CRN -April 15, 2012 by UBM India

contents

April 15, 2012 l Volume 1 Issue 12

Cover Story

It is time for partners to embrace the new paradigm of cloud computing which is transforming the IT marketplace. We present the opportunities and the business models that you can adopt to formulate your cloud strategy

NEWS Analyses

Channel Chief

HP launches ProLiant Gen 8

IBM forms security division

LG to quadruple notebook sales sans the RDs

Canonical to launch partner program 10 Asus to double notebook marketshare 12 Ciscoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aggressive plans for UCS

Govind Ramamurthy CEO & MD, Microworld, speaks about the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategies and competitors, and the future of the AV market

18 Special Focus Mobility gaining ground Some have been early adopters, others are still fence-sitters, but sooner or later every enterprise is set to mobilize at least some of its business apps

22 Role Model

A one-man-army Ajaya Kumar, CMD of the `120 crore retailer and regional distributor, Park Network, takes us back to his roots

Editorial 14 Opinion

Feedback

Channel Buzz

New Products

Shadow Ram

Get Personal

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

Tech Focus 6 ways cybercriminals beat security Some of the most innovative malwares in use today

starting line MUST

Read

IBM forms security division IBM has floated a security division which will be part of its larger software portfolio. The company has roped in Vaidyanathan Iyer to head the business. Explaining the rationale for carving out a separate security division, Iyer, who is designated as Country Manager, Security Business, IBM Security Systems Division, said that IBM has a vast product and solution portfolio for security, and is positioned to be a one-stop-shop for customers. In addition, since the solutions come from a single vendor, they would be more reasonably priced than those from multiple vendors. He said that the security portfolio would enable partners to up-sell and cross-sell products, or bundle the software and offer integrated solutions. “Partners will be free to sell the security solutions as standalone or offer them as bundles along with Tivoli, Rational, Lotus, etc. We are also developing security frameworks comprising best practices from different verticals; these would be V Iyer released in the form of templates. The frameworks will be built around layers of physical security of both IBM and non-IBM products.” Iyer said that IBM is training software partners in positioning, bundling and selling the security products. The vendor is also scouting for security partners who would work jointly with software partners or work independently. According to partners, the security element in the IBM portfolio will help them deepsell to their customers and thus create more opportunities. Hemant Mirji, VP, Mindcraft, a Mumbaibased IBM Partner, is geared to pitch the security portfolio to his existing customers. “As partners we will be able to provide the most value to customers in terms of product information and bundling solutions. As we are focused on the BFSI segement where application and security are cirtical it will be a big advantage to position a holistic solution to customers.” n — Sonal Desai

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

HP launches ProLiant Gen 8 n CRN NETWORK

P has launched the ProLiant Generation 8 servers which the company says are the industry’s most self-sufficient offering. According to HP, the ProLiant Gen 8 servers are the result of a $300 million, 2-year program called Project Voyager, its initiative to redefine data center economics by automating every aspect of the server lifecycle. To date, Project Voyager has resulted in more than 900 patents filed and a new systems architecture (called HP ProActive Insight architecture) which will span the entire HP Converged Infrastructure. According to HP, with intelligent technologies that automate tasks and improve uptime, the ProLiant Gen 8 range addresses key concerns of enterprises. “The skyrocketing cost of operations in the data center is unsustainable, and enterprises are looking to solve this problem,” said Vikram K, Director, Industry Standard Servers, HP India. “Gen 8 servers virtually take care of themselves and allow data center staff to devote more time to business innovation.” According to HP, in a typical 10,000 sq ft data center a company spends an average of $24 million over three years on manual operations to support the servers. The Gen 8 range is said to triple administrator productivity by eliminating most manual operations such as server updates which typically take five hours of administrator time per rack.. The HP Smart Update feature can perform the same update in 10 minutes or less. Growing server energy and facilities expenses cost companies up to $29 million over three years. The new server range features the HP 3-D Sea of Sensors, a technology that identifies overutilized servers based on real-time location, power, workload and

“We are delivering technologies that enable servers to take care of themselves and allow data center staff to devote more time for business innovation” Vikram K

Director, Industry Standard Servers, HP India

temperature data, and increases compute capacity per watt of energy by 70 percent. Unplanned downtime costs clients approximately $10 million an hour. ProLiant Gen 8 automatically analyzes its own health across 1,600 data points. Through self-monitoring, selfdiagnosis and proactive support, clients can resolve unplanned downtime issues up to 66 percent faster. The ProActive Insight architecture provides continuous intelligence on server health, power usage and other important diagnostics. As a result, online system updates can be deployed three times faster. “Project Voyager is the third phase of our multi-year transformation plan for the server market. We started with Project Moonshot which will change how servers are built for extreme-low-energy computing. Project Odyssey, phase two, redefined the future of mission-critical computing. With Voyager, we automate every aspect of the server lifecycle,” explained Vikram. Entry-level prices of Gen 8 will range from $1,723 to $2,878, and vary based on configurations. These include ProLiant ML tower servers, DL rack-mount servers, BL blade servers and SL scalable system servers built for Web, cloud and massively scaled environments. n

starting line MUST

LG to quadruple notebook sales sans the RDs

Canonical to launch partner program

n AMIT SINGH

Read

Canonical is all set to roll out a new channel program and is scouting for partners in India. The program will be centered around Ubuntu Advantage enterprise services for the cloud, server and desktop markets. “Our program would help partners gain the best benefits of free and open source software. Ubuntu Advantage provides systems management, support, legal assurance and direct access to the experts,” said Prakash Advani, Partner Manager, Central Asia, Canonical. Recently, Mark Shuttleworth, Founder-CEO, Canonical had said that Ubuntu, which had been a market leader in the client installed base, has overtaken Red Hat in the server installed base. “In India we have more than 50 percent marketshare in the installed base of open source clients; this makes us the market leader,” Advani stated. “In servers too we have been doing well.” With a large community of users across enterprises, education, government and SMBs, Canonical foresees opportunities for Prakash Advani Ubuntu services and that is why it wants to engage with partners. According to Advani, Ubuntu Advantage services are priced lower than Red Hat—the list price for desktop support starts at around $74, which is about 25 percent cheaper than Red Hat, while the list price for services for servers is $320, about 45 percent cheaper than Red Hat. “India being an emerging market we will be offering these services at 15 percent discount to the international list price. The highlight of our services is the Landscape management software which helps customers control and manage all Ubuntu software,” Advani informed. Canonical is looking for partners who already have a strong open source practice and are willing to invest in skilling more team members on Ubuntu. “We are looking at 4-5 such partners in each region who can offer L1 and L2 support,” Advani said. — Ramdas S

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

G intends to push its notebook business with plans to expand its portfolio, sharpen its marketing strategy and increase its retail presence. The company is seeking a marketshare of 2.2 percent in the segment, and wishes to be among the top seven notebook brands in 2012, up from its current position (as per IDC) at number nine. “In 2011 we sold about 20,000 units, and plan to sell about 80,000 units in 2012,” said Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Product Group Head, IT, LG Electronics India. Extending its reach beyond the premium segment, LG plans to focus on entry-level and midlevel notebooks. The company is focusing on entry-level notebooks without an OS in the `23,00025,000 range. “We are offering three SKUs of low-priced, entrylevel notebooks to serve the majority of consumers, especially in the middle-class and student segment,” informed Bhattacharya. To expand its portfolio, LG will launch two ultrabook SKUs in the `60,990-70,990 range next month. In addition, it will introduce AIOs in the premium range of `50,00070,000, next month. The company is looking beyond the large and saturated markets to the small markets in B- and C-Class cities. In 2011 LG identified and focused on eight markets—Jodhpur, Bhubaneswar, Madurai, Thane, Surat, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana and Jalandhar. “Furthering our efforts in smaller markets, we will identify another six markets in different regions including West Bengal, the Kolhapur-Goa belt, Western UP, the Hubli-Mangalore area and coastal Andhra Pradesh,” added Bhattacharya. The company also plans to increase the number of retail stores offering its notebooks from the current 110 to 150 in 2012.

“We are offering three SKUs of lowpriced, entrylevel notebooks to serve the majority of consumers, especially in the middle-class and student segment” S Bhattacharya

Product Group Head, IT, LG Electronics India

“We have deputed sales personnel in about 40 of the 110 stores to promote LG notebook sales,” informed Bhattacharya. LG is distributing its range of notebooks exclusively through Supertron and has removed the 60 RDs roped in earlier for distribution. This step has aroused the anger of the RDs who complained that the company was ignoring their business interests. Explaining the rationale behind the exclusion of RDs, Bhattacharya said, “Volumes in notebooks are currently not so high and hence we have excluded RDs from distribution. Moreover, we are focused on creating a retail experience and limiting the number of stock points. Once we achieve a sizable business we will include RDs in the distribution.” However, RDs are not buying this logic; they believe that LG is moving toward a national distribution mode. “RDs have better connect with the retailers and hence are more capable of promoting LG sales,” argued Sunil Narang, Director, Elcom Trading Company, New Delhi. Rakesh Agrawal, CEO, Indorebased Pioneer Computers was on the same page. “LG is currently confused about its distribution strategy due to which partners are losing faith in the company.” n

starting line MUST

Asus to double notebook marketshare

Cisco’s aggressive plans for UCS

n ABHIJEET MUKHERJEE

Read

Cisco is increasing its focus on SMB partners for UCS deployments in India. Of the 2,000 SMB partners in the country, the company will select and train about 300 partners over the next two years in UCS technology and deployment. “We want to make them UCS-ready,” said Arun Dharamalingam, VP, Partner Led Velocity & Distribution Sales, Cisco. Cisco currently has 150 partners focused on data centers, and 30 tier-2 partners who have specializations in architectures such as borderless networks, collaboration and data centers. These partners include Nirmal Datacomm, SK International, Allied Digital Services, Proactive, VDA Infosolutions and Velocis. Cisco has 11,000 UCS customers worldwide; UCS customers in India include KPIT Cummins, HCL Technologies, Wipro and TCS. In a bid to encourage tier-2 or SMB partners to tap the increasing Arun Dharmalingam opportunities for UCS, Cisco, which opened a one million sq ft globalization center campus in Bengaluru, went a step further and opened a Center of Excellence (CoE) at the Mumbai office of Comstor, a Westcon Group company. Named LEAP (Learn, Experience, Architect, Plan), the CoE is an education and demo facility for partners. According to Santosh Sankunny, Business Head, Comstor, besides giving partners access to technical and commercial training in UCS, the CoE offers them a touch-and-feel experience, and scope to customize products. “We aim to train 300 Cisco partners in two years. As part of the ongoing process, we have profiled some partners and will equip 20 partners to sell DC solutions in the next six months.” Dharamalingam said that the CoE would be a vital part of the partners’ GTM. “Partners will not have to make any investment in infrastructure, but they can bring their customers to the CoE. This is the first-of-its-kind experience center in India, so it is too early to comment on the conversion rate.” n — Sonal Desai

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

sus is aiming to double its marketshare in the consumer mobile PC segment in 2012. The company closed 2011 with a share of close to 5 percent in the segment which includes notebooks and netbooks. “We plan to grow 30 percent QoQ during this year, garner a sizeable marketshare, and emerge among the top five mobile PC vendors in India,” said Unaez Quraishi, Director, Sales & Distribution, System Business Group, Asus India. Asus presently has 14 regional distributors, with Rashi Peripherals as its national distributor. The plan is to up the number of regional distributors to 20 to increase its market coverage in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, TN and AP. On the retail front, Asus has 20 exclusive stores; it plans to increase this figure to 100 during the next couple of quarters. In addition, the company, which did not have any LFR or online shopping presence so far, is looking at such a presence this year. However, to protect channel interests, it will have different models exclusively sold through these new routes. “We will add branches in Pune, Kochi, Guwahati, Hyderabad and Nagpur, and expand our sales resources by 45,” informed Quraishi. On the product front, Asus plans to increase its portfolio across all price-points with a focus on the ultrabook. In notebooks it will launch N56, its premium entertainment notebook. It will also launch its G74 and G75—its 3D gaming notebooks—in addition to the VX7 Lamborghini notebook. In ultrabooks the company currently has a single offering, Zenbook, based on the Intel core i7 and priced at `89,999.

