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Aditya Infotech Becomes the Best Partner for PTC /12
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SME CHAT
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Schneider: “IT and Cloud Adoption to Drive SMB UPS Market”
SME SOLUTIONS
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IBM : Aggressively Eyeing SMB Market
SME TREND
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Cisco: SMBs High on Cisco’s List
TECH
TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS FOR 2014
We have tried to bring in the unanimous feeling of the industry regarding technology trends they think will dominate in 2014. /32
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Tyco Acquires Exacq Technologies /10 www.smechannels.com
india’s first IT magazine for sme business VOLUME 04 | ISSUE 10 | PAGES 54 | DECEMBER 2013 | RS. 20/-
SME SOLUTION
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ASTTECHS: From Proprietary Solutions to Open Source Solutions
SME TREND
/44
TATA DOCOMO: to Grow 20% in SME market
SME CHAT
/46
ADC: “…Grow Our Business in FY14 in Double Digit”
MY EXPERIENCE EDITORIAL
RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR KARMA NEGI
karma@smechannels.com
HAPPY NEW YEAR ’s eve! The countdown to the New Year has begun and everyone is ready to say goodbye to 2013 and welcome 2014 with optimism and hope. In retrospection, the year had been a tough one with economic downturn leading to tightening of budget strings, rupee depreciation, inflation and the impending general elections in 2014. The latter has created a general instability in the market with the industry deferring its plans as it waits with bated breath for the changes that might unfold after the elections. Everyone in the market is adopting the wait and watch approach as the government defers the implementation and execution of projects. Only when the political scenario stabilises and their policies becomes clear, and they start executing the projects and reforms will the situation in the country become clearer and see an upswing. It will be imperative for the newly formed government that rather than dilly dallying they get to real action and help in alleviating the general business scenario, reign in the inflation and in turn the rupee, by passing growth stimulating reforms if we have to kick-start the Indian economy. Verticals like healthcare, hospitality, SMEs are fast coming up as the big drivers of growth, especially SME which is creating economic growth and jobs. Industry knows that big opportunities lie in this segment and has chalked out strategies to harness its potential that still lie unexplored. In turn SMEs too are becoming more technology savvy and more aware of their requirements. It’s said that in terms of IT spend their contribution is 30%-40%. This is huge! New technologies like Cloud, virtualization, BYOD, mobility etc. are helping enterprise improve ROI, increase productivity, making the business agile, reducing the capex and opex. And the industry be it small or big enterprises are investing albeit at cautiously; they know what these new technologies can do to their business where competition is getting tougher every moment. These changes are also proving to be a big boon for the channel partners who have been provided with immense opportunities to grow themselves from mere box pushers to solution providers. With the ever decreasing margins in products this is where they can come forth and prove themselves.
Dell Precision M3800 DELL THINNEST AND LIGHTEST 15-inch true mobile workstation, the Dell Precision M3800, part of its family of powerful mobile workstations merges beautiful design in an ultra-thin form factor with workstationclass performance, Dell has delivered an uncompromising system for digital content creators and engineers looking for portability, power and stylish design to match their image and environment. To manage large data files while on the go, the Dell Precision M3800 offers multiple storage configurations including up to two storage devices, with a maximum of 1.5TB of storage (HDD, SSHD, or SSD), up to 35 percent more than HP’s 14-inch Z series Ultrabook™, one 2.5-inch drive and one solid state Mini-Card storage device (mSATA).
SPECIFICATIONS Optimized for the top media & entertainment, engineering and design applications FINAL WORDING Priced at Rs. 1,49,999/- it is ideal for mobile workers.
OVERALL RATING
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contents
DEC VOLUME 04 ISSUE 10
2013
ER COV RY STO
india’s first IT magazine for sme business
Publisher: Sanjib Mohapatra Editor: Sanjay Mohapatra Associate Editor: Karma Negi Reporter: Aparajita Choudhury Executive Editor: Smruti Chaudhury Copy Editor: Neil D’Souza Web Designer: Vijay Bakshi Technical Writer: Manas Ranjan Satya Sagar Sinha Lead Visualizer: DPR Choudhary MARKETING Senior Manager: M Raj Marketing Executive: Rajat Kumar Circulation and Printing: Panchanan Bhoi SALES CONTACTS Delhi 6/102, Kaushalya Park, Hauz Khas New Delhi-110016 Phone: 91-11-41055458 / 9313891660 E-mail: raj@smechannels.com Bangalore #28/1, 3rd Floor, Sri Lakshmi Krupa, Near Shamanna Park, Model House Street, Basavanagudi, Bangalore - 560004 Ph. No. +91 88618 21044 Mumbai Tahmeed Ansari 2, Ground Floor, Park Paradise, Kay-Bees CHS. Ltd.,Opp. Green Park, Oshiwara, Andheri (west), Mumbai - 400 053. Ph. +91 22 26338546, Fax +91 22 26395581 Mobile: +91 9967 232424 E-mail: Info@smechannels.com Kolkata S Subhendu BC-286, Laxmi Apartment, Kestopur Kolkata-700101 Phone: 9674804389
Tech Trends and Predictions for 2014 /32 As 2013 comes to a closing, let’s look at some of the technologies that will dominate not only in the IT market but also in the SME Segment.
EDITORIAL OFFICE Delhi: 6/103, (GF) Kaushalya Park, New Delhi-110016, Phone: 91-11-41657670 / 46151993 editor@smechannels.com Bangalore Bindiya Jadhav #28/1, 3rd Floor, Sri Lakshmi Krupa, Near Shamanna Park, Model House Street, Basavanagudi, Bangalore - 560004
SME CHAT ADC India /46
“…Grow Our Business in FY14 in Double Digit”
more inside Editorial~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 06
Travancore /47
“Soon IP is Going to Play a Big Role...”
APC /48
Snippets~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~10
Entrepreneurship is a Passion
8
accentinfomedia.com Skype ID: b1diyajadhav
Printed, Published and Owned by Sanjib Mohapatra
Guest Talk~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 24, 25
Place of Publication: 6/101-102, Kaushalya
SME Trend~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 26, 44
Park, Hauz Khas
SME Solution~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 30, 43
New Delhi-110016
Products~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 50
Phone: 91-11-46151993 / 41055458 Printed at Karan Printers, F-29/2, 1st floor,
“IT and Cloud Adoption to Drive SMB UPS Market”
PARTNER CORNER Inflow Technologies /42
Ph. No. +91 88618 21044 E-Mail bindiya@
Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-2, New Delhi
FEATURE WHITHER PC PERIPHERALS MARKET /38
110020, India. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced without the prior written permission from the publisher. Subscription: Rs.200 (12 issues) All payments favouring: Accent Info Media Pvt. Ltd.
SME CHANNELS DECEMBER 2013
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SNIPPETS PRODUCT | CHANNEL | CONSULTING | SERVICES
for more log on to smechannels.com
Dell to Reward Indian Channel Partners Dell has launched Enterprise Game ‘Destination Mars’ for its Indian channel partners. The game aims at enabling a better understanding of Dell’s enterprise
products amongst its channel partners. Dell’s India partner community has grown rapidly over the short period since the launch of its Global
Commercial Channel. With over 2000 partner relationships in the India market, Dell hopes to leverage the popularity of gaming and social media to generate further interest
amongst the prospective partners in the industry. The release said that the interactive game for partners, named ‘Destination Mars’ will run via Facebook and will test their knowledge of Dell enterprise solutions. The contest will run for a period of 15 days and at the end of the contest period Dell will reward the winners with attractive prizes. Ajay Kaul, Director & GM (Global Commercial Channel), Dell India, said, “Destination Mars is a fun and entertaining way for channel partners to get acquainted with our enterprise offerings. It is also a non-intrusive and engaging way for us to strengthen our relationships with existing and prospective partners. We are very excited about the launch of this game and hope that our partner community enjoy and benefit from it. The game provides an option to connect with a Dell solutions expert for more training modules and we are expecting a good response.” The participants can share their achievements and scores on Facebook. Although the contest is only open for Dell registered Commercial Channel Partners.
Tyco Acquires Exacq Technologies Tyco has acquired Exacq Technologies and integrates with exacqVision portfolio of video management systems which expands the leadership position of Tyco Security Products in the video security business. A leader in VMS, exacq offers intuitive solutions that are known
10 SME CHANNELS DECEMBER 2013
for their quality, cost effectiveness and ease of use. exacqVision VMS Software is an open architecture video surveillance and recording solution supporting both analog and IP cameras from all of the leading IP video cameras. exacqVision VMS client-server solutions are scalable from a small single camera
solution to large scale corporate or campus systems with thousands of cameras. Exacq provides both exacqVision VMS software and preconfigured hybrid and IPS systems. There are three editions to choose from: exacqVision start: With all the
essential features you need for most stand-alone surveillance installations exacqVision professional: A powerful VMS for enterprise Video Surveillance exacqVision edge: A complete enterprise Video Management Server for video surveillance
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PremiumAV Names RD for Odisha PremiumAV has appointed Basudha Cooperative limited as their regional distributor for Odisha region. It is a deliberate effort put-in by PremiumAV to expand their partner network across India announced the release. The primary responsibility of Basudha Cooperative limited is to generate and address the increasing demands of tier II & III cities in Odisha. Basudha Cooperative limited will look after both the sales and service aspect of PremiumAV in Odisha. They have a large chain
of channel partners across Odisha. PremiumAV is looking forward to leverage the existing partner network of Basudha Cooperative and makes presence stronger in Odisha. Sanjay Garg, CEO, PremiumAV, said, “We are glad to collaborate with Basudha Cooperative limited as our Regional Distributor for Odisha. Odisha is one of the big states of East India region and there are huge chances of market opportunities in this State.”
Aditya Infotech Becomes the Best Partner for PTC Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) has declared that Aditya Infotech Limited has been named as their Best Partner worldwide for new customer acquisition in FY13 and Best partner APAC for Education Business in FY13. This event brings together the key representatives and decision makers from the top PTC Resellers and PTC Management worldwide, for a series of strategy, product updates, yearly awards and planning. With over 250 people from over 120 companies representing 27 countries from around the world, the awards were handed out by top PTC Management Kerry Grimes- SVP Worldwide Channel Sales, Paul DeMore, VP Worldwide Channel Programs, and Clement Donzel, Channel Business Dev Manager.
Kingston Enables Enterprises Secure Business Data Kingston has released the DataTraveler Vault Privacy 3.0 (DTVP) secure USB Flash drive and the DataTraveler Vault Privacy 3.0 Anti-Virus which helps enterprises safeguard business data and set security policies for end-users at an affordable price point. DTVP 3.0 provides 100-percent hardwarebased encryption of confidential information and is also available separately with ClevX DriveSecurity powered by ESET anti-virus protection. The anti-virus engine utilizes ESET’s NOD 32 proactive technology, which protects corporate end-users wherever they work or plug in. Kingston’s DataTraveler Vault Privacy 3.0 USB Flash drive provides affordable business-grade security with 256-bit AES hardware-based encryption using XTS block cipher mode, which offers stronger protection than CBC and ECB modes. Nathan Su, Flash Memory Sales Director (APAC Region), Kingston, said, “With the latest DTVP 3.0 security features and optional anti-malware protection by ESET coupled with best practices, organizations can better safeguard confidential data.”
12 SME CHANNELS OCTOBER 2013
MY POINT
American Dynamics Upgrades VideoEdge VMS American Dynamics, part of the security products business unit of Tyco has introduced the latest version of its VideoEdge VMS which includes critical new features to help prevent crime and more effectively monitor active, hightraffic environments announced the release. The company informed that American Dynamics identified critical features that are important to ensure the safety of patrons and employees, while securing company property. In retail, for example, loss prevention professionals require reliable video analytics and integration with Point of Sale systems that provide real-time access to intelligence to help pinpoint suspicious transactions backed up by indisputable video. VideoEdge provides these results in seconds, allowing retailers to run reports and visualize the data to realize a sharp decrease in theft. In addition, no matter what specific challenges customers face, VideoEdge is easy to install with low maintenance for a better user experience. Shahar Ze’evi, Senior Product Manager, American Dynamics, said, “VideoEdge is built on a robust foundation that provides the most security-critical features like analytics and security unification while ensuring continuity with worry free video failover.”
Luminous “Invincible” Home UPS
“We are in the midst of an amazing transformation. In countries like China, more consumers watch videos online than watch television.” Charles Reed Anderson, Head of Telecoms & Mobility, IDC APAC
Luminous Power Technologies has launched a Limited edition ‘Invincible’ Home UPS. This USP features changeover time, pre-loaded battery management software, capacity to charge battery even at 120V input mains and support for all types of inverter batteries. As per the release, in commemoration of Sachin’s 200 test matches, Luminous Power Technology will also donate Rs. 200 from each Home UPS sold to Sachin’s ‘Spreading Happiness’ initiative which is a nonprofit organization providing solar lights to villages that don’t have electricity. Besides, the release informed that at Rs.5500 inclusive of installation charges, the limited edition inverter was launched to make Sachin’s 200th test appearance and retirement an unforgettable occasion. Manish Pant, MD, Luminous Power Technologies, said, “Our idea was to keep Sachin’s legacy alive long after he stops playing, and thus have launched this exclusive Home UPS on the special occasion of his 200th test match.”
