contents
October 01, 2011 l Volume 5 Issue 11
Rising interest rates have negatively impacted the cash flows and profitability of the channel business. We present smart practices adopted by leading partners to increase their financial efficiency
CovER SToRy 26
NEWS Analyses
Channel Chief
Microsoft bets big on cloud
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Boston India targets $100 million sales
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LG plans aggressive return to notebook market
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Dell plans partner-led services model
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Channel veteran launches distribution start-up
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Editorial
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Opinion
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Feedback
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Shadow Ram
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Get Personal
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Market Focus Tablet mania While it’s early days yet, media tablets are catching the fancy of a motley bunch of buyers and sellers
24 Role Model L Ashok CEO, Futurenet Technologies, talks about the past, present and future of his journey as an entrepreneur
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READ More
Computer reseller News
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NEC aims for top spot in projectors
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Anshuman Gupta CEO & Co-Founder, Strontium Technologies, talks about the changing dynamics of the PC business and his India plans
Tech Focus Samsung’s mobile device printing The new SCX-4729FW provides a glimpse of the convenience of printing from mobile devices in an MFP that offers stellar printing, copying and scanning
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starting line MUST
Read
Boston India targets $100 million sales Boston, the global distributor for Super Micro’s range of high performance computing (HPC) solutions, aims to achieve revenue of $100 million over the next five years. “In the past two years we were focused on setting up sales and support infrastructure, signing up leading partners and creating customer referrals. Having done all these successfully, we want to lend an aggressive push to our India GTM,” said Manoj Nayee, MD, Boston Solutions. The company, which set up its India subsidiary in 2009, today has three offices—at Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru—and has signed up partners such as New Era, Micropoint, Hinditron, Locuz, Frontier, Bytescale, OptIT, Digital Waves, CMS, SG Systems and Choice Solutions. In the past 12 months Boston has executed projects for IIT Mumbai, Indian Institute of Science, Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER), National Chemical Laboratory, Rediff, Reliance, Prasad Labs and Zee. “All these maNoj Nayee projects have been channel-led. For instance, Micropoint Computers did the IIT Mumbai project, while Hinditron executed the IISER one and New Era deployed the HPC solution at Prasad Labs,” informed Nayee. Boston’s current focus is to expand channel reach. “While additional offices are not on the agenda, we plan to have managers in the top eight cities. We want partners with strengths in sectors like BFSI, telecom and IT/ITeS,” said Nayee. The company recently refreshed its entire server portfolio by upgrading to the Intel Sandy Bridge platform. It also introduced the Microcloud solution, an 8-node server available in 3U form factor; Superserver, an 8-way server with the option of up to 4 GPUs in a 5U form factor; and liquid-cooled blades. “Off-the-rack products do not meet the requirements of HPC projects. As a distributor of Super Micro, we configure any solution based on these SKUs in keeping with the customer parameters of computing, budget and power consumption,” explained Nayee. n — CRN Network
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Microsoft bets big on cloud n Sonal DeSai
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icrosoft is targeting revenue of $400 million from its Indian operations in its FY201112 (August to July), a 30 percent growth over the last fiscal. The software major expects one-third of the revenue to come from the cloud business which in the past 12 months contributed only around 5 percent to its overall revenue. Microsoft has laid out an aggressive strategy which includes restructuring its entire partner organization by making it more linear and creating dedicated account management teams to drive its cloud business. The company has created separate teams and appointed regional business development managers (BDMs) for the north (including east), south and west (including central) regions. The regional managers have been empowered to identify their own focus areas and go-to-market for the cloud business. In addition, Microsoft has divided its cloud business into two teams—one for the mid-to-large enterprise segment and the other for SMBs. It has also created a team of cloud specialists who would help both customers and partners in deploying hybrid cloud services. Partners have welcomed these changes. “Earlier, it was difficult for us to approach executives at Microsoft for any cloud-related difficulty. The cloud BDMs would now help us in drafting business plans and developing a joint go-to-market strategy,” said MP Kini, CEO, Kinfotech, a Bengalurubased Microsoft partner. “The strategy is much more focused and partner-friendly. So far Microsoft was treating most of its tier-2 partners as cloud services resellers. However, there is now tremendous focus on involving the partner in creating solutions around its cloud services. All such deals will now be stamped
“The move to appoint dedicated teams for cloud offerings would help partners in developing a joint market strategy” prabhakar kiNi CEO Kinfotech
under the solution provider license agreement,” said Sudarsan Ranganathan, CEO, Veeras Infotek, another Bengaluru-based Microsoft partner. According to partners, Microsoft has close to 1,200 cloud customers in India, most with less than 100 seats each. The company now aims to target customers with up to 1,000 seats for its online offerings—Office 365, Intune, CRM and Exchange Online. “So far Microsoft was focusing largely on SMBs for its public cloud offerings, but henceforth the company will also focus on mid-to-large enterprises which are strong prospects for Microsoft’s hybrid cloud solutions. In fact we have been closely working on a couple of 500+ seat projects which have a strong element of private and public cloud solutions,” said Paresh Shah, Partner in the Mumbai-based PH Teknow. Microsoft is also increasing its training and marketing budgets. “Microsoft has committed a significant increase in marketing spends on cloud computing solutions. They also plan to invest substantially in conducting regular training and hands-on labs. Indian partners would have access to global launches faster than they have had before,” said Suresh Ramani, CEO, Techgyan, a Mumbaibased Microsoft partner. n
The Power Behind Competitiveness Delta Uninterruptible Power Supplies ensure the continuity of mission critical operations Established 40 years ago, Delta Electronics is now a global leader in power electronics and power management solutions. To sustain the critical operations, Delta provides a wide range of highly efficient and reliable UPS up to 4000kVA and aims to be a powerful partner to companies that strive to outperform among the competition. Delta UPS ─ Agilon Family • Up to 600 VA 1-Phase Line-interactive UPS Delta UPS ─ Amplon Family • Up to 10 kVA 1-Phase On-line Delta UPS ─ Ultron Family • Up to 4000 kVA 3-Phase On-line Delta UPS ─ Modulon Family • Up to 480 kVA 3-Phase Online For more information, please contact : TEL:+91 9999992084 E-mail: upsinfo@delta.co.in
www.deltaelectronicsindia.com
starting line MUST
LG plans aggressive return to notebook market
NEC aims for top spot in projectors
n aMiT SinGH
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NEC India is targeting growth of 40 percent in the projector market in the current fiscal. It expects to up its marketshare in the segment from the current 7 percent to 10 percent. The size of the Indian projector market was estimated to be 180,000 units in 2011 and is projected to be 300,000 units in 2011 and 500,000 units in 2012. “While the global projector market is growing at 20 percent, India is growing at 60 percent CAGR, hence we are extremely bullish about our growth prospects in this segment and have put in place a very aggressive GTM,” said Rajiv Bhalla, Country Head, Sales & Marketing, NEC India. “To cater to this market we will customize our products in terms of features and pricing, and focus on verticals such as government, hospitality and education.” The company plans to double its reseller base for projectors from 150 to 300 in the current fiscal. “Along with our distributor, Neoteric Informatique, we rajiv bhalla have devised a market strategy to expand our sub-distributor and reseller base to over 300 cities,” added Bhalla. Its post-sales division, NECare, has expanded its onsite warranty support in 46 locations with carry-in facility at 19 locations. NEC has also streamlined its overall post-sales service and introduced value-added services (like Happy Calling) to monitor the satisfaction levels of large customer accounts. It has also started conducting, among large corporates, service camps with exchange offers for old projectors. “These camps have started showing results. We have also started a newsletter called NEC Connect which provides customers with information on the latest products, maintenance tips, etc,” Bhalla said. Additionally, to drive greater momentum in sales, NEC has started conducting a series of sales and technology workshops. This is an endeavor to educate partners not just about product features but also about product segmentation and positioning. n — Abhijeet Mukherjee
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e-entering the notebook market after nearly three years, LG Electronics aims to get revenue of `200 crore from notebooks in 2012. “We expect to sell 20,000 notebooks and garner revenue of `50 crore in 2011. In 2012 we anticipate revenue of `200 crore with sales of 80,000 notebooks,” said Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Product Group Marketing Head, IT, LG India. LG aims to operate in the price segment of `26,000 to `66,780. It has introduced 16 different models in the A, P, S and E series. The E series is the entry-level series with prices ranging from `26,010 to `33,050. The S series offers a slim body with a pebble keyboard, fast USB charger and discrete ATI graphics, with prices ranging from `33,000 to `41,000. Targeted at performance users, the P series is slim and light-weight, and is available in the range of `37,910 to `47,750. The company has also launched a unique A series, priced between `60,000 and `70,000, that offers 3D display and comes with a dual webcam which lets users shoot their own 3D videos and photos. The A520 model, a 15.6-inch 3D notebook with Intel Core i5 processor and Nvidia graphics, is priced at `63,450. LG is offering one-year onsite warranty and an annual accidental damage and theft insurance cover on all its models. The company has appointed Supertron for exclusive distribution of its notebook range in south India, Maharashtra, Goa, Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand. In the rest of the country it will resell through 60 of its 200+ regional distributors.
“We expect to sell 20,000 notebooks and garner revenue of `50 crore in 2011. In 2012 we anticipate revenue of `200 crore with sales of 80,000 units” saNjoy bhattaCharya
Product Group Marketing Head, IT, LG India
“As volumes build we will include other regional distributors as well,” informed Bhattacharya. “We are looking at a fast ramp-up for the range, and plan to soon achieve average sales of 5,000-6,000 units per month.” LG plans to make its notebook range available through 400 retail points, 125 LG exclusive consumer retail stores, and LFRs such as Reliance Digital, Croma and Jumbo. It has already started conducting road shows for the laptops. Last month the company conducted shows in Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, and over the next two months it plans to cover 20 large cities. “The launch has been planned to take advantage of the long festive season. We have allocated `6 crore toward marketing,” said Bhattacharya. “We expect to sell about 200 LG notebooks per month,” said PL Suhasaria, Director, Caltron Info Solution, regional distributor of LG in Kolkata. “Since 90 percent of our notebook sales are entry-level units priced below `30,000, we expect LG to increase SKUs in this segment to gain deeper penetration in the market.” n
Advertorial
How Smart Thinking By K. R. Naik Has Taken Smartlink From One Success To Another Mankind has seen tremendous growth in the last few decades. The growth has happened mostly in terms of how we compute and analyze data and use it to build products and applications. IT Industry is driving this growth in computing, and applications and services are getting converged. All this has happened because of enhancement of networking technology. The rise of India as Global economy is credited to our home grown companies who have excelled in Information and Technology field. Mr. Naik has been contributing in growth of Indian networking for over three decades
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ery seldom does one hear of a ‘Made in India’ technology brand that’s not only survived against MNC competition, but – so to speak – outsmarted it. Yet this is precisely what self-made entrepreneur K R Naik achieved in the fiercely competitive world of networking. In a domain that is practically owned by global players, Smartlink Network Systems Ltd became a dominant player in India. What does it takes to pull off that kind of feat? Says Naik, “The key is to understand the technology trend with market reality and understand the customer needs, expectations and deliver through a carefully selected trained set of partners. Most importantly, this as a continuous and ongoing process.”