“We plan to grow 30 percent QoQ during this year, garner a sizeable marketshare, and emerge among the top five mobile PC vendors in India” U Quraishi

Director, Sales & Distribution, System Business Group, Asus India

However, it plans to launch products in the mid-segment with core i3 and i5 processors in the `40,000-60,000 range. The tablet is another category Asus is betting on. The company sells its tablets through the IT channel, and has three models under the Transformer brand—a 64 GB model, a 16 GB Wi-Fi tablet and a 3G product. The company has lined up 5-6 new launches in the coming months on the quad-core Tegra. In the netbook category Asus has four models; it will add one more in the current fiscal. According to Quraishi, both ultrabooks and tablets will be high-growth product lines. “We are aiming at more than 10 percent share of the ultrabook market; in tablets we plan to gain 20 percent share.” For post-sales services, in addition to Neoteric, Asus recently added Digicomp as its national ASP. “Our national and regional distributors double as our service providers. We recently introduced a 1-year onsite warranty in 100 cities. We have already increased the stocks of spares in each region, and will expand our toll-free team by 40 percent to improve our telesupport,” Quraishi informed. n

edit opinion Volume 1, Issue 12

Demand drivers dhaval valia

ast fortnight was hectic with significant announcements from Dell, HP and IBM. While Dell announced its PowerEdge Gen 12 server portfolio, HP announced the Gen 8 server portfolio, and IBM launched its unified architecture called PureSystems. HP has dubbed Gen 8 as a transformative event in server technology, while Dell touted its Gen 12 as groundbreaking. IBM called its launch of PureSystems—its integrated infrastructure solutions—a new era in computing. The three vendors have invested millions in the development of their new-gen infrastructure portfolio, taking feedback from thousands of customers around the globe to make their technologies more relevant to the CIO’s requirements and pain-points. The underlining thread among all these launches is the deeper and automated systems management with built-in expertise that promises self-healing of infrastructure, reduction in unplanned downtime, extremely quick and simple provisioning, and notable benefits in terms of power and space savings. This rush of next-gen technologies is bound to create excitement in the marketplace and provide partners more opportunities. Many partners I spoke to during the launch events told me that these launches, followed by customer engagements, will help create a buzz among existing clients who were a bit hawkish in their IT investment forecasts. The underlying theme of savings and quick ROI gels with the CIO’s priorities in an uncertain economic environment, hence business partners feel it would work in their favor to get more customers interested. The tech vendors too have promised financing support, buyback campaigns, and exchange programs to aid partners in winning business. Interestingly, many partners are wary that the automated management and self-healing will reduce their services revenue. As one of the partners admitted to me, having more complexities in infrastructure deployment is good for partners because they then tend to make more money from customers for services including systems integration, provisioning and downtime. However, another partner reasoned that overall the new-gen technologies will ease the CIO’s life and help customers to gain more out of their IT. Nearly 70-80 percent of the budgets and resources of mid-market and enterprise customers is spent on managing their existing infrastructure. Highly automated and expert systems in their data centers are going to free up these resources and enable them to focus on new innovations and projects which should bring more opportunities for partners. What’s good for customers is good for both partners and vendors. n E-mail CRN Executive Editor Dhaval Valia at dhaval.valia@ubm.com 14

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 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 Chheda, Sameer Surve Marketing Advertising Co-ordinator : Jagruti Kudalkar online Manager—Product Dev. & Mktg. : Viraj Mehta Deputy Manager—Online : Nilesh Mungekar Web Designer : Nitin Lahare Sr. User Interface Designer : Aditi Kanade 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 RNI No. MAHENG/2011/39915 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.

edit opinion Happy 30th anniversary, CRN Kelley Damore

large number of mid-tier educational institutes. We are also looking for opportunities in the same and expect major contribution to our revenue in 2012.

ichael Jackson had just released his Thriller album, E.T.: The Extra- Terrestrial was playing at the movies, the average cost of a home was $82,000 and gas was 91 cents a gallon. It was 1982. Time Magazine declared computers its Man of the Year and CRN published its first issue under the name Computer Retail News. For 30 years, CRN has been chronicling the events in technology and providing analysis as to why it is important to those selling systems to customers. In the early days, it was computer retail stores, such as ComputerLand and Businessland, armed with medallions selling PCs and microcomputers. Today it is about managed service providers and cloud providers selling access to applications and infrastructure. If you look back on the past 30 years—or just glance at this month’s cover—the impact of technology and the pace of change it has brought about are really quite astounding. The 1980s brought us the PC and the first Macs. During that decade other start-up companies built upon those advances and gave us sophisticated applications, databases and LANs. In the 1990s, the Web was opened up for commercial use. E-mail exploded, browsers were developed and computer services around these technologies soared. As we approached the millennium, Y2K took center stage followed by advances in mobility, storage and security. And now the 2010s are bringing social media to the forefront, and technology has moved from a nice-to-have to a critical part of any company’s business and everyone’s personal life. While it is always fun to reminisce (by the way, one of my editors just informed me that he wasn’t even born yet in 1982), we also must look ahead to ensure the channel continues to grow and thrive. At the recent XChange Solution Provider in Los Angeles, CRN honored two groups of people working in the channel. We brought on stage our 30 Peers With 30 Years—those executives who have been in the industry for 30 years—and 30 In Their 30s—the next-generation channel leadership. The channel trailblazers literally built this industry that we have today. They are truly resilient and understand that the one constant in the channel is change. The new generation of channel leaders are passionate about technology and their love for it often began in their formative years, programming or working on laptops as teenagers. They are eager to see where technology takes them. While technologies and business models change at a blinding pace, one thing remains the same: It is all about the people and relationships forged within the channel. E-mail Kelley Damore at kelley.damore@ec.ubm.com 16

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

Amit Jain Smart Solutions Delhi

Get Smarter The recent cover story on opportunities for partners in education made for very interesting reading. We really appreciate the efforts made by CRN team to elaborate various new opportunities arising in the education sector. There is opportunity in education for every channel partner and IT vendors have to rely on their partner network to target the sector. We have observed high prospects especially in digital classrooms, which is no longer being implemented by the elite private schools but a

SSDs see momentum as prices fall SSD is indeed the nextgen technology with remarkable benefits over HDDs. With the narrowing of price difference between SSD and HDD, we have observed increased adoption of SSDs by techsavvy consumers. Still, majority of consumers go for HDDs. We believe that a further 30-40 percent drop in SSD prices will increase the adoption manifold. W Iyenger, True IT Solutions, Chennai

Send your feedback at editor@ubmindia.com or post your views on www.crn.in

Advertiser Index Company name

Digisol Digilite Emerson IBM Compuage-Odyssey Rashi Dell Epson Compuage-Edifier APC Cisco Fujitsu Aditya Dell IFSEC Virtual Expo Interop EBM Symantec Asus NP AV Dell Iomega

Page No Web site

1 www.digisol.com 2 www.digilite.co.in 4 emersonnetworkpower.com 5 www.ibm.com 7 www.compuageindia.com 9 www.rptechindia.com 11 www.dell.co.in 13 www.epson.co.in 15 www.edifier-international.com 17 www.apcc.com 19 www.cisco.in 21 www.sg.fujitsu.com/scanner 23 www.adityagroup.com 25 www.dell.co.in 29 www.ifsecsouthindia.com 33 www.crn.in/virtualexpo 36-37 www.interop.in 44 www.synology.com 44 www.fortune-it.com 45 www.asus.in 46 www.indiaantivirus.com 47 www.dell.co.in 48 www.iomega.com/vssolutions

Sales Contact

helpdesk@digisol.com helpdesk@digilite.co.in marketing.india@emerson.com response@in.ibm.com odyssey@compuageindia.com response@rptechindia.com dell.co.in/monitors info@compuageindia.com promotions.india@apcc.com cisco.in/build. Rohit.Grover@in.fujitsu.com response_software@adityagroup.com dell.co.in/projectors pankaj.jain@ubm.com salil.warior@ubm.com surajit.bit@ubm.com info@ebm.in sandeep.dhar@fortune-it.com reachus@asus.com sales@indiaantivirus.com nitin_pdadnis@dell.com indiasales@iomega.com

channel chief “In two years AV will be sold free” Govind Ramamurthy, CEO & MD, Microworld, spoke to Dhaval Valia about the company’s strategies and competitors, and the future of the AV market How have the last 12 months been for eScan? eScan has done well, gaining marketshare in countries such as Germany and Brazil where we have a strong presence. In India the first half of the year was good. The second half was muted due to component shortage and the price hike as a consequence of the forex fluctuations; these impacted overall demand. Despite this, our revenue in the SOHO and small business segments grew by 50 percent. In the mid-market and large enterprise, our strategy of working with select regional SIs is paying off and we are regularly striking 1,000+ node deals. As a result, our revenues grew 124 percent in this segment in FY2011-12.

eScan has been in the market for close to a decade yet it does not enjoy the same marketshare and brand-pull as Quick Heal. What is reason? Without doubt Quick Heal has been an Indian success story that every AV company would like to emulate. However, anyone who knows about AV technology will tell you that eScan is better, both technology-wise and feature-wise, and perhaps Quick Heal would also admit it. Where they have done well is creating robust channels. They started engaging with channels before us and are enjoying the fruits of it. This is not to say that we do not have a good channel. I have always believed that channels are the best way to reach customers, in a market like India. We could however have done better with our channel expansion and engagement early on. With several new product and channel initiatives, we believe we will have a very strong story to tell in the next 12-24 months.

What are the new product initiatives planned? We just launched eScan for Apple Mac. Next is the mobile security offering which is ready for launch and will be commercialized by May 2012. We showcased it at CeBit and got good reviews. We are currently finalizing the pricing, packaging and market strategy for it. With the trend of enterprise mobility growing, and concepts like BYOD gradually gaining ground, a mobile security product has become necessary. We will have a version for the Android marketplace for consumers.

