DCC June Select Series by Bhupinder Sharma

S E L ECT

VOL 02 | ISSUE 15 JUNE 2010 | RS. 50 A 9.9 MEDIA PUBLICATION

S E R IES

PERSONAL COMPUTING SPECIAL How has the realm of personal computing evolved over the years? What has been its impact on channels? What does the future look like? Dig in for all this and more...

Desktops: Going Strong The PC on our desk continues to hold its ground PAGE 06

Portables: Moving Fast The real darlings of consumers and channels alike PAGE 10

High Impact Technologies

Partners share which advancements mean the most PAGE 21

The Multiplier Effect F sanjay.gupta@9dot9.in

The collective excitement, initiative and energy of channels has created a thriving ecosystem in personal computing

rom the room-sized mainframes of the 60s and 70s to the palm-sized handhelds of today, Personal Computing has come a long, long way. And it’s not just in size: compared to less than 50,000 in 1977, personal computer sales crossed the 100 million mark around the turn of the century, and now as many as 300 million PCs are sold worldwide each year. In recalling the humongous growth of the PC industry, it would not be out of place to remember the historic quote (1943) often attributed to the then IBM chief Thomas J Watson, Sr: “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” Or the one from Ken Olsen, who was president of the erstwhile Digital Equipment Corp (1977): “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” At the same time, we are reminded of a visionary like Bill Gates, whose company, Microsoft, prospered along the mission to put a computer in every home and on every desk. Or of Intel’s Gordon Moore, whose eponymous law (Moore’s Law: the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits would double each year) has fuelled growth in the microprocessor industry – and, by extension, in the PC industry as well. We have now reached a stage when the limitations of Moore’s Law are being debated and people talk of a mobile rather than a PC in every home. But the key point is that the PC industry has grown from mere

curiosity value three decades back to two hundred billion dollars in revenue today. The numerous inventors and visionaries did spark off the PC revolution. However, I doubt whether the industry would have reached the stature it now enjoys, were it not for the phenomenon of ‘channels’ that evangelised, sold and served consumers and businesses. Here, I’m using the term channels in the broadest sense – including businessmen who bet their money on creating stores and new avenues of sale, developers who risked writing software for untested but exciting platforms and traders who could have stuck to dealing in what their customers were familiar with. The collective risk-taking, excitement, initiative and energy of channels is what has ultimately created a thriving ecosystem involving tens of millions of professionals. Do share with us your own, from-the-trenches tales of the evolution and impact of personal computing.

SANJAY GUPTA Editor Digit Channel Connect

sounding board sounding board S E L ECT

VOL 02 | ISSUE 15 JUNE 2010 | RS. 50 A 9.9 MEDIA PUBLICATION

Chetan Shah, Managing Director, Xpress Computers: “The biggest impact has been the convergence of personal computing to mobile phones. Today, it is possible to do virtually most of PC-related activities on the phone itself. This has really shaped or changed our lives a lot.”

Ketan C Patel, CEO, Creative Peripherals & Distributions: “The personal computing technology that has impacted me on the personal front the most is a laptop with Internet connectivity. It has redefined the way I work today. Any place is a virtual office to me - I am connected to all my offices, all the time.”

Saket Kapur, MD, Green Vision: “It is very nostalgic to recall the introduction of Network Interface Cards as a milestone in the evolution of personal computing technology. I remember having exclaimed “Eureka!” once, as I was able to connect two PCs using the then available Novell Netware operating system, by using coaxial cable with BNC connectors. Today, life without the network is unimaginable.”

S E R I E S

PERSONAL COMPUTING SPECIAL How has the realm of personal computing evolved over the years? What has been its impact on channels? What does the future look like? Dig in for all this and more...

Desktops: Going Strong The PC on our desk continues to hold its ground PAGE 06

Portables: Moving Fast The real darlings of consumers and channels alike PAGE 10

High Impact Technologies

Partners share which advancements mean the most PAGE 21

Write to the Editor E-mail: editor@digitchannelconnect.com Snail Mail: The Editor, Digit Channel Connect, B-118, Sector 2, Noida 201301

DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT

JUNE 2010

contents

S E L ECT

VOL 02 | ISSUE 15 JUNE 2010 | RS. 50 A 9.9 MEDIA PUBLICATION

S E R I E S

PERSONAL COMPUTING SPECIAL

VOL 02 ISSUE 15 | JUNE 2010 Managing Director: Dr Pramath Raj Sinha Printer & Publisher: Kanak Ghosh EDITORIAL Editor: Sanjay Gupta Copy Editor: Akshay Kapoor Sr. Correspondent: Charu Khera (Delhi) DESIGN Sr. Creative Director: Jayan K Narayanan Art Director: Binesh Sreedharan Associate Art Director: Anil VK Manager Design: Chander Shekhar Sr. Visualisers: PC Anoop, Santosh Kushwaha Sr. Designers: Prasanth TR & Anil T Photographer: Jiten Gandhi

How has the realm of personal computing evolved over the years? What has been its impact on channels? What does the future look like? Dig in for all this and more...

BRAND COMMUNICATION Product Manager: Ankur Agarwal SALES & MARKETING VP Sales & Marketing: Navin Chand Singh National Manager - Events and Special Projects: Mahantesh Godi (09880436623) Business Manager (Engagement Platforms) Arvind Ambo (09819904050) National Manager - Channels: Krishnadas Kurup (09322971866) Asst. Brand Manager: Arpita Ganguli Asst. Manager - Scheduling: Kishan Singh Bangalore & Chennai: Vinodh K (09740714817) Delhi: Pranav Saran (09312685289) Kolkata: Jayanta Bhattacharya (09331829284) Mumbai: Sachin Mhashilkar (09920348755) PRODUCTION & LOGISTICS Sr. GM Operations: Shivshankar M Hiremath Production Executive: Vilas Mhatre Logistics: MP Singh, Mohd. Ansari, Shashi Shekhar Singh

A LOUD AND CLEAR FUTURE

GOING STRONG

Desktops: Going Despite the arrival of Strong The PC on our desk continues to laptops, netbooks, tablet hold its ground PAGE 06 PCs and e-readers, the desktop continues to hold its ground

and channels alike PAGE 10

mean the most PAGE 21

HIGH IMPACT TECHNOLOGIES

MOVING FAST

The demand for laptops and netbooks is on an all time high, as more and more people prefer mobile computers

Enterprise mobility is showing a lot of promise – but it is yet to turn into a reality for Portables: Moving Fast High Impact Technologies most SMBs Partners share which advancements The real darlings of consumers

THE SCREEN LIGHTS UP

OFFICE ADDRESS

Digit Channel Connect asked a few channel partners about key advancements in personal computing technologies that affected them the most. Here’s an interesting mix of their responses

OTHERS EDITORIAL.......................................................... 02 VENDOR SPEAK................................................. 08 INTERFACE DEVICES........................................... 19 TRENDS.............................................................. 25 ANALYST SPEAK................................................. 30

advertisers index HP..........................Cover on Cover, Inside False Cover, BC IBM...................................................... Inside Front Cover Segate...................................................Inside Back Cover

The picture of the monitor market is brighter and clearer than ever before – all thanks to LCDs

CHANNEL CHAMPS Sr Co-ordinator - Events: Rakesh Sequeira Events Executives: Pramod Jadhav, Johnson Noronha Audience Dev. Executive: Aparna Bobhate, Shilpa Surve

Nine Dot Nine Interactive Pvt Ltd., KPT House, Plot 41/13, Sector 30, Vashi, Navi Mumbai - 400 703 Phone: 40789666 Fax: 022-40789540, 022-40789640 Printed and published by Kanak Ghosh for Nine Dot Nine Interactive Pvt Ltd. C/O KPT House, Plot 41/13, Sector 30, Vashi (Near Sanpada Railway Station), Navi Mumbai 400703 Editor: Anuradha Das Mathur C/O KPT House, Plot 41/13, Sector 30, Vashi (Near Sanpada Railway Station), Navi Mumbai 400703 Printed at Silverpoint Press Pvt. Ltd, TTC Ind. Area, Plot No. : A - 403, MIDC, Mahape, Navi Mumbai - 400709

Fenda.............................................................................1 Compuage.................................................................3,11 Kingston.........................................................................5 Jupiter............................................................................9 Supertron.................................................................13,17

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COVER DESIGN: ANOOP P C

desktops

Going

STRONG Despite the arrival of laptops, netbooks, tablet PCs and e-readers, the desktop continues to hold its ground SUMA E P

DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT

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esktop PCs have come a long way. From clunky things with memory siz es that make us guffaw now; black foreboding interfaces which needed us to know the commands to make the PC work; huge machines that could just about handle some word processing and games…they certainly have come a long way. And as our needs changed, the computing scene adapted to our needs. The desktop PC started turning into an all-in-one machine, helping us not only with our work, but taking care of our entertainment needs as well. The Internet made its debut, laptops came in, and so did various entertainment devices with built-in intelligence. Cellphones came in and quickly evolved into miniature computers themselves. Tablet PCs, netbooks, e-readers, and now the iPad…the desktop PC has seen quite a bit of competition over the years. However, the desktop PC still rules. Why? It can handle work,

learning, entertainment and communication. And it can do all of it very well. It’s a durable device. And as long as you can keep it well tuned, and virus free, you can look at years of usage with it. You can add parts to it, or upgrade parts that don’t work for you anymore. The latter is not something that any other device will let you do easily. And desktop PCs are inexpensive, as prices have been dropping significantly over the last few years.

Growth All that shows in the numbers as well. In the total number of PCs sold in the first quarter of 2010 in India, desktop PCs have a two-thirds share. IDC India says 14.36 lakh units have been sold in the period demonstrating an increase of 18% Year-On-Year (Y-OY) growth. But, the desktop PC’s lion share of the market is certainly under threat. Laptops and other portables have come in, eating into the desktop PC’s market share. As per IDC, India data, when you compare the growth for the first quarter of 2010 over the first quarter of 2009, there is a growth of 18%. But for notebook PCs, it is 72%. Portables are already marking a shift in the way people work and have fun. The desktop PC market has always had the unorganised assembled PC part, and the branded PC part in India.

