DT June Issue

GAMERS CONNECT

professional gaming: an emerging opporTuniTy for

young india D I G I TA L T E R M I N A L www.digital te rminal . i n

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INTERVIEW

“I Am Extremely Happy That Acer Retained No.1 Position in the Indian Gaming Market”

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Gamers Corner

HyperX Cloud Stinger Core Gaming Headset

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Interview

“I Am Extremely Happy That Acer Retained No.1 Position in the Indian Gaming Market”

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News in Brief

‘Quick Heal Kharido Foreign Jao’ Contest Winner Mr. Cawas M Daruwala Wins a Free Trip to Dubai

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Partner focus

Rashi Peripherals Indicates its Ambitious Growth Plans at ABR 2018

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New Arrivals

Kingston UV500 Series SSDs

COVER STORY

indian pc gaming markeT ready for

nexT phase of

growTh Indian gaming industry is a huge and growing rapidly to become one of the big market across the globe. There are many factors to rely upon this claim. But the bigger one is, we have world’s largest youth population.

According to India Gaming Show, currently valued at USD 890 million, the Indian Gaming Industry is estimated for the annual growth rate of 14.3 per cent with mobile Gaming taking the lead at 71% share. The growth is driven by rising younger population, higher disposable incomes, introduction of new gaming genres, and the increasing number of smartphone and tablet users. All bigger brands are looking to tap this huge opportunity. They race to lead this market has already intensified as Acer recently became market leader in gaming market. According to IDC, Acer emerged as the leading brand in India in the fourth quarter of 2017, with 25.4 per cent market share in the gaming laptops segment and 41.9 per cent share in gaming monitors. Other stakeholders for this industry are also eyeing major market share to grab in coming days. DT recently interacted to all players of this ecosystem, like brands, partners and gamers, to know more about their plans and over sentiments for Indian market. Let’s check out their opinion and plans in this special story.

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COVER STORY

PC GAMING ATTAINED EXPONENTIAL GROWTH Gaming has become a lucrative market space and PC gaming brands are leveraging the opportunities, they are strengthening their grip over market as well as they are focusing more towards such gamers who demands for extreme gaming machines. In past few years we have seen boom in the demand of high-end gaming machines which is due to the increasing market size.

“Gaming is growing to a very compelling brand of entertainment and for some a profession in India. With the current rate of technological innovation, we see a huge potential for this industry says Chandrahas Panigrahi, CMO & Consumer Business Head, Acer India. “The Indian gaming industry has been continuously evolving over the past few years, in terms of availability of better PC hardware for highend. The factors like Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) will push the boundaries even higher. In addition to this, the Indian gaming industry has been advancing from casual to serious gamers and therefore we see a massive scope by reaching out to bulk of untapped gamers across Tier I and Tier II cities” he added.

Commenting on the gaming as a full-time profession, Vishal Parekh, Marketing Director, Kingston Technology & HyperX – India stated, “Gaming as a profession, is gaining a wider acceptance at a professional level in India and the millennials have a plethora of career options with it. Rather than pursuing a regular career, people are considering gaming as a viable career option as the segment has huge growth potential in terms of revenue and exposure. Select endemic brands like ours, are working closely towards empowering gaming communities by sponsoring the local gaming teams and providing them a platform to compete. With the growing popularity and frequency of tournaments in India, Indian gamers are also aspiring to compete globally for unprecedented prize pools.” www.digital te rminal . i n

“PC gaming is still dominating the overall gaming market. Pc gaming is not very big in India, its still in its infancy stage, and is growing at a decent pace currently. As gaming becomes more and more popular, you will see an influx of gaming products being made available at competitive prices.

We feel that this market will surely grow in the coming years This segment is also not very price sensitive and gamers are willing spend for quality products. The upgrade cycle in gaming industry is also much more faster. We are the only Indian brand to launch real premium gaming products which till date is available with MNC brands. We have got many raving review for our premium products. This segment has huge potential and we expect the desired results in next 2-3 years” added Rajesh Doshi, Director, Zebronics India Pvt. Ltd. “According to a recent joint report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and TechSci Research, the Indian gaming industry that was valued at $543.08 million in 2016 is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.61 per cent, in value terms, over the next five years. Valued at $84.40 million, the computer gaming segment accounted for a share of 15.54 per cent in the gaming market in 2016. Core gamers who do not intend to move to console gaming and make additional investments are today driving the PC gaming industry in the country” concluded Mukesh Chaudhary, Country Head-India, SAARC & ME, RAPOO Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.

“PC gaming is one of the fastest evolving vertical in India and has picked up massively in the last few years. Being the capital of youths, India will be having the highest number of gaming enthusiasts and internet users” stated M A Mannan, Country Manager, Corsair India. “With the increased popularity and interest towards PC gaming and other competitive electronic games, Indian eSports is growing rapidly and giving neck to neck competition to other countries. Statista says, “It is expected that the industry will be worth 71 billion Indian rupees in 2021.” According to a CII report last year, India’s gaming industry was valued at $543.08 million in 2016 and is projected to cross $800 million by 2022. As per the industry estimation, the overall PC gaming market in India is around Rs 600-700crore right now, and is growing at a compounded

annual growth rate of 30-40 per cent. The most interesting fact is it’s just not men who are contributing to Indian gaming industry, 32% of the market consists of female players revealed study from NewZoo.” Gordon Tse from Galax says, “In the recent years, the number of PC gamers in India has increased at a rapid pace owing to the advanced gaming technologies and better internet connectivity coupled with improving telecom infrastructure in the country. The major emerging trends in Indian PC gaming industry is growing adoption of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies.”

PARTNERS ADORE GROWTH MOMENTUM “The current market is now quite respectable but it does not completely reflect upon the current market potential. We are seeing exceptional growth in the gaming sector for the last three years; particularly we are seeing great growth in the mid-range sector which makes us even more confidant because this means that Gaming is no longer being seen as a luxury” stated Himanshu Jain, Director, Acro Engineering.

Explaining the today’s ecosystem of Indian gaming industry Shravanth Reddy, MD & CEO, LXG said, we started LXG in 2013 as a popular Gaming Café in India and it soon became the largest in the country.

This is probably the time when there was just Gaming in India, and no concrete market as such. But on working closely with brands like NVIDIA and HyperX, we understood the niche audience that we could leverage in terms of business revenue. To summarize our experience with India gaming, we have seen its transition from being ‘Just another market’ to a ‘Gaming market’ to ‘One of the Fastest Growing Gaming market’. Growth has been possible due to multiple factors like inclusion of the gaming community, strategic business models of newer sellers like us, involvement of brands that support the partners and above all the passion to create value for the end customers, i.e. gamers. Then there’s always quality of products and the seller’s commitment to deliver as per the gamer’s expectations.

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COVER STORY

Kaira Global has seen the transformation of Indian gaming industry from very close and Mr. Manoj Attal, Director, Kaira Global briefly shared his views, “We have seen tremendous growth in the gaming industry in past years. The industry estimates that the PC gaming segment in India is expected to grow at CAGR of 16.8% to touch USD 130.0 million in 2019. The Indian gaming revolution has drawn plenty of attention in the last couple of years and will continue in coming years. We see a huge potential for gaming in India backed with n number of reasons. With accessibility to high data speed and reliable infrastructure offerings, Indian gaming market is turning into a billion dollar market. Besides, hardware components are becoming compact and powerful day by day, making an experience worth for players. To keep the interest up and going, the manufacturers/developers of PC gaming peripherals started offering the components at an affordable price including high-end processors and advanced gaming laptops. The jaw dropping price pools is the other reason driving the growth of PC gaming market in India. The passion for PC gaming among Indian youth is growing and many gamers are turning this passion into profession.”

