contents
September 01, 2011 l Volume 5 Issue 09
Cover Story Ten leading channel partners share their business outlook amid growing fears of a double-dip recession in the global economy and detail how they are readying their companies in a rapidly changing marketplace
20 NEWS Analyses
Channel Chief
Xerox revamps India team
8
Intel gets aggressive with SandyBridge
8
Quest enhances partner program 10 TN partner takes association to court
10
Vivek Singh Rawat Head, Ecosystem & Channel, SAP India, speaks about the company’s channel strategy and plans
16 Market Focus Check & Hire Though a growing number of tier-2 partners are doing background checks on new recruits, there’s a need for more awareness on the issue
18 Role Model
READ More
32
Editorial 12 Opinion
14
Feedback
14
Shadow Ram
46
Get Personal
46
6
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
Start with small steps SR Nautiyal, MD, Spark Technologies, shares his success story and details the future strategy for the company’s growth
Event CRN Leadership Summit 2011 From insightful presentations and engaging discussions to practical knowledge-sharing and exciting entertainment, the Summit sizzled for all of three days
36
UL 1007
UL 1008
UL 1009
UL 1010
3D UL 1020
3D UL 1021
3D UL 1022
3D UL 1023
UL 1011
3D UL 1024
UL 1012
3D UL 1025
Agra - 6453125, 4041027, Ahmedabad - 64508450, 26851663, Amritsar - 6450186, Aurangabad - 645 7141, Bangalore - 65687567, Baroda - 6595588, Bhopal - 6464925,Bhubneshwar - 6510444, Calicut - 6515152, Chandigarh - 6512547, 2694932, Chennai - 64501273/28412414, Cochin - 6452299, 2310381, Coimbatore - 6572160, Dehradun - 6546333, Delhi - 64734905, 26387897, Ghaziabad - 6517809, Goa - 6514657, Gurgaon - 64514614, Guwahati - 273101, Hubli - 6453123, Hyderabad - 66901598, Indore - 6510124, Jabalpur - 6457306, Jaipur - 6577844, 2280421, Jammu - 2437478, Jodhpur - 6450387, Karnala - 6450508, Kolkatta - 64517248, 22315174, Kottayam - 6452013, Lucknow - 6546333, 2286134, Ludhiana - 6512545, 6450125, Madurai - 6463839, Mangalore - 6451030, 2494355, Mumbai - 65261670/65990329, Nagpur - 6502571, 2420009, Nasik - 6450103, Parwanoo - 645108, Patna - 6453850, 273137, Pondicherry - 6530470, Pune - 65205706, 24497489, Raipur - 6538333, 4221307, Rajkot - 6593588, Ranchi - 6455499, Siliguri - 6450108, Surat - 6596267, Trivendrum - 6535433, Varanasi - 6454820, Vijaywada - 6622872, Vizag - 6590992.
starting line MUST
Read
Intel gets aggressive with SandyBridge To accelerate the growth of the secondgeneration of Core-i processors (Sandy Bridge platform), Intel has readied close to 40 SKUs including motherboards and SSD product lines. The company has also readied building blocks and bundles for niche verticals such as education, gaming, entertainment and healthcare. Among the products launched: the Intel Desktop Board DZ68DB and the DH61AG media series. The DH61AG and DZ68DB are available at an MRP of `8,000 and `9,000, and come with a 3-year warranty. In addition to these products, Intel recently released the Intel Desktop Board DZ68BC Extreme Series, and Intel Desktop Board DH61SA Classic, which is an entry-level value board and supports second-generation Intel core processors and other Intel processors in the LGA1155 package. “We are very committed to the desktop market in India, are quite keen to continue to be R Ravichandran a supplier of high quality building blocks for desktop users. Our channels are being educated on the benefits of the new generation of Intel Core-i processors,” said R Ravichandran, Director, Sales, Intel South Asia. Intel is also exploring SKUs for new form factors. For example, the DH61AG offers Intel HD graphics with media processing features in a low z-height, thin mini-ITX form factor. It supports USB 3.0, eSATA and USB 2.0 ports. The company is tying up with e-learning companies to promote the desktop board among first-time buyers. “In order to reach out to families (with children), we have launched a promotion wherein a consumer purchasing an Intel desktop board Integrated with Intel Atom processor gets six months free subscription of Edurite Learning Module (maths and science) for any one class (standard I to X). This is a pan-India initiative,” Ravichandran added. n — Sonal Desai
8
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
Xerox revamps India team n CRN Network
X
erox has strengthened its India leadership team in a bid to strengthen its new focus on the business process and document management outsourcing segments. The company has appointed Konstantin Klein as MD for Xerox India. Klein replaces Andrew Horne, who has taken a new role in Developing Market Operations for Xerox. Klein brings diverse experience in management, sales & marketing and channel operations to his new role, and is responsible for business operations in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives. Said Klein, “Xerox has transformed over the last few years. We have always delivered high quality technology that enables our customers to achieve better productivity and savings, and have recently invested in delivering truly benchmark solutions and services that further differentiate us from the rest of the market. Post the ACS acquisition, Xerox is extremely well positioned to address BPO, ITO and document outsourcing services to take us to the next level. ” Xerox also appointed Vishal Awal as Executive Director, Services, Xerox India, to effectively address the fast growing services opportunities in the south Asia region. Awal joins Xerox with more than 20 years of experience in business development, key account management and global services business management roles in North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific. Prior to joining Xerox he was the Vice President and Head of Customer Unit, Erickson India. Awal will be responsible for driving the company’s growth in the document management and BPO services markets. Among other changes,
“Post the ACS acquisition, Xerox is well positioned to address BPO, ITO and document outsourcing services to take us to the next level” Konstantin Klein Managing Director Xerox India
the company’s Technology & Channels portfolio will be headed by Vipin Tuteja, Executive Director, Technology, Channels & International Business. Tuteja will be responsible for Xerox India’s office and production printing businesses, and his experience of working with Xerox will help strengthen the company’s partnerships and grow the channel operations. Tuteja will work with the newly-appointed regional business heads in the south and central regions to expand pan-India presence. The regional appointments include Rajiv Luthra as Regional Head, central; and M Venkat Rao, Regional Head, south. Arvind Chabra continues as the Regional Head, north & east. Xerox has also strengthened the marketing function with the appointment of Vivek Chandel as Executive Director, Marketing. Chandel has over 20 years of experience in marketing and business operations in organizations like Tata TeleServices, Bharti Airtel and Escotel. Prior to joining Xerox, he was the COO for Tata Teleservices for UP West and Uttarakhand. In addition, Manmohan Kalsy joins as Executive Director, Human Resources. Prior to joining Xerox, Kalsy headed the HR function for the India captive shared services at Vodafone. n
starting line MUST
Quest enhances partner program
TN partner takes association to court
n Sonal Desai
Read
In a first of its kind, a member of the Computer Dealers Association of Tirunelveli (CDAT), a Tamil Nadu-based channel association, has filed a case against the association. Reason: the association had expelled the member. S Sivasubramaniann, Promoter of the Tirunelveli-based Viswa Rakhsa Softech, has filed a legal suit against CDAT alleging that he was expelled against the bylaws of the association. Said Sivasubramaniann, “I have been a member of CDAT since 2007, and have participated in all major programs conducted by CDAT and CONFED-ITA over the past few years. I have been unlawfully removed from membership on the assumption that I do not sell hardware. I am registered under the State Commercial Tax department to sell computers, and have been filing my VAT returns regularly.” He added, “It’s true that I sell PN Prasad more software than hardware. It’s also true that I have a successful tax consulting business under the brand Accountax. But there’s nothing in the bylaws which says that you need to be an exclusive hardware reseller to be an association member.” Sivasubramannian sought explanation for his expulsion but did not receive a satisfactory response. “I had no choice but to approach the court. I cannot remain silent.” CDAT executive committee members refused to comment saying that the case is sub judice. Sivasubramannian had earlier approached CONFED-ITA, the umbrella body for all city associations in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. “We referred the issue back to CDAT. This is an internal matter of the local association and we didn’t see the need to get directly involved. However, we did provide some guidelines to resolve the matter,” said PN Prasad, Advisor, CONFED-ITA. n — Ramdas S
10
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
A
recent report from IDC ranks Quest as one of the top three vendors for virtual server management software by market share. IDC ranked Quest third on the overall list, trailing VMware and Microsoft. IDC projects continued growth for the worldwide virtual server management software industry, and estimates that the market will total $1.4 billion by 2015, growing at a CAGR of 11.1 percent in five years. In India, Quest recently revamped its partner structure, and now needs to push its sales team to push its product portfolio to the market, felt Vipul Datta, MD, Futuresoft. “It has the right mix of products and management solutions on the virtualized platform. The company got active in the Indian market about a year ago; it will take two more quarters to activate its sales team.” Said Anand Natarajan, National Sales Manager, Quest, “We are integrating partners with the Quest core business and also with the Partner Inner Circle. We completed three road-shows on server virtualization management in the last quarter, and more are underway. We are targeting all partners who are into the server virtualization business. ” Anand felt that although customers have started investing in virtualization, they are yet to put critical applications on the virtual server. “Some critical applications are yet to mature into the production environment. There is a significant amount of server virtualization that requires management. For instance, backup, transitioning and performance management. For the last couple of quarters we are extensively marketing our application performance management product portfolio that monitors the virtual
“Customers who have virtualized servers and are at the production stage need our expertise. We charge customers based on the CPU sockets lying on the server” Anand Natarajan
National Sales Manager Quest
environment.” He admitted that although the company has 800 customers in India, only 5-6 percent of them have adopted the application performance management products. “But the inquiries are coming. Our partners are helping us to develop this business.” Quest is targeting the entire server virtualization market. Said Anand, “Customers who have virtualized servers and are at the production stage need our expertise. We charge customers based on the CPU sockets lying on the server.” The company is increasing its partner base. “We are looking at those partners who get 30 percent of their revenue from virtualization. The top virtualization partners of top vendors are our partners. They work with platform vendors and sell our products above the platform. This is an upsell opportunity for them,” Anand stated. D Venkatesh, Director, Softcell Technologies, Pune, and a Quest partner, is gung-ho about the opportunity. He says that the potential is huge. “The market is staring at us in the face. End users now want dedicated infrastructure with guaranteed performance.” n
edit opinion Volume 5, Issue 09
HP PSG: Sell-off or spin-off? dhaval valia
T