Pioneering days Having spent a decade in early days of Mainframe Computer Peripherals component development in IBM WTC, he had an opportunity to enter and develop complicated components to maintain various types of machines due to closure of IBM in 1979 in India. He founded MOTCO ( Modern Components and Toolings Company Private Limited). The technology trend brought in Personal Computers (PC) in the market and he entered in manufacturing 8086/80286 Motherboards of early days by importing ‘Hollis’ soldering machine from USA in Mumbai. Further with introduction of Network cards in 1990 he entered in the field of Networking Products Line. Sensing the high growth in Surface Mount Technology trend in PCB assemblies, he shifted to Goa, a well known tourist place and founded Smartlink Network Systems; one of the first units in electronic assembly by setting up the earliest SMT line for manufacturing Surface Mount PCBs. This led to a joint venture with D-Link Corporation of Taiwan.
Garnering investor support: Going public Due to its huge success in India and to expand Manufacturing and R&D base, in 2001 Naik launched IPO and got listed on BSE and NSE and was one of the first Networking Company to be listed in India.
Active Networking As networking began to grow rapidly, more SMT lines were added at Goa in 1999 and 2001, and the Company put together a comprehensive line-up of Active Networking Products – NICs, Hubs, Modems, Routers, Switches, etc. – tailored for an array of applications and niche markets.
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K R Naik, Executive Chairman Smartlink Network Systems Ltd (DIGISOL, DIGILITE, DIGICARE)
He created a network of Nationwide and area-wise dealerships to achieve pan India penetration. It became a trusted name in everything from Modems to Switches, to Routers and other Networking Products in an era when there were more than 30 networking product companies worldwide, company prevailed in the SOHO and SMB segment of the market – thanks to the combination of high-quality manufacture, support, timely delivery and extensive reach, and grew to No.1 position in networking products for the SMB, SOHO and Consumer segments. To establish presence in the Enterprise segment, the company became one of the first channel distributors for CISCO in India. Subsequently after 5 years Naik entered in high-end Chassis products business from Foundry Networks of USA by cobranding. ‘Active networking’ could also describe Naik’s own style of functioning. He traveled across the country and Globe in order to bring the best in class technology and products for the Indian Market and customers. While doing so he made formidable relationships with vendors and channel partners; and they became his sensors in the field, through which he feels the market’s pulse, and spots new trends and patterns.
Passive Networking: The dawn of DIGILINK In the early 2000, the IT industry was driven by applications which sought increasing network bandwidth needs; Passive products i.e. structured cabling had to follow suit, a trend which company was quick to spot. His interest in the field went back to his early association with AT&T, and Passive Networking products of IBM and Digital Equipment Corporation. Already having an excellent setup for Active Products, he formed a joint venture with M/s Sapphire UK of United Kingdom in 2001 and introduced a range of Passive Products in India by manufacturing. Looking at the high growth potential in passive range he started his own R&D and even got his own patented products and branded this as DIGILINK. Thus was born DIGILINK, a new brand of structured cabling products in India and neighboring countries in 2004. Within four years, DIGILINK grew to become India’s No.1 recognized brand in Passive space.
responsible for the Company’s strong standing in India. However, it became clear that for the sake of business growth, a demerger was called for. This happened in late 2008 when it was decided to demerge the company by renaming the Company back to ‘Smartlink Network Systems Ltd.’ Company created significant growth in the wealth of investors by issuing free shares to all Smartlink shareholders - a truly smart job. Concurrently, a new D-Link India was founded with Active Products as trading business with none of the products manufactured in India. Smartlink had its proprietary DIGILINK brand, its nationwide coverage, and its manufacturing and R&D assets. What next? Naik felt that it was essential to make use of the knowledge pool, state of the art manufacturing infrastructure, with over two decades of exposure in Active Networking. Thus, Smartlink introduced an Active Networking product line branded as ‘DIGISOL’ to fulfill the ever increasing demand of quality networking products by the customers and channel partners.
Smart decision at the right time The market for Passive Products had got increasingly crowded; there were more than 10 competing brands, including at least 5 global brands which were struggling to gain market share, in spite of operating for several years in the Indian market. Company felt that going abroad and competing with global giants offered greater scope for DIGILINK brand. It was then that Schneider Electric, a well known Global giant with an existing set up in India wanted to strengthen its presence in Passive Products and was willing to enhance their product portfolio. On 31st March 2010, under Business Transfer Agreement the DIGILINK business was transferred to Schneider Electric for a consideration of Rs. 503 crores.
Future! Next! As mentioned earlier, Active Products have been very much part of the company’s core competency right from day one. With in-depth knowledge of networking industry and well balanced resources, the company has drawn up ambitious plans for the future. It has its sophisticated manufacturing plants in Goa which is well equiped to manufacture IT products
in large scale with best experience of more than two decade, a world class R&D Centre in Bangalore which can add value in future, an all India distribution network and a dedicated team of professionals, all in place. Smartlink has drawn up a road map that will focus on high potential verticals and the company will deploy significant resources to capture opportunities and make strategic investments to improve its competitiveness in the marketplace. Indeed, Smartlink is poised for growth with three distinct businesses: DIGISOL, DIGILITE and DIGICARE. DIGISOL: The DIGISOL range of Active Networking Products offers end to end solutions with a comprehensive product portfolio spanning Ethernet Switches, Wireless and Broadband Networking, VoIP and Surveillance, etc. Though most of the products were introduced under new brand DIGISOL in the last quarter of the last financial year, in a short period of time, the brand has gained immense popularity and is recognized as one of the fastest growing IT brand in India. DIGILITE: As an Indian company for more than 3 decades of experience in manufacturing Motherboards right from the dates of 8086/80286, Smartlink has introduced a new brand for Motherboards under brand name DIGILITE. Company has a significant competitive edge with its cost effective manufacturing, its brand building expertise and strong distribution. DIGICARE: The company has been providing service and support to its customers, partners and various brands for the last two decades, in year 2009 DIGICARE was launched as an integrated service brand. Today DIGICARE has a nationwide RMA service network with 64 service centers across the country providing Level I to Level 4 support. The centers are equipped with sophisticated tools backed by the latest technology and quality processes. DIGICARE provides strong logistics support to manage backend delivery. Its technical assistance centre offers 24x7 voice, email and chat based support to many brands of several leading companies in India as well as in the U.S.A. What’s next? SMARTLINK IS NOW WELL POISED TO FOCUS AND FURTHER ENHANCE ITS MARKET SHARE IN ITS EXISTING BUSINESSES, EACH OF WHICH IS ALL SET TO PROVIDE A ROBUST PLATFORM FOR FUTURE GROWTH.
Flying solo By 2007, DIGILINK (Passive Networking) made up roughly 50% of the Company’s business. Naik’s efforts had been largely
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starting line Dell plans partner-led services model n RaMDaS S
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ell is eying systems integrators with specific skill-sets to grow its branded services business. The company also plans to integrate its latest acquisitions to build a larger services portfolio, and intends to do so through a partner-centric model. “In the past three years since we introduced the channel model at Dell, we have made significant progress in the consumer, SMB and commercial segments. We are further augmenting our GTM to provide our vast and growing channel ecosystem an opportunity to have a bigger play by enabling them to sell and codeliver Dell branded services,” said Tim Griffin, VP, Dell Solutions & Services, Asia Pacific & Japan. According to Griffin, Dell has already expanded the channel play in the selling and provisioning of its various post-sales services under the Dell Gainz and Global Commercial Channel programs; these include
“India is one of the markets where our partner ecosystem is highly evolved, hence we would be investing in augmenting our services business” tim GriffiN
VP, Dell Solutions & Services, Asia Pacific & Japan
extended warranty, advanced warranty and other value-added support offerings. “We today provide onsite support in 650 cities, and it’s delivered completely through partners. Our plan now is to get partners with niche expertise to co-deliver advanced Dell services to customers. We are in the process
of floating a separate program for Dell services which will be part of the Global Commercial Channel Program,” Griffin said. Services that would be codelivered range from consulting and integration to testing, business process automation, infrastructure management, configuration and deployment. Two services that Dell will soon start offering through partners are systems management and cloud integration services. Dell has inherited these capabilities through its acquisition of Kace Networks and Boomi respectively. In addition, Dell has decided to take its Global Commercial Channel Program beyond class-A cities. “The expanded program will now be made available in 105 cities. We have doubled our channel management team for the same,” said Suresh Reddy, General Manager, Global Commercial Channels, Dell India. n
Channel veteran launches distribution start-up n RaMDaS S
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hannel veteran Harikrishna Prabhu has floated a specialist technology distribution company called TechnoBind Solutions. It will be based out of Bengaluru. The former Hitachi and HP-Compaq executive said that he has already signed on 11 vendors, and has received funding from a leading Indian IT vendor. Prabhu, who has over 18 years of experience in the industry, had in June put in his papers at Hitachi where he was Director, Channels & Alliances. “We feel that there’s room for another specialist technology distribution company in India, and TechnoBind is being positioned to bring very niche technology vendors to the country for specialized solutions,” explained Prabhu. He said that a non-disclosure agreement does not allow him to reveal the investors;
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“There’s room for another specialist technology distribution company, and TechnoBind is being positioned to bring in niche technology vendors” harikrishNa prabhu Founder TechnoBind
he also said that TechnoBind has received ample funding for its growth plans for the next three years. “Our focus area is very niche, and in the next three years we are targeting revenue of around `50 crore. We do not plan to represent any of the mainstream vendors because
most of them are already represented, and the idea is to sign exclusive partnerships,” Prabhu stated. TechnoBind plans to focus on storage, storage management, virtualization, systems management, enterprise software and specialized networking. Said Prabhu, “We want to bring in best-of-breed technologies to solve specific problems for customers.” The vendors which are already on board include Nexsan and EuroNAS for storage and storage management; Centrify, Observe IT and Paragon Software for systems management; Atempo for backup; Ericom, Virtual Computer and VMTurbo for virtualization; and CloudByte for cloud solutions. Prabhu said that by end-November TechnoBind’s staff strength would grow to around 30 from the present 12, and that the company would have offices in Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai by then. n
edit opinion Capital ideas dhaval valia