NEW INNOVATIONS ENHANCING MARKET GROWTH Newer hardware technology developments are engaging consumers with a more interactive and cinematic experience which has taken gaming to a completely new level.

“We are betting big by focusing on bringing powerful and unique gaming innovations that offers exceptional performance within a wide range of budget. We see a huge potential for gaming laptops in India, as the hardware components are becoming more compact and powerful day-by-day, perhaps making laptops lighter, sleeker and compact.

With the hardware playing a prime role, the performance gap between desktops and laptops is narrowing down. Gaming laptops have come a long and with each passing day, they are becoming as powerful as desktops.

A couple of factors like weight, size and noise that were a major challenge earlier are now being steamed out. We recently launched Predator Triton 700, Predator 21X in India, Triton 700 is one of the thinnest gaming laptop in the world that offers highend gaming experience while Predator,” commented by Chandrahas Panigrahi.

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There maybe some ideal PC for gaming which can improve the gaming experience, Vishal Parekh added on this and says, “Being in the industry for so long and being close to the community there is no ideal configuration for gaming. With time, there are so many permutations and combinations with components and peripherals across different budgets. However, we work with other brands and channel partners to create standard combinations that a general gamer can invest in. We urge your readers to get in touch with us so that we can fine tune a system to their requirements.”

Rajesh Doshi, Zebronics India Pvt. Ltd. says, “The innovations happens in all components of gaming PC, it happens at a rather rapid pace. The processing power of gaming system increases with a new generation of CPU and GPU. This usually mean much higher power consumption and heat dissipation. We have vast range of gaming cabinets with excellent airflow and support for cooling systems, to run the systems more efficiently. Recently we launched Helius cabinet. Talking about premium gaming chassis, Matrix was one of the first cabinets in India with double ring fans. Input and output device also make huge contribution to the overall experience.

First time in India we launched affordable mechanical keyboard with unbeatable quality, our “Max” range of mechanical keyboards that comes with various feature like high quality mechanical keys, N-key rollover, RGB backlight, suspended keycaps and more.”

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Being one of the key player in gaming industry, Mukesh Chaudhary, RAPOO Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. stated, “There has been an increase in popularity for online PC gaming owing to the increasing interest of gamers towards eSports and other competitive electronic games. eSports drew 258 million unique viewers globally last year, says global research firm SuperData, adding that the esports industry will top $2 billion in revenue by 2021. To provide seamless, lag-free gaming, hardware has also taken a giant leap. Newer hardware technology developments are engaging consumers with more interactive and cinematic experiences.

Rapoo has constantly been innovating products in this cutting edge space to give best experience to gaming customers.

This year, we have introduced our gaming brand VPRO to offer our customers the best combination of innovation and value in the gaming accessories segment.”

“For decades, advances in hardware have reshaped PC gaming ecosystem and the future is shaping up to be even bigger.

2017 saw some of the fantastic processors, motherboards, graphic cards, VR ready PCs, PC components and peripherals. This year trends and gamers liking are more aligned towards VR ready & wireless components.

Corsair has already marked its entry in the wireless components category; it is pretty much aligned with the trend. The newest launch of Lapboard combo (K63 wireless + Lapboard) coupled with Dark Core RGB SE mouse and Void series wireless headsets aims

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COVER STORY

to make gaming on couch more comfortable and convenient. Being a world leader in providing high-performance PC peripherals and components, we will continue to bring in more and more innovative products in coming years” added M A Mannan, Corsair India.

Gordon Tse from Galax concluded, “In PC gaming, VR technologies requires a powerful graphics card to deliver an optimal user experience. Many PC game developers seem to be shifting its capabilities away from its historical base to capitalize on VR opportunities in hardware and software.

This trend is gaining popularity, creating an opportunity to sell high-grade GPUs.” “The biggest significant innovation that we have seen is the growth of the Gaming Café sector. These café are a key infrastructure asset for the gaming ecosystem. This way we can reach out and facilitate gamers that still cannot invest in acquisition of gaming hardware” commented Himanshu Jain, Acro Engineering.

“From a gaming seller’s point of view, there’s innovation in terms of hype around certain product technologies. Gamers prefer a bling to their PC setup and actually prefer buying RGB products for a premium” said, Shravanth Reddy, LXG. “There’s also demand for custom made systems that have a more personal touch to it. Customization does not end at just parts, but also goes into personalized components, such as cases, liquid cooling and the gamer’s favourite additional RGB lighting.”

According to Mr. Manoj Attal, Kaira Global, “The components play a vital role in the PC gaming ecosystem. Considering the mania of gamers, the developers/manufacturers of PC gaming peripherals have brought in many innovations to advance the user experience which are accomplished by larger screens and faster graphic cards. The introduction of top-notch gaming peripherals such as 16k DPI Mouse, 80 Million keystroke keyboards, affordable 7.1 channel headsets, gaming chairs for long haul gamers, large PC cases etc., has accelerated the PC gaming industry statistics.”

CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME Gaming is one of the hottest topics nowadays and almost everyone is fascinated about this emerging trend. PC Gaming industry is one of the industries

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that has picked up growth momentum unexpectedly.

Success and challenge are two different sides of a coin and both are very close to each other.

There are several challenges in this industry that often creates trouble for the entire market.

Some of the challenges that still exist are, lack of awareness, increasing trend of mobile gaming, acceptance of gaming as a profession, purchasing right gaming machine, absence of good professional trainers and many more.

“One of the major challenge that we see is to change the perception of gamers. These days, gamers have high expectations when it comes to their gaming systems, particularly when they have the liberty of customizing any hardware configuration in their desktop chassis,” said Chandrahas.

He further adds, “Owing this, numerous gamers terminate the idea of using a portable gaming laptop due to old myths avowing, you can’t get any decent performance from such a small and supposedly constricted device.

This has been changed completed now, as mentioned above, gaming laptops available today are as powerful as a gaming desktop.

Secondly, gaming is looked upon as a hobby and not a profession in India unlike some of the western countries and Asian countries

like South Korea. But with more professional gaming events coming to India we are confident that this market for serious gamers will pick up.”

“The gaming community is pretty well connected and is slowly getting its due recognition, but being a professional gamer here, does not always have the warmest reactions from their parents or society at large. To top that, investing in appropriate gaming systems is not a priority for most parents. Though we at HyperX support multiple projects and campaigns that promote gaming in India, we believe that added initiatives from the community will help cultivate a more supportive environment” commented by Vishal.

“The PC gaming market may face threat from the mobile gaming industry in the coming years. As mobiles gaming is getting more and more popular because smartphones are more of a need today than luxury as it used to be earlier. Although processing power of mobile devices are very small when compared to PC gaming, many amatuer gamer today prefer gaming on mobile devices” added by Rajesh Doshi.

Talking on challenges Mukesh Chaudhary said, “The foremost challenge on the gaming market is to gain enough visibility in retail and media coverage for which you need a huge investment. Furthermore, the gaming market is highly fragmented. In such an environment, companies have to think hard about positioning themselves as well as finding the right identity for their games in order to compete in the wild mix.”