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ADATA’s New India Head Office Opens in Mumbai ADATA Technology inaugurated its new India head office in the suburbs of Mumbai at Goregaon. To mark the occasion, the company also launched a few memory products which include the DashDrive Air AE800 and DashDrive Durable UD320 USB Flash drive. As per the release, Shalley Chen, Executive VP, ADATA announced the company’s most ambitious plan to start ADATA Lighting business in India. Globally, ADATA started its LED Lighting products business in the year 2010, and is already a large player with presence in Taiwan, China and Mexico. Chen said, “Our plan is to expand the lighting business in the regions where we are already present through our branches for our storage business. India plays a pivotal role in our expansion plan.”
XEROX BRINGS NEW TOOLS AND SERVICES IN MPS As enterprises look to better manage an influx of documents and data, Xerox has responded with new tools to print for less – and print less – while simplifying how work gets done in a secure and sustainable way. The company has expanded its offerings to address the impact the “always-on” workplace, and associated content explosion, have on business productivity. Vishal Awal, Executive Director, Services, Long the managed print services (MPS) Xerox South Asia market leader, Xerox combines technology and document management expertise with business process and IT outsourcing capabilities announced the press release. “Work is no longer a physical place. It happens anytime, anywhere – causing both challenges and opportunities. Our next generation of managed print services helps clients take control of information while managing everyday concerns such as productivity, mobility, security and sustainability,” said Vishal Awal, Executive Director – Services, Xerox South Asia “Xerox is turbo-charging its managed print and document services strategy,” said Angèle Boyd, group vice president, Imaging/Output Document Solutions and SMB, IDC.
neoteric to Participate in Interop 2013 neoteric Technology Solutions (NTS) will participate in Interop 2013. NTS will showcase its complete range of solutions and services which includes networking infrastructure solutions, converged & IP telephony solutions, system integration solutions, and boardroom & AV solutions, security & surveillance solutions and managed services. Anup Nair, Head (neoteric technology solutions), neoteric infomatique ltd., said, “We are excited to again participate at Interop to present our extensive portfolio of state-of-the-art products and solutions that include leading brands like Alcatel-Lucent, AMX, BenQ, Cybernetyx, Dell, Emerson, Kramer, Leviton, LG, Matrox, NEC, Panasonic, Polycom and Wallflower, and provide in-depth training and live demonstrations to the largest audience of IT professionals, business leaders and technology providers - all in one place.”
QNAP Unveils TS-x70 Pro Series Turbo NAS QNAP Systems has released the TS-x70 Pro series Turbo NAS which is available in 4, 6 and 8-bay tower models, for home and small and home office use. It is powered by a Dual-Core Intel Core i3 3.3 GHz Processor and 2GB DDR3 RAM. The TS-x70 Pro series can deliver up to 447MB read speed and 446MB write speed with optional 4 Gigabit LAN port configuration. Jason Hsu, Product Manager, QNAP, said, “The TS-x70 Pro series boasts a powerful Dual-Core 3.3 GHz Processor to enable superior performance and allow users to benefit from a smoother and higherquality multimedia transcoding.”
Cadensworth Rolls-out BRS Speedster 2 Taking forward its BRS Assessment Program launched last quarter Cadensworth (India) Limited, a solution based value added distributor, has launched BRS Speedster 2 this quarter. The VAD had launched BRS Assessment Program—“BRS Speedster: Make a Killing This Season”— last quarter for boosting the business opportunities for EMC backup & recovery solutions considering the ever increasing customer’s storage and data backup requirements. This program was an incentive offer for sales representatives of Cadensworth’s valued channel partner community.
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Bitdefender Launches Safepay To shield online transactions from growing criminal threats Bitdefender has launched Safepay, a free desktop app. Bitdefender Safepay, a hacker-proof hardened browser, protects sensitive data from the full array of threats posed to sensitive banking and financial data, including hackers, phishing, packet sniffing, man-in-the-browser attacks, man-inthe-middle attack, Trojans, tampering and more announced the press release. It further emphasized that Safepay shields e-shopping and online banking transactions from any spying, detects and blocks ID theft, prevents hostile screenshots of data etc.
Cyberoam Hosts Channel Convention Cyberoam recently organized the 2nd edition of its Channel Convention for top Indian partners at Pattaya Marriott Resort in Thailand with the theme “Envisioning Success Together”. About 50 leading partners from around the country gathered to attend the three-day event that concluded with “Cyberoam Channel Awards”. Cyberoam Channel Convention is a platform to recognize, reward and motivate Cyberoam’s best performing channel partners who have delivered remarkable performance.
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SNIPPETS
Cadyce KVM Solutions Launched in India Cadyce has unveiled its KVM Solutions in India. By using Cadyce KVM Switches customers can get flexibility to work on multiple servers or PCs and also reduce their hardware cost by minimizing the number of Keyboards, Mouse and monitors announced the press release. It further stated that Cadyce KVM switches allow the sharing of one local keyboard, mouse, and monitor to access and control as many servers or PCs. With Cadyce KVM switches users can experience Superior video quality with resolution up to 1080p, Multi-platform support for PCs and Macintosh, Channel selection and operation by using push buttons and keyboard hot keys. Cadyce USB KVM Extender offers uncompressed high definition 1920 x 1200 video along with 2 USB ports over a single CAT5/CAT5e/ CAT6 cable, up to distances of 100 meters /328 ft.
SOCOMEC ANNOUNCES GRAND FINALE 2013 FOR PARTNERS Socomec Innovative Power Solutions has reintroduced the Grand Finale scheme for the year 2013 for the channel community. The scheme is applicable on the sales of any Socomec UPS product ranging from 600 VA to 40 kVA and ATS 16 A. The partners will be eligible only if the products are purchased from authorized distributor Redington India announced the release. Arunabh Ghosh, Head (Channel Sales), The company informed that every channel Socomec partner can earn the rewards by achieving the pre-determined minimum sales targets that has been set. In order to encourage more partners come under the eligibility of this scheme, Socomec kept the minimum sales value target of 1Lakh and to the maximum of 1Crore.The scheme will allow partners to win trip to Thailand, Maldives, New Zealand, Australia, Venice, Rome and high valued gift vouchers. Arunabh Ghosh, Head (Channel Sales), Socomec, said, “We always look forward to gratify and encourage our valued partners with incentives and rewards for their efforts made in positioning Socomec products in the customer space. We are very excited to launch “Grand Finale 2013” incentive scheme for our channel community to conclude the year. This offering is open to all partners and the rewards will be evaluated based on the total turnover attained by any partner.”
EXECUTIVE MOVEMENT
INDIA PRINTER COPIER AND MFP SHIPMENTS RISE 13.2% IN 3Q13
AL Jagannath has rejoined VMware as marketing Director, India and SAARC.
THE COMBINED SERIAL INKJET AND PAGE PRINTER, COPIER AND MFP MARKET IN INDIA TOTALED 861,212 UNITS IN THE 3Q OF 2013, A 13.2 PERCENT INCREASE FROM THE 3Q OF 2012, ACCORDING TO GARTNER, INC. INDIA PRINTER, COPIER AND MFP UNIT SHIPMENT ESTIMATES, 3Q13 (THOUSANDS OF UNITS)
Canon
Epson
Samsung
Others
Note: Totals may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding
16 SME CHANNELS OCTOBER 2013
Source: Gartner (December 2013)
108.4
72.1
58.1
62.6
73.7
70.2
170.9
177.8
443.2
384.9 HP
Rajesh Maurya, who has been with Fortinet since 2004 and country manager for India since 2010, is now the interim Regional Director for India and SAARC.
861.2
2013
760.8
2012
Total
AMD announced that David Bennett has been appointed corporate vice president of its Asia Pacific-Japan (APJ) Mega Region, reporting to senior vice president and chief sales officer John Byrne. KPMG has appointed Amit Khanna who will be leading the Data Analytics practice for KPMG in India. CA Technologies has appointed Ruston Vickers as chief DevOps architect.
What are you looking for? See it — and every detail of it.
All images are conceptual. For product information and actual footage from Axis cameras, visit www.axis.com
Image quality is always important, but the benefits are really determined by how you will use the images. We make your job easier, by focusing on image usability first. Utilize our competence and our comprehensive range of image features such as HDTV, Wide Dynamic Range and Lightfinder.
As the world leader in network video, we ensure you always get video you can use – no matter what the conditions are. Get the Axis picture. Stay one step ahead. Visit www.axis.com/imageusability
Axis network cameras with HDTV performance deliver true color representation and high quality images. An appealing solution when every detail matters.
Distributed by:
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SNIPPETS
Aspect Software Delivers Zipwire
DIGEST
Aspect Software, a provider of fully-integrated customer interaction management, workforce optimization, and back-office solutions, has launched a feature-rich, cloud-based contact center solution architected to rapidly accelerate operational value and customer service excellence. Designed to bring superior ease and simplicity to contact center solution operations, while reducing demand on IT, Zipwire (zipwire.aspect.com) includes premium features such as unlimited elasticity, provisioning simplicity and 24/7/365 support announced the press release. Incredibly easy to deploy and highly scalable, Zipwire can meet the demands of the largest enterprise contact centers while also addressing the unique needs of smaller contact center operations it further added. With Zipwire’s simplicity and speed of setup, organizations can be up and running in hours with no setup costs, helping to speed the time-to-value for contact centers by quickly getting agents serving customers. “With nearly limitless scale, and being deployed through Aspect’s market-leading Voxeo cloud infrastructure gives Zipwire clear competitive advantages compared to other solutions in its class,” said John Amein, VP (product management), Aspect.
MERCURY 3G MIFI ROUTER
TRENDNET UNWRAPS 24-PORT WEB SMART POE SWITCH TRENDnet has unveiled TPE-224 WS, a 24-Port 10/100Mbps Web Smart PoE Switch. TPE224WS has 4 gigabit ports and 2 shared mini-GBIC Slots which delivers a 12.8 Gbps switching capacity with Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology. As per the release, its broadcast storm control and port trunking feature provide a cost effective and secure reliance as PoE switch solution for SMB networks. TPE-224WS comes with SNMP support and it accesses the web-browser management interface and segment up to 256 virtual local area networks. It manages network priority with 802.1p support. TPE-224WS also features 12.8Gbps switching capacity, PoE power of up to 15.4 watts for each PoE port, maximum PoE power of up to 170 watts for all PoE ports, front panel diagnostic LEDs, IEEE 802.1D Spanning Tree Protocol IEEE 802.1p QoS and supports port based IEEE 802.1Q VLAN Tag and Asymmetric VLAN.
Konica Minolta Participates in Pamex 2013 Konica Minolta Business Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. participated in Pamex 2013- the 9th International Exhibition on Printing and Allied Machinery in Greater Noida’s India Expo Centre. Konica Minolta Business Solutions showcased its production printing systems in the event which includes bizhub PRESS C8000, bizhub PRESS C6000, bizhub PRESS C70 hc and bizhub PRESS 1052. Pamex 2013, organised by All India Federation of Master Printers in conjunction with TAFCON, is the premier international exhibition for printing and allied machinery in Asia. The event showcased the cutting edge technologies offered by the leading solution providers from all categories ranging from pre-printing to post-printing informed the release.
WD Unveils 2.5-inch WD Black2 Dual Drive WD has released the WD Black2 dual drive which the company claims is a unique storage innovation that combines a 2.5-inch 120 GB solid state drive (SSD) with a 1TB hard disk drive (HDD) to offer a powerful dual drive solution. The WD Black2 dual drive connects through a single cable and fits into a conventional 9.5 mm slot. Matt Rutledge, SVP, WD’s Storage Technology business unit, said, “The WD Black2 dual drives empower our customers to enjoy SSD performance and access high capacity storage in a no-compromise package. The WD Black2 dual drive is a direct result of our interaction with our customer base through WD Labs initiatives. WD devised its beta labs program to provide an exclusive testing arena for key customers and technology influencers of existing and emerging WD storage products.”
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Kobian has launched Mercury 3G Mifi Router, the mobile wifi router with inbuilt power bank. It allows users to create Wi-Fi hotspot by inserting a 3G SIM card. It also support connectivity through 3G dongle or LAN wire. Mercury 3G Mifi Router comes with internal 3000mAh battery through which users can work or play for up to 10 long hours or even use to charge other smart phones. This router with power bank supports HSPA 3G broadband connections with up to 14.4Mbps download, 5.76Mbps upload speeds and 150mbps Wi-Fi transfer data.
PORTRONICS SUPERBOX Portronics has released an all-in-one device – the Superbox, a palm sized device with the capability of being a speaker, Mp3 player, audio recorder and even power bank. The Superbox comes packed with an 8 GB card and Stereo Earphones that are bundled along with it. It’s also a Digital Voice Recorder with powerful built-in stereo microphones which eliminates the need for an external microphone announced the press release. It also acts as a Power Bank, with a removable battery of 2000 mAh. The product is priced at INR 2499.