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ver the past 18 months interest rates have shot up thanks to high inflation and RBI’s belief that by raising key interest rates inflation can be controlled. As a result, from a 7 percent prime lending rate in early 2008, we are currently at a point where the PLR is 13 percent. The rate at which channel partners borrow is much
higher: 17-18 percent. High interest rates have an all-round negative impact. Customers become conservative in their spending, vendors and distributors become strict with their credit norms, and financial institutions become cautious in their lending. For a partner, distributor credit lines are curtailed, vendor financing decreases, customer payment cycles lengthen, and financing options shrink. This puts stress on the partners’ working capital even while the higher interest rates mean higher outgo on interest costs which in turn impacts the bottomline. What’s more, the situation is expected to deteriorate as the possibility of a double-dip recession seems high. Clearly, smart financial management is the need of the day, and the IT channel will have to imbibe financial best practices in order to utilize its money efficiently. Many partners are already focused on financial best practices, and in this edition of CRN we highlight some of these practices. For instance, a few partners are using cash discounts and negotiating skills to drive hard bargains. Veeras Infotek is using this strategy, and in the process has improved its cash flows and profitability—the company has actually increased its margins by almost 30 percent. Some partners are focused on improving their account receivables process, while others are using channel financing and customer financing options to address their working capital issues. And while many partners complain about the reduction in channel and vendor financing, a few partners have been increasing their channel financing and vendor financing limits. Locuz for example has made it a practice to meet its key vendors and distributors regularly and share with them the company’s forecasts and large project details. This has helped the company to access better financial support from both. Credit rating is another tool that a few partners are leveraging. Not only does it enhance the credibility of the company, it also gives it access to more financing options at lower interest rates. Vardhaman Technology, which received a Crisil credit rating last year, has seen its interest rate cost come down by 1 percent. Going forward, capital efficiency is going to be key to the success of your business. Start focusing on it. n E-mail CRN Executive Editor Dhaval Valia at dhaval.valia@ubm.com 16
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Volume 5, Issue 11
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edit opinion HP’s move: boon for partners RobeRt FaletRa
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hen HP announced it was looking at strategic options for its PC business, it prompted a mad scramble among many of its solution providers, competing vendors and HP’s channel management team. While one can debate why HP made the announcement at all before having a definitive plan, in my opinion the move has actually been a good thing for everyone—HP, its competitors and the partner community. How can this possibly be good for HP, you ask, given that it sent partners into a period of uncertainty and opened an opportunity for competitors to create fear, uncertainty and doubt? There is no question that it opened an opportunity for the competitive set, but that, in turn, forced the HP team to concentrate on its efforts with partners. This is resulting in a unique period where HP is all ears and working double-time to hear partner concerns. It’s a chance for partners to get their gripes on the table and a chance for HP to prove its commitment to them by listening and reacting. There is little question the company is in heavy outbound communication and listening mode. It may take a year or more to actually get this done. If HP’s executives continue to show their listening skills and love for partners, the new organization—which will need to prove its value—will already have that ingrained in its culture. Meanwhile, HP’s competitors—including Cisco, Lenovo, EMC, Dell and others—are reaching out to solution providers. Dell has been one of the most aggressive on this front, largely due to the focus and engagement of Michael Dell, who, along with his channel chief Greg Davis, immediately jumped on the opportunity to talk to a new set of partners that had had a closed mind in the past. For solution providers, it’s never bad when you’re being courted heavily by powerhouses that can help you solve your customers’ needs. Some others could learn a few things by watching how aggressive the Dell team has been around this. Perhaps it’s a result of the mother of invention for this company, which is still early in its channel execution history, but Dell is taking this very seriously at a time when it absolutely has to be taken seriously as a channel partner. In the end, I think solution providers should enjoy this period, take it as an opportunity to talk to customers who may be uneasy, and help them understand your strategy. Also, use this time to have market development conversations with HP and with the competitive set that is chasing you. The suppliers want your attention because they realize you are the growth engine they need, and they are absolutely looking for a conversation and a working relationship—or they wouldn’t reach out—so turn the distraction into more business. n Email Robert Faletra at robert.faletra@ec.ubm.com 18
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Oracle should bid for HP PC biz HP had many CEOs in the last decade, and each one had his/her own vision. This I believe led to the current situation where the company is forced to spin off or sell its PC business. It clearly demonstrates that too many cooks spoil the broth. HP is completely confused and lacks the right leadership and direction. I disagree with many of the analyses that forecast the death of PCs. I believe that PCs still have very strong utility; however, there will be changes in form factors. In our experience, the PC is the strongest entry point in the enterprise customer space even today. Many of our deals start with the supply of PCs, and eventually we get the larger business of core infrastructure and services. I believe that whoever buys HP’s PC division would do so because of HP’s large installed base. While many are talking about Samsung or Lenovo
taking over the HP PC business, I think Oracle should benefit a great deal from this acquisition. Larry Ellison should give it a thought as he has always done things differently. Moin Shaikh Innovative Telecom & Software Surat
Super achievers It was inspiring to read the September 15 edition of CRN where the winners of the CRN Xcellence Awards 2011 were featured. As a small solution provider, reading about the successes of these companies has given us a lot of motivation to think big. My suggestion is to also write in detail about how these companies have managed to achieve success. It would be great if CRN can write about the management and market strategies the winners have adopted to reach where they are. R Shiv Kumar Best IT Solutions & Services Visakhapatnam
Send your feedback at editor@ubmindia.com or post your views on www.crn.in
AdvertiSer index Company name
Digisol Digilite Sony Avaya Compuage Delta Acer Digisol Advetorial Viewsonic Supertron HP Advetorial Quick Heal Biz Secure IBM Aix Boston
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1 2 4 5 7 9 11 12,13 15 17 20,21 37 38 39 40
www.digisol.com www.digilite.co.in www.sony.co.in/vaio www.AvayaT20Challenge.in www.compuageindia.com www.deltaelectronicsindia.com www.digisol.com www.in.viewsonic.com www.supertronindia.com www.hp.com www.quickheal.com www.indiaantivirus.com www.ibm.com/facts/in www.bostonindia.in
Sales Contact
helpdesk@digisol.com helpdesk@digilite.co.in sonyindia.care@ap.sony.co.in odyssey@compuageindia.com upsinfo@delta.co.in
service@in.viewsonic.com suptendu@supertronindia.com s.rathish@hp.com info@quickheal.co.in sales@indiaantivirus.com
Organised by
Presents
10-12 November 2011| Leonia Holistic Resort, Hyderabad
An ideal platform to network and engage with the retail channel, the CRN Distribution and Retail Summit 2011 will host 80 leading sub-distributors and retailers from across the country, for 3-day and 2-night, at India’s leading spa resort. Delegates are chosen through the rigorous process of CRN Xcellence Awards 2011 to guarantee that only the best partners participate. CDRS is easily the most effective platform to launch new products, announce channel programs, and form channel alliances.
For more details, visit www.crn.in/cdrs Contact: Project Director: Salil Warior +91 99875 80188 North: Sanjay Khandelwal +91 98117 64515 | South: Satish Kutty +91 98452 07810 | West: Ranabir Das +91 98200 97606
Gold Partner
Presenting Partner
Associate Partner
Document digitization made simple
HP Scanjet Enterprise 7500 Flatbed
HP Scanjet Enterprise 9000 Sheet-feed Scanner
Scanner Series a.k.a.
a.k.a.
Accuboy
With Accuboy’s deft hands at play, you will get rapid scanning and reliable paper handling as he uses his HP Precision Feed technology. l Up to 50 ppm/100 ipm l Up to 600 dpi scanning resolution
with HP Scantastic scanners. A mobile is not just a ‘mobile’ anymore – it’s a workstation. Movies aren’t just ‘movies’ anymore – they are 3D experiences.
l l
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A scanner isn’t just a ‘scanner’ anymore... HP ScanJet 7000 a.k.a.
P
HP’s team of 8 Scantastic superhero scanners, come to the rescue. What makes them Scantastic is that they are designed to meet specific needs of a diverse range: A mobile scanner for an on-the-gosalesman; A quick scanner for a banker pressed for time, and so on. Armed with slick features like A3 documents digitization capability, network scanning and document management system, these are superheroes you can rely on when it comes to offering customized scanning solutions to customers.
EnhanceO
Productivity can’t take a beating with EnhanceO around. He will ensure that your works go on efficiently. l Up to 40ppm/80ipm l 600x600 dpi hardware resolution; 600 dpi optical resolution l 50 sheets ADF with duplex scanning l Maximum Scan Size (ADF): 8.5 x 34 in l 3 year next business day onsite exchange warranty
`56,799/-*
a.k.a.
Mobiman
Wherever the work, Mobiman is always with you, giving you the freedom to concentrate on the work and not its place.
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48-bit; 256 greyscale levels; 1-sheet ADF 600x600 dpi hardware resolution; 600 dpi optical resolution USB powered scanner with 2.5 watt consumption 1 year warranty – return to bench
`10,499/-*
HP ScanJet 5000 a.k.a.
Speedy Jones
When it’s tough keeping pace with work, it’s Speedy Jones to your rescue with his quick brain at play. You won’t even notice the work getting done! l Up to 25ppm/ 50ipm l 600x600 dpi hardware resolution; 600 dpi optical resolution l 50 sheets ADF with duplex scanning l Maximum Scan Size (ADF): 8.5 x 34 in l 3 year next business day onsite exchange warranty
`48,569/-* HP Scanjet Enterprise 7000n Document Capture Workstation a.k.a.
HP Scanjet N9120 Document Flatbed HP Scanjet Professional 1000 Mobile Scanner
You will never feel small with Captain Bigfeed to support you. He will make sure you won’t need to go out of your office for larger scans. l Up to 60 ppm, 120 ipm l 600x600 dpi hardware resolution; 600 dpi optical resolution l Two-sided scanning with 150-sheet ADF l 11.8x34-in max scan size l 3 year next business day onsite exchange warranty
`1,69,929/-* l
eople are getting more and more specific about what, where and how they want things. It’s about getting more when they buy something. Gadgets are constantly evolving to meet this demand. Today, a scanner is a specialty gadget catering to clear-cut needs, document digitization being an important one. Consumers are faced with the issue of managing large quantities of physical documents. By converting these into digital files, all the data can be stored and organized neatly in folders, accessed quickly and retrieved at the click of a button. This is where the Scantastic 8,
Captain Bigfeed
HP Scanjet Professional 3000 Sheet-feed Scanner Series a.k.a.
Transformer
Transformer is not just a scanner. When you use him with OMR software, he transforms and also takes care of all your OMR scanning needs. What’s more, the software also allows you to create and customize templates! l Up to 20 ppm/40 ipm l Up to 600 dpi scanning resolution l 50-sheet ADF, Ultrasonic double-feed detection l Maximum Scan Size (ADF): 8.5 x 34 in l 1 year next business day onsite exchange warranty
`23,859/-*
Scanner (A3) a.k.a.