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COVER STORY “The recent mining activity has created a big void in demand and supply for components.

There is a shortage of raw materials for making PC components, which has resulted into increase in cost of graphic cards, power supply etc. Cost remains as a major challenge in this segment. Another significant challenge is the negative perception among peers/ family for eSports” stated by Mannan.

“Only a few developers can afford to take the risk to develop some innovative games.

There has been a sudden rise in development costs for advanced technology, which has made it incredibly difficult for game makers to try their hand at new things” concluded by Gordon.

But according to Himanshu Jain, real challenge is lack of awareness among gamers which he believes need major attention from all stakeholder. He says, “The primary challenge that we still facing today is the awareness of the potential for growth in the Gaming market. We have gamers that come in to invest, but that’s because of their passion for the same.

There are many monetary benefits that come with gaming and we work very hard to communicate that.”

High cost is also one bigger challenge for growth of this industry. “First of all the main culprit is the rising cost of multiple PC components, which affects the demand in different parts of the country. Also, while we are happy that the big brands are creating hype at different avenues and engaging with the community, managing and catering to the rise in demand has been a rising concern.

It will take some hard work to solve but we will take it up as an opportunity,” Shravanth Reddy comments.

Data speed also seems to be one of the barrier for gamers. Manoj Attal says, “Even though India has a considerable number of gaming enthusiasts and ranks second largest internet online market, we heavily lag in terms of data speeds compared to neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Thailand, etc. Even lagging in importing the best quality equipment and delay in launch of PC games by Indian retailers adds to the drawback list. Apart from these, emerging console gaming and mobile gaming can also be considered as the major challenge for the PC gaming market.”

EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHANNEL PC gaming is seeing a revolution and that is where PC and laptop makers got an

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opportunity to research and bring in the fascinating innovations in gaming.

“The booming industry has given a platform to companies and the partners to tap the gaming enthusiast and build a community to take gaming to a new era. In India, we have undertaken focused outreach to the gaming community through various forums, gaming events and of course digital medium. Now we are seeing good traction in India as well as more and more gamers here experience our product line and understand the clear superiority against other brands. Our partners have played a crucial role in positioning Acer as a leader in the technology segment and have remained the key medium for us to reach our audience,” says Chandrahas Panigrahi.

Indian gaming market has huge growth potential and it is important to cultivate a gaming culture in the society to boost of the gaming Industry. “We like working with gaming solution providers to help them spread awareness about new opportunities in different regions and create an environment that supports gaming,” reveals Vishal Parekh.

“There are many emerging opportunities for our channel partners. We have a huge range of products and all the needs of the partner can be fulfilled by one single brand.

Premium gaming products by Zebronics is a good opportunity for the channel partners to explore the new segment and further expand their product range,” said, Rajesh Doshi.

“The channel partner is now getting more and more inclined to innovation. They are no more confined within the boundaries of traditional thinking. They are not hesitating to adopt newer business models. They are also gradually synchronizing their offline business along with online to compete in the new age of digitization” adds Mukesh Chaudhary.

The Indian gaming market is maturing and the sector has been getting upsurge attention from gaming leaders to invest in. According to Mannan, “Today, gaming is a religion in India. To enhance the overall gaming experience, consumers are ready to invest in high end cases, power supply, graphic cards and mother boards in a big way and recent trends shows consumers are also interested in buying gaming specific keyboards, mice etc. It has opened up lots of avenues for start ups to pop up. Gaming university, college are coming up in India where professional help and training are being offered to aspiring

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gamers. With a larger appetite for gaming in India, there will be more money moving through the industry, with increased overseas investment and global players taking part in, channel partners can quickly capitalize.”

“We are looking to grow in the Indian gaming industry by targeting a larger network in this emerging market and addressing the need for advanced VGA card and other PC hardware,” commented by Gordon.

“The gaming industry is more of a passion driven industry. At the retail level, our partners would get a greater influx of customers which is more inclined to become loyal and bring repetitive business and referrals. Gaming hardware now has more utility as more industries require the same type of hardware” stated by Himanshu Jain.

As long as they keep the quality of their sales up to the mark, they believe opportunities are being created automatically through word of mouth. Shravanth Reddy, says, “Being part of the community for so long, we engage with the community through tournaments and give them a platform to try products, to boost sales. This is vital in the gaming market, as consumers are well informed and make careful decisions, and their components and peripherals are very personal as their experience and performance depends on this.”

Channel partners play a vital role in any industry and gaming is no different. “India is the centre of attraction for the gaming market and tracking attention of global leaders in gaming equipment and services.

Razer, Steam, Twitch etc. are a few names that have become active in the past few years and considers India as one amongst the core target because of the emergence of strong gamer’s community. Channel partners gaming focus shall benefit brands with repeated purchase, higher ASPs/ revenue, entry in a customer segment, which is possibly a few of the growing segment in end consumer computing. So investing their time and money in gaming component distribution makes their business far more sustainable,” concluded by Manoj Attal.

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GAMERS CONNECT

professional gaming: an emerging opporTuniTy for

young india India has world’s largest youth population currently as more than 50% of its population are below the age of 25.

This feat has also contributed in growing gaming market across India. The innovations which are taking place every day by leading gaming brands elevating the ongoing craze. Some of the innovations like Augment Reality, Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality have given a magical touch to the traditional gaming. More and more youngsters are taking this as a profession because there is huge opportunity in this Industry. Furthermore, the leading brands organizing the gaming tournaments and camps to motivate such young talent. There are lots of highly paid gaming tournaments for hardcore gamers who are into various games such as counter strike, street fight etc. DT recently interacted with few well-known gamers across India to know more about their opinion and expectations from this industry.

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GAMER CONNECT

Name - Bhavin Kotwani In Game Name - HellrangeR Team - Entity Gaming Experience - 6 Years Age - 20 In game Role - In Game Leader Achievements - Named 2nd Best player in India in 2017 and 4th Best in 2016.

Name - Sudhanshu Game - Street Fighter Community - The Fighting Game Community City - Rajasthan

Name - Sabyasachi Bose In Game Name - Counter-Strike Global Offensive Team - Optic Gaming India Experience - 8 Years Age - 21 City - Kolkata

Name - KJ Vignesh Game - DOTA 2 Team - LXG eSports Bangalore

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M O V I N G TO WA RDS # 1 There is no doubt about the potential of gaming market in India as the mindset has changed in recent years. As per the current trend, we may see India at top in the gaming industry in years to come. “I think that is a very ambitious statement, but at the same time very possible. In the earlier years this was not possible due to the lack of support and infrastructure, but now it! I would be stoked if that statement actually becomes a reality down the line” commented, Bhavin Kotwani from Entity Gaming.

“It’s about time that India became the #1 gaming nation. I grew up in an orthodox era where gaming was considered a waste of time, energy and effort. To see India rising to be a number 1 gaming nation is nothing short Bhavin Kotwani of a surprise to say the very least” added, Sudhanshu from The Fighting Game Community.

“In India, gaming is in a steady growth phase and it will still be a while before it becomes a rage for the whole nation. Nonetheless, the growth is what’s positive and I, as a gamer, couldn’t be happier with this. The exposure that the budding gamers are subjected to nowadays and will receive going forward is something that is very much needed as I know how tough it is to cut it without the aforementioned” said, Sabyasachi Bose from Optic Gaming India.