ASUS ROG MARS 760 Asus Republic of Gamers (ROG) has launched Mars 760, a graphics card that features two GeForce GTX 760 graphics-processing units (GPUs). Mars 760 outpaces even GeForce GTX Titan with game performance that’s up to 39% faster announced the release. Mars 760 is a two-slot card that’s packed with many exclusive ASUS technologies including DirectCU II for 20%-cooler. Combined with 4GB of GDDR5 video memory Mars 760 pumps visuals with incredibly high frame rates and no stutter, ensuring extremely smooth gameplay — even at very high resolutions, such as 2560x1600.
ZOTAC UPGRADES ZBOX MINI-PCS ZOTAC International has upgraded the ZBOX mini-PC lineup with 4th Generation Intel Core technology. The trio of new ZBOXes delivers improved CPU performance paired with supercharged integrated graphics for an excellent experience for everyday computing tasks announced the press release. Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International, said, “With the latest generation architecture, we’re able to fine tune these ZBOXes for greater CPU and GPU performance while maintaining the excellent energy efficiency our mini-PCs are renowned for.”
SYNOLOGY RACKSTATION RS814 Synology has introduced RackStation RS814, a scalable 1U 4-bay rackmount NAS server which features scalability up to 32TB with Synology RX410. The RS814 is powered by a 1.33 GHz dual-core CPU and Link Aggregation. It delivers read and write speeds of over 210MB/s and 130MB/s respectively under RAID 5 configuration in a Windows environment. Besides the RS814 comes with built-in floating-point unit (FPU) and 1 GB DDR3 RAM.
Hearing The Difference GIGABYTE AMP-UP Audio Technology
GA-G1.SNIPER M5
GA-G1.SNIPER B5
GIGABYTE Technology (India) Pvt. Ltd. Tel: 022-40633222; Website: www.gigabyte.in; Toll-Free: 1800-22-0966
www.facebook.com/GIGABYTEindia
Mumbai, Chhattisgarh, Vidharbha, Maharashtra, Goa: 99677 18653; Gujarat: 97250 59195; Delhi, Uttar Pradesh: 99583 72672; Punjab, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir: 97818 33433; Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand 99100 86976; Madhya Pradesh 99100 86976; Rajasthan 88907 31111; Bihar 90075 45577; Jharkhand 90405 06080; West Bengal, 9007545577 North East 98642 30150; Orissa 90405 06080; Andhra Pradesh 88869 52009; Karnataka 77608 76424; Tamil Nadu 96771 63165; Kerala 98950 99231
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SNIPPETS
neoteric Appointed ND of AMX India
GIGABYTE TAKES PARTNERS TO SOUTH AFRICA
AMX India has appointed neoteric infomatique Limited as a national distributor for its range of pro-AV products and solutions. As part of the deal, neoteric will distribute AMX’s complete range of products and solutions. This appointment is in tandem with AMX’s growth strategy of expanding its foot-print across India through organized distribution announced the press release. It further emphasized that this will enable AMX to reach out to a larger segment of Tier 2 –Tier 3 partners and propel its business. AMX’s entire range of products will now be available through neoteric’s partner network consisting of more than 10000 channel partners spread across more than 500 cities. Mayank Gupta, Director and Country Manager, AMX India, said, “The next growth in IT & AV convergence, whether at home or at office, will happen in India’s tier 2 and 3 cities. In order to tap this new growth, neoteric is the most ideal partner for AMX. neoteric understands and has the necessary market reach, technical expertise and relevant IT/AV experience.”
NETGEAR Unveils ReadyNAS 716
Gigabyte Technology (India) Pvt. Ltd took its top performing channel partners of the Financial Year 2012-13, to a South African pleasure trip. Gigabyte Lions- South Africa, Annual Meet 2013 witnessed a dinner-cum-awards evening wherein the company felicitated its partners from across regions and product categories, with trophies. As per the release, the star attractions of the excursion included visits to the Table Mountain and the partners also felt that such trips were useful for improving business. According to Siddharth Vyas, Director, Tapeshwari Computers, “The South African excursion was truly enjoyable, providing a rejuvenating experience that will hold us in good stead while returning to our routine business activities.” Sunil Grewal, Director (Sales), Gigabyte Technology (India), said, “This initiative is nothing but a sincere token of appreciation and acknowledgment of our committed partners’ contribution towards the growth of the Gigabyte brand in India. Our objective is also to see them return back with a relaxed and focused mind, with renewed energy and passion to continue their good work.” The release also informed that in its previous similar foreign travel programs, Gigabyte had taken its performing partners for a Malaysia-Thailand pleasure trip and a Hong Kong-Macau trip.
NETGEAR has launched ReadyNAS 716 (RN716X) which the company claims is the world’s fastest desktop network attached storage (NAS) device. The six-bay ReadyNAS 716 comes with a maximum capacity of 24TB (up to 84TB with expansion chassis) and supports up to 500 concurrent users. ReadyNAS 716 features 10GE throughput, two built-in 10GBASE-T ports, 16GB ECC memory, ReadyCLOUD. The release informed that NAS supports 10GE infrastructures, making it ideal for streaming multiple HD videos concurrently to different media clients whether it’s 85 streams for a college seminar, 25 streams to a kindergarten class, or three uncompressed Blu-ray files.
D-Link Named in Gartner’s “Challengers” Quadrant
Karni Soft Joins Infor Partner Network
D-Link has announced that it has been positioned in the “Challengers” Quadrant by Gartner in its Magic Quadrant report published for the Wired and Wireless LAN Access Infrastructure category. Gartner, Inc. published its Magic Quadrant for Wired and Wireless LAN Access Infrastructure, which was based on the evaluation of two forms of criteria: “ability to execute” and “completeness of vision”, following which D-Link has been positioned in the “Challengers” quadrant. Tushar Sighat, CEO, D-Link (India) Limited, said, “It is indeed an achievement for us, as findings such as these stand testimony to our commitment to offering reliable and innovative networking solution.”
Karni Soft Solutions has announced that it has joined Infor Partner Network (IPN), a selective group of channel partners that re-sell and service Infor’s leading business application software. Karni Soft Solutions will focus on selling and servicing Infor LX, InforSyteLine, Infor Advanced Planning & Scheduling solutions, and Infor EAM Enterprise (Enterprise Asset Management) applications throughout India and Bangladesh. Through the appointment of Karni Soft Solutions, Infor expands its presence in India and Bangladesh, enabling the company to focus on the key industries of textile & apparels, pharma, automotive, engineering and food.
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National distributors : Copyright Š 2013 QNAP Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
www.qnap.com
Advts.indd 7
Contact QNAP : Mr. Sanjay Biswal sanjay@qnap.com / +919953036535
20/12/13 10:12 am
SNIPPETS
Cadensworth to Take Partners to Bangkok Cadensworth has announced a unique Bundles Incentive Program, “Win the Winter (Bang@ Bangkok)” this quarter for its valued partners for enhancing the business prospects for Panduit’s NetKey Cabling System Product line and to create buzz in the channel market about the growing partnership between Panduit and Cadensworth. Panduit’s NetKey Copper and Fiber Cabling System provides a complete, standards compliant cabling infras solution for voice, data and video applications within the Enterprise space. When teamed with Panduit products, NetKey solutions are ideally suited for small to medium business requirements informed the release. This program comprises of two kinds of NetKey bundles each comprises of cable boxes, information outlets, patch cord, faceplate and patch panel addressing to approx 150 nodes to 300 nodes respectively.
EMERSON’S NEW DCIM SOLUTION FOR ALL SEGMENTS Emerson Network Power has launched the Trellis Platform Express Edition, which offers the benefits of data center infrastructure management (DCIM). The release informed that for small and medium sized businesses, the Trellis Platform Express Edition addresses the need to quickly and easily order and deploy a DCIM solution that is rightsized for their organization. For large enterprise data centers considering a DCIM solution, it’s designed to reduce complexity and time to implement. The Trellis Platform Express Edition comprises two offerings. First, the Trellis Facility Manager Express, which is a bundled package of the current Trellis Site Manager, Avocent Universal Management Gateway and Professional Services to handle installation and training. This bundle has two options, one for tracking and monitoring up to 10 floor-mounted devices (FMDs), and one for tracking and monitoring up to 25 FMDs. Second, the Trellis Inventory Express bundles the current Trellis Inventory Manager with Professional Services, and can come with a host server. Steve Hassell, President, Emerson Network Power (Data Center Solutions business), said, “By listening to our customers, we saw there was a need to develop a simpler way for them to begin their DCIM projects. The Trellis Platform Express Edition bundled offering gives organizations the ability to maximize efficiency, minimize downtime and enable accurate planning sooner than they may have hoped.”
Google Enables SMBs Gain from Internet Google has launched Google Partners, a comprehensive program designed to support web professionals and agencies who help businesses succeed online. The program is a part of Google’s continuing efforts to build an ecosystem to help small-to-medium businesses gain from the Internet announced the release. Many small businesses in India rely on web professionals and agencies to manage their online presence and their online marketing, and Google has invested in helping agencies and web professionals receive the training and access to resources necessary to help their clients succeed on the web. Kodukulla Suryanarayana, Head (SMB Sales), Google India, said, “With this new initiative, we are rolling out a global and a more comprehensive partner initiative which will help our agencies to scale their efforts and offer small medium businesses the most advanced and latest technologies. This will help us to grow the base of our partners in India.”
Lenovo’s ‘Black Knights’ Incentive Scheme Lenovo, the world’s largest PC maker and an emerging PC Plus leader, has announced a unique rewards programme, “Black Knights” incentive scheme for its channel partners in India. This initiative is aimed at rewarding channel partners for new business acquisitions, as a means of boosting sales for Lenovo’s enterprise business, as well as incentivizing partners to go the extra mile announced the press release. The scheme is valid on sales of all Commercial products which consist of ThinkCentre Desktops, Workstations, ThinkPad Laptops and Ultrabooks, and will continue till March 2014. The company anticipates participation from about 450-500 executives working for its channel partners through this program.
HP Recognizes Rashi Peripherals HP has recognized Rashi Peripherals for the contribution to Attach business at HP Attach partner meet in Dubai. This meet helped HP, Rashi and partners to interact with each other and understand strategies and areas of improvements. Rashi Peripherals being National Distributor for commercial & consumer accessories caters to all types of customer’s viz. corporates, B2B & consumer requirements through various set of partners. Rashi Peripherals with presence in 58 Branch’s, ensures reach, accessibility to all partners and product availability even in smaller cities of the country.
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HDS 2014 APAC Predictions Hitachi Data Systems Corporation has released its HDS 2014 Asia Pacific predictions. The trends are: First, big data analytics will go beyond the proof-of-concept phase and into production in established markets. Secondly, as the cloudbroker model gains traction in APAC, organizations will transform their IT departments from technology implementers to business innovators. Thirdly, concerns over data security will reach a tipping point, not only for the mobile data that moves between devices and the cloud, but also for data in content repositories. Fifthly, the APAC region will witness an explosion of unstructured data from mobile communications.
FortiGuard Labs’ Security Predictions Fortinet has revealed five FortiGuard Labs’ 2014 security predictions: Firstly, Android malware expands to industrial control systems and Internet of Things. Secondly, the Battle for the Deep Web. Thirdly, network security vendors forced to become more transparent. Fourthly, increase in attacks targeting Windows XP and fifthly, biometrics for authentication will increase. The company said as sales of mobile phones is likely plateau in the coming years.
SNIPPETS
Trend Micro’s New Schemes for Partners Trend Micro has declared incentive schemes for Partner Sales and Presales Representative for Trend Micro Deep Discovery and Deep Security Products. The schemes for the ‘simple to buy, simpler to deploy and simplest to manage’ solutions will close for this quarter on 24th December, 2013 announced the press release. Dhanya Thakkar, MD, Trend Micro (India & SAARC), said, “We have marked the last quarter of the ‘year of the channels’ with special value proposition for our partners. The schemes introduced are certain to assist them in reaching out to greater audience with our Deep Discovery and Deep Security products. It is our constant expedition to support partners in increasing their profitability; reducing their cost of business and at the same time making sure they build a huge services business.”
QUICK HEAL STRENGTHENS INDIA PARTNERS’ NETWORK Quick Heal Technologies Pvt. Ltd organized a corporate channel partner training program in eight cities across India in order to strengthen the company’s ever-expanding channel partner network. The training witnessed the participation of 316 channel partners in 10 training programmes held in cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Jaipur and Nagpur announced the release. Abhijit Jorvekar, Director, Quick Heal Technologies, said, “Building a lasting bond between partners and our organization takes a lot of thought put into new ways to motivate and reward. This primarily implies understanding things from a channel partner’s perspective. At Quick Heal, we do everything to support our channel partners starting with innovative products to resources, including sales and marketing materials and training to enhance their growth.” As per the release, the training programme is a way of collaborating with channel partners to co-create engagement that improves business relationships and leads to lasting partner loyalty. Quick Heal partner network spread across 60 countries over the world, collaborates to give customers the best possible solutions. The company takes pride in assuring that customers and partners are connected for mutual benefit. The company provides aggressive profit margins and offers attractive schemes, making it convenient for partners to generate more revenue.
eScan Bags the Microsoft Gold Partnership eScan has once again successfully achieved the Microsoft Gold Partnership status in security solutions. eScan has achieved the Microsoft Gold Certified Partner status through their active execution, domain expertise and strategic role in the industry of security solutions announced the release. The company informed that in order to be recognized as a Gold Partner, eScan was required to demonstrate its proficiency in various relevant Microsoft competencies. Each competency has a unique set of requirements and benefits, formulated to accurately represent the specific skills and services that partners bring to the technology industry. By fulfilling the rigorous requirements of Microsoft’s Partner Program, eScan thus once again achieved the honorable Gold Partnership status with Microsoft.