Flexigirl
Whatever be your scanning needs, Flexigirl will ensure flexibility to handle anything from cheques to A3-size documents to single/ double-sided forms. l Up to 50 ppm/100 ipm scan speed ADF l Up to 600 dpi optical scan resolution l Duplex ADF scanning, one USB (2.0) l Up to 5000 pages per day l 3 year next business day onsite exchange warranty
`1,77,199/-*
Omnirex
He is the master! Omnirex combines efficient manageability, advanced networking and security and an easy interface to give you a comprehensive solution. l Up to 40 ppm/80 ipm (B&W); 35 ppm/ 70 ipm (Colour) l 600x600 dpi hardware resolution; 600 dpi optical resolution l 2 GHz processor with 512 MB RAM l 160 GB hard disk, 8.5x34-in max scan size l 3 year next business day onsite exchange warranty
`1,49,929/-*
With such a superhero team, your customers can enhance productivity and save time & money. For more information, or to buy or schedule a demo of these scantastic scanners, call 3030 4499 (from Mobile) or 1800 425 4999 (from MTNL/BSNL line) or SMS ‘SCAN’ to 56070 or email s.rathish@hp.com *MRP. Conditions apply.
ADvT
channel chief “We expect 40 percent growth in IT business” Ranjit Yadav, Country Head, Mobile and IT, Samsung Electronics India, spoke to Dhaval Valia and Amit Singh about how the company’s IT business is doing, its distribution strategy and what lies ahead for partners How has Samsung’s IT business grown over the past 12 months? We have done well with our IT business. While our PC display and printer businesses grew at a healthy 30 percent in value terms, our notebook business grew by 80 percent year-on-year. We have been largely focused on consumer notebooks and saw significant marketshare gains over the past 1218 months, with IDC estimating our marketshare at around 5.5 percent. Also, in the past year or so, we scaled up our B2B business to include digital signage, smart classroom and sales force automation solutions around our Galaxy Tab and Galaxy range of smartphones. Overall, the IT business grew 50 percent in the past year, of which B2B grew more than 100 percent. We hope to continue similar growth rates in the coming year.
We haven’t heard much about your digital signage and smart classroom solutions. On the other hand, LG has been doing high-decibel marketing around these products for the past many months. Probably we haven’t been aggressive in marketing our successes in these two areas. As per market research figures we have a 70 percent share in large-format displays which is largely led by digital signage. On the education side, we have a range of thin clients (network monitors) that work with Microsoft MultiPoint software. Here we largely work with companies such as Educomp that offer smart classroom solutions to education institutes around the country. These solutions are built not just around thin clients; they also incorporate our notebooks and tablets. Another category of solutions where we are investing heavily, using our vast portfolio of mobile devices, is sales force automation. We recently deployed a large sales force automation project, which included smartphones and tablets, for Unilever India.
What are your plans for the retail segment? In the last several months we have focused hard on getting our distribution strategy right in the consumer segment, primarily for our display and optical disk drive portfolio.
“We have a marketshare of 5.5 percent in the consumer notebook market, and by end-2011 we expect it to almost double” 22
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In the process we have augmented our distribution with a clear agenda of expanding coverage, curbing overstocking and over-distribution, and ensuring a stable MOP. We have also changed our incentive structures with the objective of rewarding partners on sell-outs of Samsung products. With this, partners are focused on offering our products and explaining their USPs to the customers instead of worrying about getting a better price deal from Samsung. In addition, we have increased the number of Samsung Digital Plazas to 300. Earlier this year we also launched a new concept of convergence retail stores called Samsung Smart Cafes; these are focused on smartphones, tablets and laptops. So far we have launched 15 such cafes across the country.
What are the growth projections for the IT business? The combined revenue of our IT, mobile and consumer electronics businesses was `16,000 crore in 2010. Overall, Samsung India expects to grow by 40 percent in 2011. We expect a similar growth rate for the IT business. In terms of value, the PC display business is expected to grow in single digits, while the printer business will grow by 20-25 percent. The notebook business will continue to grow robustly as we intend to close 2011 with a market share of 10 percent in the consumer segment alone. Besides, we have launched a commercial notebook range, and are in the process of firming up an aggressive go-tomarket in the commercial segment.
What growth opportunities do you see for partners? Digital signage, smart classroom solutions and sales force automation using our mobile devices will grow at 100+ percent considering that our revenue base is still small and the opportunities so vast. For partners this means immense growth opportunities with Samsung. Retail partners will see us get more aggressive with new display technologies. We are also increasing our consumer notebook SKUs to cover all price points. In addition, we recently appointed IT distribution companies like Rashi and Compuage to sell our smartphones in a couple of regions. These could potentially bring to the fold more IT retail partners to sell our smartphones and media tablets. We are enabling our B2B partners to provide more solutions around digital signage, large-format displays and mobility, and printers. n
channel chief “We’ re among the top 3 in the memory market” Anshuman Gupta, CEO & Co-Founder of the Singapore-based $220 million Strontium Technologies, spoke to Ramdas S about the volatility in the memory market, the changing dynamics of the PC business, and his India plans Over the past two months memory prices have tumbled to an all-time low. Why are prices so low? What’s your short-term outlook? It is incorrect to say that this is the lowest the market has ever been. In absolute dollar per gigabyte of memory, this has been the lowest. However, in the past, the memory market has seen lows where all manufacturers were selling below production cost. Today, we have reason to believe that despite such low prices at least the market leader Samsung is making money. We are also told that most of the other leading memory makers are losing money. The reason for the low prices is because supply surpasses demand. PC OEMs have been conservative, the forecasts are not good for the next two quarters, hence there are reasons to assume that prices will remain low. If you look at the way memory prices have fallen over the past decade or two, you would note that whenever a new memory chip has been introduced it has taken 2-3 years for prices to fall below production cost. It’s therefore alarming that the 2GB (8x256MB) memory module, which was introduced just a year back, is already below production cost for some manufacturers.
HP recently announced its decision to spin off its PC division or find a buyer for it. How do you think this will impact the PC OEM industry? There have been rumors for long about a possible spinoff or sale, yet the timing of the announcement and the manner in which they announced it were perhaps not apt. When a market leader makes a public statement that it wants to exit from that industry it is certainly not good news for anyone in that industry. It does not inspire anyone associated with the business.
As a memory module manufacturer which thrives primarily on the white-box system builder market, does it worry you that this market is shrinking? We are not seeing any fall in numbers in the system builder market. I agree that the notebook market is growing, and that the overall desktop market is
“When a market leader like HP makes a public statement that it wants to exit from that industry it’s not good news for anyone in that industry”
not growing in absolute numbers. Nevertheless, the white-box market continues to be large in India and in most markets we operate in, and we expect no drastic changes in the next few quarters.
What’s the size of the Indian memory module market? How has Strontium positioned itself here? It would definitely be in excess of 800,000 modules every month. We are presently selling 175,000-200,000 units every month. In a short period we have become one of the top three in the market along with Kingston and Transcend. We have two brands—Strontium, that is priced at a slight premium, and EVM, which is our value brand. Strontium accounts for 25 percent of our sales, while EVM would account for the rest. Presently we have two national distributors in Redington and Fortune Marketing, and three regional distributors in KVC Computech in Delhi, Sree Computer Sales in Kolkata, and Hundia Infosolutions in Mumbai. We would address the market in south India this quarter.
Most memory module manufacturers, including Strontium, have entered the business of manufacturing SSD drives. Where do you see the SSD market going? There is little doubt that SSD is the future because SSD is a far [more] reliable technology. At present the cost is a little above $2 for a GB on the retail market, while normal hard drives average at a dollar for 10GB. But SSD prices are dropping, and I would say that the real tipping point would come once the price is about a dollar for 2GB, which may happen in a year or two. Once SSD is able to break that price barrier you would see a huge spike in volumes. Still, I do not see the HDD getting killed because new reliable hybrid technologies are emerging there.
The global economy seems to be slipping into another slowdown. Are you concerned? Most Taiwanese and Chinese manufacturers have indicated slow growth or negative growth when their Q2 results were announced. The situation is very curious; on one hand there seems to be a slowdown, but inflation rates are high which is not the case when there’s a recession. The slowdown in 2008 and 2009 was more or less neutralized by government spending to boost economies. We cannot really bet on that in the next few years. n
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market focus fiscal. This number is likely to climb to 2.5 million units by 2013—almost a nine-fold growth in just two years.
TableT
ManIa t, media While it’s early days ye e fancy tablets are catching th buyers of a motley bunch of and sellers e
je n abhijeet mukher
T
he global media tablet market is buzzing, and tablets have been acknowledged as the fastestgrowing product category in over a decade. Ever since Apple invented this category in the form of the iPad in February 2010, nearly 55 million units of media tablets have been sold worldwide. With nearly 14 million iPads sold so far, Apple has the largest chunk of this market, followed by Samsung, whose Galaxy Tabs have sold 7.5 million units. According to Gartner, 63.6 million tablets will be sold by the end of 2011, registering a 261 percent increase from the 17.6 million units that were sold in 2010. This figure will touch 326.3 million units by 2015. Seeing the huge potential, a lot of PC OEMs, mobile companies and several other players are entering the market to capitalize on the tablet opportunity. In India the first tablet device, the Galaxy Tab 7, was launched in November 2010 by Samsung. According to one research report, in the first six months up to March 2011 nearly 85,000 tablets were sold in India. With an 84.7 percent marketshare, Samsung accounted for the lion’s share during this period, while the indigenous brand Olive cornered 8.2 percent. The iPads lagged way behind with only 5.9 percent share, primarily because of Apple’s lack of focus on India. While the initial numbers are small, it is the growth forecast that is exciting. As per industry estimates, India is expected to sell three lakh tablets in the current
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Influx of tablets Today, in India, there are more than 50 tablet brands, including MNC, Chinese, regional and local players, with price points ranging from `5,000 to `35,000. Most mobile players worth their salt—including Apple, Samsung, HTC, Blackberry and Motorola—have launched tablets in India. So have many PC OEMs like Dell, Acer and Asus. Then there are the local and regional brands. Dell was one of the first PC OEMs to launch its tablet under the Streak brand. “The market response to the Streak 5 has been satisfactory. The 5-inch Streak hits the sweet spot between traditional smartphones and larger-screen tablets,” says P Krishnakumar, Executive Director, Marketing, Consumer & SMB, Dell India. With its Iconia range, Acer too is bullish about tablets. “We have launched three variants—two based on the Android Honeycomb platform and one based on Windows Phone 7. We have adopted a good mix of marketing activities for promoting the product line across the target audience. In addition, we have several channel incentive programs,” says Saji Kumar, Head, Product Management, Acer India. Many regional and local brands are also betting big on the tablet. Peripherals maker iBall recently launched its own range of tablets called Slide. The company’s high ambition is evident from the fact that it has signed up film star Hrithik Roshan as Slide’s brand ambassador. “In the next six months we plan to sell 75,000 units. Considering that India is a huge mobile market and that new broadband technologies such as 3G and BWA are being rolled out, this market has the potential to grow at more than 100 percent over the next five years,” says Sandeep Parasrampuria, Director, iBall. Another components and peripherals vendor that has ventured into the tablet market is Kobian. “We have launched the 7-inch model, mTab, priced at `9,499, and will launch two more variants within a month. We expect to sell 10,000 units in the first quarter, which is also the festive season. We have lined up several promotional schemes for the season,” says Sushmita Das, Country Manager India, Kobian. It expects to sell 25,000 units by the end of FY2011. Mobile operators too are launching tablets. Reliance,
“In the next six months we plan to sell 75,000 units. This market has the potential to grow exponentially considering that India is a huge mobile market” saNdeep parasrampuria Director, iBall
market focus Spice and Bharti Airtel have all come up with their own devices, and are promoting these with 3G connectivity. Reliance is pushing its tablet at `12,999 with a lock-in for certain 3G plans, while Beetel, a Bharti Enterprises Group subsidiary, has launched its Magiq brand of tablets priced at `9,999.