PERSONAL COMPUTING SPECIAL The assembled PC market is huge and widespread and hard to track. In the branded PCs, HP retained its top position with a market share of 11.2%, followed by Acer and HCL in second and third spots, respectively during 1Q 2010. In 2008-09, PC shipments had dropped, by 8.1%. It was a bad year for most aspects of the economy, and hence was a reflection of the overall sentiment. In 2009-10, the PC shipments grew 7.6%, which reflects that the PC market is seeing a recovery. The primary reason for this is the revival in the growth of the economy. Consumer confidence in buying is on the rise. Large enterprises and the government sector are seeing this as a good time to spend on their long-overdue IT requirements.

Genesis Program controlled computers started making an appearance in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1946, the US Army’s computer, ENIAC, came in. This is often called the first general purpose electronic computer. Early machines used vacuum tubes, after which came the era of transistors. It was in 1970s that the integrated circuit technology started being used for microprocessors. All through these developments, computers reduced in size, were cheaper to make, consumed lesser power and were more reliable. The first desktop computers made an appearance in 1970s. And they are the forefathers of the machines we use today. Some of the names of the consumer computers back then are Apple I and Apple II, Atari-800, and Commodore Pet. The IBM PC came in 1981. But effectively, these machines created the technology framework that we continue to use today. There is the hardware layer consisting of the processor connected to various input and output devices. On top of this is the Operating System (OS) layer, and the software applications we use to work on this OS. Processing power has been increasing as per Moore’s law and has been an evolution process in itself. Memory has evolved through a series of abbreviated names such as SDRAM (Synchronous DRAM) in 1998, to the DDR3-SDRAM of today, mainly allowing faster and more efficient memory performance over the years to exploit the growing potential of the processors. From the laughable 32 KB storage to the now

easily available GBs of hard disk space, the desktop PC has found itself more and more room for the stuff it lets you do. Soon, the graphics cards came into being and started becoming complex gadgetry by themselves, thus enabling the growth of immersive gaming technologies. And the desktop PCs started getting gaming accessories as well. The arrival of optical drives brought in the term ‘multimedia’, throwing open the door for the home computing market to evolve. Today, writeable DVD drives are common and new encoding technologies are becoming mainstream, allowing video viewing. All through this, the Internet became all pervasive, throwing open new things for a user to do, forcing the desktop PC to keep pace. The monitor too has undergone huge changes. Today, you have sleek LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and TFT (Thin Film Transistor) display options that ensure your viewing is better, easier on the eye and, consume less power as well, compared to the huge CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors. That brings us to power consumption. Despite all the changes over the years, especially with increasing processing power, the energy consumption has remained almost the same. The size of the desktop PC has also undergone changes over the past few years. The standard tower model is the most prevalent, but for the space conscious, there are slim towers, and even small boxes available at a slightly higher price. While Windows and its various versions over the years have monopolised the market, many open source versions of Linux have been steadily building up. The other giant in the market is the Macintosh operating system. All of them put the user as the focus and provide a wide range of enhancements to make a user’s experience easier and engaging.

STRIPPED DOWN DESKTOP PCS THAT ARE COST EFFECTIVE IN THE LONG RUN, ARE NOW BECOMING COMMONPLACE IN COMPANIES THAT RUN ENTERPRISEWIDE APPLICATIONS The desktop PC started turning into an all-inone machine, helping us not only with our work, but taking care of our entertainment needs as well INDIA’S PC PENETRATION IS VERY LOW AND THAT’S WHERE THE GROWTH FOR THE DESKTOP PC REALLY LIES.

Holding Ground • Desktop PCs of today follow the framework of the computer that came into being in the 1970s. The framework: Hardware layer on which the OS sits, and on top of which the applications run. • Portables are eating into the market share of desktop PCs, but they still retain a two-thirds share. • In the enterprise space, desktop PCs with minimal processing power capable of running online applications are now commonplace. • New desktop PCs now have SSD storage and better energy efficiency as the new differentiators.

desktops The road ahead Word processing, spreadsheets, browsers, presentations, databases and imaging software form the bulk of the applications most desktop users work with. Though Microsoft Office is by far the leader, arrival of free web tools such as Google Docs spell a trend where users could just make do with online usage. This would have a definite impact on the desktop PC. If all the processing is to happen on a server, then desktop PCs need not pack in more power than required. This works well for enterprises and that’s how virtual PCs have taken off in a big way. Users need to just work with a monitor, keyboard and mouse, while all applications and data reside on a server, maybe a room away, or maybe in a datacenter in the city, or maybe across the seas. So, stripped down desktop PCs that are cost effective in the long run, are now becoming commonplace in companies that run enterprise-wide applications. Today’s buyer is energy conscious. With talks of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon credits happening all around, both end-users and decision makers are on the lookout for desktop PCs that sport a green label and are energy savers. A green PC costs a little more than the regular desktop PC, but it can save as much as 85% energy. Thus, a green PC presents a major growth opportunity for both makers and distributors. LCD screens reduce power consumption by about 40% compared to their CRT counterparts. The mantra is that any component of the desktop PC that saves energy and is eco-friendly will be a future driver in this market. Solid State Device (SSD) storage devices are making an entry in desktop PCs. With no moveable parts as in a regular magnetic hard drive, SSD storage devices spell durability and also rapid access to data. With the exploding use of video and social networking, gaming platforms and immersive applications, the huge need for storage will continue, and SSD could provide the solution. While portables gain ground, it is not the end of the road for the desktop PC. India’s PC penetration is very low and that’s where the growth for the desktop PC really lies. However, challenges in improving PC penetration are manifold, including issues related to power, so, a lot of basic infrastructure issues have to be sorted out before desktop PCs can make their way to the smaller and remote towns and villages of India. n editor@digitchannelconnect.com

DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT

JUNE 2010

portable PCs

Moving

FAST

are creating a dent in the market share of desktop computers. Large enterprises are exploring it as a replacement to the desktop computer due to its lower energy consumption and power backup feature. There is an increase in the demand of laptops in the education sector from both school and college students. Young home users are also opting for them over desktops. A netbook is a no-frill laptop in an even smaller form factor. Available from the manufacturers of laptops, it is gradually gaining popularity as a traveller’s choice for a personal computing device. It’s smaller and less versatile than a laptop, but more powerful and easier on eye than a cellphone with Internet connectivity. Having fewer features, it also usually has a longer battery life than a laptop does. Depending on the features and brand, a netbook can cost anywhere between Rs 15000 to Rs 20,000. HCL was one of the first companies to launch a netbook in India, followed closely by Acer, Samsung and others. Sony and HP offer netbooks at a higher price-point in the premium segment as lifestyle personal computing products for the fashionable and image-conscious users.

From notebooks to netbooks

The demand for laptops and netbooks is on an all time high, as more and more people prefer mobile computers TARU AGARWAL

he laptop is no more the tool of business travellers alone. It has come of age and become a mainstream personal computing device like the the desktop computer. Features and looks are getting better, flaws are getting fixed, and, new options for power offer longer battery life. Laptops are easily available with ample choice of brands, styles and price-points. The result is that portable computers

DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT

JUNE 2010

From the 1980s to 2010, portable computers have come a long way. It is difficult to trace the exact predecessors of the modern-day laptop, but most agree that Osborne 1 is the closest match. Released in 1981, the Osborne 1 weighed 10.7 kg, had a 13-cm CRT screen and dual 5.25” singledensity floppy drives, and ran on the CP/M operating system. It did not have a battery and worked directly from the mains. Epson HX-20 was released in the same year. It had a dotmatrix LCD display, a 68-key keyboard, nickel-cadmium batteries, and an expandable RAM to 32 KB. It was the first laptop in the true sense of the term. Kaypro II with doubledensity floppy drives was introduced in 1982. The laptops with the clamshell design, as we know of them today, also appeared in the early 1980s. Dulmont Magnum (1981-82) and GRiD Compass 1100 - both had a clamshell design. The word “laptop” was first used for the Gavilan SC in 1983. Thereafter, the laptops were enhanced gradually, both in terms of processing power and features like touchpad, pointing stick, handwriting recognition, dynamic power management, etc. In 1988, VGA resolution was added to the display with 256-colour screens making their entry in 1993. This was followed by addition of CR-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW and DVD-ROM drives over the next few years. The base features of a laptop are now standard. Advancements are happening in the areas of additional and good-to-have features, processing power and reducing the overall form factor. The last effort led to the birth of the netbook, which is a stripped-down version of a laptop in an even smaller size. This made its appearance sometime in late 2007. The netbooks have been an instant hit with the consumers and the year 2009 saw their emergence in a big way.

Phenomenal growth The first quarter of 2010 saw a 72% y-o-y growth for the notebook market by selling 8.03 lakh units between January and March 2010, according to IDC, India. HP was at the top with 29.9% market share, followed by Dell and

PERSONAL COMPUTING SPECIAL

portable PCs Acer. Consumers drove the demand for laptops while the netbook market saw a drop in the prices due to increased competition and adoption by consumers. Among IDC’s ‘The India Domestic ICT Market Top 10 Predictions 2010’, is the strengthening of the paradigm shift for consumer ICT from ‘Consumer 1.0’ to ‘Consumer 2.0’. IDC says that this year, “the PC market is to witness a generational shift, notably to the mini notebook PC or ‘netbook,’ as Solid State Disk (SSD) ensembles reach a new threshold of usage in mobile computing.” See the table from IDC India to see how netbooks have been growing steadily in the Indian market. The market is seeing not only the entry of newer players, but the existing players are also becoming more aggressive. Sony plans to increase its market share from 15% to 20% in fiscal 2010 with a focus on products with cutting-edge technology, distribution and marketing. Toshiba plans to increase its market share from 4% to 12% by bringing in products at lower price-points, becoming more visible, increasing number of outlets, and expanding distribution and after-sales service network. The year 2009 saw shipments of 169 million in the portable PC segment worldwide, which is predicted to go up to about 217 million by 2010 and 448 million by 2014, according to a report from IDC. The netbook share is expected to remain under 12% in 2010. The main growth will come from notebook PCs — about 26.6% from the emerging regions and 13.6% from the mature markets. By 2012, portable PCs are projected to cover

about 70% of the PC market share. Economical revival, combined with low price points and technological advancements are giving a push to the growth of laptops and netbooks. The education sector has become a big market for portable computers. Students are being encouraged to use laptops and it is gradually becoming an imperative in technical and management education. Laptop sales have been going up in the 18-36 years age group segment. This comprises primarily of students and home users. Government and large enterprises is also expected to form a significant large chunk of this market. In the netbook market, there is a fierce price war on. Newer players are joining the fray, bringing down the price-points with them. There is also a higher adoption of the netbooks by the consumer. An interesting fact that came to light in one of the industry surveys was that more of netbook owners are in the age group of 45 to 60 years. Tablet PCs such as iPads, e-readers, etc, will pose challenges to the more widespread adoption of laptops and netbooks. The result is already visible. Apple’s iPad has created a dent in the sale of netbooks.