“The most ambitious project for us is eScan for MSP. We have been working on it for the past six months, and plan to roll it out by early next quarter” 18

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

We are working toward a single allpoint management console which can be used to manage Windows, Linux, Mac and Android end-points from a single dashboard. The most ambitious project for us is eScan for MSP. This is a product we have been working on for the past six months, and we plan to roll it out by early next quarter. Finally, we are working on eScan 2012 which has been designed to work with the new Metro interface of Microsoft Windows 8 which is due for launch soon.

Companies such as Symantec and Trend Micro already have managed service offerings, so what’s unique about eScan for MSP? There are two key distinctions between the offerings from these vendors and ours. One is that the offerings from those companies are hosted in their data centers, and the channel partners only resell them. In our case partners can create their own white-label managed client security services. Secondly, the managed client security offerings from MNCs are targeted at large enterprises while we are focusing on SMBs, largely organizations having 50-150 nodes to manage. It is in this segment that customers rely heavily on their partners for all their IT needs because they don’t have the financial resources to employ their own staff for IT management. A large number of channels also cater to organizations of these sizes, and hence our offering aims to target the broadest customer and partner segments.

What’s your channel GTM for eScan for MSP? Within 12 months of the launch we expect to sell a million licenses of our MSP offering. In the first phase we plan to enable 250 of our leading SMB partners by training them on the new platform and helping them set up their own managed security practice under a structured MSP program which will be launched along with the product. We will be working closely with them on the technology, business and customer acquisition aspects. In the second phase we will expand this program to 250 solution providers catering to the target segment. This is my pet project, and eScan will be investing heavily in channel enablement.

You have often said that the consumer AV market will go free very soon. What will then happen to your consumer business? I firmly believe that over the next couple of years AV

channel chief products will be sold free to consumers. In China this trend has been growing in the last couple of years, and several local AV players have started offering AV products free to customers while others are bundling it free with their business client security for the personal use of their customers’ employees. In India too this trend is not too far. Look at the ASPs of AV products in India—they have been shrinking at an alarming rate. And don’t forget the threat from Microsoft, which plans to bundle AV with Microsoft Windows 8. We believe that while the value realization will decrease in the consumer space, the demand for services like parental controls, hardware change alerts and OS patch management will increase. This is also the rationale behind launching the MSP version because partners will soon have opportunities to provide the above-mentioned managed services to consumers.

What are the priorities for eScan in terms of channel-led GTM? The channel program around MSP and enabling our existing SMB partners to become service providers is the biggest item on my agenda. The second priority is to strengthen our presence in the south where we are weak. We are scouting for distributors in the different states of southern India. In other regions, while we have a stable set of distribution partners, we would want to drive coverage and a wider channel connect.

“We will soon be launching an enhanced partner portal which is an extension of the eScan Partner Program. Through this eScan partners can avail of a host of benefits” On the enterprise side the focus is on signing large projects with our regional SI partners. We are already in the process of signing a couple of large 10,000 node deals which we believe will give us a strong referral in the marketplace. We are setting up a lead generation team whose primary responsibility will be to generate leads for our SI partners. Our internal sales team will work closely with the SIs to do POCs of our product and provide them with all the possible commercial support to win an account. In addition, we are setting up a separate team for the yearround technical training of partners’ engineers. We will soon be launching an enhanced partner portal which will be an extension of the eScan Partner Program. Through this eScan partners can avail of a host of marketing, sales and support benefits. Partners can request NFR/demo licenses, ask for special quotes for educational and government institutions, apply for deal and customer protection, and even request for customized products. The partner portal will have a renewal engine, thus allowing partners to earn recurring revenue from customers for license upgrades, product upgrades and renewals. n

GIFT a copy of your favorite IT CHANNEL magazine If you would like your peers/colleagues from the IT channel to receive a complimentary copy of CRN please key in their contact details: Name

Company Name

Address

Mobile No.

Phone No.

E-mail ID

Please help us update your details: Last Name:

First Name: Department:

Designation:

Company Name:

Business Address: City:

Pin:

Fax:

State:

Telephone: :

Mobile:

Would you like to subscribe to our daily e-newsletter? (please 3 where applicable) Please provide your official E-mail ID:

E-mail: Yes

No Personal E-mail ID:

You can mail form to: UBM India Pvt. Ltd., Sagar Tech Plaza, A 119, 1st Floor, Andheri Kurla Road, Saki Naka Junction, Andheri East, Mumbai 400072 India. Or Fax on: 022 67692426. Or fill it Online at www.crn.in/free For quick customer service and subscription enquiry E-mail: crn@ubmindia.com or call Deepa at 022 67692436. Note: The people recommended above by you to receive the free copy are supposed to be a part of the IT channel industry. Their details would be verified by us, after which we would start the circulation if they meet our criteria. Complimentary subscriptions are limited to India. The publisher reserves the right to limit the number of free subscriptions, and will only accept applications which meet the qualification criteria for the publication.

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

special focus Mobility gaining ground Some have been early adopters, others are still fence-sitters, but sooner or later every enterprise is set to mobilize at least some of its business apps n SONAL DESAI

ccording to market research firm Zinnov, the enterprise mobility (excluding devices) market in India currently stands at $224 million. The segment, which encompasses hardware, network, data, applications and associated services, is expected to grow at the CAGR of 40 percent, and touch $1 billion by mid 2015. Smartphones, tablets, the consumerization of IT, BYOD, inter-operable operating systems and industryspecific applications are all driving mobility. According to a recent VMware study on enterprise mobility, 78 percent of employees in India bring their personal smartphones to the workplace. This is followed by laptops at 53 percent and tablets at 17 percent. The study shows that the Indian’s desire to use personal mobile devices at work is driven by the need to be mobile (47 percent) and be more connected (39 percent). “Respondents appreciate the effectiveness of producing the desired outcome (72 percent) and boosting efficiency (66 percent), citing better job satisfaction (70 percent),” remarks T Srinivasan, MD, VMware India.

Apps at the core The mobile application market is expected to touch Rs 50 million in 2012, Rs 1 billion in 2013 and Rs 2 billion in 2014. Sunil Lalvani, Director, Enterprise Sales, RIM, informs that the company has plans to make available industry-specific solutions for healthcare, education, government, field services, supply chain and public utilities. “Organizations across the board are using a mobile supply chain system to streamline inventory management, replenish stock, track demand and manage shelf space and storage,” says Naveen Mishra, Head, Telecom Lead, Cybermedia Research. Companies are now looking at enterprise mobility for functions such as ERP, CRM, SCM, SFA, UC and billing—a move over traditional email and social networking, adds Praveen Bhadada, Director, Zinnov. In healthcare, i2i Telesolutions has developed an application, eTraq, which allows medical practitioners

“Organizations are using a mobile supply chain system to streamline inventory management, replenish stock, track demand and manage shelf space” Naveen Mishra

Head, Telecom Lead, Cybermedia Research

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

to use a tablet to remotely assess the physiological condition of patients through transport monitors which can be connected to the central monitoring system of a hospital. IBM has launched its mobile enterprise services initiative to provide an integrated suite of capabilities for managing the proliferation of mobile devices (including BlackBerry and its PlayBook tablet, Apple iPhone and iPad, and Symbian and Android devices) for secure access to corporate data. RIM has introduced an application, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion, which offers a single console to manage the BlackBerry, iOS and Android platforms. This solution will be available in India in a few months. The company is also planning to build its app ecosystem on the BlackBerry 10 OS to push sales of enterprise mobility. In order to increase its sales further, the company has formed an alliance program on app development for its BlackBerry OS. It offers direct enterprise mobility services to big enterprises, and will cater to SMBs through its hosted partners, chiefly tier-2. The services will operate through the cloud, and RIM’s data compression technology will be hosted with the BES express service; this will cut down on the infrastructural, eco system and training expenses of the target customer, the SMB. Meanwhile Ruchi Soya, a major oilseed company, has woken up to the reality of the increasing importance of mobility. From last month it has started provid-

special focus ing smartphones to its 500+ sales force. “Oilseeds being a commodity, their prices are prone to fluctuation, and the executives have to constantly be in touch with the office for updates. With the smartphones they now have instant access to pricing and market developments, thus enabling better decision-making at the local level,” explains Aniesh Kumar, CEO, I-Novate, an Indore-based SAP partner who developed and deployed the ERP solution for Ruchi Soya.

Vendor support Vendors are launching solutions to help partners make money around the new business. VMware is enabling partners to develop mobile applications that could be offered over the cloud. Symantec is developing security solutions for compliance, especially for the financial sector, IP for large corporates and the government, informs David Dzienciol, VP, Channels & SMB, Symantec. Technologies such as DLP, backup and recovery are very important for mobile security. According to Amit Nath, Country Manager, India & Saarc, Trend Micro, partners can earn license money as well as recurring revenue. Dzienciol notes that traditional desktop features (such as content control and filtering) also apply to the mobile or handheld device. Another big opportunity will come in the form of mobile management. Sunil Jose, MD, Sybase, is of the view that partners can utilize the expertise and enterprise device management platforms of mobility services to help businesses meet the demand for hosted/ managed services, richer applications, broader mobile device support, access to backend systems, and centralized management and security. Quick Heal has formed a separate team of seven people and activated 100 partners for mobile security. Besides its existing partners, it works with smartphone channels and LFRs, says Abhijit Jorvekar, VP, Sales & Marketing, Quick Heal. The company’s mobile security includes virus protection, call blocking, SMS blocking and anti-theft features. It also provides protection against malware and viruses. The company presently has an offering for Android-based smartphones, and will soon launch products for the BlackBerry and Windows mobile platforms. A tablet version for Android is also on the cards. Symantec is also training some of its partners to resell mobile management services on the cloud. The partners will play an advisory role for issues like cost savings, security, DR and business continuity.

Start-up gains Though it’s the principal vendors who are launching mobility products, it’s the start-ups which are enabling the actual implementation. According to Kishan Bhat, Engagement Manager, Zinnov, “SMBs are the prime adopters of mobility solutions. Brand perception is not too high in this segment, so they are willing to experiment with new brands.” Indianeye Security, a Delhi-based security company,

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

“SMBs are the prime adopters of mobility solutions. Brand perception is not too high in this segment, so they are willing to experiment with new brands” Kishan Bhat

Engagement Manager, Zinnov

has developed a state-of-the-art mobile application connecting ex-servicemen of the Indian Army. The application has features such as emergency response contacts (ERCs), an SOS button to notify a user’s ERCs via SMS and email, location and live tracking, audio-visual stream, auto call connect, critical phone details, alert view and safety confirm. The application is available on Nokia Symbian S60, BlackBerry and Android smartphones. Another start-up, Chennai-based GoDB, a software product firm, has provided a mobile insurance point-ofsale to thousands of agents of Reliance General Insurance. The application enables agents to issue quotes, and track leads and renewals on their smartphones without the help of branch support.