In a very short note but in an optimistic way, KJ Vignesh from Team LXG eSports Bangalore says, “This makes me very happy.

I look forward to the growth of Esports in India.”

SI GN I FI C A N C OF G A M I N G B O O T C A MP “A gaming bootcamp is a place where a team stays together to practice. In other words, it’s a place where the entire team sits together and practices in order to enhance their skillset and at the same time it also creates a bonding between the teammates” says Bhavin Kotwani from Entity Gaming. “It is very important to get the right setup as it hampers your performance a lot. If you don’t have the correct setup you can’t perform to your complete potential. Yes, Brands sometimes do support us with the same, although the support can be much more, they are doing a great job in supporting us events wise.”

“A gaming boot-camp is held for players where they can brainstorm, devise strategies, get match up knowledge and experience

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while playing a few of their counter-parts.

The setup is an integral part of the bootcamp coz it enables the player to get used to tournament pressure and the environment.

Proving Grounds had the support of Zowie where they provided their high-end monitors for the tournament while Hyper X provided us with state of the art headsets so we would be focused while playing the game” commented Sudhanshu from The Fighting Game Community.

According to Sabyasachi Bose from Optic Gaming India, “A Gaming bootcamp is a place where all the members of a squad come together to discuss strategies, play out scenarios and strengthen their basics of the game, which in turn helps in building a great camaraderie. It is of utmost importance to provide the players with the adequate setup so as to ensure that they compete at their best possible level. Yes, I have been lucky to be part of teams that have support from premier brands like HyperX, Nvidia and others.”

“A gaming bootcamp is basically a gaming house where an Esports team practices and trains to be a better as a team .It is very important to get the specs right. The refresh rate and the fps matter. Yes, but the number of brands that support us are very few in number right now” concluded KJ Vignesh from Team LXG eSports Bangalore.

DOWNSID ES OF T O DAY’S GAMING CA F ES Gaming cafes are trending these days and coming up in all areas. This is the first and basic reach of all aspiring gamers.

But these cafes need to do lot more to offer great gaming experience to gamers.

“Today many gaming cafes have high end rigs and setups so that is one thing they have worked on, but compared to the gaming cafes outside, there is a lot of difference. Outside gaming cafes are a one stop shop, everything from food to resting areas are available inside the cafes itself, there are sound proof booths to let teams practice in isolation, all of this is missing in India. Sound is the key issue in any gaming café in India that has to be solved by both the gamers and the café owners, apart from that all the above I mentioned can be implemented” added Bhavin Kotwani from Entity Gaming.

“I think the only thing missing in Gaming Cafe’s is the promotion of other genre of video games. I only see gamers playing FPS’s, MOBA which is saddening coz there are untapped games with huge potential present in the market. Boot-camps, different community meets, weekly tournaments to encourage new participation are few of the improvements” said Sudhanshu from The Fighting Game Community.

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“Comparing the gaming cafes of nowadays to the ones of the yesteryears when I started playing, change is evident. Any customer now does not have to go with their own peripherals and gaming kit in order to play.

However, there are some roads that need to traveled further. One such aspect I’d like to throw light on is security of the peripherals and the presence of CCTVs. I know CCTVs are already prevalent in majority of cafes, but there still are many fully functional gaming parlous without CCTVs, number of which cannot be simply ignored” commented Sabyasachi Bose from Optic Gaming India.

KJ Vignesh from Team LXG eSports Bangalore says, “There is not enough variety of games and most cafes in India are not well equipped with right gear for professional gaming.”

B R AND ’S SUPPORT FOR GAMER S Brand support is very crucial when it comes to the recognition of the gamers and spreading awareness about connecting new gamers. Gaming brands are very good at providing support to professional gamers as they encourage them to do well and they organize several gaming events for gamers and lots of such things to support them. “Yes, brands to sometimes help, but there is no monetary support till now. Brands help a lot in hosting events which indirectly helps us, but monetary support is something lacking and which would be of great help” said, Bhavin Kotwani from Entity Gaming.

“Off late I’ve seen quite a few brands showing interest in the genre of Fighting Games.

HyperX, Zowie, Gigabyte, Red Bull are some of them that want us spread awareness and encourage new members to pick up the game. Resources are a key in getting good at a game. If the aforementioned brands provide adequate resources including sponsorship, it will not only boost the morale of the player, it will also boost his performance to do well at the game” added Sudhanshu from The Fighting Game Community.

“Brands coming in will always help the scene as financial backing, just like in any other walk of life, is extremely necessary. But I take it as an added advantage to improve reach. My primary focus has been to improve my gameplay and develop skills to one day compete globally” commented, Sabyasachi Bose from Optic Gaming India.

“Hardware support and also financial support which helps teams hire a support staff so that we as players can concentrate on getting better at the game alone” stated KJ Vignesh from Team LXG eSports Bangalore.

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GAMER CONNECT

AD VI C E FO R WELL B EI N G O F G AMER’S C OM M U N I TY Professional gaming teams are not growing at a pace as they should grow. The support that should be provided by gaming brands is not enough, only sponsoring the gamers team is not that enough. “Except sponsoring I think the gaming brands should create awareness among the Indian parents. Most of the people still think gaming is gambling or wasting time, that mindset has to be changed and gaming brands can play a crucial role in that. This will help upcoming players to play the game freely and help more professional teams to come forward,” added Bhavin Kotwani from Entity Gaming.

“The Fighting Games genre in India was nearly non-existent a decade ago. Indian Gaming Carnival brought the best in the business when it came to Fighting Games. I personally didn’t even know there was a community called Indian FGC. Slowly and gradually over the last decade or so we’ve built a strong community that has quality players who are passionate about putting India on the map. It’s still a growing community and we’re hoping that by 2019, Capcom ends up noticing us to do CPT tournaments here. Gaming brands in India can support games that are still unexplored like Fighting Games for example.

The global community has existed since the early 90’s but in India, it only came into existence post 2008. So, the brands should help upcoming community leaders make a name and mark for themselves and their game said,” Sudhanshu from The Fighting Game Community.

“Off the top of my head, Practice is the key.

Workshops are a thing prevalent in almost every industry, but that practice is drab when it comes to gaming. In my view, workshops give budding gamers exposure and allows the newbies to meet with the already established pros. Learning from them and maybe even just talking to those vastly experienced players will motivate them to strive hard to be like them in the future,” stated Sabyasachi Bose from Optic Gaming India.

According to KJ Vignesh from Team LXG eSports Bangalore, “We should get access to global events through Indian qualifiers for some tournaments. We should also get all opportunity to learn new skills from a professional player/ coach.”

B O O S T P R O D UCT Q U A L I TY & S ERVIC E SU P P O R T “My advice to them in terms of Service would to be open more service centers (There are very few of them), provide a service where they can pick up the component needed to be www.digital te rminal . i n

exchanged/ repaired and drop it off again, for a certain cost. I also think they can improve in terms of pricing certain goods to target audience, because it should not be necessary to pay a premium to get the best quality goods, everyone cannot afford that,” stated Bhavin Kotwani from Entity Gaming.

They should not look to just make quick profit by selling products only.”