THERE IS AN INCREASE IN THE DEMAND OF LAPTOPS IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR FROM BOTH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS. YOUNG HOME USERS ARE ALSO OPTING FOR THEM OVER DESKTOPS. Economical revival, combined with low price points and technological advancements are giving a push to the growth of laptops and netbooks.

Trends and forecasts The touchscreen is one of the mostawaited features in portable computers. The Windows 7 operating system, with its multi-touch capability, will signal the entry of touchscreen portable PCs. Entry of cellphone makers like Nokia in the laptop market will also give a push to the adoption of touchscreen technology. Big screens—15

India Mini Notebook PC Shipments and Growth Rate (%) FY08 FY09 FY10

Unit shipments (‘000s)

Growth (%) Unit Growth (%) Unit over shipments over shipments previous FY (‘000s) previous FY (‘000s)

Growth (%) over previous FY

Mini Notebook PCs

2.5

2220.0%

255

339.7%

Mini Notebook PCs as a percentage of Notebook PC shipments

0.1%

2.6%

9.3%

Source: IDC India, May 2010

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In a Nutshell • IDC: PC market to witness a generational shift, notably to the netbooks • Large enterprises are exploring the netbook as a replacement to the desktop computer due to lower energy consumption and power backup features • Increase in demand of laptops and netbooks in the education sector from students • 72% y-o-y growth in the first quarter (January to March) of 2010 in portable PC’s segment • Aggressive strategies by players in the domestic market to increase their market share • New models being launched all the time • Newer players, including cellphone manufacturers, entering the portable PC’s field • Portable computers projected to cover 70% of the worldwide PC market share by 2012 • Fierce price war in the netbook market • Laptop sales going up in the age group of 18 to 36 years • More netbook owners in the age group of 45 to 60 years • Tablet PCs can create a dent in the growth of laptops and netbooks • Touchscreens, OLED screens, SSDs, and Blu-Ray drives are eagerly awaited

inches or more— with high graphics capability for power users and gamers, will increase in demand. Laptops will also start shipping with OLED screens. Use of SSDs in both laptops and netbooks is likely to gain momentum too. Blu-Ray drives will eventually replace the HD DVD drives, when the technology is available at a reasonable price to be cost effective for massscale adoption in portable PCs. And it won’t be far before we have laptops and netbooks that will charge with wireless power cords. The prototypes are already available. There is an explosion of content and multimedia for a computer user now. And he is also on the move. How flexibly can the new portable devices meet the demands of content creation and content consumption is going to define success in this segment. n editor@digitchannelconnect.com

monitors

The

SCREEN

LIGHTS UP

The picture of the monitor market is brighter and clearer than ever before – all thanks to LCDs TAMANNA AHUJA

t is sleek, fast, good looking, powerful, economical and currently a rage. What we are referring to is the LCD, which has taken the monitor market by storm. LCD has changed the face of the monitor market in less than two years. The shift from CRT (cathode ray tube) to LCD (liquid crystal display) in India began somewhere in the year 2007. In 2009, the shift seemed almost complete; so much so, that the industry experts claim the ratio of LCD to CRT to be as astonishing as 95:5. With those figures in purview, everyone would argue that CRT is dead. And the fact that several CRT manufacturing plants have already seen the sun go down upon them corroborates the observation. However, the question is, has armageddon really struck the CRT technology? Or is there still hope for a second coming? Is LCD the answer to all monitor woes? And what is the future of the thin screen? The monitor market is bubbling with these questions. And now that we have found the questions, we shall try to provide answers as well.

Thin versus curvaceous Hold on! We are talking about the monitors here. However, when it comes to striking a comparison between the sleek and the rounded monitors, the sleek is definitely on a high. And to add to this, there are many things that have worked in favour of the LCD monitors. The LCD seems to be scoring on all fronts, including shorter response time or no flicker display and lesser power consumption or high definition picture quality. Seeing the enthu-

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siasm for LCDs in the market, most players, including LG, Samsung and AOC, cut down on CRT production last year and concentrated on LCDs in a big way. While this came as bad news for the CRT market, it did result in a lot of innovation in the LCD arena. A lot of R&D went into the development of the LCD monitors. Although R&D was done primarily to create a niche product and USP in the market, the outcome led to interesting and innovative LCD monitors. LG led the R&D front, and by the virtue of that, also climbed several steps to become the market leader in the monitor segment. A lot of efforts also went into creating unique marketing campaigns. A clear example was set by LG with the launch of its maiden television commercial on LCD monitors featuring microscopic picture clarity. The action resulted in tremendous brand recall among end users and helped LG to increase its market share. TPV Technologies was another company which successfully turned AOC into a brand to reckon with. With so much happening in the LCD space, the CRT screen remained virtually unstirred. Though most industry watchers are predicting doomsday for CRTs, some analysts are firm that they will survive, if only in a restricted market. According to George Paul, Executive VP, Marketing, HCL Infosystems, “CRTs tend to be used in certain typical areas that demand it. Medical, for example is one field where contrast and shape is very important. Therefore, the requirement for CRTs remains in fields like medicine and animation.” However, he also

agrees that except in these specific areas, CRT adoption is dying down.

Technologically yours Behind the LCD hype lies some serious technological innovation and implementation. And come to think of it, the technology used in LCD has moved leaps and bounds since the time of CRTs. According to Paul, one major trend that LCDs have bought about is the shift from CCFL to LED based monitors. Another technological advancement is in terms of graphics. Most of the LCDs that are available in the market today boast of high definition picture quality. The display technology is also advancing rapidly towards 3D graphics. The latest industry trends include16:9 aspect ratio, 50,000:1 or higher dynamic contrast ratios, resolutions supporting fullHD view, display interfaces such as HDMI and DVI, inbuilt webcams, speakers, faster response times (12-16 milliseconds) and wide viewing angles (170 degrees plus). There has also been a shift to 2-lamp technology with even lower power consumption compared to the traditional 4 lamp. Refresh rates were also re-engineered which went up to 120 Hz, at which the monitors can support 3D view. As per Daya Prakash, CIO, LG Electronics, one technology that LCDs have really brought to the fore is heat dissipation. LCD monitors dissipate

PERSONAL COMPUTING SPECIAL

Numbers on the Screen

Top 3 Monitor Vendors in India

The figures become more interesting when compared in the standby mode. While a CRT consumes 15 watts in the standby state, LCD consumes only 1 watt!

18.1%

The channel story 44.7% 14.5% 12.7% LG

Acer

Samsung

Others

Source: IDC’s Asia/Pacific Quarterly Monitor Tracker, Q3 2009, December 2009 release

much less heat when compared to their CRT counterparts. “Owing to higher wattage, CRT monitors consume more energy than LCDs and hence dissipate more heat,” says Prakash. These days, most IT manufacturers are turning to RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) compliant products, and LCDs are no exception. Some of the leading monitor vendors such as LG, Samsung and HCL are fully RoHS compliant and are doing their bit to keep the world green. Power saving is another benefit that is now becoming a part of the LCD package. According to Prakash,

The market sentiment is clearly in favour of LCDs as far as sales are concerned. “In the market, people are only demanding LCDs. CRT is like an end-of-life product,” says Subjash Karak, Sales Manager of Challenger Computers. He says that the company is selling around 2,000 monitors per month and out of these, only 5-odd are CRTs. The rest, he says, are LCDs, and that’s what people are looking for these days. Ask him if the consumers are asking about any new things within the LCD domain and he says that the latest LED is creating ripples in the market. “Because a brand or two has come out with the LED technology and people are enquiring about it,” he says. Somesh Narang, CEO of Elcom Trading, has a similar story to tell. He insists that CRTs are now redundant. “Like no new system is coming with XP operating system, similarly, no one is buying new CRTs.” He goes on to add that organisations whose

3,000,000

4,032,156

4,800,218

252,960

2,000,000

1,867,263

4,000,000

3,273,896

5,000,000

3,733,517

6,000,000

1,000,000 Year 2007 LCD Monitors

Year 2008

Year 2009 Jan to Sept CRT Monitors

Source: Asia/Pacific Quarterly Monitor Tracker, Q3 2009, December 2009 release

a standard 17 inch LCD consumes about 30 watts of energy when it is switched on, as compared to 73 watts consumed by CRT in a similar mode.

DAYA PRAKASH, CIO, LG ELECTRONICS

“OWING TO HIGHER WATTAGE, CRT MONITORS CONSUME MORE ENERGY THAN LCDS AND HENCE DISSIPATE MORE HEAT.”

refresh cycles are due are also now going the LCD way and are getting rid of their CRT monitors in a phased manner.”

• According to IDC, a total of 6.6 million monitors were shipped in India during 2008. • More than 70 per cent of the monitors were LCD monitors. • While the overall monitor market shrunk by 1 per cent in 2008, LCD monitors recorded a growth of close to 20 per cent. • The sale of CRT monitors fell by more than 50 per cent. • The market leader in the standalone monitor segment is LG with close to 30 per cent market share. • In the bundled segment, it is HP with around 30 per cent market share. • The total monitors market in India is around Rs 4,500 crore. • Around 55 per cent of this market comprises stand-alone monitors.

Through the crystal ball

GEORGE PAUL, EXECUTIVE VP, MARKETING, HCL INFOSYSTEMS

MONITOR UNIT SHIPMENTS IN INDIA

monitors

“CRTs tend to be used in certain typical areas that demand it. Medical, for example is one field where contrast and shape is very important. Therefore, the requirements for CRT’s remains in fields like medicine and animation.”