here has been much speculation about what HP will do with its PC business following the company’s announcement last week that it was looking at two strategic options— sell-off and spin-off. It is clear why HP is considering the winding down of its PC business. In the HP portfolio, the PC business is the most discounted. In a customer account, when HP sells its entire portfolio of imaging and printing, server, storage and networking, and PCs, it’s the PCs that get beaten down the most in price negotiations. There are other factors at play. Many analysts are predicting the end of the PC era. The concept of the PC that has existed for almost 30 years will change drastically in the next five years. On the consumer front the PC is being attacked from both sides—media tablets and smartphones on one side, and (soon) Internet-ready TVs eating into their market share in homes. With high-speed broadband, consumers will have access to applications and streaming content from the cloud, and they will not require a high-performance PC for the same. Let’s also remember that none of the PC OEMs have had any notable success with smartphones and media tablets. Dell with its Streak and Acer with its Iconia have failed to make any considerable impact in this market. HP too has said goodbye to its plan to sell media tablets and smartphones, and announced the shutdown of its WebOS device division. In the foreseeable future, the media tablet and the smartphone market will be driven by handset manufacturers, and the PC OEMs will have to strive really hard to make an impact. They will need to transform themselves in a major way if they want to become notable players in this market. Meanwhile, the biggest problem HP could confront in selling its PC business is that there are not many takers for it. HP estimates the valuation of its PC business at around $10 billion, or 25 percent of its 2010 topline of $40.3 billion. That’s a lot to pay for a business whose future is unclear. I doubt if any PC OEM will bid for the HP PC business. They would rather focus on capitalizing on the confusion created among customers and partners by HP’s announcement. HP may therefore have no alternative but to spin-off its PC business. Such a venture may invite some equity investment, thus helping HP to unlock some shareholder value and enabling it to invest in acquiring companies that fit its enterprise focus of cloud, services and software. HP has said that over the next 12-15 weeks it will evaluate all options and present its recommendations to HP board members to decide the fate of its PC business. If they don’t decide quickly and let the entire process linger, the uncertainty will drastically impact HP’s PC market share globally. Till that time the market has no option but to wait and watch. n E-mail CRN Executive Editor Dhaval Valia at dhaval.valia@ubm.com 12
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
Managing Director Printer & Publisher Director Associate Publisher & Executive Editor Group Commercial Director Contributing Editor Assistant Editor Principal Correspondent Senior Correspondent
: : : : : : : : :
Sanjeev Khaira Sajid Yusuf Desai Kailash Shirodkar Dhaval Valia Salil Warior Ramdas S Sonal Desai Abhijeet Mukherjee (Mumbai) Amit Singh (Delhi)
Design Art Director Senior Visualiser Senior Designer Designer
: Deepjyoti Bhowmik : Yogesh Naik : Shailesh Vaidya : Jinal Cheda Marketing Advertising Co-ordinator : Jagruti Kudalkar online Manager—Product Dev. & Mktg. : Viraj Mehta Deputy Manager—Online : Nilesh Mungekar Web Designer : Nitin Lahare Operations Head—Finance : Yogesh Mudras Director—Operations & Administration : Satyendra Mehra Sales bangalore Manager—Sales : Satish Kutty satish.krishnankutty@ubm.com (M) +91 98452 07810 Delhi Manager—Sales : Sanjay Khandelwal sanjay.khandelwal@ubm.com (M) +91 98117 64515 production Deputy Manager : Prakash (Sanjay) Adsul Logistics Assistant Manager : Bajrang Shinde Subscriptions & Database Manager : Manoj Ambardekar manoj.ambardekar@ubm.com Senior Executive : Deepanjali Chaurasia deepa.chaurasia@ubm.com
Head Office UBM India Pvt Ltd, 1st floor, 119, Sagar Tech Plaza - A, Andheri-Kurla Road, Saki Naka Junction, Andheri (E), Mumbai 400072, India Tel: 022 6769 2400; Fax: 022 6769 2426 Printed and Published by Sajid Yusuf Desai on behalf of UBM India Pvt Ltd, 6th floor, 615-617 Sagar Tech Plaza - A, Andheri-Kurla Road, Saki Naka Junction, Andheri (E), Mumbai 400072, India. Executive Editor: Dhaval Valia Printed at Indigo Press (India) Pvt Ltd, Plot No 1c/716, Off Dadaji Konddeo Cross Road, Byculla (E), Mumbai 400027
Associate Office - Pune Jagdish Khaladkar, Sahayog Apartment 508 Narayan Peth, Patrya Maruti Chowk, Pune 411 030 Tel: 91 (020) 2445 1574 (M) 98230 38315 email: jagdishk@vsnl.com
USA Huson International Media (West) Tiffany DeBie Tiffany.debie@husonmedia.com Tel +1 408 879 6666 Fax +1 408 879 6669 Huson International Media (East) Dan Manioci dan.manioci@husonmedia.com Tel +1 212 268 3344 Fax +1 212 268 3355
Japan Pacific Business (PBI) Shigenori Nagatomo nagatomo-pbi@gol.com Tel: +81 3366 16138 Fax: +81 3366 16139
South Korea Young Media Young Baek ymedia@chol.com Tel: +82 2227 34819 Fax: +82 2227 34866
EMEA Huson International Media Gerry Rhoades Brown, gerry. rhoadesbrown@husonmedia. com Tel: +44 19325 64999 Fax: + 44 19325 64998
Important Every effort has been taken to avoid errors or omissions in this magazine. In spite of this, errors may creep in. Any mistake, error or discrepancy noted may be brought to our notice immediately. It is notified that neither the publisher, the editor or the seller will be responsible in respect of anything and the consequence of anything done or omitted to be done by any person in reliance upon the content herein. This disclaimer applies to all, whether subscriber to the magazine or not. For binding mistakes, misprints, missing pages, etc, the publisher’s liability is limited to replacement within one month of purchase. © All rights are reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Mumbai only. While care is taken prior to acceptance of advertising copy, it is not possible to verify its contents. UBM India Pvt Ltd. cannot be held responsible for such contents, nor for any loss or damages incurred as a result of transactions with companies, associations or individuals advertising in its newspapers or publications. We therefore recommend that readers make necessary inquiries before sending any monies or entering into any agreements with advertisers or otherwise acting on an advertisement in any manner whatsoever.
Next-generation reputation-based technology The fastest, most effective endpoint protection anywhere Built for virtual environments
Symantec Endpoint Protection 12 TM
It takes just seconds for today’s polymorphic malware to mutate into millions of threats, but now it has met its match. Introducing Symantec Endpoint Protection 12—simply the fastest, most effective reputation-based protection ever created.* Improve the security of your information, devices, and employees. Download the Symantec Endpoint Protection 12 trialware at www.symantec.com/in/sep12/
* Sources: PassMark Software, “Enterprise Endpoint Protection Performance Benchmarks,” February 2011. AV-Test GmbH, “Remediation Testing Report” and “Real World Testing Report,” February 2011. Copyright © 2011 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Symantec, the Symantec Logo, and the Checkmark Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries.
edit opinion Path to the new channel Robert Faletra
T
here’s no question that the solution provider (SP) channel is more nimble, scrappy and capable of morphing to the market conditions and needs than the vendor community whose products it takes to the street. But like every other business, remaining profitable and healthy requires constant adjustment. As part of our ongoing research and content creation, we are constantly measuring and predicting the trends which SPs and vendors alike must deal with. The adoption of cloud computing, while not yet universal, is growing, and a path to a new channel will require extensive work by the partner community to remain successful. Historically, SPs have delivered on-premise solutions that have been sold in a resale-type transaction. That model is changing as customers look for ways to drive down the cost of their technology infrastructure and look to use technology in different ways to get their products to the market more quickly. The ability to buy some services on a monthly fee basis from an off-premise supplier rather than acquire the infrastructure and distribute it through an organization is a true game-changer. The result is line-of-business (LOB) managers who will, in future, be making many more decisions on IT deployment than they have in the past. This is a huge opportunity for the channel on many levels. First, it’s an opportunity to find and develop many more customers inside an organization. Nearly every LOB executive is a potential customer. These LOB managers generally make decisions more quickly when given a need to drive revenue or cut costs. This means partners can go after the operating budget instead of the capex budget. To capture these opportunities, SPs are adjusting business models, selecting new supplier sets, nudging up to telco suppliers, and deciding whether they need to build their own managed and cloud services or resell someone else’s. The adjustments will be difficult, but partners need to commit now. Our research shows that while IT spending will remain relatively flat over the next two years, the spending on cloud solutions will double over that time-frame. We see SPs fitting in one of three categories. The vintage player is focusing its efforts toward traditional on-premise resale deployments that are not generating recurring revenue; the progressive partner is moving on the path to the cloud by pushing managed services, selecting cloud applications and services, and investing heavily in sales, marketing and technical skills; transformative SPs are driving their sales entirely in a recurring revenue model and are focused exclusively on cloud deployments. Longer term, we believe we’re going to see large transformative and progressive SPs form through both organic growth and mergers. This is going to be hard work, but the end-game sure looks like a more stable business model. n Email Robert Faletra at robert.faletra@ec.ubm.com 14
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
HP: View from the top
genuine problems of their partners.
I read the interview with Neelam Dhawan in CRN’s August 15 edition. I am sceptical whether she truly means that HP is sensitive to partner issues. I have been a loyal partner of HP in Raipur for 15 years, and to be fair the partnership helped us grow and become successful. But in the past three years we have lost a lot of money in HP business due to issues related to expiry dates on ink cartridges and unpaid claims for the PSG business. I believe that the reason behind this is the high-handedness of HP’s regional team and their lack of cooperation. I have escalated the matter to the highest level but no remedy has been provided so far. These things indicate that HP is no longer the channel-friendly company it once was. They don’t have the will to solve the
Kishore Makhija Priyanka Computer Services
HP’s PC business IBM sold its PC business and made good money. Now HP wants to do the same. I believe it’s a good opportunity for Lenovo to acquire HP’s business. Thus, in one stroke, it can increase its PC business multifold. The Chinese government may encourage such a move and subsidize Lenovo to take over HP’s business. This way Lenovo can become the No 1 PC vendor and the Chinese government can show its muscle to the world. However, for HP and its partners, the move is likely to impact other businesses like servers and printers. I also believe that Dell will be the major gainer of HP’s move. Deepak Jadhav CEO, VDA Infosolutions
Send your feedback at editor@ubmindia.com or post your views on www.crn.in
Advertiser Index Company name
Smartlink sony Avaya Compuage Boston Neoteric-UMAX Symantec IBM Server Ad Eaton Neoteric-Alcatal Supertron Seagate ADATA NEC Cantonfair Supertron Biz Secure IBM Aix Schneider Electric
Page No Web site
1-2 www.digilite.co.in 4 www.sony.co.in/vaio 5 www,avayat20challenge.in 7 www.compuageindia.com 9 www.bostonindia.in 11 www.neoteric.co.in 13 www.symantec.com/en/in 15 www.ibm.com 19 powerquality.eaton.in/India. 23 www.neoteric.co.in 27 www.supertronindia.com 29 www.seagate.com 31 www.adata-group.com 33 www.nec.com/express 35 www.cantonfair.org.cn 37 www.supertronindia.com 46 www.indiaantivirus.com 47 www.ibm.com 48 www.schneider-electric.co.in
Sales Contact
helpdesk@digilite.co.in b2bindia@ap.sony.com info@compuageindia.com sales@bostonindia.in smbsolutions@neoteric.co.in
EatonPowerQualityIndia@eaton.com smbsolutions@neoteric.co.in info.supercomp@supertronindia.com
enquiries@necindia.in info.supercomp@supertronindia.com sales@indiaantivirus.com
channel chief “Tier-2 partners are critical to our success” Vivek Singh Rawat, Head, Ecosystem & Channel, SAP India, spoke to Sonal Desai about the company’s channel strategy and plans Globally, over the past couple of quarters, SAP has done well. How has India performed for you? We do not provide country-wise figures. Globally we have had some good quarters behind us. In the last few quarters we have seen impressive growth. In the last quarter SAP’s global software revenue grew 35 percent to $2.04 billion while software-related services increased 20 percent. Asia Pacific has been the shining star for us. Our software and softwarerelated services revenue from this region for the last quarter grew 26 percent to $674.59 million, while the total revenue saw a 23 percent growth to $782.25 million. ERP continues to be the key contributor, in India as well. However, we’re also witnessing an increased flow from our line of business (LOB) division which includes products and services around business analytics and technology; governance, risk & compliance; and business process continuity.