ASUS and Google Introduce Nexus 7 in India Asus and Google have launched the new Nexus 7 which comes with the 7-inch IPS, 2.3 million pixels and 1920 x 1200 with 323 pixels per inch (PPI). Peter Chang, Regional Head (South Asia) & Country Manager (System Business Group), ASUS India, said, “We are extremely elated to bring the all new Nexus 7 which is sleeker yet comprises the same sized screen and significantly increasing performance. The quality of the pixels has been improved with a 30% wider color gamut than the previous generation model; ensuring colors are both accurate and vibrant to further enhance the user experience. Our constant quest for the incredible has led us to further innovate and deliver a device which is the ultimate blend of power and portability.”
Matrix to Highlight Security Products at INTERSEC Dubai Matrix Comsec will be participating in INTERSEC Dubai and showcase its complete portfolio of security products encompassing range of Access Control and Time-Attendance and Video Surveillance Solution. At this event, the main focus will be to highlight the new COSEC DOOR PVR and Door controllers. These products have a cutting-edge advantage over the others in terms of technology, connectivity, ease of use and operating environment informed the release.
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ESET to Educate IT Students on Cyber Security ESET has tied up with Kyrion to educate IT college students on the cyber security aspects. Kyrion will conduct Mini Chakravyuh competition in different colleges across India with an award ‘The Hunt for the India’s Best IT Security Expert’ announced the release. In all the competitions, ESET’s respective area sales manager will represent ESET at the event. ESET has till now provided 1200+ ESET Smart Security single user license key for the contestants.
CyberArk’s Security Predictions for 2014 CyberArk has outlined its security predictions for 2014. 2013 has seen many high-profile security breaches, including the NSA-Edward Snowden case, involving the exploitation of privileged or administrator accounts announced the release. The theft, misuse and exploitation of privileged accounts has become an increasingly key tactic in each phase of an advance persistent threat (APT) attack cycle, and this will largely continue into 2014. The revelations of the spying programmes by the NSA, GCHQ, and other intelligence agencies have estb a precedent how governments use the Internet and technology for national defence.
GUEST TALK
‘M2M - A TECHNOLOGY TO WATCH OUT FOR IN 2014’ Amalgamation of M2M and Big Data will have a profound impact on the businesses in 2014
BY PRABHU RAMACHANDRAN Director, WebNMS BRIEF PROFILE Prabhu Ramachandran has over 12 years of experience at Zoho Corporation creating WebNMS based products and solutions for the Telecom market. He directly supervises strategic areas of WebNMS such as product development, customer support and professional services for telecom network management products and M2M based remote management products. Prabhu holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics and Communication from Madras University.
IOT OR M2M (Machine–to-Machine) is the network of passive assets that contain embedded tools to sense, interact, and communicate with their internal system or the external environment. Everything from around us from the simple objects (such as Watch, Glasses, Fabrics) to complex objects (such as Home Appliances, WindMill, PowerGrids, Gas Pipelines etc.) is on the verge of being connected. The blend of low-cost “smart” connected devices with the need for information drives M2M. We have already reached to a state where the number of things connected to the Internet has surpassed the number of PCs and mobile devices that are connected to the web. The number of things that connect to the Internet will continue to skyrocket and it will surpass the number of human beings in the coming decade. Gartner predicts that there will be over 30 Billion connected devices by 2020. Many of the recent business cases for M2M have been engrained in energy savings, remote monitoring and control, sustainability, predictive maintenance and renewable energy. M2M has seen most interest in the areas of smart Grid, Smart Home, Cell Tower Management, ATM Site Management, Building Management, Transport, and Retail. Tremendous opportunities are possible this year, with growing interest of Telcos to become key players in the M2M space as the revenue streams from their core voice have begun to deteriorate. Also, the intervention of Indian Government in M2M ecosystem formation and other Government initiatives across the world like Emirates Energy Star Program and China Sustainable Energy Program are fuelling M2M deployments. Business Intelligence As the economic recovery is slower and more inconsistent, and change of pace is continuing to increase, enterprises are considering for ways to control costs and ramp up efficiency by resorting to M2M. Amalgamation of M2M and Big Data will have a profound impact on the businesses in 2014. As massive amount of data pours from millions of connected devices in real-time high in velocity, magnitude, and
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complex data-types; “Big Data” processes the data for the businesses to stay competitive and agile. Logistics Leads In M2M Logistics industries face numerous issues with rising fuel costs, maximizing capacity, global operations, and increasing demand from consumers on faster delivery and zero damage during transit. In the field of logistics, M2M plays a vital role in monitoring the asset in real-time, providing precise reports on the location, improving fleet safety, delivering better service, fuel efficiency, automobile maintenance and insurance. M2M applications enable companies to gain full control of their fleet, tighten operational costs and improve efficiency of the core business operations. Smartphone Innovation To Complement M2M According to Gartner, over 20% of objects will be able to interact with a smartphone by 2018. Growing demand for smartphones has created an ability to control a remote environment on the move. Today’s smartphones are embedded with in-built sensors, which when paired with people/ devices / wireless sensors helps to power the device communications of M2M technologies, which are becoming the foundation of the next generation of intelligence. For instance: In healthcare, smart slippers and other wearable devices containing sensors can detect falls for elderly people and various medical conditions. If something is awry, the device will alert one’s doctor via message or a call. In insurance, installing sensors in cars will provide a pay as you drive insurance that links the insurance premium to the individual’s risk profile. This continued rise in connectivity will not only improve our lives, it will also create substantial economic benefits. M2M has the potential to intensely benefit the individuals, enterprises, and society as a whole through improving quality-of-life, driving efficiency, increasing productivity and profit margin, enabling massive reduction in carbon emissions and tacking climate change.
GUEST TALK
HOW VIRTUAL CFO SERVICES CAN HELP SME MARKETS To fight the economic slowdown Virtual CFO Services is helping this market in terms of financial advisory
RAJESH MITTAL Founder and Managing Director, ALAMAK Capital
BRIEF PROFILE Mr. Rajesh Mittal has an iconic expertise in development and promotion of innovative concept. With a dynamic persona and a sharp innovative mind, Rajesh has handled several M&A deals, spanning across diverse industries and geographies. Rajesh possess a detailed vision and deep knowledge has perhaps laid foundations of this ventures and has eventually helped many small and medium business to flourish With an experience of more than 25 years, Rajesh has handled leadership roles with reputed companies like United Colors of Benetton, Hutchison, Oxigen & India Hospitality Corp (IHC). As a CFO of IHC, he handled the exit strategy formulation & implementation for sale of Sky Gourmet to Gate Group Zurich. He successfully spearheaded 100% acquisition of Adelie, one of the largest food companies in the UK, by IHC. Mr. Rajesh is also a fellow member of ICAI and ICSI. Apart from this he is voracious reader also he has been a guest lecturer at eminent educational institutes such as S.P. Jain, ICAI etc. He is also a Founder and Chairman of Help Education Foundation which has been helping talented children from underprivileged families.
BEFORE WRITING on the challenges faced in extending financial advisory to SME sector and as to how virtual CFO would help this market to fight economic slowdown, it is important to know the significance of this sector in the economy and as to what is troubling this sector. SME sector plays a pivotal role in the economic growth of a country. SME sector scores over others models because of its simple structure, quick response to changes in the economic environment, meets local needs of products & services and increases momentum to initiate innovations. Despite so many advantages, SME units continue to struggle and fail to grow into a large and powerful corporation. SME is suffering from suboptimal scale of operations, technological obsolescence, supply chain inefficiencies, increasing global & domestic competition, frequent changes in manufacturing strategies, turbulent & uncertain market scenario and fund shortage. If one analyses the reasons of failure of SME units, it is observed that 28% of the units fail because of liquidity crunch, 52% of the units fail because of low response from customers and 20% of the units fail because of lack of technology/ information/other reasons. SME sector is mainly funded by capital & debt. Capital is raised by entrepreneur from own funds or by borrowing/investment from friends & relatives except in a few cases where units have matured and attracted capital from venture capitalists/private equity/ HNI. The sector is short of equity. The second important source of SME funding is debt including lease/equipment finance. Debt as a means of asset financing is available from Banks, NBFCs and unorganized private sector. Banks provide debt at DER of 1:1 and in selective cases go up to 1.5. Certain assets specially vehicles, multi usages machines can be financed at a margin of 15%. Banks do ask for collateral security for exposure despite debt being covered with primary security of the project. Third party equity raising option is available to start-ups and established units who have potential to achieve a critical mass; through VCs. Investors
have their own benchmark for this critical mass but all of them want an assured exit opportunity which is extremely difficult to achieve. SMEs are highly unlikely to offer exit to investors through IPO route. This leaves with the option of promoter buy-out or strategic M&A. Bombay stock exchange launched BSE-SME platform, to help in capital raising by SME sector. However, the platform has failed to provide the required depth and liquidity to the sector. Virtual CFO as a Catalyst As mentioned, funding and management are two key elements which can help in smooth and steady growth of the sector. Promoters of SME companies are individuals, with knowledge of the specific industry segment; however generally lack financial acumen to manage complex business needs. Large number of businesses face enough complexities & issues which warrant appointment of a seasoned finance professional; however they are unable to afford the cost and deploy such a professional for full-time on a long term basis. This gap can be addressed through Virtual CFO Services. Virtual CFO services are intended to not only conceptualize the right strategies but also to handhold implementation of those strategies for the organization and achieve the desired organizational objectives. The company availing Virtual CFO services not only benefits from the rich and cross-sector expertise, but also generates savings in cost and time by making right decisions in a structured manner. In our dealing with SMEs, we observe that in 30% of the cases units are adequately financed but have other management deficiencies where virtual CFO services help in providing the needed management inputs. Virtual CFO helps in appointing the required trained staff where there are inadequacies, guide in planning cash management, project implementation through PERT, market expansion, developing ongoing manufacturing strategy, MIS techniques and balanced relationship. SME is a challenging world but you come out smiling if you have discipline and patience. 
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SME TREND
CISCO
SMBs HIGH ON CISCO’S LIST 20% of the 50 million SMBs are technology ready today, says advisory firm Zinnov. The business that this segment can generate is immense and Cisco is investing generously here. BY KARMA NEGI
karma@smechannels.com
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hree years back with specific focus on going after the mid-market segment through partners Cisco launched its Partner Led program. The networking giant is making aggressive inroads into the SMB space and at this year’s Cisco Partner Summit in Boston it revealed its plan to pump in $150 million into new resources for Partner Led. Further the report by Zinnov which pegs the SMB business in India at 48.8 million units and is expected to emerge as the biggest SMB nation globally has definitely made this segment a sweet spot for enterprises as a growth driver. To capitalise on this market Cisco did its own profiling of about 20000 customers in the mid market alone, understood the only feasible way to reach out to them was through partners; and the whole question around the enablement of partners led to the formation of the Partner Led program. This unit is looked after by Amit Malik, Director Sales (Partner Business Group), India and SAARC, Cisco. “I run the Partner Led business for India and SAARC countries (Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives), where I run the public sector as well as the commercial part of the business,” informs Malik. He emphasizes that their future is totally in the hands of their partners when it comes to mid market and hence rates enablement and coverage as the biggest challenge for them. This is why he adds Cisco, today, invests huge amount of money and Partner Led is today one of the biggest priorities for Cisco and is also witnessing the allocation of the highest funds. “It is one of the few areas that we have doubled
AMIT MALIK, DIRECTOR SALES (PARTNER BUSINESS GROUP), INDIA AND SAARC, CISCO
“THE MANDATE IS NOT TO FLOOD A PARTNER WITH LOT OF COLD LEADS; WE WANT TO GIVE PARTNERS LOT OF VALIDATED GENUINE LEADS SO THAT THEIR TIME IS ALSO WELL UTILISED.”