So, what is in store for the monitor market? The first one is apparent--2010 is expected to see an (almost) absolute shift to LCD screens, thus making CRT a thing of the past. Some analysts are of the view that technology shall make possible the creation of such LCDs that will replace the CRTs even where they are indispensible as of now (like in medical applications). Whether that happens or not, the mass market is certain to consist entirely of LCD panels. Another futuristic trend is the allin-one phenomenon. Monitors with advanced capabilities that merge the TV and the computer screen and yet are sleeker than ever are in the works. And yes, monitors are expected to take the “touch revolution” even further. Although HP did experiment with touch monitors this year, it didn’t get as much traction from consumers as one would expect. But touch remains a very promising technology with immense benefits. For one, the new touch technology, which processes finger commands more swiftly, is said to take care of the calibration issues dogging the use of monitors for precision-driven applications. With advances like these and more reaching consumers and businesses through LCD monitors, the future of those dealing in LCDs can only get lighter yet brighter. n This article has been reproduced from an earlier edition of DCC.

DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT

JUNE 2010

speakers

A LOUD AND CLEAR FUTURE

As desktops and portable computers continue to evolve, so do the speakers that go with them. Here’s a trip along the audio lane PRAGYA MADAN

ot long ago, when a prospective buyer looked at a Personal Computer (PC), after discussing specs, essential hardware and software, and price with the vendor, his next question would be “Do you have good speakers?” It was a nice-to-have add-on, and budget permitting, the buyer would probably choose a basic set of two speakers. Today, the discussion on speakers is almost as exhaustive as that of the PC, especially if the machine is intended for home use. From manufacturer to price to number of speakers, everything is discussed in detail. That, if nothing else, shows where speakers, as a computer peripheral, are headed.

Evolution Speakers have been around for as long as the PC itself. The first IBM PC model, 5150 had an in-built 2.25” magnetic

DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT

JUNE 2010

driven speaker. The only sound it generated was a tone, the purpose of which was to signal hardware failure. While that in-built PC speaker still exists on desktop PCs, the peripheral device that adds multimedia functionality to the PC has seen an upward growth path. In the beginning, PCs came with a set of two speakers, which gave a two-channel output. Later came the 2.1 speakers, which were a set of three. The third speaker usually includes a subwoofer. These standard speakers, available from different manufacturers, are easy on the pocket and are usually sufficient for home and corporate use. The next milestone was the use of computers to play games and listen to music or watch movies, all of which required better-quality sound and more user control over the sound generated. That paved the entry for multi-channel speakers. Multi-channel speaker systems enable the creation of surround sound, and usually comprise a sub-woofer, a centre channel speaker and satellite speakers. So, a 5.1-channel speaker has one sub-woofer and five speakers; while 7.1 has seven speakers, in addition to the sub-woofer. These multichannel speakers work in multimedia PCs and home theater systems, where sound quality is of the utmost importance. They are able to play the entire range of sound frequencies – low, medium and high – with crystal clarity. Needless to say, these are more expensive than standard speakers, and are also that much more complex to connect. The next development is that of stereo speaker systems, which come as 2.0 (a set of two speakers) or 2.1 (two speak-

PERSONAL COMPUTING SPECIAL ers with sub-woofer). Apart from great sound quality, these have the benefit of compactness, and are less complex to connect than multi-channel speaker systems. Today, the development is moving towards portability and wireless connectivity. Laptops, of course, come with built-in speakers (as do many PC monitors today), but their sound quality is not always up to the users’ desired standards. However, high-end laptops do offer speakers with good sound capabilities.

The market Speaker systems of all ranges and sizes are available today. While 2.1 standard speakers could come for a few hundred rupees, the more sophisticated surround sound and stereo speaker systems can range in thousands of rupees, depending on the sound output and related features. Since most PCs and laptops today are not just meant for standard wordprocessing and internet browsing, multimedia capabilities have become an almost essential feature. Invariably, most users use their machines to listen to music, play games, and watch films or online videos. For this, apart from graphics capabilities, high-quality sound is also a must. A survey titled “India Bytes” found that there were nearly 65 million unique computer users in urban India

in 2008. While 77 per cent of these users worked on desktops, 23 per cent used laptops. What’s more, 87 per cent of the respondents used the computer at home daily. Home use of the computer largely corresponds to Internet browsing or other ‘entertainment’ purposes, which require multimedia capabilities. Speakers, thus, have a healthy market in this segment.

Growth opportunities and challenges Clearly, the most important market driver for the adoption of speakers is adoption of computers with multimedia capabilities. According to the India Information Technology Report 2010, the market for PCs in India (including laptops and accessories) is estimated to be US $6.2 billion in 2010, higher than US $5.6 billion last year. The growth in market size for PCs spells good news for speakers as well. Given that the PC is already a multimedia station, and that more multimedia content is being made available on the PC, the role of computer speakers is growing. Whether it is MP3s of all the latest chart-toppers, or more sophisticated games with realistic visual and sound effects, or even the fact that PCs also double up as DVD players, the importance of speakers that can do justice to the rich multimedia content

MOST USERS USE THEIR MACHINES TO LISTEN TO MUSIC, PLAY GAMES, AND WATCH FILMS OR ONLINE VIDEOS. FOR THIS, APART FROM GRAPHICS CAPABILITIES, HIGH-QUALITY SOUND IS ALSO A MUST.

Given that the PC is already a multimedia station, and that more multimedia content is being made available on the PC, the role of computer speakers is growing.

Jargon buster Bass Refers to low-frequency tones or sounds.

Full-range A full-range speaker unit is designed such that it can reproduce most of the audible frequency range. Most single units are unable to do this.

Mid-range A speaker unit that produces frequencies in the range of 300-5,000 Hz. This speaker is also called the squawker.

Subwoofer Subwoofers reproduce low-pitched frequencies, typically in the range of 20-200 Hz. The subwoofer produces the bass sounds.

Treble Refers to high frequency tones or sounds.

Tweeter A tweeter speaker unit reproduces high audio frequencies, in the range of 2,000-20,000 Hz.

Woofer A woofer produces low audio frequencies, in the range of 40Hz-1kHz.

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JUNE 2010

speakers is definitely on the rise. The challenge in widespread adoption of computer speakers comes from the fact that PC penetration in India is still low. With the wildfire spread of mobile phones, the use of PCs for Internet access and connectivity is fast being replaced by Internet on the mobile. The mobile, in fact, is evolving into a mobile computer, where everything from checking mail to watching videos is becoming possible. The cost factor, too, works in favour of the mobile phone vis-à-vis the PC. This poses a challenge to the conventional setup of a computer and all its accessories, especially at home, where getting Internet access was one of the main reasons for buying PCs.

Future trends With mobile workforces on the rise, the adoption of laptops is higher than that of PCs. Similarly, portability and wireless connectivity are becoming important in computer speakers as well. Creative Labs, for instance, recently launched a range of speaker systems that are wireless (work over bluetooth). These can connect to any portable device – from notebooks and netbooks, to iPods and mobile phones – that is Bluetooth A2DP enabled. The sound quality is top-of-the-line, as are other features. Creative is not the only manufacturer to go down this road. Several manufacturers have bluetooth enabled speaker systems, which can be used on the go. Apart from this, there are speakers that connect to USB ports, making it simpler to plug and play, rather than go through a laborious installation and trial and error process. Even the non-portable versions of speaker systems are becoming more sophisticated. While bass and treble control, enhanced output, remote control et al have been around for a while, today, you can get speakers that have their own built-in control systems – that is, software that controls the speakers. These, of course, are for those with high-end needs and big budgets. While the box-like speakers of yesteryears have given way to sleek designs, compactness, higher sound quality and portability, the role of the speaker system in enhancing the multimedia experience on the computer remains unchanged. n editor@digitchannelconnect.com

interface devices

A Matter of

INTERACTION Keyboards and mice continue to evolve and do well in the market. But a lot of action is set to move towards touch screens PRAGYA MADAN

he power of computing becomes available to users through interface devices – mainly the keyboard and the mouse. With the evolution of computers – from desktops to portable devices such as laptops, handheld devices, netbooks, tablet PCs, et al – interface devices have also undergone several changes. Touch screen interfaces, which have been around as a technology for several years, are back in the headlines with the launch of Apple’s iPad. Technological development and the changing requirements of consumers have led to an evolution and change in interface devices as well. However, the future of these devices is robust, given that computing is becoming an integral part of life.

Keyboards and mice The first mouse made its appearance in 1964. It was made of wood, had gear-like wheels and a button for clicking. In the 1980s, Apple made a more stylish one-button mouse, which was followed by Microsoft’s two-button mouse. Then came the three-button mouse from Logitech, and in 1990, the company came out with its first wireless mouse. Five years later, the first mouse with a scroll wheel was introduced. Microsoft bettered the idea a year later, and introduced the Intellimouse, which had a third button under the wheel. The next major development was the launch of the optical mouse, which connected to the PC wirelessly. Now, there are USB mice, mini-mice for portable devices and several other specialty mice available, such as for gaming. In the case of keyboards, the standard models introduced in 1987 are still very popular. This is the keyboard layout that is largely in use even today, with a few additions and modifications in some cases. Many keyboards today have special multimedia keys, which essentially allow users to play, rewind, stop and do related tasks for content on CDs/DVDs. Similarly, keys that enable shortcuts for Internet browsing are also part of keyboards. Among the types of keyboards available, a popular one is Microsoft’s natural keyboard, where the keys are arranged a little differently than in standard keyboards. The spaces between blocks of keys facilitate an ergonomic design, which allows for natural wrist and arm positions while typing. From wired connections, keyboards too have gone the USB and wireless way. Besides, there are foldable keyboards, projection keyboards, optical keyboards and mini keyboards that are portable.

DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT

JUNE 2010

PERSONAL COMPUTING SPECIAL

interface devices Touch screen interfaces Touch screens were developed in the 1970s and have found various applications over the years. The tablet PC is one such, which has been around for some time. Since the input device for this PC is touch, a stylus could be used to write directly on the screen or access various applications, eliminating the need for a mouse or keyboard. Today, touch screens are used in information kiosks at airports and other places. Touch screen monitors are finding application in several environments. And the latest on the block, of course, is the Apple iPad, which, as a befitting sequel to the iPhone, has taken touch screen technology mainstream once more.