“Not to compromise with the quality of the product. Be it a mouse pad or a headset, companies should strive to provide comfort without compromising on the quality aspect of it. Budget and Enthusiast gamers look for the eye candy appeal as well as performance of the product. They don’t mind paying extra if the overall feel of the product is superior. Having paid a premium, they expect premium service as well which at times is denied or leaves a bitter taste in ones mouth. Companies should really focus on after sales support bcoz a happy customer is a repeated customer and his word of mouth can either make it or break it for that brand,” added Sudhanshu from The Fighting Game Community.

Talking about the dream machine that he wants for playing heavy games, Bhavin Kotwani from Entity Gaming tells, “Well my dream gaming Machine would be any machine which would give me 500+ fps constantly with a 240hz Monitor with the cabinet having an Iron Man theme!”

“We gamers like things done fast and are used to speed. My only advice would be to establish a quicker flow of customer support.

It takes a week or a fortnight to sometimes get the problems remedied despite the warranty, thereby bringing the entire process and flow to an abrupt and unwanted halt,” said Sabyasachi Bose from Optic Gaming India.

KJ Vignesh from Team LXG eSports Bangalore commented “I wish brands could educate the customer/gamer for making the right decision about their PC configuration based on their requirement.

D R EAM MACHINE FOR GAMING

“An i7 extreme edition processor with G Skill Trident RGB 128 Gb RAM, Asus Maximus Motherboard, Asus Xonar Sound Card, Samsung EVO 1Tb NVME drive with 10TB of additional storage provided by Western Digital or Seagate, custom water cooled by Swiftech, in a Cooler Master MasterCase with side panel made of tempered glass that can house 2 GTX 1080Ti’s in SLI. For peripherals, I’d like two 28” Acer Predator XB1’s. Don’t really care about keyboards and mice. Any combo from CM or Corsair should be ideal. Not to mention, Hyper X Cloud II headset with a Logitech Z906 5.1 system,” added Sudhanshu from The Fighting Game Community.

“I want my dream machine to be a powerful beast to play any games that release even after 10 years. That would mean a 1080ti card with a DDR4 system and maybe subtle RGB lights and premium peripherals,” commented Sabyasachi Bose from Optic Gaming India.

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GAMERS CORNER

HYPERX CLOUD STINGER CORE GAMING HEADSET

HyperX®, the gaming division of Kingston Technology, announced the launch of its HyperX Cloud Stinger Core gaming headset in India. This is an affordable h e a d s e t , designed for console gamers looking for great sound at a value price.

The HyperX Cloud Stinger Core headset features an adjustable steel slider and soft ear cushions for comfort along with a swiveling mic.

The headset comes with directional 40mm drivers for an immersive in-game audio experience and is backed by a 2-year warranty and free tech support. The HyperX Cloud Stinger Core is now available in India with an MRP of INR 4,200 at leading retail and e-tail stores.

HyperX Cloud Stinger Core weighs just 215 grams and is multi-console compatible and has convenient audio controls directly on the cable.

The lightweight headset includes 40mm directional drivers for an immersive in-game experience and its closed-cup design helps block out distractions and provide a more accurate in-game sound.

ZION BLAZE DDR4

Zion RAM’s gaming series memory module BLAZE DDR4, is all set to roll out in a pack of 2. With increasing demand in DDR4 RAMs and a rise in requirement of dual channel memory from the gamers and enthusiast has convinced Zion to come with the dual packaging of the Gaming RAMs. Clocked at 2400 MHz and with a warranty of five years (3+2years), It is #builtforextremes and gives you #peaceofmind both at the same time. Now double the power in the hands of gamers.

Zion Blaze DDR4, is designed for fiery speed and extreme gaming experience. It’s finely crafted aluminium heat spreader allows instant heat dissipation leaving behind a superior over clocking headroom.

Built with the best quality IC’s and components each module is screened and tested for performance and effective cooling making it an ideal choice for professional gaming and rendering applications.

Engineered for all available processing platforms, Zion Blaze DDR4 delivers highest speed at the lowest power consumption.

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DIGITAL TER MI N A L I 01-15 JUN E 2018

RAPOO VPRO V20S OPTICAL GAMING MOUSE

RAPOO has introduced the VPRO V20S Optical Gaming Mouse in India as a latest addition to its range of VPRO Gaming products.

Designed for ambidextrous use, the Rapoo VPRO V20S Gaming Mouse is a dream accessory for novice gaming enthusiasts as well as professional eSports players. Focusing on ergonomics, the V20S prevents unnecessary strain on the hand to enable a comfortable grip and pleasant use during longer playing sessions. The V20S comes with five individually customizable buttons to which a wide range of functions and macros can be assigned. This gives the players a better control and greater confidence while facing opponents in a tough eSports battle. The visual appeal of a gaming mouse is as important as its features to passionate gamers. Keeping this in mind, the V20S, is designed with a LED multi-color light system with 16 million colors.

The Rapoo VPRO V20S Optical Gaming Mouse is now available in India online as well as via authorized Rapoo partners at an MRP of INR 2499/-.

CORSAIR HS70 WIRELESS SERIES GAMING HEADSETS CORSAIR announced the latest addition to its growing line of gaming headsets, the CORSAIR HS70 WIRELESS Series. HS70 WIRELESS is the perfect companion for gamers looking to get serious about their setup.

HS70 WIRELESS’ plush memory foam ear pads and adjustable padded headband provide outstanding comfort with the minimum of distractions, letting you focus on what matters most, whether it’s the next round, the next command, or your next target. It’s not just HS70’s comfort that lasts; renowned CORSAIR build quality and metal construction ensures the long-term reliability players expect from their headset, so they can look forward to great gaming audio in their favorite games today, and the DLC and sequels for years to come. HS70 WIRELESS features a built-in battery providing up to 16 hours of constant wireless use, or plug-in via USB to keep playing during charging.

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OPINION

“WHAT PROPELLED THE ONLINE GAMING ON SMARTPHONES?�

AUTHORED BY MR. DEEPAK KABU, CEO, ZIOX MOBILES.

everyone, highlighting its entertainment systems as well as its capability as a phone; and when the newer phones emerged as a possibility of game development that quickly outnumbered the traditional games. Pertaining to the dispersion, rather than tying to a small group of interested people into a living room TV set, mobile games hurdled and managed to get a space between meetings, road trips or commutes; thanks to the high level of accessibility and portability.

The recent years have posed one of the major transformation in technology, especially in focus with the Telecom industry. The last decade has essentially characterized the rise of the mobile gaming, especially online mobile gaming. Where the early games and their interface used to be simplistic yet difficult to access; modern games leverage over the new and smart technologies like smartphones and tablets. In terms of graphics, mechanics, genres, targets and the broad audience, the games have also witnessed dramatic improvements.

Reduction in prices: Moreover, the smartphones became a new distributional mechanism that saved producers significant amount of money. Unlike the old days, where packaging games on CDs for physical distribution was in terms, today games could be downloaded easily over cellular or Wi-Fi networks. The ease of distribution led to an impressive surge for expensive and simple-to-play games.

Mobile gaming blended its shapes in the early 90s where there used to be just the non-interactive, and non-brainstorming game, Snakes. But it too evolved to incredibly interactive and multi-player games; maybe the puzzles and the flash games are yet to remain popular in their own segment. However, the ever-amassing technology has given a boost to the mobile gaming along with several other factors including refined markets, changing funding sources and stagnation among large developers.