IT-telecom convergence The growing acceptance of mobility is encouraging convergence between IT and telecom partners. States Amit Rambhia, Director, Vardhaman Technology, Mumbai, “We understand that we will have to ally with telecom partners to provide mobility solutions. They have a first-mover advantage and are already servicing lakhs of customers through the Mobile Virtual Network Operators. But IT partners need more clarity in terms of support, maintenance and technical issues.” Mihir Chahwala, CEO, Innovative Telecom & Software, Surat, is more blunt. “It’s a grainy story. There’s no clarity on how it would work. Only a few companies are talking about mobile computing, but they cannot tell IT partners how to make it work or how to extract business. The point is that the telco partners have already invested in infrastructure and know how to penetrate the market and generate profitability. How the IT channel fits in there remains to be seen.” He however agrees that IT and telco partners will have to work as a cohesive unit to avoid duplication in investment. Apurva Dave, CEO, Innova Systems, who is a BlackBerry Enterprise Partner, has started bundling healthcare applications he acquires from local ISVs on to the BlackBerry platform and reselling them to customers in the vertical. He’s currently selling applications to medical representatives (MRs) working for large pharma companies in Gujarat. “The pharma companies provide MRs with solutions and product information on their iPads/smartphones. The MRs fill in the reporting sheet after each interview and provide their reporting manager instant feedback. This process has helped the managers plan better for the whole month/quarter,” Dave says. n

cover story

hough many organizations, large and small, have put non-critical applications such as email, HR and payroll on the cloud, there is still a lack of proper understanding about the cloud and its benefits. According to industry estimates, SMBs will become the largest cloud adopters in India since they operate on lower IT budgets and hence, the cloud is the perfect option for them. Indeed, cloud adoption among SMBs grew 40 percent in 2010-11. Key opportunities for partners came from the manufacturing, retail, BFSI, education, real estate and tourism sectors for cloud security services, online back-up and storage, IT infrastructure, network solutions, collaboration, database and utility applications. Opportunities also exist for smaller brands and start-ups which offer customized applications or white-label services on the cloud. According to market research firm Zinnov, 60 percent of SMBs are willing to try solutions from new brands. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tech-inclined partners are talking the language of storage on the cloud, SaaS, DR, business continuity and verticalized applications with reference to hardware, support and maintenance cost, and savings in real estate,â&#x20AC;? says Kalyan Banga, Manager, Product Development, Netscribes India. What does all this mean for the partner? We take a look at the existing opportunities and highlight some new ones which partners can explore to

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

cover story increase their share in this evolving segment.

Messaging Industry leaders and analysts are unanimous that email and unified communications will be the services that move to the cloud the fastest. One of the reasons for this is that almost all users have been exposed to hosted email services, and are comfortable with the idea when large vendors are willing to back it up with security, reliability and quality of service. “In our SMB study we found that over 85 percent of SMB customers were willing to move their email to the cloud. Small business customers are already exposed to the hosting model, and are comfortable with the idea of cloud-based hosting,” says Neha Jalan Goenka, Senior Associate, AMI Partners. According to the latest research from AMI, SMBs (companies with less than 1,000 employees) in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan) will invest $16.5 billion in cloud computing solutions in 2012. While hosted email was for very long the territory of shared hosting providers, the entry of Microsoft, Google, VMware, IBM and a host of cloud service providers reselling their cloud offerings has changed equations. “While shared email hosting remains the best option for a start-up or small business to have a business email, there are scalability issues. There’s also the perceived security threat,” says George Zachariah, GM, Host Cats, a Bengaluru-based hosting company. Most shared hosting providers run their email servers on a free email server application such as Sendmail, Postfix or Exim Mail, and host hundreds of customers and thousands of email accounts on a single server. They set several limitations on the attachment size, number of emails which can be sent and received within an hour, and so on. Typically, the pricing is included within the Website hosting charges, and are usually `100-500 per user per year. “We used to advise customers with over 100 users to set up their own mail server,” notes Zachariah. “Now with the cloud we can service customers of virtually any size.” Google is offering a free Google App version for customers with less than 50 users. The only caveat is that the service is the same as the free Gmail service, and comes with Web ads but no strong SLA. At $50 per user per year, Google is offering not just mail, messaging and calendar, but a whole suite of office applications. Microsoft is offering hosted Exchange for as low

as $2 per user per year. There is also a package at $8 per user per year with Exchange, Lync and Sharepoint integration. Compare this to the cost of an on-premise deployment of Exchange—roughly `1,400 per user in terms of licensing alone. Apart from the licensing cost, there are server, storage, power system, administrator, redundant network and bandwidth costs. Often, the cost of hosted email is estimated to be around `2,500 per user per year for a server catering to 500 users over a 3-year period. Messaging solutions off the cloud offer no real entry barrier in terms of technical knowledge for channel partners. Microsoft has even engaged regular distributors such as Redington to engage with channel partners for enablement. Migration services (from premises to a hosted model) and other integration opportunities can result in extra services revenue for systems integrators.

Office & small biz apps Office applications off the cloud is a business opportunity that requires channels to make little or no investment. Puneet Thakkar, CEO, Shivaami Corporation, Mumbai, who has been selling Google Apps to his existing customer base, says that he has not made any investments. “Since Tata Communications have taken over the distribution, we have been pushing Google Apps to customers. We make around 20 percent, and there is no technical challenge or financial issue.” Google, Microsoft and Zoho are the three main players in this space. Microsoft India has initiated one of the most aggressive pitches to woo channels to sell its Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS) offering, Office365, through the Microsoft Cloud Partner Program. BPOS consists of cloud versions of Microsoft Office, Exchange, Sharepoint, Windows Intune and Microsoft CRM Dynamics, as well as Microsoft’s cloud computing platform Azure. The pricing cuts across several slabs with the highest slab presently priced at $24 per user per month. The company is offering standard commissions of 12 percent for the first year and 6 percent from the second year onward. “Over a period of time we will be introducing various channel rebate schemes that increase the profitability of the partners,” says Sanjay Manchanda, Director, Business Division, Microsoft India. Meanwhile, Zoho is offering, on monthly rates, a number of services including office applications, CRM, invoicing, project management, remote support and

“85 percent of SMBs are willing to move email to cloud. They are already exposed to the hosting model, and are comfortable with the idea of cloud-based hosting”

“We used to advise customers with over 100 users to set up their own mail server. Now with the cloud we can service customers of virtually any size”

Neha Jalan Goenka

George Zachariah GM, Host Cats

Senior Associate, AMI-Partners

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012

www.crn.in

cover story accounting. Tata Communications, which offers Google Apps through a white-label service called InstaOffice, is also offering Zoho products. TCS is another vendor. It has floated a cloud-based model called iON, which offers, apart from messaging, office applications, CRM, business analytics and ERP. “Over the past few months we have seen a lot of interest from customers for the TCS cloud offering. The market is just starting to mature. Customers are keen to look at

a pay-as-you-go model,” says Edward Jeevan, Director, Binary Systems, Bengaluru Smaller vendors are also looking at delivering business applications over the cloud. One example is GreeneStep Technologies, a Bengaluru-based company which is offering a suite of business applications including CRM, ERP, ticketing, ecommerce and supply chain for as low as `2,500 per user per month. “We are actively scouting for partners who can provide level one and two support, and can hand-hold customers.

Cloud seeding Sudarsan Ranganathan, CEO, Veeras Infotek shares various business models for partners in order to leverage the burgeoning opportunities in the cloud.

and earns a referral fee. Advantages include: 1. Addition to existing sales tactics, an either/or scenario ensuring return of effort. 2· Ensures high percentage commission in the initial stage and easy ramping. Disadvantages are: 1. Threat of any employee with a good customer relationship turning into a reseller. 2. Good model for multi-level marketing strategies; relevance of solution providers will diminish over time. 3. Loss of control over customer relationships. 4. Good for taking care of monthly expenses in the near term but bad for business

Build your own managed or cloud services data center: You invest in infrastructure including servers, storage and software. The advantages include: 1. The opportunity to differentiate based on SLAs; the ability to build your own brand. 2. If you can manage the capital, data center costs are lower compared to a white-label service. Sudarsan Ranganathan 3. You can manage and maintain customers. Disadvantages are: longevity. 1. Very high investment. It is advisable to deploy what I call the ‘Arrow Strategy,’ 2. People, expertise and continued innovation critical to where you start with a narrow offering, prove success, gain long-term sustainability. references and leverage that momentum to win additional business from your existing customers and to establish new White-label cloud services: The primary service provider customer business. owns the IT infrastructure and resells his hosted IT services I am also a strong advocate of the collaboration model. to you. Advantages are: In the cloud services space it is all the more relevant, but 1. Opex-based. Provides freedom in time-to-market. we need to answer a few questions before we align with any 2. Costs are in proportion to revenue; this helps to primary service provider. acquire mid-market and small business customers with 1. What are the offerings of the service provider? Are they enterprise-level computing needs. part of the service provider’s core competence? 3. Multiple data centers may be available to lower latency 2. Are there any reports available on the SLA performance of and national coverage. the service provider? 4. You can manage and maintain your customers. 3. Is the service provider able to offer multi-geography Disadvantages include: presence through its data centers? 1. Pricing, service level and capability dependent on primary 4. Is the service provider a channel-friendly partner? Does SP. it have a channel program? If it also sells directly is there 2. Potentially lower margins unless volumes reach tipping any clarity on channel conflict management? point. 5. What is the support escalation matrix within the service 3. Differentiators may be less as other solution providers provider, and what is your access to the same? might offer the same services through the same provider. 6. How flexible is the service provider in terms of meeting customer demands? Does it adhere to basic compliance Resell: In this case, the SP evangelizes the capability, requirements like HIPAA? n technology and service levels of the primary service provider

It is advisable to deploy the ‘Arrow Strategy,’ where you start with a narrow offering, prove success, gain references and leverage that momentum to win additional business

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

Organised by

30 May-1 June 2012, Palace Grounds, Bengaluru

www.ifsecsouthindia.com

South Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Exhibition for Security and Fire Technology Supported by

Riding on the success of IFSEC South India 2011 the second edition of IFSEC South India is scheduled from 30 May-01 June 2012 at Palace grounds, Bengaluru. Tende The second edition will continue to be the leading Auto and most vital security event for South Indian security companies. The event will offer an ideal platform to network with the key security professionals, see the latest innovations in technology from worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading companies, source business solutions and gather invaluable expert support, all under one roof.