the funding on the investment in terms of resources and the initiatives which we will do and have allocated $ 150 milion for 2014,” adds Malik. For the enablement of the partners it runs multiple programs and certifications. As in terms of IT spend 30%-40% of it comes from SMBs and hence Cisco has developed a specific certification for the partners. Cisco Select Certification enables a partner to understand the needs of an SME which is not so overspecialized that the partners need to invest much but helps them broaden their knowledge about the needs of an SMB and also technical expertise. “Mid-market entails SMBs which we also call the zero touch model. SMBs should be running purely on programs hence we we run multiple programs for them,” explains Malik. Couple of programs it runs are Advantage Now which is multi-city road shows purely based on partner training, Race to Rio, Africa Quest, London Playoff and Kiwi Run and VIP 22 program which is a rebate based program. Going up-country is another challenge that Malik cites. The SMB business has been continually growing at over 30% for Cisco and a big chunk of that comes from the upcountry. “Close to 50% of that business should be upcountry in the SMB space,” says Malik. “While we are great in metros but the growth rate is not as promising as in the tier 2, 3 cities obviously because it’s coming from a small base. So we ran another program, which is also currently running, called Bharat Plus two years ago, with the focus to go after, besides the top metros, the next 18 tier 2 cities. Now this year we have kind of extended the program and plan to go after the next 14 cities apart from these 18 cities.” Lead management system is another area wherein Cisco has invested heavily in, which involves two rounds of customers’ profiling so as to ensure that the leads are validated and reach the partners. “The mandate is not to flood a partner with lot of cold leads; we want to give partners lot of validated genuine leads so that their time is also well utilised. Hence, we have set-up this entire lead management engine,” explains Malik. In addition, Malik informs they have also set-up visibility of some of the tools and processes in Cisco as well. “We have given them a direction, armed them with enough ammunition with those accounts, on top we keep giving them leads for newer accounts and have enabled them to go after this market,” he adds. Malik informs that $150 million has been spent by Cisco, globally, on this segment this year. And with SMBs growing at 30% y-o-y for Cisco it’s expecting that further growth will not be any different. “We are we are running multiple things
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CISCO
from SMB perspective and as analysts show there is still much to be done in SMBs,” says Malik. He further emphasize how their products are built grounds up for the SMBs unlike other competitors who remove some features and claim it as a SMB class product. “Cisco spends $100 million on R&D specifically for small business products; this is a big number because most of our competitors who are SMB kind of customers don’t even have that kind of scale,” Malik claims. “And we have a dedicated R&D for small business.” A heartening trend he says occurring in SMBs is the growing adoption of technology and video is fairly a recent adoption. “Video option is really increasing, we are also seeing adoption of wireless, and the next big thing we will witness is cloud adoption. Cloud is a very big leveller for lot of these SMBs due to the increased awareness partly due to internet and with people now travelling a lot more and becoming more aware.” He further adds, “SMBs are aware that their aspirations are no different from those of the enterprise. In the past they probably never took IT as seriously as they do now as they now realize that IT is a big leveller for them. But the problem arises in the form of capital. So, they are looking at some of the alternate models where cloud can
give them anything-as-a-service (SaaS, ITaaS etc.) wherein they don’t have to invest much on the cloud hosted models. I see these models in SMBs as the big drivers in the next few years.” Unlike enterprise or public sector, mid-market is a steady business with less volatility. This is why Malik says partners are witnessing a steady business from them, which are also proving to be more profitable. “The big ones dominate the top end of the pyramid hence for the smaller partners chance of winning is slim. The lower end of the pyramid is still wider and one can spread oneself much thinner and get much better revenues; while the topline may not be that strong but bottomline is.” While the tough economic condition is squeezing everyone’s pocket in such situation Malik points the need to ensure two things: firstly, don’t leave any holes in your existing customer base and you don’t leave any holes in the market. The second is coverage. “These are the two biggest challenges you have,” he says. He adds, “Ensuring better coverage is a challenge. When you are partner led it becomes important to ensure how your customer base (which is probably the top end of that customer base in mid-market) which is still probably 20% of the market will give you 65%-70% of that busi-
SME TREND
ness. For this we need high degree of enablement to figure out joint planning with your partner you ensure that that part is protected.” Currently with close to 2000 partners (India and SAARC) it has four distributors. Its business in the SAARC region has also grown positively despite the political turmoil it’s witnessing in some countries like Bangladesh or Nepal. But fundamentally, Malik informs, all these regions are looking very strong as there is much to be done in terms of infrastructure, public sector spending , connectivity, health, education et al. “And we are strong in some of these areas like education, health, we have especially developed some of our solutions catering to the developing world, even the rural areas. So that’s where we see good chunks of investments to be happening. We have solutions around virtual education, and these are needs of SAARC countries,” he responds.
Finally... The networking giant is furthering its reach into the SMB/mid-market very aggressively. Malik wants to see a proper implementation of the Partner Led and when partners’ say they had a successful run from Partner Led, this, he says, will be a measure of their success.
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SME SOLUTION
IBM
AGGRESSIVELY EYEING SMB MARKET To help SMBs tackle the ever-growing data challenge IBM brought out the Storwize V5000 which addresses both SMBs and large enterprises looking for a mid range storage to fit in their requirements. BY APARAJITA CHOUDHARY
aparajita@smechannels.com
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ccording to a survey by Techaisle, the global SMB spend on big-data related deployments will reach US$3.5 billion by 2016. The number indicates how SMBs are aggressively embracing big data which is transforming the way of managing and leveraging storage in data center. From the storage perspective, the SMB market too has witnessed a dynamic shift as the storage needs changes too. Today, SMBs do not look at the storage only from the hard disk perspective but are demanding storage with rich features like stability, efficiency and helping reduce the TCO. To address this need of SMBs, IBM brought out the Storwize V5000 to help them tackle the ever-
AKHIL KAMAT, BRAND LEADER (STORAGE, SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY GROUP), IBM (INDIA/ SA)
“WE HAVE OUR ENTIRE PARTNER ECOSYSTEM WITH 300 PARTNERS WHO ARE FOCUSING ON SELLING THIS STORAGE TO OUR SMB CUSTOMERS.”
growing data challenge. It addresses the needs of both SMBs and large enterprises looking for a mid range storage to fit in both their requirements. The company says that positioned in the middle of the Storwize portfolio, the Storwize V5000 provides SMBs a flexible entry into the advanced management capabilities and performance of the Storwize family. The system can be configured with disk and flash, and supports IBM Easy Tier capabilities that automatically place data in the most cost-effective tier. Apart from V5000 it also has in its product portfolio V3700, V7000. Elaborating on the features of Storwize V5000, Akhil Kamat, Brand Leader (Storage, Systems and Technology group), IBM (India/SA), says, “We have one set of SMBs who are looking for a basic, bare bone features and that is what we did with the V3700 in terms of scalability but what we saw was that V7000 remained an asprational product to the most of our SMBs because of the features.” “We introduced the V5000 which is very similar to the V7000. The biggest differentiation we offer is the external virtualization in that space. A lot of our customers preferred having storage which does external virtualization, and we put that in the V5000. It scales to a double the amount of cache, performance and the scalability. We have enhanced these products more in terms of better software or version update which we will continue,” he adds. V5000 also features thin provisioning, external virtualization, etc. which provides SMBs high performance at a good price point. Kamat further emphasizes that it also prevents SMBs from getting into AMC renewal once they deploy the storage. One of the key differentiator in the Storwize family is that it provides integration with Pure Flex storage wherein it combines with Storwize and the cloud software as lots of SMBs want their storage to be cloud ready. Moreover, V5000 comes with five years warranty and is available at differ-
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ent price points between 15,000 to 25,000 USD to cater SMBs of all price bands. Earlier SMBs were more concerned about their crucial data which used to be only around SAP, but now are also deploying BI, CCTV apps, enhancement applications, DR management systems and many more, hence increasing the application landscape. Following this, Kamat says, lot of SMBs have started consolidating their server infrastructure as most of them host their IT equipments which in turn restrict the landscape. This is where server virtualization comes in to overcome all the challenges by reducing the number of physical servers and its maintenance costs. He explains, “When you deploy server virtualization it comes with a whole lot of storage parameters you would look at differently, or kind of integration storage provides with server virtualization. The other thing is SMEs are also looking at applications which can help them reduce TCO, for example VDI, and all these lead to increase of data. Now, SMBs realize how crucial it is to have a proper storage strategy in place whereas earlier they bothered more about the server.”
Coming to the SMBs, IBM has deputed channel partners to specifically address them. Before addressing the SMBs IBM took into view right product offerings, reduction in TCO and faster service. And Kamat informs that because of the buying trends of SMEs towards storage, IBM’s entry-storage business has increasesd substantially. Kamat elucidates, “We have an entire partner ecosystem with 300 partners who are focusing on selling this storage to our SMB customers. We have options like IBM finance, whereby we offer SMBs easier financing model where they can buy the equipments on loan and provide them finance for those equipments which includes server, storage, networking, etc. Besides, our partners are enabled to sell and service that particular equipment, so all these three parameters in terms of getting the right product would fit in for an SMB requirement.” IBM aggressively engages channel partners to sell this product and spends lot of time in channel enablement, channel promotion and organizing in-depth training around Storewize V5000 which covers both technical as well as installation train-
SME SOLUTION
ing. Kamat avers, “We also have a set of partners called Storage Specialty Partners, who are different in the sense that they focus on IBM storage and sell the value proposition of IBM storage and get additional marketing fund and additional rebate etc. We have about 22 such partners who are specialty partners with focus on driving storage business.” With more than thousand partners, IBM empowers channel partners on storage per se by enhancing their skills from storage perspective. The company also provides various tools to channel partners which help them implement and sell storage products.
Finally, 32%-35% of IBM’s business comes from SMB segment and caters to them only through the channel partners. Besides, to address the large enterprise customers, the company works with CSI partners and large partners like Wipro, Infosys, etc. IBM claims that the StorwiseV5000 product will help them to penetrate into certain geographies and address certain set of customers which the company earlier had not addressed.
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COVER STORY
SME TECH TRENDS
TECH TRENDS AND PREDICTIONS
FOR 2014
As 2013 comes to a closing, let’s look at some of the technologies that will dominate not only in the IT market but also in the SME Segment. BY KARMA NEGI
karma@smechannels.com
T
hough the environment is still challenging SMEs are now looking beyond increasing their awareness and entering the adoption stage. They no long want to be at the sidelines and are all gearing up to tackle their business challenges and are lapping up new technologies like cloud, virtualization, BYOD et al. “Cloud Telephony, Security & Surveillance, Hosted Contact Centre Solutions that are flexible, scalable and reliable offering compelling advantages and quick ROI will be the areas of interest among the SME segment,” says V R Kirubakaran, Country Manager, Intelliverse Telecom. Industry is in unanimous agreement that Cloud will be a major technology trend to dominate SMEs. As per AMI-Partner SMBs are gradually becoming more comfortable with the concept of the cloud, partners are realizing the importance of developing a cloud value proposition to satisfy customer demands; consequently they anticipate a strong growth of about 20% in their
cloud business over the next year. However, there is still a lack of understanding on the part of SMBs when it comes to cloud hence inhibiting the growth of cloud in India. Emerson’s Kumar says, “From SME perspective, cloud usage and smart data centers are the two trends which will gain widespread adoption. As SMEs are creating and processing increased amounts of data each day, it will be imperative that they opt for smarter data centers which deliver on their data requirements and at the same time can be accessed and monitored from different locations.” Subroto Das, Director, India and South Asia, WD, says, “2013 belonged to centralized data storage, mobile device management and security. While accessing data on-the-go in a secure environment was important for consumers, centralized storage of that data was equally important, especially if the data was to be shared with other members of the environment. This gave rise to an increased acceptance of NAS boxes, especially with SMEs and SMBs.”
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SME TECH TRENDS
COVER STORY
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SME TECH TRENDS
“THE CONCEPT OF A SCALEOUT, UNIFIED STORAGE... STARTED MAKING A DIFFERENCE, NOT ONLY IN THE TECHNICAL COMPUTE AND SCALE-OUT NAS SPACES, BUT ALSO IN THE ENTERPRISE APPLICATION ARENA.” SANTHOSH D’SOUZA, DIRECTOR (SYSTEMS ENGINEERING), NETAPP MARKETING & SERVICES PVT LTD INDIA
With SMBs embracing mobile solutions to increase their productivity with the acceptance and adoption of BYOD among SMEs, this in turn means that these devices are increasingly being use to gain access to sensitive information. As per a recent report by SMB Group BYOD adoption is rising 62% in SMEs. The report further states that as more and more companies look at taking advantage of the BYOD trend the money spent on mobile device management (MDM), security measures and devices is also increasing. “Apparently all customer and company related data is moving to the cloud and hence the management part of it is becoming the top priority. Now accessing this data is shifting from Desktop/ Laptop to lighter mobile devices like Ipad, phones, tablets etc., which mandates to offer a great user experience through better apps/applications. This also widens the market for managing the devices and the apps/applications,” says Promoth Kumar, Director (Global Sales & Channel), ManageEngine. From an SME perspective, Backup as a Service (BaaS) is quite promising feels Jim Simon, Senior Director of Marketing Quantum Asia-Pacific. “Smaller businesses often prefer not to invest in
expensive data centers which consume CAPEX cash. Instead, a pay as you go service model is much more appealing as it can free CAPEX funds for greater investment in OPEX in order to grow one’s business.” With the increased security issues surveillance market is booming in the country Sudhindra Holla, Country Manager, Axis Communications India, reveals that surveillance-as-a-service (SaaS) will help it net the SMB or residential market that is still predominantly dominated by low-end analog manufacturers. “Over the next few years, we can anticipate high demand for cloud-based video surveillance that allows streaming the video and accommodates a storage device enabling increased user interface. Cloud based surveillance will also help vendors to get in the SMB and the residential market, which is still primarily dominated by analog and by lowend manufacturers,” he adds. Ultrabooks and smartphones, says Lenovo, will see burgeoning growth owing to the growth in cloud solutions and storage. “The cloud adoption will fuel the growth of tablets as these allow access to data anytime from anywhere. Further, tablets are becoming more promising as they offer longer
“ENTERPRISES THESE DAYS DEMAND INTEGRATION AND SERVICE CUSTOMIZATION, ENABLING THE HYBRID CLOUD MODEL TO MAKE INROADS GOING FORWARD.” ANKESH KUMAR, EMERSON NETWORK POWER’S DIRECTOR (CHANNEL PRODUCTS AND MARKETING
“HOWEVER, IN 2014, BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT WILL MOVE THE FOCUS BEYOND THE DEVICE AND TOWARDS BUILDING THE APPLICATIONS, BUSINESS PROCESS AND SERVICES.” FAISAL PAUL, DIRECTOR (EG MARKETING & SOLUTION ALLIANCES), HP INDIA
battery lives, affordable, connectivity through wi-fi, Bluetooth, etc and ultra-light. Smartphones will continue to see growth in 2014, fuelled by the growth in cloud services, low- cost options and multi-functionality that they offer,” informs Ashok Nair, Director (SMB), Lenovo India. In the imaging section Panasonic says multifunctional printers and projectors equipped with high precision digital imaging technologies are the most trending technologies in the SME sector. “Such products will continue to dominate this segment as they provide efficient, reliable, and environment friendly low-cost solutions to their printing and projection requirements,” points out Toru Hasegawa, Divisional MD, SSD, Panasonic.