“As economies of scale come into play, prices will drop. Tablets will be available at the same price-points as netbooks in the next 12 months”
Partner play
saji Kumar
So far, tablet sales in India have been largely driven through the telecom channels, but analysts expect this to change as the market grows and as more IT vendors get into the fray. Kobian, for instance, is selling its products through both telecom and IT channels, and so is iBall. While Acer and Dell are focused largely on telecom channels, they too have appointed select IT retailers for their tablet range. Samsung recently appointed Compuage and Rashi Peripherals for distributing Samsung mobile devices in the Delhi/NCR region. “Since the tablet is a PC-mobile convergence device and our strength is in IT channels, we are selling it through both the IT as well as telecom channels,” explains Kobian’s Das. Many IT retailers too have realized that this is a high-growth category and have started selling tablets. “I started selling the Galaxy Tab two months back and am clocking 25-30 units every month. A large number of our customers, who already have a notebook, want the tablet as an on-the-move device,” says Bhavin Prasad, CEO of Mumbai-based Raj NX. Prasad has trained one executive on Android; the executive can give a live demo of features to customers, besides downloading software for them from the Android marketplace. “Many customers have told us that we do a better job of introducing them to tablets than authorized telecom retailers do,” he says. Ahmedabad-based E Mission is another reseller which sells tablets. “People prefer less expensive tablets but they also do not want to compromise on the performance and applications. Every month we sell around 15-20 tablets, both iPads and Galaxy Tabs, and this number is growing steadily. We make a profit margin that ranges from `500 to `1,500 per tablet,” discloses Kalpesh K Soni, CEO, E Mission. Retailers also expect the tablet accessory market to bring in good revenue as volumes grow. “As in the case of smartphones, tablets will provide us good sales of accessories like leather covers, Bluetooth headsets, 3G dongles (for tablets that only have Wi-Fi
“We expect to see a proliferation of devices in different screen sizes to meet different needs as the accessibility of information on the go becomes inevitable” p KrishNaKumar
Executive Director, Marketing, Dell India
Head, Product Management, Acer India
connectivity), etc,” says Soni.
enterprise mobility solutions According to Gartner, of the 326 million tablets that will be sold in 2015, nearly 25 percent will be bought by enterprise users. In this space, currently, a media tablet is mainly used as a notebook companion, as a secondary device to take on the road or use for fast access to email, calendar, Web apps, information sources and PowerPoint presentations. However, with cloud computing gaining ground and the availability of more mobile enterprise apps, media tablets will play an increasingly important role in the enterprise space. Samsung India, for one, is seeing tablets becoming a part of mobility solutions. The company recently executed a sales force automation project for FMCG major Hindustan Unilever; the project included a large number of tablets apart from smartphones. “We see mobility solutions as a big market for our mobile devices and are investing heavily in creating this market. The Unilever project provides a strong referral case for us to take it to other such companies,” says Ranjit Yadav, Director, IT & Mobility, Samsung India.
Going forward Being a nascent market, the tablet space is expected to see a lot of changes in terms of technology as well as consumer usage and acceptance. Says iBall’s Parasrampuria, “With more applications and possibilities for every type of user, this product is sure to impress and be useful to everyone, especially those on the move.” Dell believes that mobility will dictate the form factor of computing devices in the years to follow. “We expect to see a proliferation of devices in different screen sizes to meet different needs as the accessibility of information-on-the-go becomes inevitable,” says Krishnakumar. Other changes expected in tablets include the use of dual-core processors for more speed and further choice in operating systems. Many believe that with growing competition and higher volumes, tablet prices may come down further, even for some high-end products. Says Saji Kumar of Acer, “As economies of scale come into play, prices will go down. If volumes pick up, there’s the possibility that tablets will be available at the same price-points as netbooks are today.” n
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cover story
Rising interest rates have negatively impacted the cash flows and profitability of the channel business. We present smart practices adopted by leading partners to increase their financial efficiency n Ramdas s & sonal desai esai
O
ver the past 18 months interest rates have gone up drastically thanks to high inflation and RBI’s policy of raising key interest rates to quell it. There have been 12 hikes in interest rates by RBI since March 2010, and the central bank has already indicated that to stabilize growth and control inflation it may look at more interest rate hikes. In all, the prime lending rate has gone up by more than 4 percent for most partners during the past six months. This is impacting their businesses in a major way and constraining their growth plans. “The rise in interest rates affects our ability to borrow and this in turn impacts the ability of partner organizations to expand and grow. It is eating into our margins and our company’s ability to take more projects,” says Sumathi Anantharam, Director, Finance, Webcom Infotech, Bengaluru. Agrees Manoj Bisht, CEO of the Delhi-based MK Infosystems, “Typically, for a partner who has a working capital need of `2 2 crore and who is relying
26
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cover story “For a partner who has a working capital need of `2 crore, a 5 percent hike in interest rates amounts to a `10 lakh increase in the cost of capital”
“In many large customer accounts where the payment cycles are 15-30 days, we bargain for cash discounts which could range from 2 percent to 4 percent”
maNoj Bisht m
sudarsaN raNgaNathaN
CEO, MK Infosystems
on debt financing for the same, a 4-5 percent hike in interest rates amounts to an impact of `10 lakh in additional cost of capital. For us, the increase in rates has shaved off our margins by almost 30-40 percent.” This has been compounded by delays in payments, lack of strong vendor and channel financing, and financial institutions raising the risk profile of debt financing for SMBs, which most partner organizations are. In such a scenario, several partners have begun to put emphasis on increasing the efficiency of their capital. They are focusing on inculcating best practices in financial management to ensure that debt financing constraints don’t hamper their growth plans, and that with the same working capital they can do more business.
Driving hard bargains With the pressure on margins due to the rising cost of capital, partners are in turn pressurizing distributors and vendors for better price support, credit, and cash discounts on upfront payments. Partners who have had a long-standing relationship with principal vendors are seeking pricing support on large projects. Informs Gurpreet Singh, CEO of the Delhi-based Arrow Technologies, “We are negotiating harder with vendors for prices, and while offering customers the best price we are demanding better and faster payment terms. In a server deal we did recently with a hospital, we negotiated with the vendor to bring down the overall price of the hardware from `12 lakh to `10.5 lakh, and negotiated with the customer a deal price of ``11 lakh, demanding that they pay half the amount in cash and half the amount with 30 days rather than 45-50 days. The customer agreed, and we could complete the entire transaction within the distributor credit period.” For a `45 lakh IP surveillance project for a large government installation, MK Infosystems asked their IP surveillance principal Infinova to either extend the credit limit to 60 days or provide additional discount on the price. “As a result, the vendor gave us a 60-day credit compared to 30 days. This saved us close to 1.5 percent in interest rate,” disclosed Bisht. Mumbai-based VDA Infosolutions also presented a strong case to all their principals for credit extension on deals above `1 crore. “For mid-size to large projects we have asked the vendors to give us 60 to 90-day credit extension. Most vendors understand our reasoning for such a demand, and have provided us extended credit
CEO, Veeras Infotek
lines and periods. For us this means that we don’t have to go in for short-term financing. This amounts to savings of 1.5-3 percent in interest costs, and also allows us to have a good working capital cycle,” says Deepak Jadhav, CEO, VDA. Partners normally pay between 15 percent and 18 percent interest to banks, so even a small percentage decrease in the interest rates added to their bottomlines, and hence profitability. Many partners are also using the option of cash discounts strategically. “In many of the large customer accounts where the payment cycles are 15-30 days, we bargain for cash discounts which could range from 2 percent to even 4 percent in some cases. These cash discounts are more than the cost of interest we pay,” says Sudarsan Ranganathan, CEO, Veeras Infotek, Chennai. Veeras has been using this strategy for the past couple of years, and Ranganathan says that the savings in the form of hard-bargained cash discounts added 30 percent to the company’s bottomline. A few distribution partners are also using cash discounting effectively. Positive Systems, a leading subdistributor in Kochi, has put in place a process where it purchases products from distributors in smaller quantities but negotiates price as per the total projected business for a month. “We have actually been doing this for many years. However, the real benefits are realized when the market is slow. Since we buy every day and make payments every day, we are able to forecast the precise amount of inventory we need to carry. There’s very little overstocking, and we are able to make payments in time to our creditors. This in turn ensures that we don’t pay anything extra in terms of interest; we also get good cash discounts,” says Sampath Kumar MP, CEO, Positive Systems.