Tender World

Media Partners

THE BUSINESS VALUE OF TECHNOLOGY

Safety & Security World Tender World Newspaper Group

For More Information Please Contact: Mr. Pankaj Jain, Project Director Unit 1604 & 1605, 16th Floor, Narian Manzil, 23 Barakhamba Road, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110 001 India T : +91 11 23765553 F : +91 11 23765552 E: pankaj.jain@ubm.com

cover story “Enterprise storage will move partially or fully to the cloud over the next few years. It will be interesting to see how channels react to this disruptive change”

“With storage-as-a-service, a customer need not worry about capacity planning or vendor software licensing, but pay based on the storage required”

Girish Krishnamurthy

Harikrishna Prabhu

Former MD, Kaseya India

Partners need not make any extra investments,” says Sunil Kumar, CEO, GreeneStep. While some partners sound excited, others point out that selling business applications or office software off the cloud will not be easy. “While Microsoft and Google have simplified the entire process by evolving compelling cloud models, a few users may be unwilling to shift from a desktop-based Office suite to a Webbased Office suite,” points out Vishal Bindra, CEO, ACPL. “Nevertheless, I see a huge market shift; give it a year and a half.” Adds Ajay Sawant, MD, Orient Technologies, “At present, the Internet here costs a bomb compared to what it does in the west. But bandwidth prices are going down, so adoption would begin in a couple of years as prices rationalize.” Vinod Menon, Director, Ashtech Mumbai, is more upbeat. “Without doubt, selling business applications through a cloud-based model is more exciting than other opportunities. This is because for a solution provider like us it is a space which is fairly new, and proposing a cloud-based model makes it easy for us.”

Storage-as-a-service One of the hottest trends in the cloud landscape is storage-as-a-service. There are several models and services in storage depending on the specific needs of a customer. In fact, many industry leaders are concerned about the future of stand-alone storage; they say that channel partners must embrace cloud-based models and be prepared for hybrid storage. “Enterprise storage will move partially or fully to the cloud over the next few years,” forecasts Girish Krishnamurthy, former MD, Kaseya India. “It will be interesting to see how channels react to this disruptive change in the way customers store data.” Several partners have already launched their own services or the white-labeled services of other vendors. For instance, Delhi-based Ace Data Devices (ADD) has launched a cloud-based service for backup and recovery, and offers a pay-as-you-go model. “We have 10 live customers at present, and are running pilots with 45 more,” disclosed Neeraj Mediratta, CEO, ADD. “The conversion rate is at least two customers per week. We are focusing on the manufacturing and healthcare segments.” Tata Communications, IBM, HP and Netmagic are some of the other vendors which have started offering cloud-based storage. “We recently tied up with Netmagic to roll out

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

Director, Technobind

disaster recovery services off the cloud. We are hoping to address the needs of mid-market resellers and their customers through the partner network of Netmagic,” said Ashish Guha, President, Global Sales, Sanovi Technologies. Object-based storage systems are another promising alternative to traditional NAS. Object-based storage forgoes traditional file systems which have capacity and management shortcomings. Instead, these systems assign a unique identifier, or digital fingerprint, to each file plus its metadata. Netmagic and Tata Communications are both expected to announce their Object-based storage cloud offerings shortly. While customers are expected to prefer their own premises for primary storage, the cloud has already become a common option for secondary storage, backup and disaster recovery. Says Karan Kriplani, Product Manager, Netmagic, “Customers are showing a lot of interest in storageas-a-service. While primary storage is still within the premises, backup and secondary storage is definitely moving to the cloud.” The consumerization of storage is a reality in mature markets, and channels expect it to happen in India too. There are several cloud-based backup and recovery services like Backblaze, Mozy (an EMC company), Dropbox, Apple iCloud, Box and Microsoft SkyDrive that target individual PC users. All services offer some basic storage (like 2 GB) free while extra storage is charged. The biggest advantage of storage-as-a-service for an enterprise is the freedom to take decisions based on pure SLA terms. As Harikrishna Prabhu, Director, Technobind, a VAD based in Bengaluru points out, “A customer need not worry about capacity planning, the choice of technologies or vendor software licensing, but pay based on the storage required.”

Security-as-a-service Security vendors have also started taking the cloud route to offer an alternative to premise-based investments. In India Tata Communications has been one of the first cloud service providers to jump on to the bandwagon. “Cloud-based security services, deployed within our IP backbone, complement your premisebased security components to deliver a comprehensive solution. We offer purpose-built architecture and scalable capacity to combat the full range of security threats you face,” says Prateek Pashine, President, SME,

cover story Why partners need PaaS skills

he biggest game changer in the cloud business is platformas-a-service (PaaS). According to both analysts and industry leaders, most Indian IT channel players are expected to find it tough to add any meaningful value as their customers chase PaaS-based offerings. PaaS is a category of cloud computing services that provides a computing platform and a solution stack as a service. Along with SaaS and IaaS, it is a service model of cloud computing. In this model, the customer or the solution provider creates the software using tools and libraries from the provider. “Given the fairly limited set of services needed to support those transactions and the thin margins usually associated with reselling most products, solution providers need to start thinking more about what really defines business value these days,” says Girish Krishnamurthy, former MD, Kaseya India. One of the biggest challenges is that most solution providers have historically shied away from custom application development projects because the risks associated with developing software are high and the cost of creating the application is significant. Cloud computing however is changing the economics of application development. Compared to traditional software development, it is much easier these days to develop applications using PaaS. “The platform as a tool from leading cloud service providers is definitely easier to use to create applications,” says Kenneth Gonsalves, Assistant Director, NRC FOSS, Chennai. “The best examples are Heroku and the Google App Engine.” Microsoft has been engaging its partners to start deploying applications on the Azure platform. Says Srikanth Karnakota, Director, Private Cloud, Microsoft, “We have been encouraging and enabling our partners to build solutions on top of Azure. Today, we have 2,000 customers on Azure.” The other dominant player, Google, which introduced the Google App Engine more than four years back, is not targeting regular resellers but communicating more with app resellers. Then there is Amazon and Rackspace which are building pieces that other platform developers can build on and deliver. It is likely that many of these platforms will survive though some of them will dominate. With dipping margins and increasing overheads, it is imperative that resellers start building application development skills and align with PaaS vendors. n

Tata Communications. Some of the services bundled by cloud-based providers include Internet clean pipes with DDOS mitigation, virtual proxies, managed authentication, antivirus software management and email security. Fortinet has been working with telcos and ISPs to offer security-as-a-service to enterprises and consumers. “We have a partnership with Sify Technologies for enterprise network and data center services based in India to enable them to offer an on-demand security solution and their Clean Connect service to their cloud computing customers,” says Vishak Raman, Regional Director, Fortinet India & Middle East. Raman says that the biggest opportunity lies with

“We have built a spam filtering solution using open source stack. We have been offering it for the past two years and have signed up many customers” L Ashok

Managing Director, Futurenet Technologies

telcos which have the bandwidth to work with IT resellers to offer value added services. “We see in the future security delivered as a monthly subscription fee. L1 support can be handled by partners while the telco’s call center takes care of continuous support.” Hosted email security is another business that’s fast receiving acceptance. Symantec, which acquired Messagelabs, offers antispam and antivirus filtering for email servers on a hosted model. Even channel partners have come up with their own offers. Chennai-based Futurenet Technologies has a hosted email spam filtering solution which is hosted from multiple servers across the globe. It has been offering the service on a pay-as-you-go model for the past two years. Explains L Ashok, CEO, Futurenet, “We have built the solution on top of an open source stack. The hosted model works better for customers because they do not have to worry about infrastructure costs.” The demand is coming even from the smallest players—the SOHO and the home segment. And contrary to popular belief that the enterprise segment would adopt a wait-and-watch attitude before taking the plunge, it is this segment that is adopting the cloud because of the savings they could infer after doing a cost analysis.

Infrastructure-as-a-service As a concept, infrastructure-as-a-service has fast gained maturity because of the attractive pricing models that vendors in the space have launched. According to S Sriram, CEO, iValue Systems, “Selling infrastructure-as-a-service in terms of simple compute instances has become an accepted norm in the industry today.” Amazon, which pioneered this idea, has actively started scouting for opportunities in India. Said Shane Owenby, MD, APAC, AWS, “The usage patterns and adoption rates for India are similar to those around the world. Indian companies use AWS as a cost-effective underlying infrastructure to build their business, and as

“Our Instacompute platform can be white-labeled by a channel partner and he can then offer value added services to his customers” Prateek Pashine

President, SME, Tata Communications

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012

www.crn.in

cover story Popular cloud offerings in the marketplace Vendor

Cloud offerings

Opportunities

Challenges

Price range

Average partner margins

Microsoft

Microsoft Office 365, Sharepoint, Exchange, other tools

Microsoft has one of the best channel programs involving regular distribution

Is expensive compared to competition on absolute dollar payment

$2 to $24 per month

12 percent upfront, 6 percent after one year

Google

Google Apps

Email, Calendar and Office apps on the Google infrastructure

Evolving channel program

`250 per user to Rs 2500 a user per year

20 percent

Amazon

Amazon EC2/S3 compute/storage platforms

Enterprise class compute and storage solutions

Amazon is only focused on enterprises, no strong channel connect

Starts at `5,000

15 percent

IBM

IBM Smart Cloud services private/public/ hybrid cloud platforms

Handholding through IBM channel programs

Fairly new offers, no plans for smaller business

Starts at `5,000 for a public cloud instance

10 percent

Tata Communications

Instacompute platform

Channel friendly program. Reselling of Google and Zoho applications. Advantage of local data center

Lacks comprehensive public APIs unlike Amazon

Starts at `5,000 for a public cloud instance

15 percent

Netmagic

SimpliCloud

Localized servers and distribution strategy in place

Lacks comprehensive public APIs unlike Amazon

Starts at `5,000 for a public cloud instance

15 percent

TCS

Business Applications like CRM, ERP

Has first mover advantage. Focus on SMBs. 100 percent channel driven

Had teething issues during the roll out

Starts at `6000 per user per month

15-22 percent

BackBlaze

Online backup over cloud

Offers the cheapest online backup

Does not have India presence

$50 per year

14 percent

* Based on industry sources

an important part of their GTM strategy to expand across different regions around the world.” A public cloud is essentially a scalable virtual machine that’s made available to a customer on a payas-you-go model. “Since most on-premise infrastructure is not properly utilized, the cloud model makes a lot of sense for enterprises of all sizes,” reasons Ganesan Arumugam of VMware India. Service providers are also offering infrastructure for partners to set up their cloud services as well as whitelabel their services. “Our Instacompute platform can be white-labeled by a channel partner and he can offer value added services to his customers,” informs Pashine. VMware has signed on around 40 partners for the VMware Cloud Service Provider program, and is offering a pay-as-you-go model for them to offer cloud services to their customers at a monthly subscription as low as $360. Another opportunity for systems integrators is the

“Indian companies use AWS as an underlying infrastructure to build their businesses, and as part of their strategy to expand around the world” Shane Owenby

MD, APAC, Amazon Web Services

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

private and public cloud. “Private clouds and hybrid clouds represent a huge opportunity. Customers who have reasonable in-house infrastructure could set up private clouds and then move applications to the public cloud to set up hybrid clouds,” says Apalak Ghosh, Manager, Emerging Technologies Research, CMR. Intel has also joined the race. Leveraging on its OEM partnership with Microsoft, Intel has bundled nearly 74 applications and is offering the same on a pay-as-you-use basis. The hybrid cloud server is leased out to customers for 1-3 year contracts. “We quote an indicative upper-limit figure, of which a customer has to pay a standard fee for the hardware irrespective of whether he uses it or not. The cost of the software licenses are calculated on the cloud payment model,” explains Murali Krishnan, MD of the Bengaluru-based NJ Data Print. Another obvious advantage is the faster availability of infrastructure. “Customers need not wait and can very quickly use infrastructure. This makes it easier for them to go to the market faster,” says Vamsi Velluri, GM, Cloud, IBM India/SA.