More holistic experience: The earlier mobility solutions were used only for the SOS measures, because of the mediocre interface and applications. And with the progress, the interface grew more comprehensive and the manufacturers acknowledged the needs of more applications, along with the easier interface. Hence with the introduction of multimedia games, the interactive games and story-block games were presented in feature phones. Although simplistic, the games turned out to very popular. It wasn’t until the 2000s that both technology and its entertain-

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ment potential could be leveraged for game development purposes. However, as for the future, there stands a challenge for the designers, to make the decades-old graphics and mechanics look cutting edge.

Progressing digital-landscape: Since the 90s, mobiles have gone from QWERTY to Smart, developing from a cell phone technology to a device capable of handling all your everyday tasks, seamlessly and effortlessly. The introduction of the touchscreen phones changed the perception of the way people used their keypad phones. That watermark, brought an easy-to-use tool for

The reduced production costs were also another boost to the mobile gaming. Mobile games are poised with detailed cinematic graphics, characters that will draw a large number of audience and innovative mechanics and the mobile games requires fewer codes overall, speeding up the production times. Hence, this is the reason for the easier entry into the mobile sphere, allowing the market to grow rapidly.

Technology allows millions of other people around the world to enjoy gaming as a shared activity. Transforming with more immersive and experiential, games have now turned living rooms into tennis courts and conference rooms into hard-core gaming centres. Due to the low cost and easily available funding have helped ensure that the mobile industry remains fluid, changing in line, according to the demands of the consumers.

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INTERVIEW

“I AM EXTREMELY HAPPY THAT ACER RETAINED NO.1 POSITION IN THE INDIAN GAMING MARKET�

PC Gaming market saw huge growth in year 2017 due to strong demand from entry level gamers and professional gamers.

All brands introduced abundant new products in Indian market to tap emerging opportunities. But Acer already took the leadership position in Indian Gaming PC Market recently. Now the brand enjoys number one position in India but it all has been achieved by perfect product positioning and excellent market strategy. Chandrahas Panigrahi, CMO & Consumer Business Head, Acer India is the man behind this recent success in Indian gaming PC market. DT interacted with Mr Panigrahi recently to know his response over this huge achievement and upcoming channel plans.

DT: Now, Acer has become number one Gaming PC brand in India. Your quick comment for this achievement.

Mr. Chandrahas: I am extremely happy that Acer has retained No.1 position in the Indian gaming market by growing the market share across our gaming products. We ended Q4 2017 by becoming No.1 in PC gaming and we continue the strong growth in 2018 by retaining our No.1 position. This is a result of Acer’s strong focus on innovation and commitment in offering cutting edge gaming products to Indian customers. Acer India has been at the forefront of pushing PC gaming envelop with our Predator and Nitro series and we are grateful to our fans, our partners and our customers for their constant support that has helped us achieve this milestone once again.

DT: What all efforts you believe had worked in your favour? Can you please share the entire roadmap?

Mr. Chandrahas: Constant innovation and competitive pricing have been the key factors that has helped us achieve this milestone in both the quarters - Q4 2017 and Q1 2018. When we launched Predator series in India, our aim was to bring in exceptional

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products for both serious gamers and enthusiasts that to at an unbeatable price range. We got overwhelming response from professional gamers, tech experts and customers when we launched predator series laptops and accessories in India for the first time. We made PC gaming even more accessible by introducing the budget Nitro gaming series.

Our gaming monitors have seen phenomenal response and now we have full line of gaming accessories including headset, mouse and bags.

Constant engagement with gaming community helped us build a Predator fan community and grow enormously. Acer has been working towards building strong foothold in the Indian gaming industry. Recently at Acer Global Press Conference 2018 in New York, the company introduced exceptional powerful gaming laptops, desktops and accessories like Acer Predator Helios 500 laptop, Predator Orion 5000 desktop, Cestus 510 gaming mouse and Predator gaming chair.

Predator Gaming League to grass root level activation to bring up the gaming community and tie-ups with our partners to educate our customers on gaming products Acer is actively present to develop this community.

We are also sponsors of some of the biggest e-sports tournaments in the world bringing awareness to our Predator brand.

DT: Which are the key Acer gaming PCs doing extremely well in the market?

Mr. Chandrahas: Our partners have trusted Acer as a brand over the years and they know Acer as a brand who offers cutting-edge technology. We worked closely with them to sell our gaming range products, through their support; we saw a great traction in the India gaming market. More and more gamers got chance to experience our products and understood the clear superiority against other brands. Our partners have played a crucial role in positioning Acer as a leader in the technology segment and has remained the key medium for us to reach our audience.

We are extremely grateful to them for believing and supporting us throughout our journey. We have launched a Predator Club for our select set of partners and have set up a dedicated set of resources to grow business through channel community.

Mr. Chandrahas: Our key gaming products are Predator and Nitro laptops and Orion desktops. We also have high end gaming monitors under Predator series. They have been doing extremely well. Our gaming laptop has 37% market share and Predator monitor is the monitor of choice in tournaments and for gamers.

DT: How do you engage your brand with Gamers? What all awareness and support you provide to gamers community?

Mr. Chandrahas: We do lot of outreach programs to gamers and customers. From international gaming tournaments like

DIGITAL TER MI N A L I 01-15 JUN E 2018

DT: How do you assure better after sale support to gaming PCs consumer?

Mr. Chandrahas: With a customer centric approach, we are committed to achieve highlevel customer satisfaction. Acer has always aimed to increase customer service levels by continually improving service efficiencies and the effectiveness of the Service Management System. Not gaming, but for all our products we have taken a multiple initiatives in order to provide best services to customers. Our customer service initiatives includes - 24/7 support through online technical portal, diagnostic call centres, providing standby unit to customers in case of delay, on-site PAN India support, Priority channel Queue for Key customers at Call Centre for quick access and resolution and more.

DT: How do you see the role of channel partners in doing overall extremely well in Indian market?

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‘QUICK HEAL KHARIDO FOREIGN JAO’ CONTEST WINNER MR. CAWAS M DARUWALA WINS A FREE TRIP TO DUBAI

NEWS IN BRIEF

ACER REGAINS NO 1 POSITION IN PC GAMING MARKET IN INDIA

Quick Heal Technologies Limited announced the lucky winner of the ongoing ‘Quick Heal Kharido Foreign Jao’ contest. Mr. Cawas M Daruwala from Pune was adjudged as the lucky winner and was presented with the opportunity to fly to his dream destination – Dubai. As part of the initiative, Quick Heal is giving an opportunity to lucky customers to fly to their dream destination – Paris, Hong Kong or Dubai. In addition, the contest will enable customers to win an assured gift with every purchase. ‘Quick Heal Kharido Foreign Jao’ contest is part of Quick Heal’s broader strategy to increase adoption of robust IT security solutions which empower customers to secure critical personal data residing on their devices from cybercriminals.

KASPERSKY LAB HONORED WITH TWO CYBERSECURITY AWARDS

Kaspersky Lab announced its win of two cybersecurity awards at the prestigious Networks Asia Information Management Awards 2018.

Kaspersky Lab emerged as winners in the APT Protection and Threat Lifecycle Management categories. Kaspersky Lab was voted the winners of these two categories by NetworkWorld Asia editors and 100 CIOs, IT directors, and heads of data centres and security from the Asia Pacific region. It is their second time winning an award for Cyber Security Solutions at Networks Asia Information Management Awards.