The market The humble keyboard and mouse are so deeply ingrained in the computing experience that it’s difficult to imagine not having them around. While touch screens do indicate a life without keyboards and mice, that future seems to be some years away. The market for accessories is heavily dependent on the market for the main device – the desktop PC. According to MAIT (Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology), PC sales in the first half of 2008-09 in India were nearly 4 million units. This was a growth of 12 per cent over the same period in 2007-08. While desktop sales grew by 12 per cent, notebook sales grew by 13 per cent in this period. The same study states that in this period, the sales of keyboards grew by 14 per cent. Today, keyboards and mice are

available for very affordable prices. A high-end wireless keyboard-mouse combo should not cost more than a couple of thousand rupees. Where touch screens are concerned, the iPad is probably an exception, as it sold more than 2 million units almost as soon as it launched. While cost is still a prohibitive barrier in the case of the touch screen, as is the case with other computing technologies, prices may tend to go downward with widespread adoption. For instance, the basic iPad, when it becomes available in India, is expected to be in the range of Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000. Considering the starting price of the iPhone a few years ago, the iPad appears more affordable. Otherwise too, the market for touch screens is expected to expand. A prediction by iSuppli says that the global market for touch screens would be worth $4.4 billion by 2012. Apart from mobile phones, portable gaming consoles, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and por table navigation devices are expected to drive this growth. Similarly, according to a Forrester study, tablet PC sales would outstrip Netbook sales by 2012.

Growth opportunities For the traditional keyboards and mice, the opportunity for growth comes from various devices. Other than the traditional desktop PC, gaming consoles are the other important avenue for growth. Until the time touch screen gaming consoles occupy centre stage, the need for keyboards and mice for gaming consoles is growing. Today, there are

AS LONG AS THE PC EXISTS IN SOME FORM, INTERFACE DEVICES ARE BOUND TO BE AROUND. As lifestyles veer towards being more mobile, and working on the go becomes ubiquitous, tablet PCs and touch screens are a logical fit.

dedicated keyboards for consoles such as the PlayStation or the Xbox 360. Some of these keyboards are actually keyboard-mice combos (such as the Logitech DiNovo Mini keyboard), so that the user needn’t plug in a separate mouse for gaming. For touch screens, the biggest growth opportunity comes from their intuitive interface and easy portability. As lifestyles veer towards being more mobile, and working on the go becomes ubiquitous, tablet PCs and touch screens are a logical fit. However, the challenge comes from finding applications and redefining traditional computing in a touch screen environment.

What lies ahead

A PREDICTION BY ISUPPLI SAYS THAT THE GLOBAL MARKET FOR TOUCH SCREENS WOULD BE WORTH $4.4 BILLION BY 2012. APART FROM MOBILE PHONES, PORTABLE GAMING CONSOLES, PDAs, AND PORTABLE NAVIGATION DEVICES ARE EXPECTED TO DRIVE THIS GROWTH.

Touch Screens on PCs are around too While the iPad made headlines with its launch, desktop and notebook manufacturers too have been experimenting with touch screens over the years. Sony has developed the Vaio L Touch HD PC, which has a 24” touch screen monitor. HP, Lenovo and Dell too, offer machines with touch screen options. While Lenovo has a tablet PC and a ThinkPad notebook, Dell also offers a touch screen display for some of its models. HP’s TouchSmart PC has been in the news throughout its development. The company has developed the software for this PC in-house. It has built a user interface on top of Windows, and applications that exploit the potential of the touch screen fully. Similarly, Lenovo has an interface called Simple Tap, which enables users to interact with its touch screen tablet PC. Another start-up, BumpTop, developed software to enable user interaction with touch screen PCs – the BumpTop 3D Multi-touch Desktop – which sits atop Windows and Mac PCs. While the software has been around for a while, the company itself was recently acquired by Google. Therefore, future directions in the availability of this software are unclear as yet.

According to the Forrester study quoted above, by 2015, nearly 23 per cent of PCs sold will be tablet PCs; but that does not mean that the traditional desktop market should be taken lightly. With the advent of 3D gaming, traditional desktop PCs could also get a fillip for growth, and along with them, traditional interface devices are expected to grow too. While wireless connectivity is becoming popular for these interface devices, reducing sizes and keyboard-mice combos are indicators of what to expect in future. In the case of touch screens, multidirectional development is on the cards. A harbinger of things to come is Microsoft’s latest Operating System (OS), Windows 7. The OS has built-in support for multi-touch technology, the same one that Apple uses in its iPad and iPhone. That would provide a big boost to the development of touch screen applications on the Microsoft platform. While many companies today have built computers with touch screen interfaces, what hinders their adoption is the lack of applications that the computers can be used for. According to research firm, Display Search, only about 3 percent of desktops and notebooks today have touch screen interfaces, but the market is expected to grow. How the user interacts with the PC of tomorrow remains to be seen. But the fact remains that as long as the PC exists in some form, interface devices are bound to be around. n editor@digitchannelconnect.com

DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT

JUNE 2010

perspectives

High Impact

Technologies

Digit Channel Connect asked a few channel partners about key advancements in personal computing technologies that affected them the most. Here’s an interesting mix of their responses

“For me, the most important personal computing device is the notebook. It has taken personal computing to an all new level. You can do your work, stay in touch with people from anywhere, any place at all the times. My notebook is like a whole world for me, as it does all types of work and stores all related information for me. Advancement in notebooks has only added to the output and overall productivity of an individual and an organisation.”

CHARU KHERA

RAJESH GOENKA

VP - SALES & MARKETING, RASHI PERIPHERALS

KAUSHIK PANDYA

KALP SYSTEMS, AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT “Being an electronics engineer as well as a person involved in the business of IT since 1988, the laptop, along with an Internet connection, has been the most blessed gadget for me. As per the need of the business and my active role at the various levels of associations as well as federations, I have to remain in touch with a huge number of people. With the help of my laptop, I keep in touch with them through e-mail, chats, etc. I can always talk to people around the world as and when required over video phones as well as IP telephony, which is the most commonly used telephony technology in today’s world. Today, I am using a Blackberry hand held device to meet my needs. I must confess that these hand held devices have to some extent replaced the complete need of a mobile computer. I am able to execute all of the tasks in the same manner as I used to do earlier, but with much more ease and without putting extra efforts.”

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JUNE 2010

perspectives “A key technological advancement that has touched me personally is the laptop and more recently the desktop transfer technology. We are into the software business. I remember that in the earlier days, we had to go to the client’s place with the software on floppy drives for demonstration. Now, some of the software packages were so huge that they came in more than 10 floppies. Looking at the unreliability of the floppies, we had to carry 2-3 sets of such software floppies. Even after doing so, we had to come back without a demo from outstation many a times. Thanks to laptops, we can readily install software on it and we can finish the job very quickly. It is made further simpler by desktop transfer technology, due to which we can demonstrate the software from our office itself.”

NILESH SHAH

DIRECTOR, SANI SOFTWARE, VADODARA

SAKET KAPUR

MD, GREEN VISION, DELHI “It is very nostalgic to recall the introduction of Network Interface Card (ARCNET) to be a milestone in the evolution of contemporary PC. I remember having exclaimed ‘Eureka’ once, as I was able to connect two PCs using the then available Novell Netware operating system, by using coaxial cable with BNC connectors. Today, life without network is unimaginable. Internet in today’s form has its foundation in networking.”

RAJESH GUPTA

CHETAN SHAH

SUBBARAM GOWRA

MANAGING DIRECTOR, XPRESS COMPUTERS, MUMBAI

MANAGING PARTNER, GOWRA BITS AND BYTES, HYDERABAD

“The biggest impact has been the convergence of personal computing to mobile phones. Today, it is possible to do virtually most of PC related activities on the phone itself. This has really shaped or changed our lives a lot. The work place no longer matters. 24x7 business connectivity is taken for granted. Required documents, proposals, presentations, etc are in my pocket at will. This has been the biggest change for me, or most of us, in recent times.”

“When we talk about personal computing and its impact on one’s life, what it means to me is mobilising everything, which includes not only messaging (mailbox/inbox), but even all applications – such as LinkedIn, Facebbok, Mobile Office, etc. Mobile phones and Internet have changed the way one does business. It helps us stay connected to everyone 24x7. I am always connected with my office networks and employees, tracking sales and supplies through my cell phone as well as laptop, even when I am not in the field or I am at home.”

DIRECTOR, KIOSK TECHNOLOGIES, KOLKATA “In my opinion, the laptop still continues to be the most reliable, portable and dynamic personal computing device. It provides storage connectivity and facilities - from watching a movie to listening to music, to staying connected with friends online. The other personal computing devices are only adding on to the versatility of the laptop. It has and is still continuing to impact my business to a great extent.”

R SRIDHAR

CEO, TRIANGLE TECHNOLOGIES, BANGALORE

PN PRASAD

MD, MICROPLUS COMPUTERS, AND EX PRESIDENT, CONFED-ITA

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JUNE 2010

“I think it is the Internet, which is driving the new ways of personal computing. First, it was from home and/or office; now it follows us wherever we move. To accommodate the advanced Internet connectivity, more new technologies are evolved from PDAs, to iPhones, iPads, etc. It not only provides us mobility, but also healthy and innovative ways to do business.”

“I believe that for a few years now, the notebook has been an effective personal computing device. With wireless connectivity, I am always connected to my office and I am in sync with the activities at the office virtually. Moreover, with banking, stock trading, etc going online, we are all a very happy lot today.”

perspectives JAYENDRA SHETH

DIRECTOR, CONSOL COMPUTERS, VADODARA

PAWAN JOJODIA

PROPRIETOR, MOHIT ELECTRONICS, KOLKATA “As per my view, personal computing as a technology is very essential for everyone today. Netbooks as well as notebook sales are picking up and they are soon expected to replace desktop sales. With the help of laptops and netbooks, one can stay connected all the time with friends, families and colleagues, which in turn, I believe, is a pre-requisite for business growth. Going ahead, a lot of revolution is expected in the area and vendors are expected to drive innovation that would further help us grow our business.”

NILESH JOSHI

PRESIDENT, BITA (BARODA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION) AND MD, VICTORY ENTERPRISES “The technological advances in personal computing achieved in the past few decades have brought about a revolution in the business world, affecting nearly all aspects of working life. However, trends in the personal computing arena will continue to evolve, and now we see that everyone wants their phone merged into the same device as all their other gadgets. Many people only carry around one device because it has everything they need. Why carry a big laptop when everything it does can be found on a smaller device that fits in your pocket? These devices look like they will be the next big thing in personal computing technology. The fun part about all of this is that how the technology is constantly evolving right underneath our noses.”