Tell us about your India operations. SAP has a total installed base of 4,770 customers, of which 1,000 are large enterprises and 3,770 are SMEs— organizations with less than `1,500 crore topline. Our partner ecosystem includes the top six consultants, global systems integrators (SIs) for large enterprises, and 30 A1 partners providing our software solutions to SMEs. The SME segment is a big focus area for us, hence we are looking at expanding our network of A1 partners. We have a two-pronged strategy for them. First, we’re exposing our existing A1 partners to more SME accounts than we have in the past. Second, we are creating new opportunities for them around mobility, the cloud and hosted offerings. This strategy is in line with our recent directive that 40 percent of SAP’s overall business globally should be indirect by 2015.
The general perception is that SAP does most of its business with large SIs, and this leaves little scope for smaller partners. This misconception needs to be cleared. We have several small but focused partners such as New-Age Business
“In India, SAP has a total installed base of 4,770 customers, of which 1,000 are large enterprises and 3,770 are SMEs” 16
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
Consultants, SeaSoft Solutions, Highbar Technologies and SpectraSoft Technologies which are deploying complex SAP projects. What’s more, many of our SME partners have developed specialized applications and built templates around SAP platforms for different industry and micro verticals. SAP has certified more than 22 such templates, and this has given us and our partners access to more customers and market opportunities. It has also reduced the time needed for implementation. The SME sector and A1 partners are therefore critical for SAP’s growth.
You spoke about creating more opportunities for A1 partners. Please provide some details. We are banking on three big areas to create more opportunities in the SME sector: cloud computing, managed offerings, and mobility. For the cloud initiative, we already have seven tier-2 partners who are building industry-specific offerings. Our GTM for managed and hosted services is around rapid deployment. Our A1 partners already have certified templates, so we’re encouraging them to certify their data centers (DCs). If they want to outsource their DCs, they can host the application service. We have already started offering professional services on the hosted model through partners. For mobility applications, we’re training our existing SAP and Sybase partners. We’re also looking at working with telcos and other service providers for the same. As we evolve a new GTM, we want A1 partners to associate with our LOB portfolio. We’re shortly launching an Ecohub (Webstore) where partners can display and offer for purchase their certified applications or solutions. In addition, we plan to introduce a certification program around hosting and managed services.
You are betting really big on HANA. What’s the scope for an Indian tier-2 partner in this space? The Hi-performance Analytic Appliance, or HANA, is SAP’s in-memory computing engine which consists of an integrated database and calculation layer allowing the processing of massive quantities of real-time data to provide immediate results from analyses and transactions. We made HANA commercially available in June 2011, and have so far signed on 20 customers globally. In India we have begun making big investments around it. Along with HP, we recently started the HANA Center of Excellence, and together we are ramping up the GTM.n
channel chief “We are bottomline focused” Raj Rathi, MD, Cyberstar India, speaks to Ramdas S on the company’s gameplan, gaps in its existing portfolio and the challenges that lie ahead Despite being a 12-year-old national distributor, your revenues are well under `300 crore. Has there been a conscious decision not to scale up your topline? We closed our last fiscal year at `220 crore (excluding the dollar business from our Singapore entity), and we are targeting `350-360 crore as turnover for the current fiscal. We have grown very organically, and I must admit that we are a very conservative company that has been bottomline-focused. Over the past 12 years we have not accumulated any serious bad debts; instead, we have built healthy credibility with both vendors and financial institutions. In FY2008-09 we managed to infuse fresh capital into the business, and also secured better credit facilities with our bank. This has given us enough financial impetus to target a CAGR of 60 percent for the next 2-3 years.
You have generally associated with brands that are not considered leaders in their specific market segments. Is that changing? Not really. We started off as a Quantum distributor, and have evolved as a national distributor which is specialized in working with partners focused on the retail and SMB segments. It’s true that most of the vendors we represent are not market leaders, but it works for both the vendors as well as for us. We have limited financial resources to manage the larger volumes associated with a market-leading brand. In most cases, a distributor tends to do less with a market leader because of increased competition. Many of the brands we represent, though not market leaders, are highly respected. For example, Cisco recommends Panduit in most cases. These brands will probably never get the attention we provide from a tier-1 national distributor. And we definitely make more money on a push brand than a pull brand.
Over the past two years you have ventured into systems distribution. Can you explain the different partnerships you have signed on?
“It’s true that most vendors we represent are not market leaders, but it works for both the vendors as well as for us”
We are a Dell partner for the SMB segment and work on deals that are back-to-back. We started working with Fujitsu two quarters back, and this is a promising relationship; we are stocking Fujitsu laptops as well. We also distribute Wipro PCs and recently tied up with Acer for servers. Wipro has been, of late, getting aggressive, while all the teething issues on the Acer server business are over—and we should see better numbers soon.
How do you plan to sustain growth? We have several missing gaps in our portfolio, and over the next few months we plan to add more vendors in areas such as input peripherals, TFT monitors, security products, SMB storage and software. We intend to focus only on resellers who are focused on the SMB segment and retailers. We plan to raise more capital after two years; this should allow us to reach the `1,000-crore mark in FY2014-15. We are currently not tapping the sub-distributor market, except for select brands such as Panda and Belkin, and at this point of time that’s not a priority. At present, we have 1,000-odd active partners. Our idea is to grow the number of partners who are focused on the SMB segment as we see the market exploding, and our vendors are rightly positioned to take care of this segment.
India is planning to move to Goods and Services Tax (GST) soon. Will it change your strategic outlook? Yes. We are closely monitoring these developments. We have taken a call not to increase our branches, and if the GST system is actually implemented, we may be able to even cut down branches. Our plans would depend on the precise guidelines presented by the government, whether GST would be implemented across all states, the exact GST value for computer items, etc.
What are the challenges in IT distribution? A matter of grave concern for us is vendor realignments and mergers. For example, we represent Hitachi’s hard disk drive business, and Hitachi has merged this business with Western Digital. We do not know what the policies would be post-merger. We do not see much of a challenge with new business paradigms such as the cloud, and do not feel they would directly affect distribution. n
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011
www.crn.in
17
market focus Check & Hire Though a growing number of tier-2 partners are doing background checks on new recruits, there’s a need for more awareness on the issue n Abhijeet Mukherjee
O
f late, there have been reports of onsite engineers stealing data or equipment (PCs, mobile phones, etc) from client premises. This is leading to many partners putting in place strong Facility Management Services (FMS) practices, including police verification of new hires. Partners feel it is always better to be safe than sorry. Police verification provides them with an additional certificate to bid in larger projects, especially those involving sensitive organizations in the government. Vasant Vartak, CEO, Kalyx Infotech, a Mumbai-based SI, is one such partner who has changed his HR policy to include criminal background checks before hiring engineers. “The quality of people available today is not up to the mark, and on top of it their biodatas are rigged. The problem starts when we suddenly find them involved in a data theft or equipment theft incident, and on further inquiry find their pre-paid mobile number out of use, the address provided not existing, and sometimes even criminal records. At the end of the day, it is our reputation that is at stake, and so we have decided not to take any risk,” says Vartak. Sudarsan Ranganathan, CEO, Veeras Infotek, feels that after reports of IT employees’ involvement in terrorist activities, most organizations in Bengaluru are taking precautionary measures by checking employee backgrounds. “Most IT companies want police-verified engineers. For example, the Karnataka Power Corporation has made it mandatory to recruit only police-verified engineers,” he says. Network Techlab, a Mumbai-based solution provider, is another firm that has recently initiated criminal background verification of its employees. “Our business is growing and we recruit 15-20 employees every month. It is not possible for us to get their references checked every time. Therefore, we have decided to initiate police verification in our recruitment process. We also have
“The quality of people available today is not up to the mark, and on top of it their biodatas are rigged. Hence police verification is the best option” Vasant Vartak
CEO, Kalyx Infotech
18
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
plans to get it done for all our existing employees as well,” says Haresh Gada, Director, Network Techlab. The increased focus on security checks of employees by tier-2 partners has resulted from the partners keeping in sync with the changing times and making use of emerging opportunities. Both the government and private sector are opening more doors for tier-2 partners to participate in bids for projects, and many of them require additional security measures such as verification checks on employees and contractors. For instance, for government projects at sensitive areas like airports, oil refineries and defense research facilities, criminal background checks are absolutely necessary, say partners. “I remember two instances where the government client had insisted on police verification of engineers. The projects involved the defense organization and the Airports Authority of India. We had sent 12-15 engineers for verification,” says Apurva Dave, CEO, Innova Systems, an Ahmedabad-based SI. Adds Ankit Mundra, Head, Corporate Communication, QuantM, “Although we get police verification done proactively, at times we also have to cater to specific needs of large clients. Some of our projects requiring FMS are for airports, leading automobile giants and top software companies where the quality of manpower and their identity are the most important criteria for recruitment. At times the client does a double-check, and gets our engineer verified by their own agency.” Besides the government sector, even private companies are now insisting on proper criminal background checks. Notes Vartak, “Currently, we are running at least five projects in the large enterprise (in the private sector), and all of them asked for police-verified engineers. Some of these clients are from the financial sector.”
Verification process The process of getting employees verified could be cumbersome. It starts with applications to the police commissioner’s office, which then dispatches the forms to the respective police stations in whose jurisdiction the employees reside. Partners are therefore seeking help from professional investigation companies that specialize in background checks. Verifacts Services, Matrix Credit Risk and CRP are
market focus some of the companies that take care of the complete verification of employees, including a check for criminal background. Partners need to provide these companies information such as education details, present and permanent addresses, and documents supporting the information. The specialist firms then take the process further with the commissioner’s office and the respective police stations. “This is a fool-proof process as our employees crosscheck the address provided for residence, details of the university or college, etc,” says a Verifacts spokesperson.