The NetworkWorld Asia (NWA) Information Management Awards was inaugurated in 2012 and recognizes Asia’s leading providers of Data Management, Security and Storage solutions for their huge advances made over the last few years. This is the 7th year of the awards that covers a spectrum of categories from big data, internet of things (IoT), cybersecurity, the hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI). www.digital te rminal . i n

Acer once again attained No.1 spot in the Indian PC gaming market as per IDC’s Q1 2018 report. Acer has proved leadership in India with 37% market share in gaming laptops and 21% share in PC gaming segment as per IDC’s Q1 2018 report, outpacing competition by a significant margin. Acer gained the top spot in the gaming market with its critically acclaimed and widely popular Predator and Nitro gaming series. Acer in India has the widest portfolio of PC gaming products, which includes laptops, desktops, monitors and accessories specifically designed for beginners to professional gamers. Acer has shown consistent growth over the last few quarters in their gaming segment to successfully capture the top spot consequently in Q4 2017 and Q1 2018. Acer has been working towards building strong foothold in the Indian gaming industry. The company has achieved many milestones in the gaming industry by launching an array of innovative gaming products in India. Mr. Chandrahas Panigrahi, CMO & Consumer Business Head, Acer India said, “It gives us immense pleasure to announce that once again Acer has retained No.1 position in the Indian gaming market by growing the market share across our gaming products.

This is a result of Acer’s strong focus on innovation and commitment in offering cutting edge gaming products to Indian customers.

BD SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTION APPOINTS RAHUL JOSHI AS DIRECTOR – CHANNEL SALES INDIA

BD Soft Distribution Country Partner of Bitdefender announces the appointment of Rahul Joshi, as the Director – Channel Sales India. With key focus on boosting nationwide sales network, Rahul shall be responsible for the next phase of growth for Bitdefender and BD Software across geographies. He will be working closely with the senior management to strengthen & widen the brands presence across InMr. Rahul Joshi, Director, dia. Rahul brings with him Channel Sales, Bitdefender over 25 years of leadership experience and deep knowledge of the Sales and Marketing industry. Rahul in his previous role has worked with Quick Heal Technology and eScan. In the past, he has helped to accelerate growth via highly successful channel initiatives, and now, with Bitdefender, Rahul plans to strengthen and align the channel network of the brand across India. He will lead Bitdefender’s already successful channel program, developing and executing a diversified strategy for channels in the Indian Market.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Indian PC Market to Get Boost in 2018 as Consumer Spending is Rising The overall traditional commercial PC market stood at 1.26 million units in Q1 2018 with a decline of 9.1 percent quarter-on-quarter but saw a growth of 13.0 percent year-on-year compared to Q1 2017 on the back of a few state-owned education projects.

According to IDC’s latest Quarterly Personal Computing Devices Tracker 2018, the India traditional PC shipments for 2018 Q1 stood at 2.35 million units, with a 9.9 percent decline quarter-on-quarter and 8.2 percent growth over the same period last year.

Segment Highlights The consumer PC market recorded an overall shipment of 1.08 million units in Q1 2018, with 10.9 percent sequential decline and 3.2 percent increase compared to the same period last year. “The general economic and employment scenario continues to remain pessimistic, which has impacted the consumer spending,” says Manish Yadav, Associate Research Manager, Client Devices, IDC India.

The overall traditional commercial PC market stood at 1.26 million units in Q1 2018 with a decline of 9.1 percent quarter-on-quarter but saw a growth of 13.0 percent year-onyear compared to Q1 2017 on the back of a few state-owned education projects. “The probusiness policies have boosted India’s attractiveness and

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the lull period post-GST and demonetization appear to be giving way to a positive overall business sentiment”, adds Yadav.

Top

3

Company

Highlights: HP Inc.: HP Inc. took an early lead in 2018 and achieved a market share of 28.6 percent in Q1 2018.

The company reclaimed its top spot in overall India traditional consumer PC market with a 29.9 percent market share, with 7.5 percent sequential growth and 6.7 percent year-on-year growth driven by strong consumerfocused initiatives, widespread retail presence and continued focus on gaming systems which has injected growth for the vendor in the category.

Dell: Dell slipped to the second spot with a 23.2 percent market share in the overall India traditional PC market in Q1 2018 ; clocking a year-on-year growth of 11.9 percent and sequential decline

DIGITAL TER MI N A L I 01-15 JUN E 2018

of 26.1 percent. The commercial business in Q1 2018 contributed 54.8 percent share, which was driven primarily by reenergized GTM approach with channelenabling initiatives to strengthen channel and partner-led business. The vendor’s efforts to enable digitization and assist in the deployment of new applications in newer areas of the offering has contributed to the growth in verticals like Government and BFSI in Q1 2018

Lenovo: Lenovo took the third spot, recording a market share of 21.7 percent in Q1 2018 in overall India traditional PC market. With increasing focus on social media engagement driven by dedicated service campaigns along with channel support initiatives with better incentives has brought in confidence in the channel partner community. This led to a 16.7 percent growth year-onyear and 16.9 percent growth quarter-on-quarter in Q1 2018 for the overall consumer market.

The vendor’s efforts around enterprise focused customer solutions coupled with new generation devices helped in retention of key accounts, which led to a 45.1 percent year on

year growth in the commercial segment.

India

PC

market

forecast: IDC anticipates the PC market to get a boost in 2018 on the back of positive business sentiment and expected rise in consumer spending in addition to upcoming manifesto projects across few states.

The consumer spending is anticipated to rise across innovative form factors like convertibles and ultra slim.

Consumer segment is also expected to see traction around gaming devices as OEMs will be looking to invest and create excitement around the gaming category. In the commercial segment, IDC anticipates growth over the next few quarters as the industry will look to deploy new and powerful devices to meet the evolving technology requirements across verticals.

With pro-business policies, the emerging industries in the medium and large segment will look to increase their commercial spending.

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PARTNER FOCUS

RASHI PERIPHERALS INDICATES ITS AMBITIOUS

GROWTH PLANS AT ABR 2018 The major highlight of the event was the interactive session ‘Khul Ke Poonch’, an open forum for Branch heads to highlight their issues to the management. First of its kind in the ABR, it was a humble attempt to build a strong bridge of trust between the Company and its elite Salesforce.

In a bid to reinforce its core strengths to stay upbeat in the industry, Rashi Peripherals, India’s only Value Added Distributor, recently organized its Annual Business Review (ABR).

Themed as ‘Reinforcing our Fundamental Values’, the event was aimed at evaluating Company’s performance in the previous financial year and set a vision for FY 2018-19.

An eminent team of Branch Heads, Branch Managers, Business Managers and Product Managers gathered under one roof to brainstorm on key thrust areas in a two-day conference held in Mumbai.

Addressing the conference, Mr. Krishna Choudhary, Co-founder, and Director at Rashi Peripherals congratulated the BHs and BMs for maintaining the growth momentum during the roller coaster year. “The previous year was indeed tough as the industry went through a lot of turns and twists post-GST regime. We did face the challenge during initial days but we did a fairly good job and were able to control side effects of new tax regulation without hampering business continuity. We were the first distributor to start GST billing on the day of implementation and that reflects our power of adaptability. I am sure we all will work with the same synergy and continue to reach new heights in the coming years,” Mr. Choudhary asserted.