“I believe that one of the key personal computing technology advancement that has happened is that of the pen drives, which have impacted common users positively. With the launch of flash drives, HDDs and even SDDs, data transfer has become easy and versatile. Be it a student, youth or a business owner, every person uses a pen drive in a handy manner to store, share, and transfer data. Moreover, even laptops have impacted business users to a YOGESH GODBOLE great extent. It has changed the way a business traveller handle CEO, ACE BRAIN SYSTEMS & his business operations even after being far away from his office. SOFTWARE, PUNE It has advanced the way a business owner communicates, sees his presentations, checks his e-mails, keeps a track of his sales, etc. Also, laptops and data cards have become a synonym for students and business executives worldwide.”

“Everything we do on a daily basis has been altered by laptops, mobile applications and various portable storage devices. Considering that laptops have not been around for all that long, it is astounding to see the effects they have had on one’s business. Furthermore, the numerous advancements in personal computing technology arena and their penetration into every business function is non questionable. It not only gives them access to well-organised, quality information they can use to make better decisions for their business growth, but it also fundamentally supports the day-to-day running of their business.”

COL. BALWINDER SINGH DIRECTOR, TARGUS TECHNOLOGIES, DELHI

“The advent of the information age has spawned many personal computing technologies capable of improving nearly every aspect of business. The invention of the telephone, fax machine, and more recent developments in wireless communications and video-conferencing has offered my businesses more flexibility and efficiency. Through these technologies, people can reach each other throughout the world in a matter of seconds, with cost being increasingly irrelevant. Employees no longer need to be physically with their clients and co-workers; instead they can communicate effectively at home, at a distant office, across the world.”

NAKUL CHOPRA

OWNER, I. T. SOLUTIONS INDIA, NEW DELHI “I believe that laptops have been the most important personal computing technological advancement from the desktop era. It has helped me and my company in a number of ways. Personally, I find that the required information is easy to carry, refer and present at the customer site. During the desktop era, whenever I wanted to work from home, I used to find most of the information/data at my workplace and vis-a-versa. Also, another big advantage of using a laptop is that one does not require a specific table or power backup like UPS to work on it. It is a perfect companion when you are travelling, and besides keeping you connected with your office, you can use it as a DVD player, music player, and as a gaming device.”

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JUNE 2010

perspectives AMIT RAMBHIA

ALOK GARODIA

OWNER, VARDHAMAN TECHNOLOGIES, MUMBAI

MD, JUPITER INTERNATIONAL AND PRESIDENT, COMPASS

“I would say per sonal computing technologies have changed the way we do business today. Products like SSDs have changed the way personal computing has evolved and this has increased the performance of most organisations by approximately 400 percent. Moreover, reliability of the data has increased, as there is no moving part in SSD. Also, moving ahead, blue ray and Wi-Fi with 150Mbps bandwidth would be the game changer.”

“Personal computing technologies are huge contributors to the well being of man kind. Just try and imagine how hard it would be to make it through the day without the simplest of personal computing technologies. These technologies have surely proven to be very beneficial, if not necessary. The technology advancement in personal computing arena has a great impact on the industry/social growth because it has helped the PC to go to the masses.”

“Mobile computing devices like notebooks and PDAs have helped increase the productivity of an organisation many folds and helps one turn into a true professional 24x7, always connected to his employees. Personal computing technology advancements have given me the power to work whenever I want, wherever I want, which in turn has increased my productivity RAJIV JAIN and has also helped me grow OWNER, HTP SYSTEMS, MUMBAI my business. Needless to say, since we are a part of the IT industry, personal computing technologies have increased our business potential and market size, throwing newer opportunities for business growth.”

KETAN C PATEL

DIRECTOR, CREATIVE PERIPHERALS & DISTRIBUTIONS, AND PRESIDENT, TAIT, MUMBAI

BASANT MEHTA

BLUEBELL COMPUTERS, JODHPUR “The impact of personal computing devices like the notebook in one’s life cannot be denied by any businessman/professional today. My business of IT solutions and services rolls around my Internet ready laptop only. I am using laptops since last 15 years for checking e-mails, sending quotes, sharing leads, receiving technical details, downloading software, conduct online marketing by mass mailing and much more. This way, I am always accessible to my clients/vendors/resellers/friends as well as employees, and I do not miss any opportunity received from anywhere. I believe that timely responding with desired information is the mantra of success in this competitive world. After computers, the widely reached Internet (broadband) is the most important technological advancement, which enables everyone to communicate in the fastest and cheapest way. My Internet ready laptop connects me with rest of the world, whenever I desire to.”

ASHISH PANDYA

MANAGER - GUJARAT OPERATIONS, LAUREN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES “Some feel that the contribution of technology has made a positive impact in modern life and that technology helps improve the quality of life. Others see that contribution of technology has negatively impacted modern life and that technology is a force that has escaped from human control. I believe that the contribution personal computing technology has made to modern life has been positive, which helps improve productivity in manufacturing, quality of life, and education. Personal computing technologies help improve productivity at work by allowing manufactures to produce more in less time using less manpower.”

“As we are dealing in software sales and support, personal computing devices make a lot of difference to our business. Evolution of personal computing devices from desktop-laptop-notePARESH SHAH book-netbook has revolutionised CEO, PH TEKNOW, MUMBAI the whole gamut of computing. At every stage, the requirement of the software products/application G SURESH has changed. In the initial stage, DIRECTOR, ECAPS COMPUTERS, it was for plain vanilla application COIMBATORE and OS requirement, and now, it is more for cloud-base applications.” “Personal computing plays a key role in my life. Our core business is networking. And while personal computing is growing at a phenomenal rate, my “The personal computing technology that has impacted me on business too is growing along with it. the personal front the most is the laptop with Internet connectivGrowth, advancements and innovaity. I personally use a Sony Vaio laptop. It has redefined the way tion in the personal computing space I work today. Any place is a virtual office to me - I am connected is further giving a boost to the storage to all my offices, all the time. It allows me more time on the field industry (flash drives, HDDs), secuand I catch up with most of the things while I am on the move, rity space (anti-viruses for personal or while I am waiting at the airport. It has reduced my cost of computing devices such as laptops, communication, while it has increased my efficiency of getting netbooks, etc), as well as broadband back to people. Personally, I am able to give extra time to my service providers (people need Wi-Fi to family, since I do not have to travel. Moreover, social networkuse their laptops with ease). Personal ing sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc help me to be in touch with computing is the way to go ahead in my friends. I catch up on my reading with the help of e-books.” the future.” charu.khera@9dot9.in

DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT

JUNE 2010

S E L E C T

trends

S E R I E S

Indian cloud computing market may reach $1.84 billion by 2015

recent study by Zinnov Management Consulting has predicted that the total market of cloud computing in India stands at $110 million today and is expected to reach a figure of about $1.84 billion by 2015. It also highlighted that in the cloud computing market in India, Software-as-aService (SaaS) has witnessed the most rapid uptake until now. As components of the overall cloud market, SaaS in India is likely to reach a mark of USD 650 million by 2015, while Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-aService (IaaS) markets cumulatively would touch USD 434 million each by then. The study brought to light that today, there are several multinational and Indian companies entering the cloud space and trying to drive business relevance of its solutions for the Indian customers. Divulging details on the SaaS market, the report said that the domestic market for SaaS is estimated to be about USD 66 million and is cur rently dominated by Collaborative Applications, CRM, ERP & Email workloads. According to Pari Natarajan, Chief Executive Officer, Zinnov Management Consulting, “The next wave of transformation in the

Indian IT industry is ‘cloud computing’. This is indeed a perfect storm. The only difference is that, this storm is destructive only to companies who are not willing to change, while it is a huge opportunity for others.” “Cloud computing has allowed the smaller ISVs access to customers that they could have never had through the use of market places. This has allowed smaller ISVs to be based on cloud platforms and make themselves available to global customers, thereby, significantly reducing their cost of sales. On the other hand, this has also increased the flexibility for end customers and increased the choice of products and services”, he added. Discussing the growth verticals for the adoption of cloud in India, Zinnov’s report highlighted that telecom, IT-BPO and retail have the highest spending on IT as a percentage of revenues; verticals like telecom and BFSI are highly mature with their IT adoption and show higher potential towards cloud adoption going forward. In an effort to meet global standards, verticals such as education, healthcare, and government show massive potential for cloud adoption in the immediate future. n

Asus introduces ‘eco-friendly’ graphics card

sus has launched Bravo220, an eco-friendly graphics card, which provides visual fidelity while maintaining an eco-minded profile. According to Vinay Shetty, Country Head – Components Business, ASUS (India), “The Bravo220 was designed from the start with energy savings in mind. Its thermal landscape balances thrifty operation with the need for

Epson launches 6-inch bill printer for retail

pson has unveiled the Epson LQ-50 bill printer, which is the company’s latest Serial Impact Dot Matrix (SIDM) printer that is designed to help retailers produce high quality bills in place of traditionally handwritten ones. Designed in Japan, the Epson LQ-50 is at least thirty percent smaller than other Epson SIDM printers and is specifically designed for retail outlets where counter space is a premium. It can print up to 6-inch wide fanfold paper or 5-inch wide normal roll receipts for greater versatility in printing options. The LQ-50 also comes equipped with 10 Indian languages in built. They are Assamese, Bengali, Devnagiri, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telegu. In addition, the Epson LQ-50 has low running costs, as its ribbons and paper media are highly affordable, thereby enabling retailers to save on overhead costs. According to Samba Moorthy, Senior General Manager, Sales & Marketing at Epson India, “In the Indian retail environment, we saw the definite requirement for compact dot matrix bill printers that are as flexible and versatile as the Epson LQ-50 for printing of large-sized and multiple-copy bills in pharmaceutical, F&B and retail outlets.” n

uncompromising performance as a multimedia anchor. The cooling solution also boasts of silent 0dB operation, with no fans needed. Instead, Bravo220 uses oversized heatsinks and advanced materials to ensure quick heat dissipation and greater longevity, without falling back on powerhungry active cooling, thus minimizing energy consumption”. The integrated EMI shield reduces emissions, thus safeguarding users and PC components from any potential harm. Likewise, sturdy fuse protection guarantees longlasting operation for this component even in the face of fluctuating power supplies n