The cost factor Costing depends on the kind of verification and the number of people to be verified. Says the Verifacts spokesperson, “Clients come with specific requirements. While some want us to verify past job experience, others require a thorough verification. Some clients are happy with a verbal assurance, whereas others require supportive documents and that adds to the cost.” “The costing begins with the retainer cost. Everything else is an add-on,” says Mundra. “It works well with big numbers. The more the number of people to be verified, lesser the cost.” Mundra gives a glimpse. “The cost per person can vary from `2,500 to `5,000.” Vartak also provides some figures. “It costs us around `2,500 per person for Mumbai residents, and `3,000 for outstation candidates. The agency verifies the background
“It is not possible for us to get the references of new recruits checked every time. Therefore, we have decided to initiate police verification in our recruitment” Haresh Gada
Director, Network Techlab
and individual track record for us.” SIs feel that the trend picked up after big MNCs began venturing into the Indian market. For them, having the right candidates and retaining them are the most important factors. The prevailing security scenario and the awareness around it has also been a push factor. While employee verification is a welcome step, and many tier-2 partners want to recruit engineers only after background verification, not much is being spoken about the issue in open forums. Few people are aware of the process involved, and hence they may shy away from it. But the time is now ripe for the channel to unite and educate the community members about the benefits of background verification. There’s a cost to it, but it looks cheaper in the context of the growing security risks and possible impact on reputation. n
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011
www.crn.in
19
cover story Saurin Shah, MD, Ashtech Infotech
Strategies
Priorities 2011 Ten leading channel partners share their business outlook amid growing fears of a double-dip recession in the global economy and detail how they are readying their companies in a rapidly changing marketplace n crn network
Saurin Shah, MD, Ashtech Infotech Harish Kumar RP, CEO, Connoisseur Electronics
“We are focusing on digital infra projects” Outlook: The downgrading of US bonds, the falling share markets in India, the rising inflation and increasing interest rates will not have any immediate impact in India. There will be a slowdown because most of the financial markets are not buying. Manufacturing is another segment that will slow down. As of now there is no impact, but over the next two quarters the impact will show. We expect to grow by 20-25 percent. This year, we should close at about `60 crore-65 crore. Opportunities: We have to continue with business as usual. We cannot afford to have negative thoughts. We believe that within our existing clients there are huge opportunities waiting to be tapped. So far we have only been focused on their IT infrastructure needs, but there’s great scope for us to provide them comprehensive digital infrastructure solutions that include building automation
“We are pressuring our sales people to collect the money that is due from customers. This is also helping us deal with the rising interest rates”
Saishav Singh, CEO, Dot Cad Rajeev Krishnaswamy, Director, Infobahn Ratnakar Kanchan, Director, Lauren Hemant Nerurkar, Chairman, MindCraft Software Benley Noronha, MD, Nortech Infotech AL Srinath, CEO, Shell Networks Ketan Patel, CEO, Creative Peripherals Prashant Swain, Director, Nigama Computers
and management systems, security surveillance, and managed services. Though we started preparing for this segment two years ago, we have started participating in projects only now. This new focus will contribute 15-20 percent to our revenue in the next two years. Customer strategy: Customers have become cautious over the last 4-6 months. But that caution has not resulted in any changes in payment cycles. Over the last 2-3 years, because of consolidation and virtualization, the purchase values have reduced. We are consolidating our internal business, focusing on the data center in terms of servers, networking, etc. We are focusing on networking projects, besides some automation and consulting projects. Operational efficiency: We do not have many changes on that front. But we are pressuring our sales people to collect the money that is due from customers. We will not let our sales staff relax. That is also helping us deal with the rising interest rates. We can’t let our money lie with customers for too long. If the collection is tightened, we can take care of the interest rate. HR and finance: No changes at all. We will continue to recruit regularly in the enterprise space. Key message: Stay focused, increase service revenues as much as possible, and keep the purse under control. n — Sonal Desai
20
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
cover story Harish Kumar RP, CEO, Connoisseur Electronics
Saishav Singh, CEO, DotCad
“Tablets will create only a momentary disruption”
“Now partners are choosing the vendors”
Outlook: The downgrade of the US credit rating is definitely a matter of concern, especially knowing that the Indian market catches a cold whenever the US economy sneezes. There have been general slowdown indicators from both North American and Far Eastern vendors. We are an Indian system builder and manufacturer of innovative products, and the fact that several companies are considering the opex model is a concern. Opportunities: We are facing an inflection point. The PC market is seriously threatened by Internet devices and tablets. We are yet to see real demand for tablets in India, but I am sure it’s a question of time. I do not think tablets will kill the PC market, but they will create some disruption for the moment. We have identified education and healthcare as the two verticals to target. New generation parents go to
Outlook: I do not think we should be worried about the global economy. Any trend which is reflected in the local economy is purely sentimental. Over the past decade or so, I have seen two major recessions, and have survived, and so has the IT industry in India. What’s actually worrying is the way the RBI is increasing interest rates, which is making it difficult for us to sustain margins in the face of higher financing costs. Opportunities: The cloud does represent a big opportunity. Nevertheless, how exactly the revenue can be earned and shared is something we are still trying to figure out. The enterprise Unix server business is booming, and so is the storage market. The SMB market is seeing deeper IT penetration, and there’s no shortage
“While many customers have moved to buying MNC products, we still feel that there’s a market for products which are manufactured by a local entity”
any extent to educate their children, and the public is becoming more health-conscious, thus making these two verticals recession-proof. On the product front, we are working on a number of innovative products, primarily in low-energy computing, handhelds and workstations. Customer strategy: While many customers have moved to buying MNC products, we still feel that there’s a market for products which are manufactured by a local entity. In addition, several verticals are looking at innovative and specialized PC products, something that a smaller manufacturer like us can provide. Operational efficiencies: This is an ongoing process that gets reviewed periodically. We do not intend to take any specific cost-cutting measures. HR and finance: We have been a player who values bottomline above topline, and hence do not anticipate any major challenges when it comes to cash rotation even in case a slowdown sets in. Key message: I know many of our fellow system builder partners are abandoning the business and becoming corporate resellers. We have been in the system building business for well over 19 years, and intend to continue in it. We are at the cusp of a new era in computing, and we are in for some more exciting times. n — Ramdas S
“The cloud does represent a big opportunity. Nevertheless, how exactly the revenue can be earned and shared is something we are still trying to figure out”
of opportunities. Customer strategy: Since we are in Gujarat, which is attracting huge investments, there’s tremendous promise for business growth. While the outlook from some of the customers has been conservative, I am sure it will change in the days ahead. We are not going after specific verticals, but trying to address customers for storage- and server-led solutions. Operational efficiency: We have been consistently optimizing our cost structures, and this will be an ongoing process irrespective of market moods. HR and finance: On the people front, we have started re-skilling our sales team, besides recruiting freshers. With the shift in technologies, the sales guy now needs to double as a pre-sales consultant too. Key message: We are going through one of the most exciting phases in the history of the technology business. In the last two decades, vendors were choosing partners to go with. Now there has been a shift—partners are choosing the vendors to align with. If you stay focused on your customers you can end up a winner. n — Ramdas S
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011
www.crn.in
21
cover story Rajeev Krishnaswamy, Director, Infobahn
Ratnakar Kanchan, Director, Lauren
“Use financing options being offered by vendors”
“Cloud computing is a big focus area for us”
Outlook: Currently, there is no clarity whether there will be a slowdown although there is a lot of talk and hearsay. We have not lowered our forecast. The first two quarters were on target. We should be able to take a call toward the end of 2011. In the IT industry, there have been no issues in terms of numbers in this half; the impact may show in H12012. I hope there is no slowdown now, especially when things are improving. Opportunities: Customers are executing their projects. Nobody has backtracked and neither have we changed our outlook. We are doing the infrastructure projects that we signed on. Customer strategy: Although there is no impact of the slowdown presently, customers are now cautious. They are negotiating harder as they feel they will get better prices. There are also possibilities that partners may not
Outlook: The dip in GDP growth and rising inflation have not directly impacted the channel, but CIOs and IT managers have become cautious. In fact, the CIOs/ IT managers who had held back investments post2008 will now start investing because they will have to execute the pending projects. As far as Lauren is concerned, we are vending OEM products, and unless there is a large impact on the overall economy there will be no immediate impact on us. Opportunities: Our target is 20-25 percent growth. In our business, if there are big-ticket transactions there’s a spike in revenue, and we ensure that the spikes are adjusted over the quarters. Customer strategy: We decided to focus on the cloud initiatives, especially SaaS, at the beginning of the financial year. We earmarked a separate team for setting
“During sales training, it is ingrained into executives that collection should be a key point during negotiations. We have implemented this principle and have succeeded to an extent”
“We earmarked a separate team for setting up the cloud infrastructure for customers. We look at it as an investment not just for this year but for many years ahead”
bag many big-ticket projects. Operational efficiency: We have not reduced any head count. We are however building up on whatever we planned. For instance, the quality of manpower. There was some attrition during the downturn. We too realized that productivity could increase with less manpower. We have internally aligned a lot of things, and one of the most important rules is to get the job done at the first attempt. HR and finance: Besides our focus on higher productivity with the same number of people, we want to keep the ratio between credit and collectible days equitable. We are proactively engaging customers to ensure that receivables are on time. During internal sales training, it is ingrained into executives that collection should be a key point during negotiations. We have implemented this principle for a year now, and have succeeded to an extent. Key message: Use the financing options being offered by vendors. The RBI has changed the interest rates 5-6 times in the last one year. There are principals such as HP and IBM whose financing arms offer loans at better rates. Speak to your vendors and ask them to help you to get loans from their financing arms. n
up the cloud infrastructure for customers. We look at it as an investment not just for this year but for many years ahead. We have tied up with TCS for its iON, IBM for its cloud services, and Microsoft for its messaging. By the end of this fiscal we want to be recognized as a good partner in cloud technologies. Operational efficiency: We are talking of about 9 percent inflation. Ideally, it should be around 5 percent. The RBI has increased interest rates many times. The cost of operating is going to be high, so to maintain profitability with the same profit parameters is going to be a challenge. We are moving up the value chain and are getting more employees certified. HR and finance: The job market has suddenly picked up, so salaries have gone up. It is a perennial challenge. We recruit freshers from NIIT, and opt for experienced people at a senior level. Key message: The model for service delivery is changing, especially SaaS, which is rapidly being adopted by SMBs, while large enterprises are getting on the private cloud. They are hosting their data centers and virtualizing platforms, which is the first step to cloud computing. The automation layer is the way to go. n
— Sonal Desai
— Sonal Desai
22
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
MUMBAI September 28 – 30 // Bombay Exhibition Center
CIO Sessions
Cloud Computing
Mobility
See the Future of IT Enterprise Security
Attend INTEROP and get a chance to win an iPad*
Social Media
*T&C Apply
The Leading Business Technology Event
REGISTER TODAY ! For details, please visit www.interop.in
See all the latest IT solutions from 100+ Top Technology companies THIS COMPREHENSIVE BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY EXPO COVERS FULL RANGE OF SOLUTIONS & FOCUSES ON THE MOST CRITICAL IT AREAS
Platinum
KEYNOTES: MIKE MCCARTHY, Vice President of Cloud Computing, IBM
RAM APPALARAJU, VP Technology & Product Marketing, Enterasys Networks
MIKE NIELSEN, Director of Vertical and Solution Marketing, HP Networking
ANAND SANKARAN, Senior Vice President and Business Head - India, Middle East & Africa business of Wipro.
JOHN MCCOOL, SVP & GM, Data Center, Core Technology Group, CISCO
SATYEN VYAS - Director Medium Business, CSMB, Dell India
Gold
Silver
KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
P P P P P
6 Keynote sessions 50+ sessions Prominent industry speakers Panel Discussions
P P P P
4 parallel conference tracks 100+ Exhibitors
Bronze
5000+ Anticipated audience Award ceremonies
Interactive workshops
ON-SITE OFFERS:
First 100 Business Visitors per day will get Interop Delegate Kit Bag and a CD of Interop Las Vegas 2011 Conference. Next 200 Business Visitors per day will get a CD of Interop Las Vegas 2011 Conference.
Lanyard Sponsor
Organised by
For delegate and visitor registrations, please call Sanket Karode T: +91-22-67692411 or email: sanket.karode@ubm.com
www.interop.in
September 28 – 30, 2011 // Bombay Exhibition Center, Mumbai CIO Sessions
Cloud Computing
See the Future of IT Enterprise Security
EXHIBITION HOURS
{
Mobility
Your FREE EXPO PASS !!
Social Media
28 SEPTEMBER | 10:00 am – 6:00 pm 29 SEPTEMBER | 10:00 am – 6:00 pm 30 SEPTEMBER | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Attend INTEROP and get a chance to win an iPad* *T&C Apply
REGISTER TODAY !
Please bring this pass along with you for fast track entry to the exhibition
For details, please visit www.interop.in
You can also secure your expo pass by pre-registering on www.interop.in
September 28 – 30, 2011 // Bombay Exhibition Center, Mumbai CIO Sessions
Cloud Computing
See the Future of IT Enterprise Security
EXHIBITION HOURS
{
Mobility
Your FREE EXPO PASS !!
Social Media
28 SEPTEMBER | 10:00 am – 6:00 pm 29 SEPTEMBER | 10:00 am – 6:00 pm 30 SEPTEMBER | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Attend INTEROP and get a chance to win an iPad* *T&C Apply
REGISTER TODAY !
Please bring this pass along with you for fast track entry to the exhibition
For details, please visit www.interop.in
You can also secure your expo pass by pre-registering on www.interop.in
September 28 – 30, 2011 // Bombay Exhibition Center, Mumbai CIO Sessions
Cloud Computing
See the Future of IT Enterprise Security
EXHIBITION HOURS
{
Mobility
Your FREE EXPO PASS !!