Channel Roadmap 2014 As far as the channel strategy is concerned most vendors are not looking at bringing out more solutions into the market rather want to strengthen their relationship within channel community and deepen the presence geographically.
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“SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE FACEBOOK, TWITTER, LINKEDIN PLAYED SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN TRANSFORMING THE ENTERPRISES AND INDIVIDUALS. TODAY YOU CAN’T SELL OR BUY WITHOUT REFERRING TO THE SOCIAL MEDIA.” HARISH RAI, COUNTRY MANAGER, COMGUARD
Cyberoam’s focus is not limited to empowerment of existing channel, it also extends to forging ties with specialist partners who provide vertical specific solutions and represent demonstrable know-how in areas like virtualization, application firewall and are MSSPs. “With this plan in place we see deeper penetration of Cyberoam Security
Solutions in the Enterprise Vertical and increase our presence in the Tier II and Tier III cities in the country,” adds Sunil Sharma, VP (Sales and Operations – India & SAARC), Cyberoam. To further strengthening and developing its position as the market-leading supplier of network video solutions though channel partners is the goal of Axis. VMware is aggressively pursuing the virtualization opportunity in the SMB segment and recently created a SMB unit in India to drive its channelled go-to-market strategy and have added several new features to its partner rebate program. And in the next few months, it plans to ramp its channel strategy around software-defined data centers (SDDC) as it’s seeing good momentum around it. “In 2014, we will be strongly focussing on the government and defence sectors In India, and will be working closely with our System Integrator partners and OEM partners,” informs Ganesan Arumugam, Senior Director (Partners & SMB Sales-India & SAARC), VMware. NETGEAR plans to expand geographically and train partners to deliver its solutions to verticals like education, healthcare, hospitality, media, and also provide technically advanced solutions in surveillance, virtualisation, backup etc. “Mobile applications and mobile devices are the key areas where NETGEAR would be focusing on,” reveals Subhodeep Bhattacharya, Regional Director (India & SAARC), NETGEAR. “Our channel doesn’t want to focus on developing more solution inputs. We want to create various solution channel partners depending on our reach to customers and the clients that we serve.” Emerson is looking to developing an open channel of communication with its partners where there is a constant flow of ideas and feedback both ways. “In 2014, we will do regular city road shows showcasing Emerson Network
“WE ARE OBSERVING A LOT OF POTENTIAL AND DEMAND FOR OUR PRODUCTS COMING FROM THE MANY CLASS B & C CITIES OF INDIA. WE FURTHER WANT TO EXPAND OUR RESELLER BASE IN 2014.” SUBROTO DAS, DIRECTOR, INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA, WD
COVER STORY
Power’s new technologies and product launches, as well as educating the masses on complex technologies using simple graphics through our social channels,” says Kumar. With the opportunities that non-metros are providing, expanding in these cities is one of the key business strategies for the industry. In the past quarter WD says it travelled to more than 30 cities and towns in India and expects to continue the efforts in 2014. “We are observing a lot of potential and demand for our products coming from the many class B & C cities of India. We further want to expand our reseller base in 2014,” says Das. Quantum on the other hand is trying to give VARs and MSPs everything they need to compete in the growing online backup market with leading deduplication technology that is efficient, scalable and simple to implement. Lenovo will be heavily focusing on our SMB business this year, as this sector has a huge potential for technology adoption. “We will be driving the SMB business by closely partnering with our distributors, resellers and SI’s across the country. To this end, we have already started rolling out partner benefit programs to reach out to the SMB’s in India,” says Ashok Nair, Director (SMB) Lenovo India“the OEM eco-system’s interaction with value added resellers will be strengthened further, with better competitive IT offerings.” Rajesh Maurya, Country Manager SAARC, Fortinet, says, “The 2014 Channel Roadmap will unfold a new vision that proves Fortinet continues to evolve with its partners by maintaining a structured, best in-class channel ecosystem.” Panasonic is planning to focus more on marketing programmes; BTL activation to support secondary sales, the company is also looking at expanding its channel network, targeting to concentrate more on SI partners across the country and lastly reaching out to Tier 2 markets. For Kaspersky the emphasis in 2014 will be on securing multiple devices. “Furthermore next year’s market will also focus on two key concerns: Security of online financial transactions and Safe online behavior,” says Alexander Erofeev, Chief Marketing Officer, Kaspersky Lab.
Expectations Despite how dismal and disappointing that 2013 proved to be there is still marked optimism for what 2014 might bring in. Holla foresees a steady market growth globally and in India in 2014. “Government bodies, financial institutions & private organizations are also enhancing their budgets for video surveillances and network security. This in turn is driving the demand for video surveillance systems. In
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SME TECH TRENDS
“APPARENTLY ALL CUSTOMER AND COMPANY RELATED DATA IS MOVING TO THE CLOUD AND HENCE THE MANAGEMENT PART OF IT IS BECOMING THE TOP PRIORITY…THIS ALSO WIDENS THE MARKET FOR MANAGING THE DEVICES AND THE APPS/ APPLICATIONS.” PROMOTH KUMAR, DIRECTOR (GLOBAL SALES & CHANNEL), MANAGEENGINE
addition, the need to secure data in offices is also generating huge demand for video surveillance systems.” “With new buzzwords emerging such as Software Defined Datacenters, integrated backup appliances etc. we believe that 2014, will continue to see these new trends gaining momentum. As cloud based storage, backup and disaster recovery become commonplace, managing and protecting data will also be a focus area for enterprises and SMBs,” predicts Tarun Kaura, Director (Technology Sales, India and SAARC), Symantec. Cyberoam is expecting a market growth of 20%-25% in the next financial year. VMware saw a strong demand from the government and defence segments this year, and Arumugam says this will continue to be a focus area for them in the year ahead. NETGEAR’s Bhattacharya says they have set for themselves a very strong growth targets and the
quarterly business trends shows that it’s well on the way. Managing Director of NEC India Partho Dasgupta says, “Next year we will see a number of players investing in what we call a social infrastructure wherein we will see an active expansion through provision of solutions tailored to the advancement of social infrastructure. Innovative and transformation technologies around cloud, smart energy and NFC will see greater adoption.” With a multitude of offerings ranging from UPS to data center solutions, thermal management solutions to integrated cabinets, each of these markets are different but Emerson is quite positive about the growth next year. Nair predicts that the year will see improved investment in corporate growth initiatives across verticals. He further adds that with SMB’s getting ready to adopt tablets and smartphones for
“CLOUD BASED SURVEILLANCE WILL ALSO HELP VENDORS TO GET IN THE SMB AND THE RESIDENTIAL MARKET, WHICH IS STILL PRIMARILY DOMINATED BY ANALOG AND BY LOW-END MANUFACTURERS,” SUDHINDRA HOLLA, COUNTRY MANAGER, AXIS COMMUNICATIONS INDIA.
upping their USP’s and bettering the customer service, we are positive about the growth that we will achieve in the upcoming year. Further, non-metro cities will be the greatest adopter of technologies and we are expecting them to spend more on technologies such as smartphones which
TECH TRENDS 2014 Public Cloud: India public cloud services also continues to grow robustly and as per Gartner is on pace to grow 33.6 percent in 2013 to total $404 million. While SaaS still dominates in this segment IaaS and PaaS are also growing at a robust pace and are important markets to watch out for. Software Defined Network: VMware expects to see the move towards a software-defined datacenter accelerate in 2014. With IDC predicting a market of $2 billion for SDN-ready products by 2016, this is a trend that enterprise channels cannot afford to
miss says NEC. 3D Printers: As per Gartner shipments of 3D printers are expected to grow overall by the year 2014. “We see a huge development in 3D printing technology as it is a real, viable and cost-effective means to reduce costs through improved designs, streamlined prototyping and short-run manufacturing,” says Toru Hasegawa, Divisional MD (System Sales Division), Panasonic India. Backup/Disaster Recovery as a Service: In addition to the adoption of Backup/Disaster Recovery as a Service, Quantum is also expecting to see
continued focus on archiving. Cloud Storage: In 2014, Symantec believes that Cloud Storage will be seen as a more important requirement for SMBs to better manage their information. Internet of Things: According to Gartner report the Internet of Things installed base will grow to 26 billion units by 2020. However, Symantec issues a caveat that with millions of devices connected to the Internet—and in many cases running an embedded operating system—in 2014, they will become a magnet for hackers.
Personal Cloud: WD expects 2014 to further establish the concept of personal cloud. Changes in consumers’ lifestyles, work and home environments are leading them to demand access to data even outside of their work/ home environment. This is making the concept of personal cloud quite popular, it says. Software Defined Storage: To manage the data deluge Software-defined storage (SDS) has emerged to help in simplifying the storage infrastructure. “The concept of a scale-out, unified storage that delivers scale simultaneously in performance, capacity and
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“SMALLER BUSINESSES OFTEN PREFER NOT TO INVEST IN EXPENSIVE DATA CENTERS WHICH CONSUME CAPEX CASH. INSTEAD, A PAY AS YOU GO SERVICE MODEL IS MUCH MORE APPEALING” JIM SIMON, SENIOR DIRECTOR (MARKETING), QUANTUM ASIA-PACIFIC
“SMARTPHONES WILL CONTINUE TO SEE GROWTH IN 2014, FUELLED BY THE GROWTH IN CLOUD SERVICES, LOW- COST OPTIONS AND MULTIFUNCTIONALITY THAT THEY OFFER.” ASHOK NAIR, DIRECTOR (SMB), LENOVO INDIA
will enable them to stay connected with the world and keep a look out for business opportunities. “Along with this, the macroeconomic thaw in the US would also lead to a favourable rupee which will help us pass the benefits of the same to our customers, bringing growth for us as well,” he adds.
manageability to both SAN and NAS environments started making a difference, not only in the technical compute and scale-out NAS spaces, but also in the enterprise application arena,” says Santhos D’Souza, Director (Systems Engineering), NetApp Marketing & Services Pvt Ltd. IP Video Surveillance: Axis Communications says technologies like cloud based storage, virtualization, BYOD and video analytics are becoming a vital part of the surveillance set-up, which is moving beyond mere surveillance and is enabling companies to address
With its renewed focus on the B2B and B2G business Panasonic is aiming at doubling the contribution of B2B segment to Panasonic’s overall revenue by 2015 and will be introducing new product ranges in this segment mainly in the Energy Solutions (products for creating, storing and saving energy), security and surveillance systems and solutions and will also be looking at collaborating with Indian enterprises for the same. “For the smartphone and tablet markets, we believe that flash will continue to play a critical role in consumers being able to leverage smaller and lighter mobile devices with greater storage capacity. For the PC market, while overall unit numbers are decreasing, the percent of penetration of flash-based SSDs is rising, which we expect to continue. And, lastly, for the retail market, higher capacity solutions and forefront with storage solutions portend on-going strength globally,” says Rajesh Gupta, Country Manager India, SanDisk Corporation. Kirubakaran believes that will be buying Cloud based services, since they would not want to invest heavily in an expensive infrastructure. “The
strategic needs. It further adds that Cloud technologies and cloud based surveillance was a key driver for IP technology adoption in 2013. BYOD: Lenovo says SMEs will have a higher penetration of BYOD from a corporate mail and messaging standpoint by the end of 2014. This, along with the cost-effectiveness, will see BYOD increasing exponentially. The trend of Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) and Choose-Your-Own-Device (CYOD) also continues to gain momentum. “However, in 2014, business and government will move the focus beyond the device and
market would continue to evolve with industry embracing intelligent infrastructure that are secure and reliable.” Sunil J N V, Senior VP (Delivery), Aspire Systems, says, “Enterprises will continue to invest in migration to mobile apps & technology. Better user experience from traditional flash & flex based applications to HTML5, fluid & responsive applications. Traditional ERP based offerings will look to integrate social element in their packages tailored for specific industries.” “In 2014, we are likely to see organizations embrace technology designed to change the infrastructure economics and lay the foundation for the next 20 billion devices,” reports Rajiv Srivastava, President (PPS), HP India.