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Semiconductor equipment spending to grow 113% in 2010

orldwide semiconductor capital equipment spending is projected to surpass $35.4 billion in 2010, a 113.2 percent increase from 2009 spending of $16.6 billion, according to Gartner. However, Gartner warned that equipment vendors should prepare for slower growth heading into 2011. Worldwide semiconductor capital equipment spending will grow 6.6 percent in 2011. “The drive to new technology nodes will drive semiconductor equipment growth in 2010,” said Klaus Rinnen, Managing Vice President at Gartner. “The demand for 40-nanometer (nm) and 45 nm devices is now ramping up, resulting in heavy foundry-based capital spending. Investment at the 3x node by Intel, an increase in spending by NAND memory producers, and the transition to the next generation DDR3 DRAM memory are the key investment growth drivers,” he added. Following the significant declines in 2009, all segments of the semiconductor capital equipment market will experience exceptionally strong growth in 2010. The Wafer Fabrication Equipment (WFE) segment will increase 113.3 percent in 2010, followed by 7.2 percent growth in 2011. Gartner believes that strong global demand for semiconductors, along with underinvestment in 2008 and 2009, has led to pent-up demand for equipment, and overall utilization rates will peak in the third quarter of 2010. Then, the market will start a slow decline, as more capacity comes on line and quarter-onquarter demand will return to more normal levels. “For 2010, the semiconductor equipment industry will experience exceptionally strong growth, as we emerge from a very costly and deep recession,” said Rinnen. “Given this exceptional growth, there is a possibility that the honeymoon could end in 2011, which may help to mitigate the boom/bust scenario typical of previous cycles. However, if capacity expansion continues unchecked, a more severe and premature down cycle could occur in 2013. How quickly memory producers react as the market softens and Average Selling Prices (ASPs) decline will likely determine if the market can avoid the massive drops of recent years,” he added. n

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S E R I E S

Kareena launches Sony Vaio campaign

ony has launched its new range of Vaio E series laptops and a brand campaign for the same called “Go Vivid”, which will have actress Kareena Kapoor as its ambassador. The laptops come in different colors like blue, pink, green, and, black and white with dot gradation. As per Masaru Tamagawa, Managing Director, Sony India, “The E Series models are designed keeping in mind, everyday ease of use.” According to Kareena Kapoor, “‘Go Vivid’ is an expression that transcends simplicity, and highlights the vivacity of life. Vivid is standing-out, it’s being truly bold, refreshing & effervescent and that’s why I see a direct connect with my personality.” The E Series is available at a starting price of Rs.34,990 for both 35.56 cms and 39.37 cms screen size respectively. The new range of notebooks will be available across Sony Center stores and retail partners across the country. n

Kingmax launches portable drive

Jupiter appointed national distie for ASRock motherboards

ingmax has launched its external portable hard drive called Kingmax KE-91, which weighs just 170g and has an ID design without any visible screw on its exterior. It has an USB interface of high compatibility, password-protected data encryption, file backup and enhancement software. The 256 bit AES encryption technology makes the personal data secure, the file backup software protects important data and the built-in software enhances its writing/reading performance up to 53%. KE-91 is available in colors like black, gray and red with either 320GB or 500 GB capacity to choose from. Consumers can mix and match to create a portable hard drive that is most suitable to their needs. n

aiwan based ASRock has announced the appointment of Kolkata based Jupiter International as its national distributor for its entire range of motherboards. Commenting on the tie up with Jupiter, Tony Lee, VP Marketing, ASRock said, “By appointing Jupiter as a national distributor, ASRock now aims to further its endeavor to expand in the Indian market. ASRock sees this as a great opportunity and will be able to leverage Jupiter’s strength of breadth with 27 branches across India, especially in B & C class cities and more than 2000 partner base across 350 towns.” According to Tirthankar Guha, National Sales Manager, Jupiter International Limited, “Partnering with ASRock is going to be a big value addition for our distribution kitty and we would now be able to provide world class motherboards to Indian consumers through our dynamic supply channel”. Jupiter would work closely with ASRock and involve in enhancing ASRock’s brand equity by conducting a lot of marketing activities throughout the country. n

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Kobian launches Mercury USB drives

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obian has announced the launch of their series of Mercury high speed flash drives. The flash drive is designed with an extension mechanism which allows the USB connector to slide out or hide in with a single flick of the thumb. Its capless design not only keeps dust and debris out of the drive, but also ensures there is no cap to misplace or lose. The drive has a contoured pearl white

body with a bright LED indicator that f lashes during data transfer activity. It also has anti shock and moisture proof properties. The Mercury Mobile D r ive s e r i e s extends from 4GB to 64GB capacity and provides a fast USB 2.0 connectivity. It supports Windows, Mac & Linux operating system without device driver. The product shall be available across Kobian distributors in India. n

Siemon launches new ConvergeIT cabling programme

Gigabyte rolls out multi-city dealer meet

igabyte has flagged off its dealer meet programme in 6 cities for the month of June. Starting from June 15, 2010, the programme will cover all the major metro cities in the country. The company will hold 3 meets in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata and 2 meets in Delhi this month. The company aims to reconnect with its partners through this programme. Gigabyte will introduce its latest technologies like USB 3.0, SATA 3, auto unlock feature for AMD series motherboards, Smart 6, Ultra Durable 3, Smart TPM and Smart Dual LAN to its partners. The company will also

discuss the motherboard roadmap for its Intel and AMD motherboards, update them with its latest initiatives to enhance pre-sales and post sales support to channel partners as well as end users, like the toll free number, pick and deliver service, RMA locations and add new partners to its network in the process. “The dealer meet is part of our channel programme to strengthen the relationship with our resellers in these cities. It will educate and empower our existing channel partners, which will enable us to get closer to our end users.” said Rajan Sharma, General Manager, Sales – Gigabyte India. n

D-Link launches new channel engagement programmes

iemon has announced the launch of its new ConvergeIT intelligent building cabling programme, which provides a straightforward process for the implementation of a converged, IP-based intelligent building cabling system. The “smart” building concept combines multiple data, low voltage and building automation applications onto one centrally managed network. These converged systems can include voice/data, video surveillance, access control, digital signage, audio/video, fire alarms, energy management, HVAC and more. According to a study conducted by the Continental Automated Building Association (CABA), properly planned intelligent buildings can cut energy costs by up to 70% and the US EPA states that these smart platforms can enhance building asset value by 2-32 times initial investment. Siemon’s ConvergeIT programme supports the facility’s various low-voltage applications on a single IP-based structured cabling system rather than on separate and often proprietary cabling plants. “IT structured cabling is the ideal solution for a converged intelligent building cabling infrastructure,” explained Rajesh Kumar, Country Manager, Siemon. “It provides the flexibility and performance to support multiple critical building systems at the highest reliability levels,” he added. This approach to smart buildings also offers strong cost reduction and simplified system management benefits. By eliminating multiple proprietary cabling types in favor of a single structured cabling plant, material and labor costs can be cut significantly. n

-Link has launched 2 new channel engagement programmes – ‘Connection 2010’ and ‘Connecting the Dots’ for the System Integrator (SI) and reseller community respectively. In its very first phase, ‘Connection 2010’ and ‘Connecting the Dots’ will cover 25 cities across India. ‘Connection 2010’ will help emphasize on solution centric approach and enable system integrators to focus on D-Link range of networking solutions. Whereas ‘Connecting the Dots’ is targeted towards the reseller community and will highlight on D-Link’s wide range of products that include network switching, wireless LAN, routing, network security, IP surveillance, network storage, VOIP & broadband. According to Rajesh Sahore, Country Sales Head, India & SAARC at D-Link India, “This series of events will allow D-Link to reach out to more & more channel partners across India and strengthen D-Link’s channel centric approach.” ‘Connection 2010’ and ‘Connecting the Dots’ kicked off on May 21, 2010 and has so far covered Mumbai, Bangalore, Cochin and New Delhi. n

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Hitachi launches external storage solutions

CSC announces strategy for its cloud services

itachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) recently unveiled its external storage solutions for India. The new Hitachi branded products include the SimpleTOUGH portable USB drive, which is water and shock-resistant, and the Hitachi X Series that features the Hitachi XL Desktop Drive and Hitachi Mobile Drive. As per the company, it is best suited for people on the move, prosumers as well as Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) users. The SimpleTOUGH and Hitachi X Series of external hard drives provide easy add-on storage and effortless backup and restore capabilities, making it easier for users to manage and help protect content. The Hitachi XL Desktop Drive has up to 2TB capacity and a plugand-play design. It gives both Mac and PC users the capacity to store or backup 660,000 photos, 500,000 MP3s or 153 hours of digital video. The Hitachi X Mobile Drive is cost-optimised and comes in two models/capacities: Hitachi X500 Mobile Drive (500GB) and Hitachi X320 Mobile Drive (320GB). n

SC has announced a solutions roadmap and go-to-market strategy for its cloud services. Highlights of the roadmap include, CloudLab, a virtual development and testing environment, CloudExchange, a mail and collaboration solution, and CSC Gateway, an e-commerce Web store and portal which simplifies online purchasing and provides self-managed administration and reporting for cloud and hosting clients. CSC has also unveiled seven new cloud-enabled data centers located in the U.S., U.K., Luxembourg and Australia. The roadmap details service options for mail, collaboration, security and virtual development and testing as software, platform and Infrastructure as-a-Service. The go-to-market strategy is focused on ensuring customer success and providing an easy way for companies to do business with CSC. In addition to CloudLab and CloudExchange, more solutions are planned for the summer, including a virtual desktop, a security solution for mail and web and other software and Platform as-aService solutions. n