Social Media
28 SEPTEMBER | 10:00 am – 6:00 pm 29 SEPTEMBER | 10:00 am – 6:00 pm 30 SEPTEMBER | 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Please bring this pass along with you for fast track entry to the exhibition
You can also secure your expo pass by pre-registering on www.interop.in
Attend INTEROP and get a chance to win an iPad* *T&C Apply
REGISTER TODAY ! For details, please visit www.interop.in
Platinum Partners
Gold Partners
Silver Partner
Bronze Partners
Lanyard
Knowledge Partner
Supporting Associationwww.crn.in
Media Partners THE BUSINESS VALUE OF TECHNOLOGY
www.informationweek.in
www.crn.in
Online Media Partners THE BUSINESS VALUE OF TECHNOLOGY
www.informationweek.in
www.crn.in
Platinum Partners
Gold Partners
Silver Partner
Bronze Partners
Lanyard
Knowledge Partner
Supporting Association
Media Partners THE BUSINESS VALUE OF TECHNOLOGY
www.informationweek.in
www.crn.in
Online Media Partners THE BUSINESS VALUE OF TECHNOLOGY
www.informationweek.in
www.crn.in
Platinum Partners
Gold Partners
Silver Partner
Bronze Partners
Lanyard
Knowledge Partner
Supporting Association
Media Partners THE BUSINESS VALUE OF TECHNOLOGY
www.crn.in
Online Media Partners THE BUSINESS VALUE OF TECHNOLOGY
www.crn.in
www.informationweek.in
www.informationweek.in
cover story Hemant Nerurkar, Chairman, MindCraft Software
Benley Noronha, MD, Nortech Infotech
“Customers are avoiding capital expenses”
“We have moved away from being hardware-centric”
Outlook: Our business outlook has not changed. These reports (downgrading of US bonds, falling share markets, etc) make us believe that we may be looking at another slowdown, but we have not seen any signs suggesting this in our interactions with customers. Interest rate hikes will surely hit the bottomline. We have not changed our revenue guidance and expect revenue growth of 60 percent year-on-year. Opportunities: We operate in the BFSI segment and normally this is the first segment to react to any slowdown, but we haven’t seen any sign of a downtrend yet. We have noticed the preference for leasing, though. Customers are avoiding capital expenses. On the services side, the model has changed from insourcing of people to SLA-driven, well-defined outsourcing and fixed-cost projects. This has helped us
Outlook: It’s still premature to predict a double-dip recession. Without doubt there’s a correction happening globally; however, there is no impact on India as far as customers’ IT investments are concerned. Almost all projects we are executing are rolling out on time, and the funnel looks good enough for a 30 percent growth. Opportunities: Over the past few quarters we have moved away from being a hardware-centric to a software-focused solutions and services company. We have set up operations in the Middle East and are eyeing the African continent. Presently the overseas operations account for 10 percent of our topline, but that would gradually shoot up. Over the past three years we have aligned with SAP for the SMB segment, and this relationship has helped us grow our bottomline considerably. We are now a SAP
“On the services side, the model has changed from insourcing of people to SLA-driven, well-defined outsourcing and fixed-cost projects”
“We are staying away from lower margin deals, and are increasing revenue from our services business, which is providing us with enough cash to tide over the inflationary trends”
compete favorably with large companies which prefer the T&M (Time & Material) model. Spending on new initiatives has waned a bit. Customer strategy: We have narrowed our focus on the integration business—integration of people, processes, applications, information and systems. We want to focus on three areas: integration solutions for banks, life insurance companies and mutual funds; infrastructure management solutions for the BFSI segment; and automated testing services for financial services applications. We haven’t really focused on the cloud or collaboration. Nor do we have any immediate plans to do so. Mobility solutions, however, are certainly part of our offerings. HR and finance: We have documented our HR processes and strengthened the induction program. The recruitment process has been tweaked to ensure that candidates are either hired or rejected on their first visit, and the recruitment team has been taught to ‘sell’ MindCraft to the candidates while they are being screened. The sales and delivery incentives were linked to margins rather than revenue. This made everyone work toward profitability. Project incentives were linked to quality and budget (in terms of effort). n
Academy Partner, and have signed contracts with some universities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to train both staff and students on the SAP platform. This is expected to provide us a captive revenue base for the next few years. We see training as a big opportunity and are setting up a training center in Kochi to offer certified SAP training. We have taken baby steps on the cloud front by recently signing up with two customers for TCS iON. The cloud will certainly be a game changer, but we are yet to figure out how we can maximize our revenue and profits from the cloud. Customer strategy: We are staying away from lower margin deals, and are increasing revenue from our services business which is providing us with enough cash to tide over the inflationary trends. We have not thought about cost-cutting measures as yet. Key message: A partner like us can do absolutely nothing about trends in the global economy or their impact on the Indian market. There’s no point in being worried and doing nothing, expecting worse news to flow in. Instead, work toward strengthening the present business, look at new business models, and work closely with the customer. n
— Sonal Desai
— Ramdas S
28
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
cover story AL Srinath, CEO, Shell Networks
Ketan Patel, CEO, Creative Peripherals
“Rise in interest rates hurting the bottomline”
“Keeping inventory is a big ‘No’”
Outlook: So far we haven’t seen any slowdown happening at this point of time despite a series of negative news trickling in. Enterprise IT investments remain on track, our projects are being executed on time, and the pipeline is healthy. The biggest concern for us however is the increase in interest rates and rising inflation. In the past six months, interest rates have increased by more than 4-5 percent; this is impacting the availability of financing and hurting the bottomline. Higher inflation has meant that dearness allowances and the cost of travel are shooting up. Opportunities: For us, the opportunity clearly lies in going beyond providing network infrastructure, which has so far been our core focus. We are aligning with our key principal Cisco to target new tech areas such as surveillance, data centers and cloud computing.
Outlook: The hike in inflation, fall in the share market, and the lack of political stability—with public movements and the government being cornered on the issue of corruption—have all definitely impacted the overall market. Opportunities: The impact (on turnover) can only be mitigated if the threats are turned into opportunities. Therefore, we are planning to add new products that were earlier not available in our portfolio. We have already added TV, tablets (iPads) and smartphones. These product segments will grow 40 percent and help us achieve our revenue target. We are also expanding geographically. We are opening up new offices in Kolkata, Delhi and Noida, and are also in talks with companies to add products such as AIOs.
“Overall, we have witnessed a change in customer mindsets: customers are looking to invest in solutions that offer faster ROI. Many want to convert their IT capex to opex” There’s little doubt that cloud computing will have a major impact on the channel business, and we need to reinvent ourselves to benefit from it. Customer strategy: We continue to focus on the education sector, which provides us a buffer against any anticipated slowdown. Overall, we have witnessed a change in the customer mindset: customers are looking to invest in solutions that offer faster ROI. Many want to convert their IT capex to opex, and this requires providing even on-premise IT as a service and billing on a monthly basis as per usage. We need to align with this trend. HR and finance: We are trying to figure out ways to keep our costs low. A system has been put in place that’s helping us review inflation and take action fast. We have managed to keep attrition under control by hiring a full-time HR manager. We are in the process of incorporating the organization as a public limited company; this should help us raise funds rather easily. Key message: In the days ahead, somewhere in the world, there will be a slowdown or recession. While it’s all right to be cautious, you must be optimistic about your own business. n — Ramdas S
30
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
“Step into new product categories like tablets, consumer electronics and smartphones, or six months down the line it will be difficult to survive” Customer strategy: The rise in petrol prices and inflation has not left much disposable income in the hands of consumers, and therefore they are slow in buying. In addition, compared to last year, this year the prices of products like desktops, laptops and digital cameras have reduced by 60 percent. Consumers are therefore waiting for prices to decline further. Operational efficiency: All companies, including us, have already gone in for cost cutting. We are sceptical about spending. It is advisable to give secured credit. But keeping inventory is a big ‘No’; not more than 15 days of inventory should be encouraged, if required. HR and finance: We are not looking at further cost cutting but we are also sceptical in terms of recruiting unless absolutely necessary. Key message: Immediately step into new product categories like tablets, consumer electronics and smartphones, or six months down the line it will be difficult to survive. There is no other option but to expand, and if companies are not willing to expand it is advisable to scale down. n — Abhijeet Mukherjee
Grow your Business... Prashant Swain, Director, Nigama Computers
“We are focusing on increasing efficiency” Outlook: We are worried whether we will be able to achieve our target for the JAS quarter, and we have already started to feel the pinch. There is a sense of slowdown in our business, and it will impact our overall expected target of achieving `60 crore revenue by FY2011-12. Even though this is the peak season we are not seeing high sales this year. In FY2010-11 the Q1 and Q2 were fabulous, with desktop numbers touching 70-80 units per month and notebooks crossing 200 units. We have not achieved those numbers in this FY and have only managed to sell 60-odd desktops and 100-odd notebooks per month. We had envisaged that this year in the present quarter our notebook sales would cross the 250-units-per-month mark, but now we do not see that happening.
Grow your business through award-winning power quality and Uninterruptible Power Supply solutions from Eaton.
“In times of slowdown, add more brands and products to your portfolio. Create a buzz around the products with marketing activities”
Opportunities: We plan to quickly re-strategize. We have already added one new desktop and notebook brand, HP-Compaq, and have plans to add one more to our portfolio. We are also planning to start road shows and introduce schemes to attract consumers to our retail store. This will help us achieve our overall sales target. Customer strategy: The [lack of] political and economic stability is impacting overall customer sentiments. The political scenario is not friendly because of the ongoing issues, and rising inflation and interest rates have made consumers more cautious; now they are waiting for the situation to improve. Operational efficiency: Since we might be short of achieving our expected target, we need to put in more effort in terms of additional hours per employee. We would use our resources more efficiently. HR and finance: We are not recruiting, nor do we have any plans to show pink slips to any of our employees. I hope this will be a temporary situation and that we get out of it soon. Key message: In times of slowdown, add more brands and products to your portfolio. Create a buzz around the products with marketing activities. n — Abhijeet Mukherjee
As a PowerAdvantage Partner you can enjoy a wide range of benefits including: Greater margins and benefits Eaton online partner portal access Training programme Sales and marketing support Register now and feel the power of a winning team: powerquality.eaton.in/India.
Email : EatonPowerQualityIndia@eaton.com Sales Hotline : +91 11 4223 2329
POWER Partner Programme
role model Start with small steps The `110-crore Spark Technologies is today recognized as a leading network integrator. SR Nautiyal shares his success story and details the future strategy for the company's growth n Amit Singh
S
R Nautiyal, a BE in electronics and communication, ventured into the channel business after a yearlong stint with Methodex Systems. He could have continued his career as an IT professional in a private or government organization, but instead motivated himself to start an enterprise at the young age of 25. Fast forward to FY2010-11. His company, Spark Technologies, one of the leading solution providers in the networking domain, recorded a turnover of `110 crore. The company boasts of a clientele which includes the railways, defense, NIC, NICSI, TCIL, NHPC, NTPC, ONGC Videsh, Bharat Electronics, Lanco Infrastructure, JK Cements, Airtel, and Bennett, Coleman.
