In India’s rapidly digitizing economy, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are the true engines of growth — yet they often face barriers in technology adoption, compliance, and workforce development. Bridging this critical gap is Vishal Prakash Shah, a visionary entrepreneur and technology leader, who has dedicated his career to making enterprise-grade innovation accessible and affordable for MSMEs.
As the Founder & CEO of Synersoft Technologies and Founder of UnitedSMEs, Vishal has created a powerful synergy between technology and community.
Through Synersoft’s flagship product, BLACKbox, he’s simplifying data protection, cybersecurity, and compliance for small businesses, while UnitedSMEs empowers them with collective learning, shared services, and human capital development. Together, they are redefining how India’s MSMEs grow — transforming them from digitally vulnerable entities into resilient, future-ready enterprises capable of competing on a global stage.
1. How are United SMEs and Synersoft Technologies working together to empower small and medium enterprises with the tools, technology, and ecosystem support needed to compete in a digital-first economy?
At Synersoft Technologies, our mission has always been clear — to simplify enterprise-grade technology for India’s MSMEs. Since 2008, we’ve been helping small and medium businesses strengthen their IT systems through our flagship innovation, BLACKbox, which provides data protection, information security, and compliance readiness in a plug-and-play form.
While Synersoft focuses on technology, UnitedSMEs complements this mission by creating an ecosystem for MSMEs to learn, collaborate, and share resources. It addresses the non-technical challenges — workforce training, recruitment, cost optimization, and collective growth. Together, Synersoft and UnitedSMEs have built a framework that empowers MSMEs both technologically and operationally.
In just three years, UnitedSMEs has conducted over 500 training programs, benefiting thousands of MSME employees, and facilitated hundreds of recruitments for member enterprises — all at negligible of cost. The estimated economic value generated runs into crores of rupees, creating measurable impact for the MSME community.
The synergy between these two platforms lies in a simple belief: MSMEs do not need complicated, expensive technology. They need simple, secure, scalable solutions and a trusted ecosystem to adopt them. Synersoft provides the technology backbone, and UnitedSMEs provides the collaborative platform.
“Synersoft solves MSME problems through technology; UnitedSMEs solves them through community. Together, they create self-reliant enterprises ready for the digital decade.”
2. Many SMEs fear that technology adoption is costly or complex. How are you simplifying digital transformation to make innovation inclusive and achievable for even the smallest businesses?
That fear is genuine — digital transformation has traditionally been seen as a high-cost, high-risk process. Most MSMEs cannot afford multiple servers, firewalls, or complex IT infrastructure. That’s where our product, BLACKbox, becomes a game-changer.
BLACKbox is an IT-in-a-Box solution — a single device that integrates data storage, security, backup, and compliance tools into one affordable unit. It eliminates the need to purchase and manage multiple systems, bringing down capital expenditure by nearly 40% and recurring costs by over 50%.
Beyond the hardware, our Hybrid Email System helps MSMEs manage communication securely and cost-effectively. It offers enterprise-grade features, selective cloud storage, and local data control — giving organizations a middle path between costly global email platforms and insecure free ones.
We also invest in digital literacy. The BLACKbox Knowledge Center and UnitedSMEs HoHo (Hop On Hop Off) training programs equip teams to use technology confidently. The goal is to make innovation inclusive — ensuring that every MSME, regardless of size or sector, can digitize without financial or technical barriers.
“Digital transformation should not be a privilege of large enterprises. It must be a right that every MSME can afford and sustain.”
3. In today’s rapidly shifting market dynamics, how do you help SMEs not just survive but thrive—through agility, data-driven decisions, and sustainable growth strategies?
The new economy rewards speed, insight, and compliance. MSMEs that can respond faster and manage data intelligently will outpace competitors.
With BLACKbox, we centralize all business data — designs, drawings, documents, spreadsheets, communications, and HR files — in a secure, compliant environment. This gives MSMEs total visibility over their digital assets and ensures business continuity during crises such as cyberattacks or hardware failures.
Meanwhile, UnitedSMEs focuses on the human side of agility. Through 200+ live online trainings each year — covering leadership, sales, finance, communication, and digital skills — we are helping MSMEs build internal capability, not just technical capacity. These sessions, delivered in simple “Hinglish,” are short, practical, and designed to fit MSME work schedules.
When combined, these two pillars create digital maturity. MSMEs become data-driven, compliance-ready, and operationally efficient — enabling them not just to survive in competitive markets, but to scale confidently and sustainably.
“Agility for MSMEs is not just about faster technology; it’s about smarter people and simpler processes.”
4. What role do strategic partnerships between technology providers and SME networks play in unlocking new business models, export potential, and job creation across India?
Strategic partnerships are the backbone of MSME transformation. Technology providers like Synersoft bring the infrastructure and innovation, while networks like UnitedSMEs bring reach, trust, and community engagement.
This collaboration delivers three transformative outcomes:
a. New Business Models:
MSMEs equipped with BLACKbox meet vendor empanelment standards of large corporations and government contracts. Compliance and data-security readiness open doors to high-value partnerships previously out of reach.
b. Export Enablement:
When MSMEs comply with information-security norms, they qualify for global supply chains. BLACKbox ensures their data practices meet ISO and client audit requirements, giving them an international edge.
c. Job Creation:
Through shared recruitment services and thousands of upskilled employees, UnitedSMEs has proven that affordable digital skilling directly translates into employability and entrepreneurship.
Together, Synersoft and UnitedSMEs act as enablers — transforming isolated small businesses into interconnected, future-ready enterprises that drive national growth.
“When technology meets collaboration, small businesses stop competing in isolation, they start growing together.”
5. What is your joint vision for India’s SME sector by 2030, and how do you see technology, innovation, and community-driven growth shaping that future?
By 2030, we envision an India where MSMEs are digitally strong, globally competitive, and collectively empowered.
Our aim is to see Indian SMEs evolve from cost-based suppliers to value-driven creators in global value chains. Technology will be the enabler, and community will be the multiplier.
On the technology front, Synersoft is advancing BLACKbox OneCloud, a hybrid cloud framework designed specifically for MSMEs. It combines the flexibility of cloud computing with the control of local storage, enabling cost-efficient scalability and better data sovereignty.
We are also expanding the BLACKbox Certification Academy, which helps MSMEs prepare for ISO audits, cybersecurity certifications, and vendor compliance, critical prerequisites for working with large enterprises and government organizations.
From UnitedSMEs’ perspective, the future lies in collective prosperity. Shared services, collaborative learning, and joint purchasing will help millions of small enterprises reduce operational costs and improve competitiveness.
By 2030, we want every MSME to have the digital and human capability to compete globally, not by imitation, but through innovation born in India.
“India’s next leap will not come from a few unicorns, but from millions of digitally capable MSMEs rising together.”
About the Respondent:
Vishal Prakash Shah is the Founder and CEO of Synersoft Technologies supporting UnitedSMEs to help small businesses embrace digitization and AI-driven transformation. A seasoned technology stalwart, an inventor of patented cybersecurity technologies, a writer, a serial entrepreneur, and an investor, he is known as the “Go to Guy” for MSMEs. His expertise in IT security and business resilience has positioned him as a trusted advisor for enterprises navigating the digital age.