Conclusion While for many years the cloud remained a much-hyped technology, there is no doubt now that the opportunities are real, hence cloud service providers are developing channel programs which make it easier for partners to sell cloud-based solutions. n

Connect and interact with more than 1,000 resellers at half the cost of a 50-delegate F2F event

May 30-31 & November 21-22

After the successful launch of CRN Virtual Expo in May 2011, CRN brings to you two Virtual Expos in 2012. CRN Virtual Expo 2012 will bring together more than 1,000 channel partners from across 150+ cities, thus making it the largest such virtual initiative in the IT channels in the country. A combination of web and video-based live conference program and an interactive online exhibition, the CRN Virtual Expo promises to be the most cost-effective channel marketing tool for IT vendors.

For Sponsorships contact: Salil Warior | +91 99875 80188 | salil.warior@ubm.com North: Sanjay Khandelwal | +91 98117 64515 | sanjay.khandelwal@ubm.com West: Ranabir Das | +91 98200 97606 | ranabir.das@ubm.com

www.crn.in/virtualexpo

market focus

Trends

in the display

market Despite intense competition and rapidly improving technologies, the computer display business has been the steadiest segment in the IT peripherals market. This has brought comfort to both vendors and partners n RAMDAS S

DC estimated the total size of the computer display market to be around 7.7 million units in 2011, with a 4.2 million market for stand-alone displays (that is, those not sold as a PC bundle by an OEM). In monetary terms, the Indian display market was estimated to be worth `2,350 crore last year. In 2012 the number of stand-alone units sold is expected to touch 5 million, while the total number of units is expected to be 7.9 million; this growth in stand-alone sales—17 percent—is the highest growth projected among all stand-alone IT accessories and peripherals. “Though new technologies are emerging, they are not being disruptive, and the market will grow faster than the DIY market and assembler market because the new technologies are constantly driving customers to upgrade and replace,” reasons Ramprasad Lakshminarayan, GM, Channel Business, Fujitsu India. In 2011 as many as 15 major players competed for mind space and market share in the segment. Apart from specialized display players such as Samsung, LG, Viewsonic, AOC, Kobian and Philips (through MMD), PC OEMs such as Asus, Acer, Dell, HCL and Fujitsu also are fighting for market share. Other PC OEMs (such as HP and Lenovo) do not position their products in the stand-alone space, but are offering monitors to their

partners to protect their turf. There are also new players (including Beetel, Intex, Moser Baer and iBall) which have strong channel connect.

“LED offers 20-30 percent power savings compared to LCD monitors, and are more reliable. This is prompting vendors to offer a 3-year warranty on LED displays”

“The display market will grow faster than the DIY and assembler markets because new technologies are driving customers to upgrade and replace”

Sanjoy Bhattacharya

R Lakshminarayan

GM, Sales & Marketing, IT Products, LG

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

LED replacing LCD Most monitor makers say that their LED monitor shipments have surpassed their LCD shipments during H22011. They report that LCD shipments today account for just 20-30 percent of their total shipments. The prices of LED monitors are now 10-20 percent more than those of LCD monitors. Says Ajay Sharma, Country Head, Viewsonic India, “We feel that by the end of the year the prices will be on par, which would mean that few vendors will carry LCD monitors.” “LED displays are superior for many reasons. Most importantly, they offer better contrast, and are sharper as they offer a wider color range when RGB-LED backlighting is used,” says Sanjoy Bhattacharya, GM, Sales & Marketing, IT Products, LG Electronics. “In addition, they offer 20-30 percent better power savings compared to LCD monitors, and are far more reliable.” This reliability is prompting monitor vendors to offer a 3-year warranty on LED displays. Monitor makers have issued matrices which say that within 3-6 months of usage LED monitors offer enough power savings compared to LCD monitors to negate

GM, Channel Business, Fujitsu India

market focus “In 2011, 18.5” was the highest in demand with 45 percent market share followed by 15.6” with 30 percent. At present 20” displays have 25 percent market share”

“3D gaming is catching on in India. While there is availability of 3D content, consumers have been reluctant to buy it because of prohibitive prices”

Saji Kumar

Harish Kumar RP

Director, Product Development, Acer India

the price difference of a few hundred rupees. LEDs also create less environmental pollution on disposal compared to CCFL backlit LCDs. “Thinner products are more efficient, space-saving and aesthetic. LED monitors can be extremely slim, and in our new product lines we have some screens less than a centimeter in thickness,” says Saurav Grover, Sales Head, Monitor Business, AOC India. Market research firm Display Research has indicated that the contract pricing for LED displays would be cheaper than for LCD by H22012. In 2011, the 18.5”/19” monitors were the most in demand, and it is expected that in India there will be a shift to the larger 20” monitors during the current year. Remarks Saji Kumar, Director, Product Development, Acer India, “Last year the 18.5” was the highest in demand with a market share of about 45 percent followed by the 15.6” with a market share of approximately 30 percent. At present 20” displays have around 25 percent market share.” Gautam Raj, Proprietor, GK Sales Corp, Guwahati, offers more insight. “Affordability is the most important factor that defines spikes and dips in the sales of IT peripherals. We have seen that value-conscious buyers who may have spent extra bucks to buy a larger screen chose to budget for a smaller screen while buying a new PC during the HDD shortage as the disk drive accounted for a larger portion of the price. Once HDD prices drop, we will expect bigger sales of the larger screens.” While monitor makers carry models that have 22”, 24”, 25” and 27” screens, most makers do not see volumes picking up for screens larger than 24” this year.

3D focus Monitor makers are viewing the 3D monitor market with a lot of interest. The market size is estimated to be around 3,000 units a month, which is too small for some of the vendors to invest in presently. According to Harish Kumar RP, CEO, Bengalurubased Connoisseur Electronics, “The 3D monitor market is still limited to gaming and entertainment enthusiasts. 3D gaming is huge abroad, but in India we are still catching on. While there is availability of 3D content, consumers have been reluctant to buy it because of the prohibitive prices.” There are two types of technologies in 3D monitors—Shutter Glass (SG) and Film-type Patterned Retarder (FPR). SG monitors have been around for three years, and are so far regarded as the industry standard.

CEO, Connoisseur Electronics

FPR monitors are expensive, and their street prices are `17,000-19,000 for an 18.5” monitor. Apart from the monitor cost, the customer needs to invest in glasses to experience the content. SG glasses cost `7,000-8,000 depending on the manufacturer. “If you need to play a multi-player 3D game you need to have multiple glasses, which makes it difficult for most consumers,” points out Sharma. AOC recently launched 3D monitors based on FPR technology at a price of less than `12,000 with the 3D viewing glass price being around `1,500. “We can now build a 3D gaming PC at a lower cost,” says Harish. “Of course, there is still a lot of discussion about SG and FPR, and which is superior.” Meanwhile Nvidia, which became the pioneer in the 3D gaming market by introducing 3D Vision in 2009, is now facing stiff competition from AMD with its HD3D.

Other trends Monitor TVs are essentially LED monitors with built-in TV tuner displays. Monitor makers have been reluctant to enter this market because they do not want to compete in a space that is heavily dominated by television vendors and their channels. “The market for TV monitors is less than a percentile. Only LG and AOC are presently focused on this market, and we do not see a huge growth in this space right now,” admits Grover of AOC. Monitor makers are trying to differentiate their models by adding DVI and HDMI ports. A DVI port model usually costs around `200 more than a model without this port. HDMI is very popular, especially on larger screen models, since these products can be used to connect to home theaters and other electronic devices that support HDMI connectivity. Another trend being anticipated is that of monitor makers catering to the AIO market. Viewsonic has already launched models, and Asus is expected to offer some soon. Other segments that monitor vendors see a lot of potential in are CAD/CAM design, medical instrumentation, and print graphics design where color calibration and attention to detail are prime requisites. “We have been addressing this opportunity for long, and with massive IT adoption in niche segments you would see demand growing,” says Bhattacharya. Sharma agrees. “While some of these products are sold through specialized channels, IT channels must not ignore the opportunity.” n — With inputs from Abhijeet Mukherjee

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012

www.crn.in

Every year “WE” bring together the most qualified technology professionals and business decision-makers under one platform. The IT fraternity marks their calendar as a must-visit show. The names of some companies embedded within INTEROP are key indicators of active representation from the Enterprise IT.

Gold & Badge Partner

Bronze & Lanyard Partner

Mc Donalds

Contact: Salil Warior | +91 99875 80188 | salil.warior@ubm.com Surajit Bit | +91 98734 45423 | surajit.bit@ubm.com

Supporting Associations

Media Partners THE BUSINESS VALUE OF TECHNOLOGY

www.crn.in

www.informationweek.in

Online Media Partners Silver Partner

Bronze Partner

www.crn.in

THE BUSINESS VALUE OF TECHNOLOGY

www.informationweek.in

www.interop.in

Mutual Industries Heuristics Informatics Java Jugglers

(n)Code Solutions

Mundra Port & SEZ

AIMS

Think London

Oerlikon Textile

Coromandel Murugappa

Patni

If 5000+ IT decision makers matter to your business, plan your participation.

Technology companies looking at showcasing innovations, generating leads, reinforcing brand visibility and exceeding potential business opportunities, attend INTEROP.

Platinum & Gala Reception Partner

Walt Disney

Toyo Engineering

Torrent Power

DSK Digital

Directi

General Mills

Taj Hotels Tata Capital

SECO Tools

Shell

Piaggio

National Informatics Centre

Vista InfoSec

Karvy

TAFE

Wipro BPO

VFS Global

IFFCO

M&M

Microland

AIMS

MSEDCL

HPCL

Sparsh BPOGMR Intelenet Global

Kuoni Group

AGC Networks

FIAT India

Business Standard ICICI Prudential K. Raheja Corp

Cognizant

HPCL

Malayala Manorama

CRIS

Deloitte

Aditya Birla Group Blue Star Infotech

Honeywell

GNFC

Bharat Fritz Werner

HUDCO

GMR

D&B

CDAC

Geodesic

NABARD

Indian Oil

Patni

CESC

Shoppers Stop Anagram

BPCL

role model It starts with a one-man-army Ajaya Kumar, CMD of the `120 crore retailer and regional distributor, Park Network, takes us back to his roots n ABHIJEET MUKHERJEE

oon after completing his engineering in electronics from NIT, Kurukshetra, in 1980, Ajaya Kumar joined SNS Diagnostics as Vice-president. The company had tied up with Hitachi Medical, Japan, to import medical electronic equipment to India. After a stint of five years at SNS Diagnostics, Kumar enrolled for his MBA in finance from FMS, Delhi and after completion in 1988, joined Weston Electronics (a company that manufactured TV sets) as General Manager and worked there till 1994. That was when he started thinking about his own venture. IT was a big business in the 1990s, and Kumar decided to take the plunge. “My experience at Weston coupled with my degrees in engineering and business gave me the confidence to start my own IT venture,” he recalls. He started Park Network in 1995 as a small officecum-retail store with an initial investment of `5 lakh. Today, with more than 700 active resellers, Park is considered one of the foremost regional distributors in the NCR.