The beginning Nautiyal, who hails from Purola village in Uttaranchal, started Spark Technologies in 1993 by assembling PCs and selling them to resellers in New Delhi. He attributes his success to the emotional and financial support of his family. “After completing my graduation in electronics and communication in 1992, and after working with Methodex for a year, I decided to become an entrepreneur. My family supported my decision. That support encouraged me to invest `80,000 in my first venture which I started in partnership with two friends.” Initially, due to the lack of infrastructure and capital, the company struggled to deal with distributors such as GTPL and Redington which demanded bank guarantees for material supply. “Despite all the odds, we focused on innovation and evolved new strategies to overcome the challenges, and move ahead of the competition. One thing that worked in our favor was clarity in thought and intention. In 1996 Citibank gave us an unsecured loan of `3 lakh without any collateral, and this gave us a major impetus,” recalls Nautiyal. The company earned capital and credibility by first taking small projects from SMB and SOHO customers. “Our credibility in the market gave us the edge to move ahead. Beyond moving boxes, we were focused on offering value additions,” Nautiyal says. Spark got incorporated as a private limited company in September 1994. It soon bagged its first corporate contract, from Toyo (Japan), that was providing consultation to the Mangalore Refinery. The project
“Despite all the odds, we focused on innovation and evolved new strategies to overcome the challenges” 32
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
included provisioning of LAN and PCs, and was valued at `30 lakh. Other initial customers included the Save the Children Fund and Jhalani Tools for networking, printing and PC solutions; these two projects were valued at `10 lakh and `15 lakh respectively. According to Nautiyal, associating with Cisco as a Premier Partner in 1999 gave Spark a differentiation point vis-à-vis the competition. Spark also collaborated with a channel partner for technology solutions, installation support, and pre and post-sales support. More projects came along. Some of the significant projects included one in 2001, valued at `32 lakh, for the Bank of America, for routing, switching, and networking; and a project in 2003, valued at `3 crore, for the Jammu University, for LAN and WAN connectivity across the campus. Yet the company also faced setbacks. In the IP surveillance project for CWG, the amount was `6.5 crore. “In April 2010 we bagged the order to lay fiber cables for a 400 km stretch to connect IPTV, cameras, computers and surveillance equipment. Although we completed the project on time in September 2010, our payment was stalled due to the controversy and the subsequent fallout. Fortunately, we managed to sustain our business and
role model 1994
Started Spark as a corporate reseller
1995
Bagged first corporate contract with Toyo
2003 1999
Associated with Cisco as a Premier Partner
2003
Current business
MILESTONES
Bagged the project to network Jammu University
2011 2010
did not face any financial crunch,” Nautiyal informs. He says he learned his best lesson from the episode: earning is directly proportional to learning. “I have learned to be cautious. I always list the negatives and positives of any decision, and analyze whether or not it will be fruitful for me.” A firm believer that education provides a robust foundation for growth, Nautiyal completed the Global Accelerated Management Program from ISB Hyderabad in 2010. “My funda is that you can grow till you become incompetent. But you can delay incompetency by investing in education and health,” he states.
Executed the `6.5 crore IP surveillance project for CWG
Received ISO 9001 certification
Recorded a With 125 employees in seven `110 crore branches across India, Spark grew by 30 percent to `110 crore in FY2010-11 against `84 crore in FY2009-10. To the revenue of 2010-11, sub-distribution contributed 45 percent, solutions 30 percent and corporate reselling 15 percent; the rest came from services. The company has added power solutions and network racks to its portfolio, and won sizeable projects from large enterprises and the government. Some of the major projects executed in 2010-11 were a `1.2 crore unified communications deployment for an organization in the defense sector; a LAN switching project for the PWD, Delhi, for `1.65 crore; and multiple-location LAN solution projects for NIC and NICSI valued at `2.75 crore. On the HR front, Spark sponsors the training and vendor certification of its employees to enhance their efficiency. Employees are also assessed every week for their performance. “We have automated many processes within our organization with the recent implementation of CRM,” informs Nautiyal. “We have also developed some inhouse applications for automated MIS reports, and are planning to implement ERP very soon.” Spark conducts surveys twice a year to gauge customer satisfaction. “Customers who are expanding across the country are demanding nationwide services from us, which at this point of time is not possible due to our limited presence. This confidence of our
“We have automated many processes with the recent implementation of CRM. We have also developed some in-house applications for automated MIS reports” 34
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
turnover of
customers has played a pivotal role in us getting a AAA rating from SMERA for four years in a row,” says Nautiyal. He believes that a solution-based approach of providing a one-stop solution to customers is the need of the day. Amid its growth plans, Spark is worried about the developments in the political sphere as well as the IT business segment. Says Nautiyal, “Many government projects are currently on hold. In enterprises, business models are moving from capex to opex; in such cases, migration is a huge challenge. We have therefore tied up with Cisco Capital and are also contemplating more such tie-ups with other financial institutions.”
Future journey
The company intends to attain revenue of `120 crore in FY201112 and `150 crore in FY201213. “We want to create a robust network across the country, and move deeper into power solutions and infrastructure management including LAN, WAN, cyber security, fiber laydown, switching, routing and wireless solutions,” informs Nautiyal. Though its current focus is largely on north India, Spark Technologies wants to grow nationwide and has plans to apply for an IPO. “The national expansion will require a lot of infrastructure and capital, which we are trying to accumulate,” says Nautiyal. “Right now we deal with the channel only in the NCR. Outside, we do only project-based business. In the near future, we have plans to separate the reselling and services businesses, and run the two as separate entities.” He believes that five years down the line the company will have offices in around 50 cities across the country with a turnover of more than `300 crore.
On a personal note Nautiyal considers Narayana Murthy to be his role model. “I am impressed by his simplicity and down-toearth approach. He has established an IT company from scratch, and due to his think-big approach has brought Infosys up to an enviable level.” Nautiyal’s mantra is to keep learning and remain fit. To stay in shape, he maintains a daily exercise routine of at least 30 minutes. And he loves to read books. Favorites include The Secret by Rhonda Byrne; You, Inc — Discover the CEO Within! by Burke Hedges; Good to Great by Jim Collins; and The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy. Nautiyal is also enthusiastic about travel and adventure sports; Rio de Janeiro is his dream destination. n
Xcellence all the way
From insightful presentations and engaging discussions to practical knowledge-sharing and exciting entertainment, the CRN Leadership Summit 2011 sizzled for all of three days
T
he 11th edition of the CRN Leadership Summit, popularly known as CLS, was held at the picturesque Leonia Resort in Hyderabad from August 18-20, 2011. Attended by 200+ delegates, CLS 2011 witnessed the largest neutral congregation of vendors, leading systems integrators (SIs) and solution providers (SPs) in the country. The three-day event had a healthy mix of technology presentations, panel discussion and analyst views. The summit also witnessed the CRN Xcellence Awards 2011 ceremony wherein 32 different awards were presented to leading SPs and SIs. As always, there was just the right mix of entertainment for the
“CLS has become a strong brand and has the potential to emerge as the single-most important partner event. The relationship and trust that the CRN team has with partners is awesome Patrick Mathias, VP, Sales, Cisco India & Saarc
36
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
delegates—belly dancing, a laser show, a live musical performance and karaoke night, patriotic dance performances by an international troupe celebrating the 65th Independence Day of India, plus spa, meditation, surfing, bungee jumping and paintball activities. The conference program was anchored by Rushabh Shah, CEO, Graham Information Systems, and Suresh Ramani, CEO, TechGyan. This was the third year for Shah as an anchor for CLS, and in his inimitable style he regaled the audience with his humor. Ramani too impressed the audience with his couplets and wit.
Knowledge sharing Cloud computing—Changing the business ecosystem: S Ravishankar, Director, Management Consulting, KPMG, in his analyst keynote, shared an elaborate report on how cloud computing will be a game changer for the IT industry. He highlighted various customer adoption models for cloud computing and emphasized
that cloud computing represents big opportunities for the IT partner ecosystem. According to Ravishankar, cloud adoption requires end-users to create a well-planned architecture for interoperability, data integration and security. “Let me tell you that today’s CIOs lack the skills necessary to manage multiple cloud providers, risk management frameworks and service management policies. It’s here that partners can fill the gaps and create a seamless experience for customers to move to the cloud.” He said that many IT managers in SME organizations don’t have the ability to conduct a cloud assessment and that is where partners need to chip in. “Customers would want part-
“Congratulations for hosting a magnificent event. Not only did we get the chance to meet our top partners, we saw enormous interest levels in new partners wanting to engage with us Jitendra Ghughal, National Channel Manager, Indian subcontinent, Fortinet
n Rushabh Shah, CEO, Graham Information Systems, anchored the knowledge conference for the third year in a row
n K Ravishankar, Director, KPMG, provided insights on how cloud computing will impact business models and underlined partner opportunities
n Suresh Ramani, CEO, TechGyan, jointly anchored the summit and provided some humor between technology sessions
n TR Raghunandan, ex-IAS and Program Coordinator, ipaidabribe.com, explained the anatomy of corruption in India
n N Kamalanand, Associate Director, IT Advisory Practice, E&Y, shared the annual report on enterprise IT investment trends in 2011
38
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
ners to tell them which cloud application is best suited for their business; they would also require partners to tell them which cloud service is reliable. These are major decisions for an organization and hence the partner’s role will be critical.” Eliminating corruption with IT: TR Raghunandan, retired IAS officer and founder of the IPaidABribe.com initiative, captured the attention of channel partners for almost an hour. Raghunandan not only educated partners about the different types of corruption, he also explained the mindset behind being corrupt. “Corruption is a game of calculation. A person takes the risk to be corrupt only when he understands that the consequences are not going to be serious,” he said. According to Raghunandan, corruption can be need-based, greedbased or even syndicated. Speaking about the recent issue of the Lokpal Bill, Raghunandan said, “I believe that for the institution of Lokpal to be successful, it would be critical to have a clean and strong first Lokpal. In my mind, the appointment of the first Lokpal is going to be more critical than the passing of the bill.” Investing in growth—Enterprise IT investment trends: N Kamalanand, Associate Director, Business Advisory Practice, Ernst & Young, presented the annual CIO research done by his company to plot IT spending patterns. According to the E&Y report, the top five priorities for the CIO in FY2011-12 are business alignment, business continuity, information security, CRM/business intelligence/data warehousing, and cost rationalization. “Smaller companies are spending more on IT than larger companies. Overall, we expect IT spends to increase by more than 20 percent. In terms of new technologies, mobility, unified communication and wireless
“Over the years CLS has gained immense popularity and credibility among the SI community. I congratulate Team CRN for putting together such a marvelous event Tushar Sighat, CEO, D-Link India
and Saarc
connectivity will see higher adoption,” said Kamalanand. His advice to partners: “Learn to be a differentiator, and introduce heterogeneity in the business if you want to survive.”
Keynote Transforming the technology & partner ecosystem: In his 45-minute keynote, Manoj Chugh, President, EMC India & Saarc, captured the imagination of not only the partner delegates but also the vendor representatives and received a standing ovation. He began his keynote by saluting partners. “Honestly speaking, we vendors are cowards as we work for someone [else]. You are the real heroes because you took the risk to become entrepreneurs. You should all take pride in what you have contributed to the country and its people. The IT industry wouldn’t have been the way it is today had it not been for you partners. You have taken the country to the next level by generating employment, creating wealth for your own employees as well as the economy, and driving value for your customer organizations.” Asking the partners to change their mindsets he warned them against commoditizing their offerings; rather, they should differentiate themselves. He asked the partners to promise him that they would no longer work on single-digit margins. “For the value you provide and the efforts you put in you should be making at least 40
n Panel Discussion: Rahul Meher, CEO, Leon Computers; Sudarsan Ranganathan, CEO, Veeras Infotek; Deepak Jadhav, Director, VDA Infosolutions; Suresh Ramani, CEO, TechGyan; and Devesh Aggarwal, CEO, Compusoft, sharing their companies’ outlook and strategies for 2011
“The venue, conference program, quality of delegates and overall experience was beyond compare. We interacted with 100 VARs and this will help us ramp up our business Baskaran DR, Director, Mach Data System
percent margins. Why should vendors make all the profits and give you thin margins? They need you more than you need them.”