Managing accounts receivables With the looming slowdown and cash crunch, a major concern partners have is around accounts receivables. To reduce exposure, smarter partners have established certain practices that they say have helped them in the past. Since the time required to implement large projects often runs into months, partners have started insisting on payments that are released in slabs, instead of accepting payments at the end of the project cycle, which was an accepted practice in the industry earlier. “With finance costs shooting up, it’s meaningless to
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cover story “We have clearly communicated to our customers that they should at least release the cost of the products shipped as part of the project within 30 days”
“This is the time to be aggressive with your customers about your payments. We do not hesitate to escalate any payment delay directly to the CFO”
al sriNath
prarthaNa gupta
CEO, Shell Networks
CEO, Cache Technologies
bill at the end of the project. We have therefore clearly communicated to our customers that they should at least release the cost of the products shipped as part of the project within 30 days or within the credit period provided by the distributor. Since the product cost is often 70-80 percent of a project, it reduces the financial burden on us, and we only need to cover the implementation cost,” explains AL Srinath, CEO, Shell Networks, Hyderabad. Partners are also advising customers to break projects into smaller sub-projects and plan their implementation accordingly. “It’s generally good advice even for the customer since they need to clear smaller bills. It also helps us in the long run as we keep billing and collecting,” says Ganesh Mahabala, Senior VP, Valuepoint Systems, Bengaluru. Prarthana Gupta, CEO of Delhi-based Cache Technologies, points out that a period of financial crunch is not the time to be friendly with customers, and that being firm actually helps. “This is the time to be aggressive especially about your payments. For example, we had deployed a SAP ERP, worth `1.8 crore, at NDPL, a Tata Group company. More than 70 days had passed and the company was not releasing the payment. I went to the CFO’s office and he released `1.5 crore ad hoc payment immediately. After that experience we do not hesitate to escalate any payment delay issue directly to the CFO,” Gupta advises partners to go the extra mile for collections, especially in these troubled times. Partners point out that many in the industry never do a complete job of collecting payments on time, and this affects their cash flow. “Many of us are sometimes satisfied when 80-90 percent of the payment due comes on time because it gives immediate relief to our cash flows. Sometimes we forget that the margins with which we run the business actually come from the rest of the payments,” says Neel Shah, Director, Insight Business Machines, Mumbai. “It’s therefore important that you do a complete job of collecting payments.”
“We advise customers to break projects into sub-projects. It is good for them since they need to clear smaller bills. It also helps us as we keep billing and collecting” gaNesh mahaBala
Senior VP, Valuepoint Systems
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Opening offices overseas is another idea that partners have started exploring. Both Orient Technologies in Mumbai and Hyderabad-based Locuz Enterprise Solutions have set up operations in Singapore. They have not done this to explore opportunities in the Singapore market but to leverage on their operational strengths. “We are deftly using our working capital, our credit lines with distributors and other financing options from vendors and distributors for partaking in very large projects. We have also employed a smart strategy in opening an office in Singapore and have billed the large projects from there for customers who prefer dollar billing. Earlier, we used to generally ask the vendor to do direct billing and we used to receive an Over Riding Commission from them. But we could neither show the total deal value in our books of accounts nor book real profits. Overall, this strategy is helping us to have a better control on the project execution; it also provides us better negotiating terms with vendors and stronger leverage with customers,” says Vijay Wadhi, President, Locuz. In addition, billing from Singapore is also helping Locuz to shorten the payment cycle for projects. Billing from Singapore meant that customers had to raise letters of credit (LCs) which ensured timely payments. Explains Wadhi: “To bill from Singapore, the customer has to open an LC with a bank in Singapore. Encashing LCs is easier and faster than having to collect payments from a company.” For partners involved in distribution, maintaining strong discipline is the need of the hour, and some leading distributors are doing this diligently. “We recognized that with the likely cash crunch our resellers would also feel the pinch, and that their payments would also be delayed, hence our ERP system does not allow any branch to bill any customer without at least having a post-dated cheque in hand. Once the cheque is received, the partner is forced to ensure that payments are made to us on time,” says Dinesh Nair, Vice President, Aldous Glare Systems, Kochi.
Channel financing Distributors such as Redington and Ingram Micro provide a facility for partners to extend the credit through channel financing. In 2007, in a bid to provide financing options to the IT channel, Redington India acquired Delhi-based non-banking financial company Easyaccess in a `3 crore deal. Ingram Micro has a tie-up with HDFC Bank to
cover story “Many of us are satisfied when 80-90 percent of the payment comes on time. We forget that our margins actually come from the remaining payment”
“To bill from Singapore, the customer has to open an LC with a local bank there. Encashing LCs is easier and faster than having to collect payments from a customer”
Neel shah
Vijay wadhi
Director, Insight Business Machines
provide purchase bill discounting, where the bank makes payments based on the billing to the partners. Qualified partners get an extended credit on and above the 30-day credit, which allows them to plan and execute projects more easily. In many cases banks do insist on some guarantee; however, in most cases, the distributor stands as the guarantor. “Our primary objective behind setting up a separate channel financing body was to provide financing options to our vast network of IT channels. Channels, especially in the smaller cities, have to rely heavily on the 21 to 30-day distributor credit because financing is not easily available to them. We offer easy and competitive financing options to partners,” says PS Neogi, President, IT, Redington India. Adds Ajay Maitin, CEO of the Patna-based Graphic Trades, “We typically get anything between 30 and 45 days credit since we address large institutions in Bihar, where payments can get delayed. Recently, Redington came up with an offer to finance a deal where we needed credit for up to 120 days; the extra 90 days credit was offered through their finance arm at nominal interest.” Other distributors are also thinking of investing or associating with a finance company. “We have been considering the establishment of a channel finance venture,” says Suresh Pansari, CMD, Rashi Peripherals. “There are several partners who genuinely require help, and we need to work with them. The question is whether we need to run a finance company along with a distribution company.” However, not every partner is impressed. “If you consider all the costs, channel financing still works at roughly 1.5 percent per month,” argues Srinath. “This is almost equivalent to the present banking charges. It is perhaps advantageous only if you do not have any other option.” Neogi clarifies. “Channel financing is specifically meant for partners who do not have many options to fund a business deal. We have seen several channel partners giving up business opportunities due to lack of financing options.”
“Channel financing is for partners who do not have many options to fund business deals. We have seen partners giving up opportunities due to lack of financing options” ps Neogi
President, IT, Redington India
President, Locuz Enterprise Solutions
Vendor financing IBM, HP, Dell and Cisco are some of the vendors who have separate financing arms that help partners identify opportunities, and fund them. In most cases the funding is directly to the customer, but in certain cases when the financing required is for a short period the vendors work with distributors and provide extra credit to partners. To fund the purchase of networking equipment, Cisco Capital has been funding customers with up to threeyear payment options with an optional zero interest scheme. Cisco Capital even funds projects where the bill of materials includes non-competing products. “The thumb-rule is that roughly 66 percent of the products should be from Cisco. Our EasyLease program is designed for commercial and SMB customers. We have a zero percent financing option for SMBs for multi-year service contracts around our branded service offerings such as SMARTnet. There’s also a six-month deferral scheme wherein customers can defer payments for up to six months with interest accruing during the deferral period added to the total amount financed,” explains Gautam Munish, Vice President, Cisco Capital India. Cisco has earmarked over $100 million specifically for SMB customers in emerging markets. While Cisco also has channel financing options, partners such as Arun Gupta, CEO of the Delhi-based Dart Networks, say that the process is often cumbersome and requires paper work. “Apart from the normal funding options to customers, we also offer extremely attractive financing deals when a customer wants to trade-in, especially when it’s an Accelerate to Collaborate program where we are replacing the competition’s product line,” adds Munish. IBM Global Finance recently announced that it has built a corpus of $1 billion exclusively for SMB customers who need funding. Said an IBM India spokesperson, “IBM will offer simple, flexible lease and loan packages, allowing customers to immediately acquire the IBM technologies and services they need to begin transforming their businesses while managing their cash flows more effectively. We believe that many SMB customers are not able to use the best of technologies because of the lack of funds.” Shaishav Singh, CEO of the Ahmedabad-based DotCad, says he has used the strength of HP Financial Services (HPFS) to the fullest. “In the last one year we cracked two deals, one worth $300,000 and the other about `7 crore; the funding for these came through HP Global Financial Services. The rates were far more competitive than banking rates, and the paper work
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cover story “Recently we cracked a big deal worth `7 crore; the funding came through HPFS. The rates were far more competitive, and the paperwork much less”
“The Crisil rating helped reduce the interest cost by 1-1.5 percent. It also helped us to pitch for larger projects and gave us more credibility in the market”
shaishaV siNgh
amit ramBhia
CEO, DotCad
CEO, Vardhaman Technology
much less. Today we are going arm-in-arm with HPFS, and offering a reduced TCO to customers.” Dell has a tie-up with American Express whereby a customer who has either provided a bank guarantee to Dell or is enjoying a specific credit limit with Dell gets an automatic 45-day credit from American Express. “In this way a partner can use a 30-day credit, then use the 45-day extended credit, taking the total credit period to 75 days without Dell spending an extra paisa,” explains Sunil Kumar, CEO, Lampo Computers, Bengaluru. Offers from HPFS and Cisco Capital are more for long-term funding. Vendors are also known to have granted extra credit for specific deals by extending credit to the distributor, especially for large government deals. “Vendors do provide extra credit for specific cases where they know that the project implementation cycles are clearly longer, and that the partner is in no position to finance the order,” says Pansari of Rashi. An excellent practice that’s recommended by Wadhi is to share details with both vendors and distributors. “We periodically do joint calls with both vendors and distributors, and explain to them specifically what large deals we are working on. This helps them to structure the deal properly for us both from the logistics and credit planning point of view. It builds confidence in the entire system and ensures smooth transaction.”
Credit rating A few partners are also using credit rating mechanisms to lower their cost of borrowing. Team Frontline, a Kochi-based partner, got the credit rating from SMERA (Small and Medium Enterprises Rating Agency) in March 2011. “It has helped us to get credit at lower interest rates. On the vendor and distributor side, it has helped us to get longer credit limits of 6-8 weeks against the usual limit of four weeks. On the enterprise customers’ front, it enabled us to get long-term associations,” says SR Nair, MD, Team Frontline. Webcom has received a credit rating from two agencies—MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises) and NSIC (National Small Industries Corporation). Says Sumathi, “The credit rating from MSME has not only raised our credibility in the market with customers and financial institutions but also secured for us a bank guarantee for up to `1 crore without having to pledge any collateral. In addition, this comes at an interest rate that’s 2-3 percent lower than using an overdraft facility or going in for a short-term loan.”