Finally… As we enter 2014 with optimism there will be no doubt that in terms of technology there will be spillover from this year. While the already established technologies will evolve further new ones will make itself more cleared and set the stage for new further developments.
towards building the applications, business process and services that realize the benefits to be gained from better customer and employee engagement,” says Faisal Paul, Director (EG Marketing & Solution Alliances), HP India. Hybrid Cloud: In the cloud arena enterprises became more receptive to hybrid cloud model says Emerson Network Power. “2013 saw Indian enterprises become much more receptive towards public cloud. Enterprises showed a lot of optimism which showed that they are ready for a hybrid cloud model. Enterprises these days demand integra-
tion and service customization, enabling the hybrid cloud model to make inroads going forward,” adds Emerson Network Power’s Director (channel Products and Marketing) Ankesh Kumar. Social Media: Social media has also started playing a major role in ones business strategy and are transforming the way business is conducted today. “Social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn played significant role in transforming the enterprises and individuals. Today you can’t sell or buy without referring to the social media,” answers Harish Rai, Country Manager, Comguard.
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FEATURE
PC PERIPHERALS MARKET
WHITHER PC PERIPHERALS MARKET While it seems the PC peripherals market has taken a back seat with the declining PC market but certain factors are contributing to its growth. BY APARAJITA CHOUDHURY aparajita@smechannels.com
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T
FEATURE
he PC Peripherals market is going through a transition. From the traditional mouse, keyboards, speakers etc. the market is metamorphosing developing smart featured products keeping up with the changing technological landscape. TechNavio’s analysts forecast the Global PC Peripherals market to grow at a CAGR of 8 percent over the period 2011-2015. And the main factor contributing to this growth is attributed to the growing disposable income in the developing countries. Though the growth in this market witnessing uncertainty but seems to be experiencing an upswing with the double digit growth in laptops. According to Sushmita Das, VP (Business), Kobian monthly trade reports show a steady growth in the PC peripherals and components market. By 2015 it is expected to reach Rs. 44.5 billion informs Rajesh Doshi, Co-founder and Director (Purchase & Marketing), Top Notch Infotronix (Zebronics). According to neoteric, compared to 2011-12, there has been an approximately 20% decline in display, speaker, DVD, writers, keyboard and mice. At the same time, there has been an increase in high-end products. The high-end display, speakers, the cordless segment has witnessed a jump as against the entry-level. Doshi maintains, “As far as PC market is concerned, growth cannot be termed as high, it’s very much moderate. The main fuel in this growth is due to tier B and tier C cities. We are focusing on these markets be it sales or service.”
While the worldwide PC sale is declining, India is still an un-penetrated market and hence the market for the peripherals is still there unlike the developed countries. This coupled with the fact that the increasing installed PC base, higher connect ratio of PC peripherals because of their usage with desktops, laptops, AIOs and tablets, increasing disposable income, replacement of the obsolete peripherals and the in increasing demand in the B and C class cites unlike the metros still hold hopes of growth for this market. In addition, the ambitious ICT-driven projects by the government are also furthering the cause of peripherals market. While the B and C class towns are contributing more on the low-end product lines the major metros contribute on high-end solutions. The high-end categories comprise of user-customizable, performance PCs, high-end graphics, monitors, memory, hard discs etc. While the acceptance and growth are more in A class cities but with the prices getting more affordable, it is gaining acceptance in B and C cities class as well. Vikas Gupta, CEO and Founder, TAG, says, “India PC peripheral market is seeing a steady growth. In addition, the trend of increasing PC purchase in households, smaller towns and cities as witnessed over the last few quarters continues to be steadfast.” He further explains, “In the present times consumers look at a product in totality and the buying decision is not just based on its pricing. Technological advances, exposure and education levels have contributed dramatically to this
“In addition, the trend of increased PC purchase in households, smaller towns and cities as witnessed over the last few quarters continues to be steadfast.”
“PC peripherals and accessories for desktop market are rapidly changing as the concept of PC is changing in today’s market.”
VIKAS GUPTA, CEO AND FOUNDER, TAG
SUSHMITA DAS, VP (BUSINESS), KOBIAN
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“Indian peripherals market is not very stable for past few months because of fluctuating dollar. Even with instability, the peripheral market is showing a decent growth.” RAJESH DOSHI, CO-FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR (PURCHASE & MARKETING), TOP NOTCH INFOTRONIX (ZEBRONICS)
change as consumers want to buy the latest product on the spot.” Zebronics revamped its speaker line up in 2010 and acquired a good market share in this category. Its emphasis is more on the quality and customization of speakers to suit Indian market and consumers. Doshi maintains, “The growth in the speaker is good, more than PC peripheral because speakers can be used with many other devices like tablets, mobiles phones, TV and more. We have seen a steady growth of 30%-35% in this segment in the last three years.” Das adds, “PC peripherals and accessories for desktop market are rapidly changing as the concept of PC is changing in today’s market. With the changing desktop consumption, and growth of mobile computing though tablets, the peripherals and components are also changing accordingly.” With the market moving towards mobility peripherals vendors predict there will be a major leap in this segment too. Das of Kobian says, “With the growth in mobility devices, Mercury expects a big leap in the peripheral product line too.” Sunil Khetan, Deputy GM, neoteric infomatique ltd., says, “The overall market is slowly moving towards mobility. Accordingly, the peripherals market is also heading towards the same. With the upsurge of mobility, the traditional peripherals market has also slowed down.
“With the upsurge of mobility, the traditional peripherals market has also slowed down. A flat growth has been projected YOY on the peripherals side.”
“We have seen growth of over 100% in last 2 years for these products.” ATUL GUPTA, MD, RX INFOTECH
SUNIL KHETAN, DEPUTY GM, NEOTERIC INFOMATIQUE LTD
A flat growth has been projected y-o-y on the peripherals side.” TAG’s Gupta believes that the sustainable growth of personal computers in the country drives the PC peripherals market in India. As compared to previous days, the market in India is now more mature and competitive because consumers have become more informed and aware about products and technology. A couple of innovations that the PC peripherals market is witnessing comprises of in-built Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in all peripherals, speakers coming up with FM Radio, USB and SD/MMC. Doshi says, “We have been studying the market and the competition, our decisions are also influenced by the consumer and channel feedbacks. There are many new innovations in the products. We are also going to launch a speaker with NFC support. We have launched a headphone which can simulate 7.1 channel surround sound. Few years before these products were not much accepted in the market but now there is a demand for them.”
Challenges The challenges faced by this market are uncertain global economy stifle, dollar fluctuation, emerging of new brands, high competition, price factor, after sales support, new technology, current GDP, major shift from desktop to notebooks, shift
towards mobility, changes in technology trends and market reach. Besides, the customers are now demanding aesthetically good looking, affordable and feature rich products. Slow down in the market is affecting a lot of small dealers and this in turn affects the entire eco system of channel business and also the credit lines. The fluctuating dollar has hit this market due to which it has become unstable reveals Doshi. “Indian peripherals market is not very stable for past few months because of fluctuating dollar. Now when the rupee looks like stabilized, it is at a very high rate which in turn increased our costing. Even with instability, the peripheral market is showing a decent growth. PC peripherals are here to stay; we have a good range of PC peripheral product under Zebronics and launching new products regularly in this segment. A good portion of PC peripherals market is for the PCs already sold.” Another key challenge for this market is posed by the smart handheld devices like smartphones and tablets which is, as it is, cannibalizing the PC market. Atul Gupta, MD, RX Infotech, says, “Although we see smart phones and tablets are taking most of the consumers spend compared to the laptops or PC, we still feel that laptop market will continue to grow in India. And laptops or PCs have still not penetrated in masses as compared
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PC PERIPHERALS MARKET
to smart phones. And with improvement in literacy rate and with the availability of 3G networks across the country, we are confident that laptop market will grow in days to come.” “There are also many companies that are going through knee-jerk decisions and entering in multiple ranges of products without knowing their strengths. Handling of goods in wrong manner, multiple and instable taxation policy by government, etc are hurting businesses,” adds Gupta of TAG.
GTM Strategy Going forward, as part of its strategy TAG wants to introduce new products to offer value proposition to its customers and partners. The products will encompass lifestyle products, affordable mid¬segment niche products, mobile accessories, high-end SMPS and enclosures. Gupta maintains, “We organize three to four road shows per quarter, channel and dealer meets, training events and seminars on the latest products and its associated technologies to get better sales results.” RX Infotech aims to reach out to maximum partners across the territory where they operate which the company claims is their competitive advantage. Besides, the company will have differ-
ent channel strategy this year wherein they intend to get volume partners for specific products in order to reach out to maximum people in the market. Khetan says, “Our go-to- market strategy would be more inclined towards promoting building blocks of performance PCs as against selling the basic ones. Since notebooks have majorly replaced the desktop market, our business has been shifting towards gaming and high-end, performance PC solutions.” Channel support is very important for any organization, without no company can survive even with the right product portfolio. The channel strategy of neoteric for this year will be to focus on selling a range or basket and packaging it as a complete solution rather than emphasizing on box selling. Moreover the company will identify segments and partners, run specific schemes, road shows, education EDMs, knowledge-aid programs etc and leverage the benefits of upselling. Zebronics claims to have a very strong channel team with the right channel strategy on the market situation in order to ensure channel partners’ satisfaction. Doshi adds, “Channel satisfaction is our priority though there is endless scope for improvement and we aspire to improve.
FEATURE
We regularly appoint new partners as the market demands and with increased focus on products like speakers, we would be further expanding the network in electronics markets, we have covered a lot of ground in last one year. We have also launched Zeb Blast scheme for channel partners.” Zebronics’ strategy revolves around one factor only that is value for money products. With 30 branches and 100 service centers across India, Zebronics says it has a strong reach in the market. In terms of revenue, Zebronics expects to grow 30-35% this year whereas RX Infotech plans to cross 200cr this financial year which is a growth of 100% over FY 2011-12.
Finally, The form factors of the key components like the motherboard PCB, the memory and storage has changed in the last three years. When it comes to accessories like speakers, keyboard, mouse and additional display, the emphasis is more on design and thickness of the products because the consumers want to get the latest technology. So, the growth of PC peripherals market depends on factors like changes technology trends, mature market, shift towards mobile computing and buying behavior of consumers.
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PARTNER CORNER
INFLOW
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS A PASSION An electronics and communication engineer, Byju Pillai, President and CEO, Inflow Technologies started the company with only seven vendors but today this has grown to 41 vendors in security, information security, networking and AIDC BY APARAJITA CHOUDHURY aparajita@smechannels.com
Over After completing engineering in electronics and communication from Chennai, Byju Pillai, President and CEO, Inflow Technologies started his career in HCL and then shifted to Godrej where he looked after the channel business. After Godrej he moved to PowerTel Boca Limited and worked there as GM (Sales and Marketing). However, the bug to start something on his own was already there and armed with the extensive experience, gained from working in different organizations, Pillai ventured into entrepreneurship and started Select Technologies in 2000 which was into information security space. In November 2002, the company got acquired by WeP Peripherals (erstwhile Wipro ePeripherals Ltd.) and Pillai remained with the company as a President till 2005. But as they say an entrepreneur is always an entrepreneur; after this acquisition, Pillai founded yet another company in 2005 and this was Inflow Technologies with an investment of half a billion dollars. He started with seven vendors and 60 channel partners, and in 2005 the revenue earned was about Rs. 60 crores which in 2006-2007 moved up to Rs. 100 crores. Today, the company boasts of 650 channel partners and 41 vendors in security, information security, networking and AIDC. With presence in 16 locations spread across India—Bangalore, Chennai, Pondicherry, Cochin, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Noida, Delhi, Calcutta, Colombo, Bangladesh, Patna, etc.—Inflow can invoice in different locations. Besides the company can also bill in locations where they have their warehouses (as in India one do not need to pay goods and service tax but only local taxes). The company has its sales people only in nine locations whereas the total headcount of the company is 165.