Bharti, Cisco, Servion tie up for contact centre services

McAfee organises training programme in Bengaluru

consortium of Bharti Airtel, Cisco, and Servion has announced their foray into the Indian hosted contact center services market valued at USD 50 million with the launch of a ‘customizable’ hosted contact center services. As per the consortium, this hosted contact center solution for large, medium, and small enterprises offers freedom from technology obsolescence, capital investments, and continuity challenges while leveraging the capability to customize the solution based on business requirements. The consortium targets acquiring 5000 ports / seats in the first year. According to Milan Rao, CEO, Enterprise Services - Bharti Airtel, “There is a great potential for call center solutions over a hosted platform, as it promises huge benefits for enterprises across different verticals”. “We understand that the business challenges each organisation faces are unique. A ‘one size fits all solution’ will not be effective under such circumstances. Hence, we brought in the capability to customize these solutions”, explained K. Balakrishnan, Managing Director and CEO of Servion Global Solutions. “In addition to bringing the benefits of converged voice, mobile and data services to every desktop in the organisation, the offering allows businesses to dramatically reduce upfront investment, while accelerating the adoption of unified communications on a global scale,” said Vikram Sharma, Head – Managed Services, Cisco India & SAARC. n

cAfee recently organised its “McAfee Star Trac Programme” - a three day training event at their Bengaluru center on May 26-28, 2010, for their new and existing South Asia partner sales representatives. At this event, they informed about McAfee products, channel programmes, and acquisition updates. The programme included 30 participants from elite, premier, mid market & disti’s and twenty two partner organisations from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, speaking about the programme. “The Star Trac Programme is first of a kind programme in India which bought together partners from South Asian countries at one stage to update them on McAfee initiatives for the channels. The programme was a very well appreciated and successful one, which has renewed the enthusiasm among the channel community”, said Ambarish Deshpande, Director- Channel & Alliances & Midmarket South Asia. n

MSI launches consumer education campaign

icro Star International (MSI) has launched a consumer education programme aimed at educating consumers to make their buying decisions in an informed manner. Aimed particularly on first time users, MSI has fitted-out a truck as an experience zone where visitors will be

DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT

JUNE 2010

able to try all MSI products hands on, as also get in-depth information about the capability and configuration of each of MSI series of Netbooks and laptops. ‘MSI across India’ is an exclusive campaign which will be carried in six cities around the country, including New Delhi, Ahmedabad,

Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai. This operation will continue for 6 weeks, during which MSI hopes to touch base directly with almost 100,000 end users. Contests and games are also an integral part of this campaign, with visitors getting a chance to win some of the top-line MSI products. n

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Global SCM software market contracted by 0.7% in 2009

orldwide Supply Chain Management (SCM) software revenue totaled $6.2 billion in 2009, a 0.7 percent decline from 2008 revenue, according to Gartner. New license revenue was down 7.4 percent in 2009, while recurring revenue associated with subscriptions and maintenance were the “life vest” of the market, growing 10.8 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. “Despite the slight dip in overall revenue, the market for supply chain applications seems to have largely weathered the recent financial storms,” said Chad Eschinger, Research Director at Gartner. “Although the first

nine months of 2009 contracted, the fourth quarter sustained 6 percent annual growth, driven by some pent-up demand, but more so from growth in subscriptions and the many maintenance renewals that were due in the fourth quarter,” he added. N e w s o f t wa r e s a l e s we r e difficult to obtain in 2009, and vendors that have succeeded have transitioned part or all of their business toward subscription delivery of their solutions. This was evident within the top six vendors, where Ariba generated positive growth, but also where Oracle, with more of a best-of-breed approach, also generated slight growth. The

remaining four market share leaders all experienced a decline in SCM software revenue in 2009. “Competition between enterprise suite and specialist, bestof-breed vendors has heightened. Although suite vendors are typically well-positioned within organisations to stall emergingapplication purchases, there are significant opportunities for specialized vendors that offer differentiating domain and vertical solutions that are ‘blind spots’ in a suite provider’s offering,” said Eschinger. The specialized segment of SCM software revenue totaled $3.5 billion in 2009, a 1.6

percent increase from 2008. The suites segment of SCM software revenue totaled $2.7 billion in 2009, a 3.7 percent decline from 2008 revenue. “Given the market’s vendor fragmentation and the continued expansion of suite vendors, we expect market consolidation and share in the SCM market to eventually mimic that of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) market,” Eschinger said. “ H owe ve r, u n l i ke t h e E R P market, we expect the process to take longer, with less ‘lockout’ and more activity with new entrants, given the breadth of needs across supply chains and functional domains,” he added.n

Drobo launches new storage devices

Garmin-Asus aims for 20% share in smartphones

eports indicate that Garmin-Asus is aiming to capture 20% share of the Indian smart phone market. Efforts are also being undertaken to fortify the relationship with channel partners through channel meets and tie-up with global telecommunication giants like T-Mobile to ensure heightened consumer awareness about the latest products and to enable Asus to present an ever increasing range of smartphones based on exclusive LBS technology. “Asus plans to cash in on the need for advanced smartphones that work using GPS and navigation facilities. Our five city dealer meets provided the perfect communication channel for Asus to educate dealers and channel partners about the unique product features for Garmin-Asus smart phones as well as for informing them about the special schemes for dealers. With all these activities, we plan to capture about 20% of the smartphone market in India,” said John Chen, Country Head for Handheld Business Group, Asus (India). n

ata Robotics (Drobo) has introduced three new storage d e v i c e s , n a m e ly, Drobo FS, Drobo Elite, and, Drobo S. Drobo FS has been designed for simple, expandable file sharing. By providing network file sharing capabilities along with automated data protection, the Drobo FS simplifies shared storage for connected home, home office and small office users. Based on the BeyondRAID technology and a flexible platform for adding features and capacity as needed, the Drobo FS can quickly and easily be customized and scaled to meet current or future storage requirements. The Drobo Elite is a flexible business class data storage solution that brings Data Robotics’ BeyondRAID technology to a broader range of Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs). It features a new hardware architecture that includes an enhanced processing engine and dual high-speed iSCSI

interfaces for 150 percent of the performance of previous Drobo models. True multihost support with LUN affinity allows small and medium businesses with limited IT resources to simplify management and reduce costs by consolidating storage across multiple servers. The Drobo S is a professionalclass storage solution designed for Windows, Mac, and Linux users who require high-speed data transfers and reliable data storage. With the introduction of eSATA and a fifth drive bay, as well as enhancements to FireWire 800 throughput, the Drobo S offers 150 percent of the performance of the current four-bay Drobo, making it a good storage solution for creative professionals, small offices, and home office users. n

Datawind launches UbiSurfer netbook in India

atawind has launched the UbiSurfer, an ultra-portable netbook with 30 hours per month of free Internet access for the first full year, useable across India. The UbiSurfer comes pre-loaded with the Microsoft Windows CE 6.0 operating system and Softmaker Office Suite, which lets customers open, edit, and save Microsoft Office 2003 Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files, directly. This service is powered by Tata Teleservices CDMA network and comes with a year of free-mobile Internet and is priced at Rs.7,999. n

DIGIT CHANNEL CONNECT

JUNE 2010

analyst speak

PERSONAL COMPUTING SPECIAL

remains uneven throughout the region, with a large variation in adoption patterns in different countries and industries. Respondents in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore have used SaaS the longest. Australia has the lowest number of users with the longest period of SaaS use; however, there was healthy growth in the number of new SaaS users in

adopt SaaS are the perceptions that it is more cost-effective than an on-premises solution from a total cost of ownership standpoint, and that SaaS is easier or faster to deploy than an on-premises solution. Organisations in China and Malaysia consider limited capital expense as another big driver, and those in South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore consider SaaS as having

SERVING IT UP A Gartner survey finds that 75 percent of Asia Pacific organisations will increase SaaS investments in 2010

y the end of 2010, 75 percent of Asia Pacific organisations will increase their Software as a Service (SaaS) investments, according to a survey conducted by Gartner. Of the organisations surveyed, 80 percent were currently using SaaS for enterprise applications such as ERP and CRM, with the remaining 20 percent planning to use it in the next 12 months. According to Gartner analysts, SaaS has become more widely accepted in the Asia Pacific region in the past two years, with initial concerns about security, performance and availability gradually diminishing as SaaS business and computing models become more mature. The top five most commonly used SaaS enterprise applications, in order, are: financials (accounting), e-mail, sales, expense management, and customer service and support. However, acceptance of SaaS

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the last 2 years. SaaS uptake in India is newer, with more than 80 percent of respondents using SaaS starting to use it in the past two or three years. Contrary to the belief that China is the least mature market, about 50 percent of China-based respondents have been using SaaS for four years or more. “SaaS has high potential in Asia Pacific; however, it is still at the emerging stage. Both SaaS providers and users are still on the learning curve,” says Twiggy Lo, Principal Research Analyst at Gartner. “A lot of finetuning is required, for technical issues, pricing and engagement models that comply with legal requirements in Asia Pacific countries. Providers must be more transparent in meeting user expectations,” she adds. According to Lo, many companies in Asia Pacific are looking for enterprise applications that can keep up with their rapidly expanding businesses, requiring a smaller upfront investment and incurring lower ongoing expenses. The biggest drivers to

SaaS has become more widely accepted in the Asia Pacific region in the past two years. THE BIGGEST DRIVERS TO ADOPT SAAS ARE THE PERCEPTIONS THAT IT IS MORE COST-EFFECTIVE THAN AN ON-PREMISES SOLUTION FROM A TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP STANDPOINT, AND THAT SAAS IS EASIER OR FASTER TO DEPLOY THAN AN ON-PREMISES SOLUTION.

higher user acceptance than an on-premises solution. However, since SaaS is relatively new, Asia Pacific organisations are still skeptical about the costs that can actually be saved versus using on-premises solutions with low labour rates in many Asia Pacific countries. In addition, the definition of SaaS is not well understood by many Asia Pacific organisations. As a result, some vendors are providing hosted software services - which is easier for the customers to understand, and offers more flexibility to customise the software - instead of SaaS. “Software vendors that are embarking on the SaaS journey will need to change their business model and mind-set to make SaaS attractive to their channel partners and become a profitable business,” says Yanna Dharmastira, Research Director at Gartner. “Crafting a detailed SaaS channel partner strategy is essential to succeed in SaaS,” she adds. The main inhibitors to SaaS adoption in Asia Pacific include limited integration with existing systems, instability in the network, limited flexibility, difficulty of customisation, and lack of vendor support capability. Despite this, Asia Pacific organisations are fairly satisfied, with more than 60 percent experiencing no issues with their SaaS implementation. Australia appears to have the most number of issues raised, and South Korea the least. In China, some organisations, such as banks and government bodies, require data to be kept at servers located in China, which adds to another challenge for SaaS providers that currently do not have servers in China. n