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The MSME rating has also helped Webcom expedite payments from its government customers. “This credit rating is provided by a government agency, hence when you are doing a government project this rating helps in getting the payments within the stipulated timeframe. For MSME-rated partners, government departments and PSUs have to release payments within the stipulated timeframe or else they have to explain the reasons for the delays to the government,” informs Sumathi. NSIC is largely into bill discounting. “Getting a rating from them makes you eligible for obtaining loans at 12-13 percent on your invoiced value of goods for a specific project. Also, the financial institution does ask for copies of customer invoicing and payment terms,” Sumathi adds. For Mumbai-based Vardhaman Technology, their Crisil rating has helped them to bring down their interest cost by 1-1.5 percent. In addition, it has helped them to pitch for larger projects and bigger customers because such rating lends them more credibility in the market. “The other big benefit is that we get a lot of support from Crisil. The team which is auditing us for rating spends considerable time understanding our business. They offer consultancy in bettering our various business processes and systems, and also help in planning future growth,” states Amit Rambhia, CEO, Vardhaman Technology. What’s more, the Crisil rating has given Vardhaman a better standing in the international market. Being a system builder he imports several components from companies in Taiwan and China. “These companies regard us a professional company when they see the Crisil certificate,” Rambhia says. Sumathi highlights another benefit. “The mandate for MSME and NSIC is to promote small and medium companies in India. They also sponsor and participate in several large exhibitions. Here they buy huge spots, and the spots are provided to credit-rated companies like us at 40-50 percent discount. For example, at a recent exhibition on IT.com, MSME offered spots to its members at about 60 percent discount.” The credit rating process isn’t expensive, and costs anywhere between `25,000 to `1,00,000 per annum. According to Rambhia, “The benefits of credit rating far outweigh the cost. The interest savings due to the rating are huge, and easily take care of this expense.” n —With inputs from Amit Singh
special focus
good days ahead
The demand for storage solutions in the SMB segment is expected to grow six-fold over the next couple of years n RAMDAS S
S
MB NAS manufacturers see huge opportunities ahead as the SMB storage market is all set to grow exponentially. One reason why NAS makers believe the market will grow is the rising awareness about data security among SMB customers. “Over the past year awareness has certainly risen among smaller businesses. Even very small businesses which have less than 10 users are considering the purchase of a NAS box,” says Atul Jain, MD, Netgear Technologies India. The SMB NAS market is addressed by players such as Iomega, Buffalo, Qnap, Netgear, Seagate, Western Digital, Drobo and a few white-box storage makers such as Netweb Technologies. SMB NAS products are typically priced between `18,000 and `250,000, and specifically address organizations with less than 100 users. The proliferation of local area networks (LANs) is indirectly expected to contribute to the growth of the NAS market. “Our studies show that many small businesses are investing in robust LAN infrastructure. This would spur investments in servers and storage. The growth expected from SMBs for storage will be significant in the coming years,” notes Neha Jalan, Senior Associate, AMI Partners India. Susumu Kobayashi, Buffalo’s Country Manager for India, agrees. “As smaller businesses invest in networks, they also invest in servers, and there’s a need to share data. They start off sharing data through removable drives such as thumb drives and external hard drives which are very insecure and totally unreliable. Storing data on an application or domain server is also not a good idea, and that’s where a NAS box is very reliable.” Price drops have also helped the cause. “Prices of entry-level NAS boxes have fallen over the past two years. Today you can actually own an entry-level 1 TB storage box of an established brand for less than `20,000,” says Chandra Prakash, CEO, India IT Shop, Bengaluru. Vendors have also become aggressive. Till a year back most vendors were reluctant to ship empty NAS
bays or boxes. However, since the recent past, they have become more open to selling a NAS chassis instead of a fully-configured box. This in turn has reduced costs as partners are able to pick and configure drives according to customer wishes. “We see no problem in shipping NAS boxes that can be configured by our partners,” says Kobayashi. “Our sole concern is that they should follow the manual and use only recommended drives.” Then there’s surveillance, a market which has opened up. The central Home Ministry has issued diktats to the managements of malls, hotels and other public places to install CCTVs and store video footage. “The law is yet to become a reality in many parts of India, but in important metros and temple towns there’s better awareness,” says Jain. Since performance is not very critical in such projects, the storage would be done using SMB NAS boxes instead of the more expensive enterprise boxes. Business email archiving is another application that’s said to be driving NAS implementation as SMBs want to take a backup of all their corporate email both for business compliance and business analytics.
“Over the past year, awareness of storage has certainly risen among SMBs. Even very small businesses which have less than 10 users are considering the purchase of NAS boxes”
“Many small businesses are investing in LAN infrastructure. This means investments in servers and storage as well. We anticipate huge demand for storage from the SMB segment”
Atul JAiN
NehA JAlAN
MD, Netgear Technologies
Senior Associate, AMI Partners India
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special focus “Earlier, SMBs used to share data within their companies through USB drives and external HDDs, which they realized was insecure and unreliable. They are now investing in entry-level NAS”
“The thumb-rule is that in the SMB segment the ratio of server box to storage box is 5:1. With the server market expected to be 165,000 units, this could mean sales of nearly 30,000 storage units”
susumu KobAyAshi
phillip CAzAbAumoNe
Country Manager, Buffalo India
Besides, many organizations are implementing document management systems which automatically demand centralized storage; this is expected to further drive volumes. In addition, vendors have launched boxes with larger capacities. Data Robo and Netgear have announced 12-bay boxes that can scale up to 36 TB of space at prices of `250,000+ for a base configuration. These boxes have several enterprise-class features, yet none of the vendors is claiming that these boxes would address enterprise-class requirements. “We are shipping large capacities, but we are not pushing these products for any enterprise-class applications such as running VDI Infrastructure or SAP,” says Phillip Cazabaumone, Senior Director, Drobo. Adds Manoj Chugh, President, EMC India, “It’s easy to get carried away with entry-level network storage, hence we are very careful in telling our customers when
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Senior Director, Drobo
and where to deploy Iomega vis-à-vis a Celerra box. Remember, an entry-level storage box does not ship with many of the standard features which you would see in an enterprise NAS box.” However, Sandeep Lodha, Director, Netweb, says, “We have been building very affordable NAS boxes that have dual redundant controllers and de-duplication, and are being used by R&D organizations and media companies. We are thinking of launching entry-level boxes based on the Intel Atom platform.” The present market size is estimated to be around 500 units a month, but vendors are expecting the market to grow to 3,000 units a month. Says Cazabaumone: “The general thumb-rule is that the SMB NAS market could be as large as one box per five servers sold. With the annual server market expected to touch 165,000 units, this could mean potential annual sales of more than 30,000 units.” n
Role model Simple living, high Thinking His father and grandfather were government servants, but L Ashok, Managing Director of Futurenet Technologies chose the path less traveled n abhijeet mukherjee
L
Ashok, the 43-year-old MD of the Chennai-based Futurenet Technologies, is a firstgeneration entrepreneur. Unlike his father and grandfather, who were government servants, Ashok chose to pursue a career in IT. Looking back, Ashok does not regret his decision because today his company is one of the most sought after systems integrators. Futurenet started as a consultancy and services firm, and gradually added profit-making solutions such as networking, open source and data centers to its portfolio. At present it is a `12.5 crore company. Says Ashok, “We are not a topline-driven company. Tremendous client support and our vendor-neutral consultancy have helped us reach where we are today.”
The journey After a earning a diploma in electronics and graduating in computer applications from Madras University, Ashok joined Computer Port as an engineer in 1987. He then moved to PC India as a service engineer, and rose to head both the sales and service functions over the next nine years. Futurenet Technologies was established in 1996 as a service provider and vendor-neutral consultancy firm. “We did not have to invest much because of the nature of our business. The promoters of PC India held a majority stake of 65 percent in Futurenet. One of our first big projects was for Taj Connemara for `45 lakh; we networked the entire hotel campus,” beams a proud Ashok. By 1998 Futurenet grew to be `1.46 crore company. With demand from existing customers and increasing opportunities in the government sector, it started a PC manufacturing and assembling unit at Puducherry. “Our customers wanted us to supply them cost-effective PCs along with our service support. We sold 400 PCs under the brand name Insignia in the first year itself,” he recalls. The company signed up with IBM and Acer as a
“Profit margins are shrinking, and so we have decided to work on a model where we can help customers to reduce costs. Open source would play a major role in this”
reseller for their servers and PCs. It also started getting AMC contracts. The first such contract was for an e-publishing house in Chennai. Futurenet closed the year with a turnover of `1.91 crore. Futurenet also tried its hand at email services. “Back in 1998 there were no email service providers,” Ashok says. “Wipro, along with BT, introduced the service and started selling it to enterprises in India. We signed up as a reseller and sold the services to our customers. In 2000 Wipro and BT dropped out of the email business but we plunged into it full-fledged. By then, a couple of my teammates were developing applications on open source. We shifted the entire email infrastructure to the open source platform, and continue to service more than 12,000 users.” Futurenet was now growing by leaps and bounds. It wanted to take independent business decisions, and hence in 2001 acquired the stake held by the PC India promoters. With independence came teething troubles, and Futurenet had to take some tough decisions. It shut down the PC manufacturing unit in 2004. “The market was flooded by PCs from local and MNC brands. The cost difference between branded and assembled PCs was shrinking, and so was the profit margin. However, the pie of our AMC contracts was increasing,” informs Ashok. In the next two years Futurenet serviced clients on its open source platform, and also migrated the server infrastructure of clients (coming up for upgrades) to virtualized platforms. The company ventured into data center management in FY2006-07 and bagged a `2.5 crore project from Wheels India, the steel wheel manufacturer. The 2008 recession forced Futurenet to apply brakes to its growth trajectory. “We focused on improving operational efficiency. We worked on people, processes and technology. We removed all products and services that were not profitable, and concentrated on a single PC and server vendor vis-à-vis many in the past. We also deferred small-value AMC contracts. We invested in training and technology, and split the sales team to focus separately on volume and value-added deals. We also invested in certifications from VMware and Citrix.” In FY2009-10 Futurenet focused more on server consolidation. It has bagged 20 customers for server virtualization in the last one year. This year it is running
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Role model 1996
mileSTOneS Launched Futurenet Technologies as vendor neutral AMC company
1998
PoCs at three customer sites. The initiative turned out to be fruitful, and the company earned 20 percent of its sales revenue from server virtualization. Out of the 73 percent revenue that comes from hardware sales, virtualization, etc, 20 percent is contributed by the server consolidation business.
Ventured into assembling its own brand of PCs
example, a mail migration for a client from a branded product to open source would sharply reduce costs in client licensing. We are also planning to move to IT automation which will reduce manpower costs,” adds Ashok.