Panel Discussion Outlook and strategies for 2011: The panel debated the evolving economic scenario and focused on the emerging technology and consumption trends. Major opportunities that partners need to focus on were identified. The panelists also presented their companies’ strategies on how they are transforming their business models to partake in the new set of opportunities. Most panelists agreed that while the global economic indicators look weak, the Indian economy will continue to do well on the back of domestic demand. “Even if GDP grows at 7 percent as compared to the earlier forecast of 9 percent, we will see healthy demand for IT,” said Sudarsan Ranganathan, CEO, Veeras Infotek. “The IT managers we spoke to say that there has been no rollback of their IT investments plans; however, IT investment is now looked at from a point of view of saving costs, enabling business growth and reaching out to a wider customer base.” Deepak Jadhav, Director, VDA Infosolutions, said, “Companies that are focused on global customers would be impacted but I do not think there will be any impact on the Indian economy.” Added Suresh Ramani, CEO, TechGyan, “I do not see any
slowdown for Indian companies, and that Indian SMBs are among the most optimistic in Asia.” Rahul Meher, MD, Leon Computers, said, “The three things that we would bet our money on are security, virtualization and private cloud. Many SMBs and enterprise customers we have signed up are keen on these solutions.” According to Devesh Agarwal, CEO, Compusoft, there is growing demand for SaaS among SMBs. “Cloud computing is making the latest and best technology affordable to SMBs, and this, we believe, is going to be a big area.” The discussion was moderated by Dhaval Valia, Associate Publisher and Executive Editor, CRN.
n Manoj Chugh, President, EMC India and Saarc, delivered a keynote that received a standing ovation from partner delegates and vendor representatives
Workshop Leadership—Belief matters: Another session that inspired awe among partners was the workshop conducted by Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik, Chief Belief Officer, Future Group. Pattanaik used tales, imagery and symbols from the Indian mythology to drive home the point of looking at things differently for business success. “Most management theories and principles we have adopted are from western culture. Indians are different culturally, and hence these concepts are not as effective for us. It’s therefore important to evolve Indian management concepts, and there are plenty of them in mythology,” said Pattanaik. “Modern management says that what can be measured can be managed. In Indian mythology this principle is explained by the concept of sagun and nirgun. Sagun can be seen and measured, while nirgun is invisible and cannot be measured. Leadership is all about nirgun, and the trick lies in the ability to see the invisible, which is the opportunity.” He advised partners to change
n Shankaracharya Laskar, Channel Marketing Manager, HP India, spoke about the new technologies that will dominate the IT landscape
n Anoop Nambiar, Country Manager, BPO, IBM India/SA, presented IBM’s journey over 100 years and the global roadmap for the next five years
n Dr Devdutt Pattanaik, Chief Belief Officer, Future Group, conducted a workshop on how belief matters in leadership and management
n Sanjeev Wad, Regional Sales Director, EMC Data Storage Systems India, underlined the multiple opportunities in storage solutions
n Debraj Dam, VP, Strategic Business & Partner Alliance, Smartlink Network Systems, spoke about the benefits of partnering with Digisol
n Patrick Mathias, VP, Sales, Cisco India & Saarc, underlined the vast opportunity awaiting partners in data centers
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011
www.crn.in
39
n Ajay Sehgal, Country Sales Manager, LaserJet & Enterprise Solutions, IPG, HP India, outlined the group’s strategy for the next three years
as per the client’s nature. Citing examples of the Gods Indra and Vishnu, Pattanaik said, “While Indra represents insecurity, Vishnu represents confidence. Lord Indra always followed Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, but failed to get her. On the contrary, the calm Vishnu never ran after Laxmi. In fact, Laxmi chased him. This is because Vishnu kept changing his avatar constantly as per the requirement of the yuga (era).”
ESET product launch
n Naveen Kejriwal, Country Sales Manager, IWS, IPG, HP India, spoke on the innovations of HP IPG in e-printing technology
n Ganesan Arumugam, Director, Channels, VMware India, highlighted the need for consolidation and virtualization, and shared cloud adoption trends
With great fanfare that included an impressive laser show and a bellydancing performance, ESET launched its new business security pack for the SMB segment (5-25 users). Speaking at the launch, Pankaj Jain, Director, ESS Distributions, said, “Worldwide, ESET’s enterprise products contribute 25 percent of the total revenue, SMBs contribute 35 percent and the home segment 40 percent. In India we are expecting growth of 100 percent in 2011 as compared to last year.” Added Jain, “Our partners will have a good selling proposition along with a handsome margin as the discount might be up to 50 percent on the MRP.” ESET is scouting for more SMB partners and will soon launch the ESET University, an online training and certification program in India.
Technology Tracks
n Tushar Sighat, CEO, D-Link India & Saarc, listed the key elements of D-Link’s product and market strategy
n B Srinivasan, National Technical Manager, Leviton India, spoke on the opportunities in structured cabling
40
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
Storage solutions opportunity: Sanjeev Wad, Regional Sales Director, Data Storage Systems, EMC India, underlined multiple opportunities in storage solutions. According to Wad, digital information is expected to witness a 60-fold increase from 2010 to 2020, while investments in IT and staffing will grow only in the single digits. “The cumulative effect of this is driving IT managers to move from building
n Jitendra Ghughal, Channel Manager, Indian Subcontinent, Fortinet, talked about the security vendor’s new products and partner strategy
“Thanks for the opportunity to be associated with the CRN Xcellence Awards for the second year running. It was a very wellmanaged show. Look forward to be a part of it in 2012 Anand Mehta, VP, Marketing, Schneider Electric LifeSpace
storage capacities to achieving storage efficiencies through new technologies such as virtualization, de-duplication and thin provisioning.” He underlined three focus areas for EMC—cloud computing, unified storage and big data. “Our focus will be to educate the market and partners on the key role that our recent acquisitions, Greenplum and Isilon, can play in harnessing big data.” Wad also shared EMC’s reenergized SMB strategy with the launch of its new VNX portfolio. Get networked with Digisol: Debraj Dam, VP, Strategic Business & Partner Alliance, Smartlink Network Systems, spoke about the benefits partners would get from their association with the Digisol brand. “In the short period of one year Smartlink has rolled out a wide range of Digisol products, including IP surveillance devices, managed and unmanaged POE switches, VoIP products and KVM switches. We will continue to strengthen our portfolio by bringing the latest products,” he said. Anil Kumar TV, CEO, Dhanush Infosol, a Smartlink partner, spoke about his partner experience and said, “The first benefit for partners is that Smartlink is accessible and down-toearth. The second is the enablement they provide to partners through training, seminars and certifications, which gives enormous confidence while pitching to enterprise businesses. They give us very good prices and help us retain margins.”
n Ankesh Kumar, Director, Channel Products & Marketing, Emerson, focused on the major changes in the data center segment
Powered by
Organised by
PRESENT
AUG 18-20, 2011, LEONIA RESORT HYDERABAD
EXCEPTIONAL OUTSTANDING PHENOMENAL These are some of the words that best describe the recently concluded CRN Leadership Summit 2011, the annual knowledge retreat for leading 100 solutions providers and enterprise VARs from around the country.
Our sincere thanks to all the sponsoring partners, delegates and speakers, without whom this wouldn’t have been possible.
Platinum Partners
Networking Partner
Gold Partners
Cloud Partner
Knowledge Partners
Presenting Partner
Technology Track Partners
Solution Pavilion Partners
Associate Partners
n Anand Mehta, VP, Marketing, Lifespace Business Unit, Schneider Electric India, shared the company’s GTM strategy for IT channels
n Pallab Talukdar, CEO, Fujitsu India, made an extempore speech on the need for partners to lead the change in the IT ecosystem
n Sanjay Sehgal, AVP, Elitecore Technologies (Cyberoam), launched the company’s new UTM offering for the home and SOHO segments
n Asiq Mohamed, Head, Distribution & Alliances, Extreme Networks, spoke about the market opportunity in providing mobility solutions
n Pankaj Jain, Director, ESS Distributions, unveiling the new SMB product line of ESET and sharing the market and channel strategy
42
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
HP ESSN’s channel strategy: Shankaracharya Laskar, Channel Marketing Manager, HP India, spoke about the new technologies that will dominate the IT landscape and HP’s GTM. He highlighted the new partner programs HP recently launched—the Cloud Partner Program that enables partners to leverage public and private cloud computing opportunities, and the ServiceOne Program that helps them expand into managed services. He also talked about the success that HP Networking has achieved in the past 18 months. “We are winning market share, and customers are seeing HP Networking as a strong contender to Cisco.” Partnering for the next century: Anoop Nambiar, Country Manager, Business Partner Organization, IBM India/SA, spoke about IBM’s journey over 100 years and recounted several innovations the company has made in the technology landscape. He outlined IBM’s global roadmap for the next five years, suggesting that the IT sector is on the brink of a major transformation. “The four major focus areas for IBM include Smarter Planet, Business Intelligence, Analytics and the Cloud,” said Nambiar. “For India, another focus area is geo-expansion, and we are ramping up our market coverage manifold by venturing into remote but high-potential clusters.” Nambiar also laid out the channel roadmap. “We are building a strong triple play for our partners—server & storage, software, and services—to get a larger share of the customer’s IT budget, and for this we will invest substantially in partner enablement.” He shared some details about IBM’s new programs and initiatives, and also highlighted the company’s mid-market strategy that entails targeting over 40,000 SMB customers in the next five years. Building next-generation data
n MP Prabhakar Kini (R), Managing Director, Kinfotech, celebrated his birthday at the Summit on August 18
“Participating in CLS 2011 gave us immense exposure to the leaders of the IT channel business in India. The dialog we had with partners helped us assess the market potential Sarabjeet Khurana, Director, Business Authentication, Symantec
centers: Patrick Mathias, VP, Sales, Cisco India & Saarc, underlined the vast opportunity awaiting partners in data centers. “Most organizations with data centers have the problem of having their technology and resources working in silos. These silos have to be interconnected seamlessly for efficient and productive outcome from the IT infrastructure. That’s where we see Cisco playing a role and creating opportunities for partners.” Highlighting the opportunities within the existing data centers, Mathias said, “Tremendous opportunities worth millions of dollars await partners in providing data center interconnect solutions, application switching solutions and SAN switching solutions. Some of the partners sitting here have identified these opportunities within the data centers of their customers and have signed up $1 million-plus projects with a few of them.” Mathias said that partners will need to get proactive with customers as most future business opportunities are based on the challenges IT managers face. “Constantly speak to customers and analyze what can make their IT deliver more, and there will be no dearth of opportunities,” he concluded. Growth opportunities in the SMB and enterprise space: Ajay Sehgal, Country Sales Manager, LaserJet & Enterprise Solutions, Imaging & Printing Group (IPG), HP India, outlined the group’s strategy for the next three
n Atull Batra, CEO, Microchip Infotech celebrated his birthday at the Summit on August 19, alongside his wife
“CLS 2011 was a very well planned event. The location and schedule made it very conducive for us to network with partners. Overall, a win-win event for partners and vendors Vikram Gidwani, Head, Enterprise & Channels, Vasco Data Security India
years. “HP has a new strategy to leverage the 120 billion pages opportunity in India in the next three years. We are strengthening our geo-expansion programs to optimize opportunities in non-metro and upcountry markets. The other key growth driver for IPG is the education sector.” Sehgal emphasized that India’s printing industry is being redefined by many trends such as content explosion, mobility and Web-driven new usage models, a movement from analog to digital, and service-driven business models. Naveen Kejriwal, Country Sales Manager, IWS, IPG, HP India, spoke on the innovations of HP IPG in e-printing technology. He explained how cloud-based printing is beneficial for customers as they can print documents from anywhere without the use of a PC. “The advantage of e-printing is that one can use any email-enabled mobile device, be it a smartphone or a tablet, without installing any driver on the device,” he said. Opportunities in the cloud—Strategy for partners: Ganesan Arumugam, Director, Channels, VMware India, highlighted the need for consolidation and virtualization, and shared cloud adoption trends among customers. “Nearly 70 percent of the IT budget is spent on maintenance of IT infrastructure, and only 10 percent is invested in business applications and to upgrade the IT infrastructure. With its elasticity, on-demand access and resource-pooling properties, the