The beginning The company did not face any major hiccups due to Kumar’s extensive experience in distribution. “We started by distributing HP Vectra for HCL. At that point of time we also had an ancillary through which we supplied products such as harnesses and cables to HCL.” He continues. “In 1998, when HCL launched its BusyBee PCs, we started distributing the product in the NCR. Initially it was a one-man-army, but as my business grew I expanded the sales force. In FY1998-99 we earned revenue of `6 crore.” In 1999 Kumar opened his distribution office in Nehru Place, Delhi. The company started selling Samsung ODDs, HDDs and TFTs; Sony TFTs; and HP printers. “We were very clear from the beginning that we would work only with tier-1 vendors and would distribute only consumer products. HCL continued to be our major revenue contributor,” he says. In 2000 Kumar got a big surprise when Shiv Nadar,

“We deal with our vendors and resellers with honesty and transparency. To motivate our team, we offer performance incentives. Employees who continued working for us for six months after joining never left” 38

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

Founder-Chairman, HCL Technologies, paid a visit to Park Network’s Noida office. “He was impressed with our year-on-year growth and our distribution strategy for HCL. In the short period of two years we had outperformed all other HCL distributors in the region in terms of the number of units sold,” beams a proud Kumar. Nevertheless, he freely admits that during those days the IT market was not overcrowded because the number of distributors was low and hence there was less competition. In 2003 the company decided to tap the telecom segment, and opened two Nokia stores in Noida and Greater Noida. Park expanded to Haryana and opened three retail stores in Kurukshetra, Hisar and Gurgaon in 2005. A year later it started distributing AOC’s LCD monitors. “We were the first regional distributor of the company after they started their business in India. The same year we started doing Sony Vaio notebooks, and these contributed around 10 percent to our turnover. We continue to distribute these two brands even today,” notes Kumar. By 2007 Park had clocked revenue of `75 crore. Says Kumar, “In FY2007-08 the three retail stores in Haryana

Role model

2011

2008

2005

2003

1999

1998

1995

`3 crore by its POS and barcode had taken off, and helped us get MILESTONES scanner business. revenue of `102 crore for the fiscal.” The company presently In 2008, when the IT industry distributes AOC, Samsung, Sony, was hit by the recession, Kumar Founded Park Network Lenovo, Acer, Toshiba and Canon decided not to panic. Although the products. “We stopped distributing company’s turnover slipped by 9 HP products around 2009 since percent to `85 crore, Kumar decided Started distributing HCL Sunil Dutt, the then Country not to follow the usual route of products Manager of HP PSG India, changed layoffs or salary reductions. their distribution strategy and roped “The slowdown did take its toll Opened distribution office in in telecom distributors,” Kumar on our retail business, and we had to Nehru Place says. close two of the stores in Haryana. Park Network now has a total We did not align with any new Opened two Nokia stores in of six retail stores and three partner during this period, but chose distribution branches. (It added two to remain loyal to our principals. Noida and Greater Noida Lenovo LES exclusive stores and an On the product front, instead of Acer Mall in Noida during the last experimenting, we focused on fastOpened three retail stores fiscal; it already had a multi-brand moving products that year.” in Haryana outlet and two Nokia stores.) “These The company began planning its six retail stores contributed around inventory better, and instead of the Clocked revenue of `20 crore to our revenue,” Kumar earlier norm of 21-25 days began `102 crore informs. Park Network currently has stocking inventory for only 10 days. more than 100 employees. Kumar also managed the show with Opened two Lenovo LES stores “We deal with our vendors the same working capital, and in and one Acer Mall in Noida and resellers with honesty and fact opened a distribution office at transparency,” explains Kumar. Wazirpur, Delhi in 2008. “To motivate our team, we offer With these steps, Park managed incentives for performance. Employees who continued to grow 12 percent in FY2008-09 and earned revenue of working for us for six months after joining never left.” `92 crore. Over the last 15 years Park Network has received at least 20 awards from different IT vendors, associations Future growth and research firms. The company aims to earn revenue of `135 crore in In 2000 the company received the Best Microtek FY2012-13 and `150 crore by FY2013-14. Kumar sees Distributor Award from Sahib Singh Verma, the then retail booming in the next 2-3 years, and therefore plans Chief Minister of Delhi. In 2004 it got the Best National to focus more on retail from now on. Re-distributor Award at the Skoch (an IT consultancy “The retail business will boom in the near future, & research firm) Summit and was also honored for the hence those in distribution should expand their Excellent Distribution of HCL’s Beanstalk. In 2005 Park business in retail. In FY2012-13 we plan to open two was felicitated with the Channel Excellence Award for new multi-brand and two exclusive retail stores. We Re-distributors by TVS Electronics, and a year later it might also add some new products and brands to the won the Best HP Distributor Award. distribution business.” In terms of product trends, Kumar thinks that the future will be dominated by tablets. “I feel that tablets Current business are going to impact the notebook market from next year. The company grew from `116 crore in FY2010-11 to Earlier, for people who wanted to invest in a device `120 crore in FY2011-12. “Though the revenue grew only for content consumption, there was no alternative by a mere 3 percent, our sales grew by 18 percent. The but to spend on a notebook. Now such consumers can depreciating ASP of IT products resulted in that kind of opt for tablets.” low growth,” Kumar explains. Of the total revenue of the last fiscal, `28 crore was contributed by TFTs, `69 crore by notebooks, `15 crore On a personal note by printers, `5 crore by its Nokia retail stores and Kumar was much influenced by Sunder Vachani, Chairman, Weston Electronics. “Under his guidance, I learned the nitty-gritty of the business including how to set a target, check balance sheets, detect loop-holes in a “Under the guidance of Sunder Vachani company, etc.” of Weston, I learned the nitty-gritty of the He is passionate about golf, and spends two days a week on the golf course. He also likes to swim during business including how to set a target, the weekends. Among travel destinations, mountains check balance sheets, and detect loopand beaches attract him. This July Kumar has planned a holes in a company” cruise with his family in the Mediterranean. n

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012

www.crn.in

tech focus

ways cybercriminals beat security

Cybercriminals have become adept at going around the latest security defenses. Here is a list of some of the most innovative malware in use today n Antone Gonsalves

he tactics of cybercriminals has evolved from using malware-carrying spam in a shotgun-like approach to finding doorways into corporate networks to studying prey like a methodical marksman, learning security controls and figuring out ways to bypass them. Over the years, many tools, processes and techniques have emerged to try to stay ahead of the crooks. Trusteer, a security vendor focused on desktop security, has compiled a list of the most innovative malware used to beat the latest defenses. Here are six of the more ingenious malicious apps.

Exploiting the browser Rather than continuously trying to trick people into clicking on malware attached to spam, crooks are exploiting browser vulnerabilities to infect computers. The systems are compromised when users are routed to malicious Websites through links embedded in search engine results or legitimate Websites. Exploit code is loaded once the user lands on the criminal’s site.

Stealing banking credentials Crooks used to try to steer PC users to bank-lookalike Websites to steal user names and passwords. Today, many criminals steal the credentials as users access genuine banking sites. To do that, hackers use key-logging malware in infected PCs. Such software records the keystrokes on a login page and sends the sequence to the fraudster’s server. To defend against such malware, companies have introduced two-factor authentication using one-time password sent through a token device. Creative crooks have bypassed the added security through malware that collects login credentials, sends them in real time to command and control server, and blocks the user for few minutes to give the fraudster time to access the site.

Man in the browser Most people are careful about emails requesting large amount of personal data, but are less guarded when requests originate from a genuine Website. Man-in-thebrowser malware waits for the PC user to login to an employee VPN site and then injects an HTML page that

Crooks used to try to steer PC users to banklookalike Websites. Today, many criminals instead steal the credentials as users access genuine banking sites 40

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

asks for additional credential information for “security reasons.” Once the fraudsters have this information, they are free to impersonate the victim.

Malware becomes more human Server-side security applications maintain a list of acceptable human-generated request sequences. Cybercriminals have figured out how to create malware that meticulously imitates user actions, making it difficult to tell malware from humans.

Mimicking validation emails Post transaction emails and text messages by businesses and banks are common. Customers receiving notification on a fraudulent transaction will quickly contact the business to stop the process. Advanced malware can inject code into popular Webmail, such as AOL, Yahoo, and Microsoft Hotmail, hiding authorization messages. As a result, fraudulent transactions are completed unbeknownst to the victim.

Beating transaction-signing protection Some banks are fighting criminals by having customers use card-reader transaction-signing systems to authorize all transactions. Users receive a reader and chip/PIN card and are required to authenticate each transaction by entering details in the reader such as amount and payee number. The transaction generates a code that banking applications validate against the details. To bypass this security, criminals have developed malware that waits for customers to log on to a bank’s Website and then changes the content of the post-login transaction to a message telling customers of an upgraded security system. The training process for the system includes making a money transfer to a fictitious account. If customers fall for the ruse, then they end up sending money to the fraudster. n

tech focus

Dell gets ultra

Fast, comfortable and super-responsive, the Dell XPS 13 is the best we have seen in this category n Edward J Correia

f all the devices the CRN Test Center has looked at that call themselves an Ultrabook, the Dell XPS 13 bears the most similarities to Apple’s MacBook Air. That is a good thing: The XPS 13 is fast, thin and light, and it winks instantly to life the moment its razor-thin lid is opened for business. The Dell XPS 13 also reliably delivers a good five to six hours of constant use on a single charge of its battery, according to most accounts (although we had a different experience), and is what we believe to be the best Ultrabook device we have seen for a much-needed laptop-industry shot in the arm. The first thing we noticed about the Dell XPS 13 out of the box was how relatively small it was compared with other 13-inch Ultrabook devices we have tested. Chalk that up to an (almost) bezel-free design that has its edge-to-edge Corning Gorilla Glass encased by a thin rim of machined aluminum, similar to many tablets. Overall, the Dell XPS 13 is about a half-inch shorter in length and width than the Acer Aspire S3, which the CRN Test Center also liked. To be exact, the Dell XPS 13 measures 12.4 x 8.1 inches, compared with the Aspire S3’s 12.75 x 8.5 inches and the MacBook Air’s 12.8 x 8.94 inches. In terms of thickness, Apple has the edge with a 3mm to 17mm range compared with Dell’s 6mm to 18mm spread. At a starting weight of 2.99 pounds, the Dell XPS 13 weighs about the same as devices from Apple and Acer, due in part to a lightweight and durable carbon-fiber base. In terms of performance, Dell‘s Ultrabook is lightyears ahead of Acer’s. Granted, the Dell XPS 13 is equipped with an Intel Core i7 (Model 2637M at 1.7GHz) compared with Acer’s Core i5 (at 1.6GHz), but all other specs were on par including memory (4 GB) and operating system (64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium). The Dell XPS 13 turned in a peak Geekbench 2.2 score of 7,457 compared with Acer’s 5,657. Both systems had nagware disabled and Windows performance settings set to maximum. During our battery test, which disables all power-saving features, the Dell XPS 13 delivered just 3 hours and 23 minutes. As for comfort during use, Dell wins hands down.