Future business
Futurenet wants to grow 60 percent and cross revenue of `20 crore Designed cost-effective open in FY2011-12. “We will focus Futurenet grew by 13 percent in source enterprise mailing more on services and will also FY2010-11 to clock revenue of solution which till date has look at opportunities in cloud `12.5 crore compared to `11.07 infrastructure,” says Ashok. “In the crore in FY2009-10. Of this, 12,000 users next 2-3 years the cloud is going to education contributed around 40 Moved into the data center be big, and we want to grab the SMB percent, health care 35 percent segment for cloud computing as and the rest was contributed by the solutions space they are the ones who are the most manufacturing vertical. Ventured into consolidation enthusiastic.” Today, Futurenet is an enterprise As for geographical expansion, partner of VMware for virtualization and virtualization solutions Futurenet will focus on reaching and Citrix for desktop virtualization. out to newer markets across Tamil It is a regional SI for Acer PCs, Formed a new services Nadu. “In FY2011-12 we plan to and a preferred partner for IBM. company called 247 to set up operations in Madurai and Apart from this, Futurenet is also focus on managed and cloud Coimbatore; we already have offices associated with Lenovo for laptops, services in Puducherry and Trichy. We feel Cisco for UCS and networking, EMC that consultative selling is currently for storage, AMI for storage and GPS, most required in tier-2 cities. We are strong in this and Microsoft for applications. method, and we’re sure this will help us to grow in the Futurenet is currently working on three end-to-end IT southern market,” Ashok adds. infrastructure deployment projects in the manufacturing The focus this year is on virtualization and the cloud. vertical. The projects are worth approximately `1.5 Says Ashok, “We are developing expertise in cloud crore each. It has also bagged a project, worth around computing and virtualization to help customers build `1.5 crore, to build campus-wide networking for a large private clouds.” university. Another project worth `50 lakh is from a large automobile company that requires Futurenet’s expertise for setting up a DR site. To focus on its services Awards & accolades business, Futurenet separated the services arm a year Futurenet has won many accolades over the years. back under a new company, 247 Computing Services, These include the Acer Best SME Partner for 2008 and while Futurenet continues to be the flagship company. 2010, Cisco Roll of Honor for 2010, Acer Best SI Partner Services today contribute 27 percent of the revenue. in 2007, and Best Performing Partner, South East, from “We wanted to create a services brand and that’s why we IBM in 2009. formed 247 that will focus on round-the-clock service for semi-corporate and corporate customers. It will be On a personal note independent and will not depend on Futurenet’s revenue Ashok has two role models. One is APJ Abdul Kalam, to survive,” says Ashok. former President of India, and the other is NR Narayana With the increasing cost of commodities as well as Murthy, Chairman Emeritus, Infosys. “I like Kalam the rising interest rates, Futurenet is again experiencing because of his simplicity, his journey from being a a slowdown in business and has therefore decided to common man to a visionary. As for Murthy, I like the change tack. “Profit margins are shrinking, and so we have way he started an organization that went on to become decided to work on a model where we can help customers India’s second-largest IT company.” to reduce costs; open source would play a major role in Ashok believes in simple living and high thinking. “I this. This would also add to our services revenue. For want to be judged as the person I am, not by the branded shirt I wear or the car I drive.” During weekends he loves to play cricket. “I follow cricket seriously, and do not “In the next 2-3 years the cloud is going miss an opportunity to play.” Ashok is also fond of reading tech and management to be big, and we want to grab the SMB books. “Of late I have developed an interest in reading segment for cloud computing as they are spiritual books. At present I am reading a management the ones who are the most enthusiastic” book called The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge.” n
2010
2008
2007
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Current business
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tech focus SamSung diSplayS mobile device printing The new SCX-4729FW provides a glimpse of the convenience of printing from mobile devices in an MFP that offers stellar printing, copying and scanning, all on a network via Wi-Fi n Edward MoltzEn
W
ith a company like Samsung, which manufactures smartphones, tablets and printers, you had to believe it was only a matter of time before they got it all working together. With Samsung’s SCX-4729FW and free Mobile Print app for both Android and iOS, the company has now done it. The CRN Test Center had the opportunity to evaluate the SCX-4729FW, a black-and-white desktop multifunction printer (MFP). The Wi-Fi-capable network device set up in about 10 minutes on our wireless network, and within a few minutes of that we were able to begin printing from mobile devices, a MacBook Air and a PC running Windows 7 professional. As a standard enterprise printer—think small office or workgroup—it’s priced somewhat competitively at $399. Its small footprint makes it a nice desktop printer, and not a problem to lift out of the box and set up. From a cold start, we stop-watched the SCX-4729FW at 22.7 seconds time to first print; from there, it printed a six-page document in 12 seconds. That’s fine for this price point in a desktop printer. The copy function of the device worked flawlessly, copying a document in less than three seconds, and with the multi-page feeder it was able to copy a 10-page document in 20 seconds. The scan-toPC function was similarly outstanding. After installing the MFP management console (from CD) onto the PC, scanning from the SCX-4729FW—via Wi-Fi on the network—worked amazingly. In both black-and-white and color, pages took about four seconds to scan wirelessly over the network to the PC running Windows 7. Additionally, scanning documents from the SCX4729FW via the Wi-Fi network to mobile devices worked fantastically. While apps for both iOS and Android exist for turning devices into scanners themselves, scanning from the SCX-4729FW to the device provided much greater quality. Where Samsung adds value with this printer is in its introduction of straightforward Wi-Fi support and support for printing from mobile devices. Though it’s not perfect, Samsung is providing a very nice first step in mobile printing. We downloaded and installed the Samsung Mobile
Print into an iPad, an iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 running the Honeycomb version of Android. On both the iPad and the iPhone, we were up and running printing photographs straight from each device. However, when we wanted to print documents from the phone or the tablet, the app told us we needed to upload the document to the Web first—but then provided no additional information. We found a workaround by copying the document to the clipboard and printing from that. On the Galaxy Tab 10.1, printing documents from Google Docs was a snap, as well as printing photos. Samsung is very close to real, unmitigated breakthrough mobile device print support. The support it provides now is as good as or better than any other print support for mobile devices on the market. The browser-based administrator console was straightforward yet robust for the price-point. Samsung calls this the SyncThru Web Service Embedded Web Server, and provides all the requisite details about the device (for example, amount of pages printed and amount of toner remaining) as well as the ability to print the system log for information about performance, errors and more. However, we need to see Samsung support printing of doc, xls and odf files before it can truly lay claim to that brass ring. For now though, the SCX-4729FW can provide rudimentary mobile print support while, in its own right, serving as an outstanding MFP. There are many reasons to like the SCX-4729FW. For years, Samsung has been attempting to position its printers as a second, third or fourth option for enterprises—which struck us as odd because of Samsung’s long reputation and well-known brand name in technology. With this MFP, though, it’s clear that Samsung has come ready to take marketshare in the SMB and workgroup space, and its work so far (though unfortunately incomplete) in mobile printing means this company should be considered a threat to its competitors. Samsung is showing us a glimpse of the future of mobile printing in the enterprise, and through the SCX-4729FW and Samsung Mobile Print App, it has got our attention. n
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channel buzz Check Point focuses on policy, people and enforcement
C n In his keynote, Gil Shwed, Chairman & CEO, Check Point, emphasized the need for a unified and seamless security strategy
n Oded Gonda, VP, Network Security Products, Check Point, spoke about how to realize 3D security through the latest solutions
n Gil Shwed, Chairman & CEO, and Amnon Bar-Lev, President, Check Point, at the commencement of the event
heck Point, the security vendor, focuses on involving policy, people and enforcement to enable 3D security and implement a blueprint that goes beyond technology to ensure the integrity of information security. At an event in Bangkok, Gil Shwed, Chairman & CEO, Check Point Software Technologies, stressed that technology alone is not enough to address new security challenges. He stated that a unified and seamless security strategy was needed, one that allows security to be integrated into overall business processes. “Security begins with a corporate policy that is understood by everyone, mapped to user needs, and integrated into an organization’s security solution. People are a critical part of the security process. As a result, they must be educated on the security policies in place and empowered to prevent and mitigate risks in real-time. Finally, the increasing complexity of today’s network and security infrastructure necessitates that the security enforcement includes a high degree of visibility and control.” Oded Gonda, Vice President, Network Security Products, Check Point, explained how to realize 3D security through the latest solution from Check Point—R75.20. “With an interactive platform, it supports user needs by supporting and engaging
n Gil Shwed, Chairman & CEO, Check Point, talks about the company’s vision and strategies around 3D security
users. Everything is consolidated in a single solution with a wide range of enforcement technologies.” In another session, he highlighted how Check Point software blades, running on the 21400 and 61000 appliances, provide a highperformance, scalable, carrier-grade solution for the data center. Other senior managers from Check Point who addressed the APAC partners and customers during the event included Gabi Reish, Head of Product Management, Jim Freeze, Chief Marketing Officer, Crossbeam; Tomer Teller, Security Evangelist, Dorit Dor, Vice President, Products, Jody Saarma, Product Manager, Document Security Products, Kang Keung, SE Manager, and Ramandeep Walia, SE Manager. Lauding the efforts of Check Point partners, Amnon Bar-Lev, President, Check Point, motivated them to gain technical knowledge. “We sell what we know,” he said. “There are immense opportunities in the market; the need is to explore the same. The market is for us to win. Be proactive in your approach, talk to IT managers to identify their pain areas, and provide an end-toend solution.” n — By Amit Singh Amit was hosted by Check Point for the event in Bangkok
n The Technology Room provided an opportunity to explore key features and experience live demos of Check Point solutions
To feature your company’s events in CRN, send write-ups with photographs to editor@ubmindia.com 36
Computer reseller News
01/10/2011 www.crn.in
shadow ram Kaspersky’s master stroke
I
ndia’s master blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s appointment as a brand ambassador by Kaspersky has caused a stir in the IT industry. Most consider this a master stroke by the antivirus company which till recently was perceived to be a discount brand. However, in the past 12 months, the company has transformed its India market strategy in a big way by appointing industry veterans such as Altaf Halde and Jagannath Patnaik to drive its India business. Having Sachin as the brand ambassador will provide Kaspersky a great impetus in positioning itself as a premium brand in terms of both technology and pricing. Kaspersky India has already earmarked `10 crore for branding and marketing this year. Leading market players will now face stiff competition from Kaspersky— and they better watch out. n
GET
Personal
“I would revamp the entire cabinet” Sushmita Das is the Country Manager for India at Kobian. She is responsible for executing sales and marketing programs, and deals with channel partners. If not in the IT industry: I would have been a microbiologist.
sushmita Das
Biggest passion: Painting and reading.
Behind the wheels: Renault Convertible. Gadgets I can’t live without: My BlackBerry. Weekends are for: Family. Favorite holiday destination: Langkawi (in Malaysia). Hate the most: Lies. Favorite movie: Catch Me If You Can. Favorite stars: Aamir Khan and Tom Hanks. Role model: My father. Ultimate ambition: To become the CEO of an organization. Wildest thing I have ever done: Standing in a high-speed convertible car. Thing I most want to do in life: Drive through the Alps. If I became the PM: I’d change the entire cabinet, and get a positive and aggressive team of ministers. Celebrity I would like to spend a day with: AR Rahman. One person I would like to meet, and why: Bill Gates—to get a little of his brilliance. Deepest and darkest fear: Growing old and turning 80. n — CRN Network
38
Computer reseller News
01/10/2011 www.crn.in
RNI NO. MAH ENG/1999/635 Postal Reg. No. MH/MR/NORTH EAST/193/2010-2012 Posted at Patrika Channel Sorting Office, Mumbai Due Date 2nd, 3rd & 16th, 17th Of Every Fortnight
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