Branch heads and branch managers representing 51 locations pan India, gave an indepth presentation on their previous year performance and achievements. They also proposed key result areas in FY 2018-19. The major highlight of the event was the interactive session ‘Khul Ke Poonch’, an open forum for Branch heads to highlight their issues to the management. First of its kind in the ABR, it was a humble attempt to build a strong bridge of trust between the Company and its elite Salesforce. The leadership panel addressed the issues highlighted and assured continue support to branches. This session concluded on a very positive note and received an overwhelming response from the audience.

Rashi Peripherals also made a couple of important announcements during ABR. Rede-

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fining its business philosophy, the Company vowed to reinforce its fundamental strengths with a renewed focus on empowerment of branches, channel engagement, value-added service and growth aspirations. As Digital is the way ahead, Rashi Peripherals proposed the launch of ‘RPtech Mobile App’ to strengthen its digital footprints.

growth. Rashi Peripherals is the prominent player in the distribution space and we vow to maintain a double-digit growth in the coming years.”

Highlighting the future growth roadmap, Mr. Kapal Pansari, Director, said, “As the industry dynamics are changing at a fast pace, we at Rashi Peripherals are also reinventing our business model. Distribution of cutting-edge technology solutions will remain a key focus of our business in the next 3 years. We are now stepping out of our boundaries and will be exploring new business avenues in the areas of Deep Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Marketing.”

Sharing his feedback, Mr. Raveendra Kasbekar, Branch Manager, Goa said, “The ABR is always an excellent platform to get informed on current market conditions and strategize future business roadmap. This year’s event was very informative and interactive where the senior leadership provided valuable insights into business pitch and also addressed our pain points. A special mention of ‘Khul Ke Poonch’ session, where management addressed various issues faced by branch heads. I think this was a unique concept introduced this year and I hope Company will provide strong support branches across the regions.”

Commenting on the event, Mr. Mukundan, Branch Head, Kerala said, “ABR is an opportunity to meet like-minded people and have an exchange of innovative ideas. At ABR 2018, we discussed the business plans to overcome current challenges and attain sustainable

The two-day conference was concluded with a grand awards night. In a neck to neck competition, the Ahmadabad and Kolkata branch won the ‘Best Branch of the Year Award’, whereas Mumbai and Coimbatore Branch came to the second runner-up.

DIGITAL TER MI N A L I 01-15 JUN E 2018

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9 INNOVATION HONOR TH

BEST BRAND & PRODUCT

DIGITAL TERMINAL

AWARDS 2018 VO TE FOR YO UR FAVOUR IT E B R AND TO VOTE, PLEASE VISIT

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NEW ARRIVALS

PORTRONICS MUFFS L BLUETOOTH HEADPHONE Portronics has added another remarkable Bluetooth headphone with AUX-IN – Muffs L to its existing series of on-ear Bluetooth headphone called Muffs. With a built-in microphone and ear-pad mounted music & call controls, Muffs L elegantly and seamlessly switches between your music and phone calls. While Muffs L gives crisp and high quality sound, it is less power hungry and charges in a very short time. It gives you 14+ hours of great non-stop music experience and 20+ hours of talk-time in a single charge as it uses the low-power consuming Bluetooth version 4.1 which is compatible with lower versions of Bluetooth on smartphones/tabs/laptops. Adjustable headband lets you adjust Muffs L to just the right size and get a perfect snug-fit. The Soft Sweat-resistant PU leather ear-pads have conveniently placed controls for music and phone-calls allowing you to use Muffs L in the gym or while running, easily. Portronics Muffs L is available at a very attractive price-point of INR 1,999/- .

AMBRANE 10000MAH PP10 PLUSH SERIES POWER BANK

Ambrane India announces the launch of its newest 10000mAh, PP10 Power Bank, Good Looks blended with superior functionality enhancing every experience. Priced at MRP 2499/- the power bank’s high power capacity 10000mAh is great for charging multiple devices, especially considering its 2 USB charging ports. The Power Bank offers a conversion rate of 80 percent, & automatically adjusts output based on the device. Plush PP10 has a clear Digital charging display that accurately displays the status of charge left in the power bank. Built with ABS body, its sturdy design makes it easy to carry during outdoor activities and your pocket holds its light-weight effortlessly. With 9 layers of advanced chipset protection and quality polymer cell, the BIS Certified power bank features a horde of advanced safety features including Short Circuit Protection, Over-charge Protection, and Over Discharge Protection & Over Voltage Protection, that assures maximum user and device safety at all times.

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KINGSTON UV500 SERIES SSDS Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., announced the launch of its UV500 family line of SSD products. Available in multiple form factors, UV500 will be Kingston’s first 3D NAND-enabled SSD featuring full-disk encryption.

UV500 is powered by the Marvell 88SS1074 controller, and combined with 3D NAND Flash, delivers incredible read/write speeds of up to 520MB/s and 500MB/s, making it 10x faster than a 7200RPM hard drive. All form factors of the UV500 SSD family are available in retail and e-tail stores with MRPs of INR 5,850/-, INR 10,250/and INR 19,450/- for 120GB, 240GB and 480GB variants respectively. The complete family of SSDs is backed by a limited five-year warranty and legendary Kingston support. UV500 is perfect as a boot drive or for primary storage as it is available in 120GB, 240GB, 480GB, 960GB and 1920GB* capacities.

TOSHIBA NEW RANGE OF CONSUMER HARD DRIVES Toshiba Electronic Components Taiwan Corporation announced its new 6 series consumer internal Hard Drives, the P300 Desktop PC Hard Drive, L200 Laptop PC Hard Drive, X300 Performance Hard Drive, N300 NAS Hard Drive, S300 Surveillance Hard Drive and V300 Video Streaming Hard Drive. In addition, Toshiba introduces color branding for each category in the consumer internal hard drive lineup. The new category colors will be displayed on the drive labels and retail shelf packaging to clearly communicate the Hard Drive category’s use case and device application. The color labeling for each hard drive is as follows: the both P300 and L200 in a red desktop/laptop PC label, the X300 in a silver performance label, the N300 in a gold NAS label, the S300 hard drive series boasts a green surveillance label, and the V300 hard drive series comes in a blue video streaming label.

DIGITAL TER MI N A L I 01-15 JUN E 2018

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India’s Leading Communications, Broadcast, IT & Technology Show

Digital India - Connecting the Unconnected

Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India

29-31 January 2019 Co-located with

OK BO R YOUCE SPA W! NO

Backbone of NextGen Technology

Highlights

685 20,000 Visitors

Participants

28

Countries

180 1230 Delegates

Speakers

Technologies on Display Telecom | Broadcast | Satcom | Internet of Things (IoT) | Embedded Systems | Virtual Reality (VR) Augmented Reality (AR) | Wearable Tech | Blockchain | Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Mobile Devices Machine Learning (ML) | Drones | Robotics | Electronic Manufacturing Service

Thank you partners!

Gold

Visitor Carry Bag

Lanyard

Registration Counter

Connectivity

Exhibition Invitation

Badge

Delegate Kit

IoT Innovation

Conference

CCTV

Associate HORIZON Meet the Future

SenRa

TM

Growing Connectivity

Media Partner

Co-Organiser

Organiser

For Exhibition & Conference, please contact: Mr. Yash Menghani, Senior Manager, yashm@eigroup.in Tel: +91 11 4279 5077 | Fax: +91 11 4279 5098

www.convergenceindia.org

220mm x 305mm.indd 1

19-06-2018 PM 01:10:33

RNI NO : DELENG/2010/31992