The Dell XPS 13 comes with Intel core i5 and i7 processors, Intel HD 3000 graphics, Windows 7 Home Premium, Wi-Fi a/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, 4-GB DDR3 1,333MHz SDRAM

The Dell XPS 13’s wrist rests have a comfortable rubbery texture, which also helps ensure a firm grip when moving the system or handing it off to a colleague. Two rubber strips keep the unit from creeping around while typing or if placed on an uneven surface. The roomy glass touchpad is 4 x 2.5 inches, which makes easy work of far-reaching finger gestures. The system cold-boots in 12 seconds and wakes from sleep in about 2 seconds, long before the hand begins to input. As for ports, the Dell XPS 13 offers

few. The left edge is home to a headphone jack, USB 2.0 and power input (which protrudes less than some but is still inferior to Apple’s MagSafe connector). On the right edge is a USB 3.0 SuperSpeed port, mini DisplayPort slot and a battery status button. That is it. There are no ports on the front or back edges, lending itself to a cleaner look and a less cluttered appearance. The one complaint we had about the Dell XPS 13 was its viewing angle. From straight on, the 300-nit display shines brightly its 1,366 x 768 (720p) pixels. But once the angle exceeds about 45 degrees in any direction, the colors and luminance shift significantly. Typical of TN display panels, the problem is particularly noticeable when moving from side to side. The Dell XPS 13 is available with Intel core i5 and i7 processors, with Intel HD 3000 graphics, starting at `79,990. It includes Windows 7 Home Premium, Wi-Fi a/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, 4-GB DDR3 1,333MHz SDRAM, backlit keyboard, 128- or 256-GB SSD, HD audio, stereo speakers, 1.3-megapixel Webcam, 100 GB of cloud storage and a 12-month Skype Premium subscription. Dell’s Ultrabook also is among the very first to implement Intel’s Smart Connect technology, which updates content even when the system is asleep. The CRN Test Center recommends the XPS 13 Ultrabook from Dell.n

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012

www.crn.in

channel buzz

n The winning Caviar Blue team with the WD Premier League trophy

WD Premier League WD organized the WD Premier League—a cricket tournament for its distributors and resellers in Hyderabad. More than 150 partners participated in the tournament of 3 matches at the RRC Grounds. Four teams, Caviar Blue (hard disk drives), Black, Green and Velociraptor, named after the company’s HDDs, played. Caviar Blue won the tournament. Sandeep Sethia, CEO, Shweta Computers & Peripherals was announced Man of the Match and Man of the Series. Khwaja Saifuddin, Senior Director, Sales, South Asia, ME and Africa, and Sushil Bandi, Country Manager, Indian sub-continent, WD were present. n

n Participants at the training program organized by Digisol

Digisol’s empowerment program Digisol, the active networking brand by Smartlink Network Systems organized its first edition of ‘Distributor Sales Empowerment Program’ (DSEP) to train them about Digisol products and solutions. DSEP consists of training of various modules like IP surveillance, switching and wireless. Under the program, along with product training, special technical training is also provided which consists of hands on laboratory test, followed by certification. The four day program was held in the Smartlink’s Goa facility. The first batch of DSEP consisted of 50 sales and pre-sales personnel of the distributors’ from all over India. This training will be scheduled every two months. n

n WatchGuard award winners pose for a group photo session

WatchGuard channel awards night WatchGuard Technologies organized its Annual Channel Awards Night. The event was attended by more than 100 partners across the country. TM Systems won the Best Partner for west, and Best Channel Partner ‘B’ Class cities. The company’s Binit Shah, Director, LSD, secured two titles for the Best Salesman of the Year, and Best Salesman in Single Account; and Divesh Doshi won the Best Engineer award.Secure Network won the award for best CP south, Versatile Infosecurity for north, and Sea Infonet for east. RAH Infotech won the Best Upcoming Distributor. Prolink Computers won the Best Upcoming Channel Partner award. iValue Infosolutions won the Best Distributor award for 2011. n

n Participants on the final day of Panduit annual distributor meet

Panduit India’s annual distributor meet Panduit India recently organized its annual distributor meet named “Driving Transformation”. The two day meet was focused on networking, channel strategy, technology updates and roadmap for FY2012-13. The meet provided distributors with a platform to present success stories from 2011. While it allowed partners network with the management and peers. Panduit updated the partners about trends and opportunities, innovation and technology leadership. The meet also provided opportunities to build relationships and collaborate and discover new ways to help ensure business acceleration. n

To feature your company’s events in CRN, send write-ups with photographs to editor@ubmindia.com 42

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

new products Mercury’s 3G voice tablet

obian launched Mercury mTab Neo2, its 3G voice tablet which is powered with a 1.2 GHz Cortex A8 multi tasking dual core processor, 512MB RAM and Google Android OS 2.3 Gingerbread platform which can be upgraded to Android 4.0. The 7 inch (16:9) capacitive screen comes with 1600 K color capacitive and high quality HD resolution. It has in-built voice support and 3G module. It supports Bluetooth (V2.0 + EDR/BT3.0) function. It has front and rear camera, HDMI 1080P video output and Flash 10.3 online video, 8 GB internal storage and supports up to a 32 GB microSD card. It provides multi-touch capacitive screen and a battery backup of 6 hours. The Mercury mTab Neo 2 is available at MRP of `14,999, comes with a 1-year warranty, and is distributed through Inspan.

Edimax wireless network camera

HCL launches U1 tablet, MyEduTab

CL Infosystems has launched two tablets, HCL ME U1 and the HCL MyEdu Tab. The latter has two versions, for K-12 students and for higher education. All the tablets are powered by Android 4.0.3 and are packed with 17 local ready to use applications, sports a 7 inch 800x480 pixel capacitive screen and has a 1 Ghz processor with high performance and low power CPU. The tablets come with a front camera and 512 MB RAM, an internal memory of 4 GB expandable to 32 GB. HCL ME U1 also has a full USB, mini USB and a Micro SD card slot and an option of 3G data connectivity through USB Modem. The ME U1 also provides Wi-fi connectivity. In addition the MyEduTab K-12 version comes with K-12 curriculum mapped digital content, educational applications and games. MyEduTab higher education version provides multimedia content on technical and professional skills, assessments and Apps. While the ME U1 is priced at MRP of `7,999, the MyEduTab K-12 and MyEduTab higher education versions are priced at an MRP of `9,999 and `11,499, respectively. The tablets come with a 2-year warranty, and are available with HCL authorized distributors.

Epson PictureMate PM245

dimax launched the IC-3015Wn wireless network camera designed for easy home monitoring. The size of an average smart phone, the camera is built with a wide 1.7 mm lens that covers a viewing angle of 74.8 degrees. With a 1.3 MP CMOS sensor, the camera can capture SXVGA (1280 x 960) videos at 30 FPS. It has a powerful multi-area motion detection system which takes a snapshot of detected motion and sends it to the user via email or FTP. Its free 16-channel viewer software for PC allows users to access and manage up to 16 network cameras simultaneously. The free EdiView viewer app for iPhone and Android phones allows users to access the network camera without a computer. The product is available for `4,650 from Neoteric. The warranty details are not available.

pson has launched portable compact 4X6 inch format photo printer. The print head employs Epson’s proprietary Micro Piezo inkjet printing technology which features Variable-Sized Droplet Technology (VSDT) that provides a maximum print resolution of 5760 x 1440 dpi. It takes about 37 seconds to print a 4R photograph (with or without border). The printer’s ID function allows users to customize various ID and passport photo sizes without using a PC. The Epson picture pack (four colour ink set) costs `1,400 per pack, and prints up to 150 pages of 4x6 inch photograph costing `8 each. The printer allows direct printing from memory cards through the builtin slots or connecting their digital camera using the printer’s PictBridge USB port, while viewing them from the 2.5-inch LCD screen on the PictureMate. The product comes at an MRP `9,999, with a 1-year carry in warranty, and is available with Epson authorized distributors.

The products featured here have not undergone any benchmarking or testing. The trailers contain information provided by vendors and distributors. To feature your company’s products in CRN, send write-ups with photos to editor@ubmindia.com

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012

www.crn.in

shadow ram GET

Toshiba fails to pay incentives?

Personal

artners are extremely upset with Toshiba who they allege has not paid incentives for a scheme it ran in Q22012. In retaliation many partners have not paid their regional distributors for Toshiba products bought in the last quarter. This has led to Toshiba’s overall business suffering. Toshiba has however rubbished partners’ claims and counter alleged that most of the claims were invalid because they failed to meet the scheme policies for submission of invoices and forms. A partner said. “The scheme which was launched in Q2 was so attractive that it had many wondering how Toshiba will actually deliver. For sales of as little as 11 notebook the company was offering a LCD TV. Our concerns have come true and we haven’t received our due rewards from the scheme.” A sub-distributor claimed, “Partners are holding up our payments asking us to mediate. Some of them are holding on to 4-5 months old bills, threatening that they will not make payments without getting the scheme rewards. We are hoping to have a meeting soon with the country head to solve the problems amicably.” n

“I went tiger hunting at 17” Sanjiv Singh is the Business Head, Invoicera.com. He is responsible for formulating growth strategy for Invoicera as a SaaS based product, driving volumes both in terms of new customer acquisition and recurring revenues.

Sanjiv Singh

If not in the IT industry: I would have run a restaurant of my own. Biggest Passion: To take up

new business challenges. Behind the wheels: I am not crazy about cars. But I would love to drive Volkswagen Polo—my son’s favorite. Gadgets I can’t live without: Nokia E71 and my notebook with data card. Weekends are for: Family (especially kids), movies and friends. Favorite holiday destination: Any hill station. Hate the most: Politics and politicians. Favorite Movie: Taare Zameen Par. Favorite Stars: Aamir Khan, AbhayDeol, Irfan khan and Robbie Williams. Role Model: Jack Welch, True leader and visionary of his times. Ultimate ambition: To be wealthy enough to buy every happiness for my family and if possible for society at large. Wildest thing I have ever done: At 17, my school friends and me went out tiger hunting. Thing I most want to do in life: Spend good time with my son before he turns into a teenager. If I became the PM: I will promote micro-financing through P2P lending for farmers and ensure managed distribution of excess agricultural produce in the country. Celebrity I would like to spend a day with: Nandita Das. One person I would like to meet and why: Warren Buffett, to learn the art of wealth creation. Deepest and darkest fear: Being a reason for failure. n

Computer Reseller News

15/04/2012 www.crn.in

— CRN Network

RNI NO. MAHENG/2011/39915 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