cloud offers an opportunity for CIOs to utilize their resources efficiently.” He emphasized that virtualization is the first step to cloud adoption, and called on SIs to build a stronger virtualization practice to leverage on this big opportunity. Arumugam also shared details of the new Lighthouse Partner Program. “Under this program we will develop partner competencies around Zimbra, SpringSource (infrastructure virtualization), application and desktop virtualization, and management tools.” He also talked about the recent changes in the company’s vSphere desktop virtualization platform and emphasized VMware’s determination to garner a major market share in VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure). 5S of D-Link: In his presentation, Tushar Sighat, CEO, India & Saarc, D-Link, captured the key elements of the company’s product and market strategy. “D-Link’s future strategy for enterprise and SMB customers can be summarized by the term ‘5S’— Switching, Structured cabling, IP Surveillance, Storage and Software. On the home front, we have created the entire product portfolio needed to create a cutting-edge digital home.” Another focus area for the company will be 3G devices. The company will also focus on pushing devices that connect with TVs and allow users to access Internet for streaming videos, music, social media, etc. “In the consumer space we are driving innovative tech products and creating social media and apps platforms for our users,” Sighat said. He promised partners that they will see a revitalized D-Link with many new programs and initiatives. Securing Business: Jitendra Ghughal, National Channel Manager, Indian Subcontinent, Fortinet, talked about the security vendor’s new product
n Extreme Networks demonstrated its framework for creating a seamless mobility solution
n ESET launched its new SMB product and distributed trial copies among delegates
n Cisco displayed its UCS server range and data center interconnect offerings
n Cyberoam showcased its new range for home and small offices under the new Netgenie brand
n Drobo displayed its wide range of NAS, DAS and high-end portable storage devices
n EMC showcased its newly-launched VNXe range which is specifically designed for the SMB segment
n Escan showcased its client security portfolio for the enterprise and the SMB
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011
www.crn.in
43
n HP IPG showcased its e-print technologies by inviting delegates to print from their smartphones
n HP ESSN displayed new storage and server products, and shared details about its new offerings
n IBM propagated its new focus that includes cloud computing, smarter planet and business analytics
n Leviton displayed its lastest range of energyefficient network cabling products for data centers
n LG showcased its business products including projectors, network monitors and LED displays
44
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 www.crn.in
additions and market strategy. “At present we have a network of 30 tier-2 partners, giving us a strong presence in class A cities. However, we also need to address the new opportunities coming from class B cities. We have strengthened our regional teams, and have also appointed a local training partner for emerging cities.” Underlining the importance of tier-2 partners, especially in executing large projects, Ghughal said that partnering with Fortinet has many benefits: access to technical support, marketing support, customer testimonials, and training and classroom certifications, among others. “With our simple partner programs and wide range of solutions we ensure significant partner profitability,” he said. Innovations aligning the future of data centers: B Srinivasan, National Technical Manager, Leviton India, spoke about the immense opportunities in high-end structured cabling and intelligent management systems in data centers. He highlighted the focus of Leviton on providing low-energy products. “Energy management is emerging as the most critical aspect for IT infrastructure deployment. At Leviton we recognize this trend and have a wide portfolio of energysavings products ranging from lighting and energy management to network solutions.” Sharing Leviton’s channel plans, Srinivasan said, “Despite being a recent entrant in the country, Leviton has been able to get a lot of mindshare from customers because of the support from our partners. We are constantly adding new partners and enabling them as well as existing partners in our portfolio.” Enabling end-to-end energy-efficient IT infrastructure: Ankesh Kumar, Director, Channel Products & Marketing, Emerson, focused on the changes happening inside the data center. High-
n NComputing displayed its range of thin client computing solutions for the education vertical
“CLS has given us a good opportunity to network with key executives of partner organizations. Also, the awards process is done diligently and will stand as testimony for the winners Ganesan Arumugam, Director, Channel & Alliances, VMware India
lighting the results of Emerson’s annual Data Center User Group Survey, he said, “The top five concerns for CIOs with regard to their data centers today are reducing and managing heat density, power and energy efficiency, availability and space constraints.” He stated that customers want infrastructure that allows for reconfiguration with changing needs, optimizes cost/ value, can be monitored in a proactive manner so as to enable uptime, and is energy-efficient without compromising on availability. Talking about partner growth he said, “Partners must be proactive to retain their customers and invest in growing segments. Prices have gone down due to recession and rising competition, and this has resulted in decreasing margins. Partners must therefore add value to the products and take a solution-based approach.” Expanding horizons: Anand Mehta, VP, Marketing, Lifespace Business Unit, Schneider Electric India, shared the company’s GTM strategy for IT channels. Mehta stressed that following the acquisition of the Digilink brand, Schneider became a market leader in the structured cabling business. “For many of you who have been long-term partners of Digilink I have very good news. At Schneider you do not sell only structured cabling but an entire range of products and solutions around energy efficiency, building automation and physical security, hence working with Schneider expands the opportunity horizon.”
n Netgear ran a survey and offered a wireless router to all delegates that participated
“A big thanks for hosting such a wonderful event. CLS 2011 was a good platform to showcase our company’s vision and success, and an ideal platform to network with leading partners Jitendra Gupta, Country Manager,
Extreme Networks India
Informed Mehta, “Schneider is a €20 billion conglomerate, and India is the most strategic market for us. This is evident from the several large and small acquisitions we have made in India over the past 2-3 years. Just like Digilink, Schneider believes in working with partners.” Leadership matters: Pallab Talukdar, CEO, Fujitsu India, chose not to make any power presentation but instead made an extempore address to the delegates on business leadership and the need for partners to lead the change in the IT ecosystem. “There is major transformation around us not just in IT but overall, and in such times business leaders need to lead this change. However, in doing so, it is imperative not to stray away from the good old values of openness, honesty, transparency and authenticity because they are universal to running any successful enterprise.” Leading from the front is the only way for any organization to succeed, said Talukdar, emphasizing that partners need to constantly add value to their own as well as their customers’ business. Unified threat management for homes: Sanjay Sehgal, AVP, Elitecore Technologies (Cyberoam), launched the company’s new UTM offering for the home and SOHO segment under the brand name Netgenie. While the Netgenie Home wireless router has secure Wi-Fi, 3G readiness and features such as firewall and parental controls, the Netgenie Small
Office UTM device is 3G-ready and has all the elements of UTM security with Internet controls, VPN, reporting and pre-configured Wi-Fi security. “With this new brand and product line, Cyberoam is inventing a completely new product category and creating a market that is exponential in demand,” said Sehgal. It’s time to redefine mobility—Are you ready? Asiq Mohamed, Head, Distribution & Alliances (India & Sri Lanka), Extreme Networks India, said that we are observing an unprecedented scale of growth in terms of diversification, globalization and consumerization. “These developments have redefined mobility. Now real-time access to services and data has become an essence of mobility.” Mohamed stated that Extreme Networks is enabling its customers by giving them the mobile infrastructure to take the IT LAN network to the cloud. “We provide opportunities to our partners in three areas: on campus, where we provide them the identity-based network; on data center, where we offer virtualization and storage; and in the service provider environment, where we are integrating voice and data on the Ethernet framework.”
Music, meditation & spa Some of the biggest attractions for partners this year were the meditation and spa sessions every morning wherein they were given a 45-minute hamam spa treatment, and meditation. Besides, there were intermittent stress-buster tips and power-yoga sessions. Special sports activities, including water surfing, bungee jumping and paintball were also arranged for partners during leisure hours. Other attractions were the karaoke night and songs sung by Harshi, a finalist at the 2007 Indian Idol competition. n
n Sanjeev Gupta, MD, Albion Informatics undergoing a stress buster exercise from experts at Leonia
n Sujeet Narula, Managing Director, ABC Systems singing with Indian Idol 3 finalist Harshi Madhaparia who performed at the Summit
n Quick Heal distributed trial copies of its latest enterprise edition of antivirus at its exhibit booth
n SafeNet displayed its enterprise data protection and software rights management solutions for both commercial enterprises and government entities
n Symantec-Verisign demonstrated it wide range of identity protection and authentication solutions
n Vasco Data Security showcased its two-factor authentication devices and mobility solutions
n Philippe Cazaubon, Sr. Director, APAC Sales, Drobo, presenting a high-end storage box to Gaurav Nevatia, CEO, Trade & Technology, who was the lucky-draw winner
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011
www.crn.in
45
shadow ram Resellers’ ire
W
hile AKITDA, the channel association in Kerala, and Intel are known to have settled their issues following an Anna Hazare-like peaceful dharna earlier in August, the latest is that their problems are far from over. Earlier, CRN had reported that the turnaround time on faulty Intel motherboards provided to local service centers was taking over 45 days. The reason: Intel’s promises are alleged to be only oral. Apparently, no specific action has been taken so far. A partner meet sponsored by Intel in Kannoor during the third week of August was boycotted by around 40 partners who turned up at the venue and then walked out. Another similar meet, which took place two days later at Malappuram, allegedly took an ugly turn. Apparently, partners objected to Intel’s presentation, and wanted to know about the warranty commitments made. According to some of the partners present there, these objections turned into a major argument and even got physical with one angry partner threatening to lock up the Intel sales manager present at the venue. AKITDA officials did agree that there was an ugly incident, but refused to divulge the details. n
GET
Personal
“I would make education compulsory for all” R Ravichandran, Director, Sales, Intel South Asia, helped set up the distribution infrastructure, Intel Reseller Channel Program, local OEM business and overall expansion in South Asia during Intel’s early days If not in the IT industry: I would have become a teacher or dabbled in scriptwriting. R Ravichandran
Biggest passion: Comedy classics and adventure movies, both Bollywood
and Hollywood. Behind the wheels: Porsche Cayenne. Weekends are for: Family and reading books on history and philosophy. Gadgets I can’t live without: My mobile phone. Favorite holiday destinations: Goa and Switzerland. Hate the most: Poverty and illiteracy. Favorite movies: Nayakan and Roja. Favorite star: Kamala Hassan. Role model: My father—a strict disciplinarian who inculcated middle class values in my life. Ultimate ambition: To create a self-sustaining initiative to drive education to the masses. Wildest thing I have ever done: Walked 22 km without taking a drop of water. Thing I most want to do in life: Contribute to the education of the poor. If I became the PM: Make India self-sufficient in the areas of energy, defense and research. Celebrity I would like to spend a day with: M S Dhoni One person I would like to meet and why: Dr Abdul Kalam for giving a new direction to the thoughts of millions of young Indians. Deepest and darkest fear: Eroding human moral values and what happens to the next generation. n — CRN Network
46
Computer Reseller News
01/09/2011 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