Places like Indore, Surat, and Coimbatore, which were once more familiar to small businesses as ‘towns’, have become highly prosperous destinations of innovation, with small businesses using CRM tools, cloud, and automation to scale more rapidly than ever before. The market is huge for tech providers, and early movers will be all the more rewarded with customer trust in emerging markets leading to longer lasting customer loyalty, stickier customers through less churn and exponential ROI. The future? It is local, digital, and it is already happening.
With increasing ambition, digital readiness, and unrealized potential, they are rapidly emerging as the backbone of India’s enterprise tech revolution. For enterprises and companies willing to look beyond metros, the rewards are huge. The future of tech adoption in India is not only digital it is intensely local.
Authored by Veerendra Jamdade, CEO & Co-founder, Vritti Solutions