Moreover, in March 2013, Inflow acquired Westcon Group which earlier had 50% stake in the company. With this acquisition, Westcon India business line came under Inflow Technologies and became a single entity, now Westcon India’s name has been changed to Inflow Technologies. When asked about the challenges the company faced in 2005 Pillai says, “At that point of time the challenges were working capital, fixing with the banks, signing to vendors, going to channel partners and convince them to buy products from by demonstrating our value additions, so building a team was a challenge.” Apart from having vendors in security and networking domain, Inflow Technologies built profitable services business. Besides, the company operates on ‘Technology Enabler’ business model which provides comprehensive solutions using technologies from different vendors. Because Inflow Technologies believes that one vendor with one technology cannot solve the customers’ problem, for example in security there are network firewall, application firewall, web security, end point security, etc. Pillai avers, “There are so many technologies and vendors, so it is our responsibility to train and explain the channel partners so that they can go and talk to the end customers. Besides we also enable the channel partners to go to the end customers and do POCs or a demo. So that is how the technology is known to the customers.” When it comes to train the channel partners, it is not only the vendors who take the whole responsibility because they have a very restricted number of people, so Inflow Technologies acts as an extension of the vendors in order to train the channel partners. With the help of three training centers in Bangalore, Inflow technologies do trainings in Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and other
BYJU PILLAI, PRESIDENT AND CEO, INFLOW TECHNOLOGIES
“WE CHOOSE CHANNEL PARTNERS BASED ON THE CREDIT CAPABILITY AND TECHNICAL CAPABILITY.” parts of India. Pillai maintains, “We choose channel partners based on the credit capability and technical capability. We categorize 650 channel partners by the areas we operate but sometimes there are overlapping too. We broadly categorize 650 channel partners into global system integrators, global service providers, GSI, GSP, national telecom service provider, national system integrators, large resellers, mid-tier resellers and small resellers.”
Finally Being a Rs. 425 crores company, Inflow Technologies expects to reach 470 crores in 2014. Moreover the company intends to align with more vendors in the space of security and networking. Apart from this, the company aims to strengthen its presence in physical security domain and have already signed with HID Global as a part of its strategy.
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ASTTECS
SME SOLUTION
FROM PROPRIETARY SOLUTIONS TO OPEN SOURCE SOLUTIONS astTECS offers comprehensive, integrated and compelling telecom infrastructure solution based on Asterisk platform to simplify the communications process and support the next-generation communications BY APARAJITA CHOUDHARY aparajita@smechannels.com
O
ver a period of time, IP telephony has gained huge significance as it offers a wide variety of intelligent applications that can be customized to suit the organizations’ requirement and simplifies management. Its adoption among the SMEs is also increasing in a big way. astTECS, provider of enterprise telecom technology products and Asterisk based open source communication solution strengthens the brand equity with offices spread over all the major towns and cities. The company’s channel strategy and customer loyalty initiatives is helping them expand business across key verticals like BFSI, IT/ITES, government, hospitality, manufacturing, retails, etc. across India and at various global locations. Devasia Kurian, MD, astTECS, says, “We see that the market is evolving from proprietary solution to Open Source (Asterisk) solutions designed to support next-generation communications. SIP-powered telephony is paving the way, since it offers organizations cost savings, streamlined operations, and feature-rich communications. This is enabling users to engage in integrated communication anywhere and anytime - regardless of the network infrastructure deployed.” He further adds, “The industry, mainly the SMEs are increasingly consolidating their communications infrastructure and looking at integrated solutions that are affordable, scalable and offer quick ROI.” astTECS, he adds, offers comprehensive, integrated and compelling telecom infrastructure solution based on Asterisk platform that helps improve consistency, performance and creates a scalable, stable and flexible network. Under the Asterisk platform, the company offers IP PBX, mini IP PBX, video conference system, call center
dialer, voice logger, IVR system and GSM gateway. But Kurian informs that among all the products and solutions, IP PBX, Call Centre dialer, video conferencing solutions, IVR system, mini IP PBX and voice logger are top-line offerings. Though astTECS caters to both the small and medium call centre operations to large enterprise wide applications, it’s SMEs which constitutes a large market segment for them. Kurian explains that the company offers SMEs customized solutions to help them respond to growing business opportunities and broaden their capabilities and help SMEs reduce TCO. In order to strengthen its service support, astTECS established 24/7 global support management center (GSMC) in India that caters to 22 countries. With the availability of service centers across the country, the company offers technical assistance and customer support to fulfill warranty and provide hands on training to partners and customers. Now-a-days having a strong product portfolio is not enough, it is important to have strong distribution model as well. And astTECS distributes its products and services through multiple channel partners and resellers based out of Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Cochin, Kolkata, Coimbatore and Ahmedabad. The company conducts regular training sessions and comprehensive education programme for channel partners to empower them about Asterisk Technology. Through astTECS academy, the company provides comprehensive training programme on Asterisk solution to Asterisk user, customers and organizations in India and many countries across the globe. astTECS want its channel partners to be more specialized and aggressive with a focus on IP Telephony and Open source enterprise communi-
DEVASIA KURIAN, MD, ASTTECS
“SIP-POWERED TELEPHONY IS PAVING THE WAY, SINCE IT OFFERS ORGANIZATIONS COST SAVINGS, STREAMLINED OPERATIONS, AND FEATURE-RICH COMMUNICATIONS.” cation to address customers requirement. Kurian avers, “We constantly analyze and assess the market and adapt a channel strategy that is appropriate in the current condition. We are engaged with partners and they are aggressive with strong reach and customer focused. They fit well in our target verticals that we are keen to address, this way our alliance is successful and we have been gaining market share consistently.”
Finally astTECs will invest in R&D to address specific verticals and create an ecosystem of Open Source Asterisk based telephony solutions. The Company is witnessing a robust growth rate of (in terms of revenues) 150%-200% year-on-year. Besides, the company will continue to focus on both large and mid market enterprises to make the network stronger.
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SME TREND
TATA TELESERVICES
TO GROW 20% IN SME MARKET
Tata Docomo as a brand largely stands for mobile business but 30% of its revenues come from non-mobility services BY: KARMA NEGI
karma@smechannels.com
T
elecom groups are increasingly turning towards SMEs as drivers of growth. According to forecasts by Analysys Mason, worldwide revenue from SMEs for ICT will jump from $203 billion in 2012 to $226 billion by 2017. It further adds that while the vast majority of the ICT spend is on traditional communications services like mobile voice, fixed-line and broadband, the growth for telcos is in cloud services. While telco like Vadafone is getting aggressive on this segment, SME is also beckoning Tata Teleservices which provides services under the Tata Docomo brand. “Against the industry growth of 9% in SME we grew roughly around 15% and this year we are expecting to grow further 20% in SMEs,” informs Prateek Pashine, President (SME Business), Tata Teleservices Limited. Other than mobility there are two other businesses which focuses on small and medium enterprise and large enterprise and Pashine looks after the small and medium enterprise. Prateek has been with the Tata Group for the last 18 years and runs the SME business of Tata Teleservices but goes to the market as Tata Docomo. He has spent a decade with Tata Communications (erstwhile VSNL) and has been with Tata Teleservices for over a year handling the SME business. Earlier he used to run the Tata Communication services for SMBs as well. As some of the products and services of Tata Communication and Tata
Teleservices are complementary to each other this created confusion among the customers. “Hence we are trying to get a single front face to the customers and take both Tata Teleservices products and Tata Communication products and services to the customers and meet their requirements irrespective of who the eventual product owner is. This is what we have been doing over the last one year,” elucidates Pashine. Tata Docomo as a brand largely stands for mobile business and it’s an unknown fact that 30% of its revenues come from its non-mobility services. “Tata Docomo is more than mobile,” he emphasizes. When it comes to demarcating an SME Tata Teleservices takes employee size as a way of segmenting its customers and define greater than 500 employee organisations as large enterprise business. And when it comes to the number of such companies existing in the country he infers that between 5000 to 10000 companies in India have employee size more than 500. “Less than 500 but more than 10 are a million,” Pashine says, “or 10 lakh. This is our definition of a SME business. We cater to companies which are 10 lakh in number with employee size vary anywhere between 10 to 500.” “And these 10 lakh companies spend roughly around Rs. 10,500 crore in products and services that we cater to,” he adds. Products that Tata Teleservices offer can be broadly classified into five categories:
First is wireless voice: GSM or CDMA mobile connection. This is one big segment that the telco caters to. Second is wireless data. Third is wireline voice. Fourth wireline data which could be a broadband connection and the fifth segment is managed services through which it’s getting into the IT domain. Pashine explains the IT part that they are getting into, “What is typically construed as an IT product or a service is what we cater to. For example, lot of people to prevent threat of viruses put a firewall so they buy firewall equipments and connect it with their networks so as to protect themselves from viruses or other attacks. The same thing could be delivered in a network managed form by telecom operator. So, firewall which was hardware gets translated into firewall-as-aservice that we deliver so that the enterprises can save themselves from the threat of cyber attacks.” He further explains, “Companies which want to put say a SAP or an ERP in their own data centers we tell them that they can host it with us and we can take care of all the infrastructure requirements and that becomes a managed service of data hosting services.” He says the managed services is growing by 25%-30%. Pashine declares that they offer products and services across all these five categories which add up to Rs 10,500 crores market which is growing roughly at 8%-9% on an annual basis. “Today, we are by far the single largest product portfolio telecom operator. Others don’t have the
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TATA TELESERVICES
width and the breadth of product and services that we offer,” announces Pashine. These five product categories constitute roughly 30% of Tata Teleservices’ revenues and this is what it takes to the market for its small and medium enterprise customers. Giving a break-up of this Rs. 10,500 crore market, wireline voice bags the major chunk with Rs. 3,500 crores, wireline data is Rs. 2,500 crores, mobile voice is 3,200 crores market which means the GSM/CDMA mobile connection, mobile data is Rs. 300-400 crores and managed services is roughly Rs. 1,000 crores. However, he clarifies that if one is working in an SME but carries his own dongle is counted as a retail customer. But if it’s a company procured dongle given to employees then it would get considered in the mobile data. It’s common knowledge that wireline is degrowing in terms of subscribers but Pashine maintains that they are in fact growing its subscriber base month-on-month. “While the growth rate for wireline is 1% but for us it’s roughly around 14%.
PRATEEK PASHINE, PRESIDENT (SME BUSINESS), TATA TELESERVICES LIMITED.
“WE ARE GROWING MUCH FASTER THAN THE INDUSTRY GROWTH. I WOULD BE REASONABLY ACCURATE TO SAY THAT I AM THE LARGEST SME TELECOM OPERATOR IN THE COUNTRY. THE MARKET IS UNDERPENETRATED. WE TRULY BELIEVE TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP SMES GROW.”
SME TREND
16% is what our revenue growth is on a yearly basis in this category.” Tata Teleservices growth in mobile voice is growing at 9% which is the industry growth too. And in Fixed data Pashine says they are the leaders. Unlike others who follow the finders’ fee model Pashine rubbishes such model and says that “such model doesn’t work”. For the last 10 years the channel partner model they have been running is called lifecycle channel management model which means the channel partner doesn’t get any finders’ fee but gets commission based on the total revenue generated month-on-month. “This increases our reach and gives SMEs that engagement model.” He further adds that 70% of its business comes from repeat business. While he agrees that churn too happens but says is a mere 2%-2.5%. This he attributes to two factors: either the customer gets a good price point from somebody else or, which forms the significant chunk of that churn, is the company going out of business. The telco operates the SME business in nine regions covering all the 22 telecom circles. One of the biggest regions is Delhi NCR region. Roughly about 10%-11% of SMEs are in the Delhi region informs Pashine. While 16% of Rs. 10,500 crore revenue comes from Delhi NCR region, Mumbai is the largest SME market in terms of spend which stands at 17%-18%. “We are growing much faster than the industry growth. I would be reasonably accurate to say that I am the largest SME telecom operator in the country. The market is underpenetrated. We truly believe technology can help SMEs grow. Today we hear of the social impact telecom has brought to the country growth in GDP, impact to peoples lifestyle, I think tech can truly enable one SME,” says Pashine. Apart from being operational in about 35 cities where the bulk of the business happens it has 1,250 channel partners. “Our channel partners are the tier 2 system integrators who do integration of ERP solution. I have one kind of channel partner who has three or four principal relationship,” answers Pashine.
Finally As Tata Docomo bets big on the SME space preparation are afoot to increase its footprint, get into new cities and identify new channel partners. “We need channels to do more. We still need our sales guys to close the deal if it’s getting a complex one, transfer skill sets and knowledge to the partners, identify new cities and channel partners, and all these are under preparation,” concludes Pashine.
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SME CHAT
J N MYLARAIAH, MD, ADC INDIA COMMUNICATIONS LTD.
“…GROW OUR BUSINESS IN FY14 IN DOUBLE DIGIT” ADC India Communications recently named JN Mylaraiah as the managing director of the company. SME Channels spoke to him about his new responsibilities and the vision for ADC.
Having taken over as the MD of ADC what will be your responsibilities and course of action for the company? Being a full time executive of ADC, a public listed company, the most important thing today for the Organization is to formulate and successfully implement strategy towards the profitable growth and operation of the company with longterm objectives and priorities established by the board by building and maintaining an effective executive team. I assume full accountability to the board for all company operations & also represent the company to customers / distributors & system integrators What are the plans for the company? Build an effective team to deliver extraordinary customer experience by being aggressive in the market place with utilization of ADC brand identity & business expansion. Will also divert our attention towards profitable growth, better returns to all the stake holders and revival of ADC as a strong brand in the market. How do you plan to strengthen your India position? ADC has been manufacturing telecom products for more than a decade now and would continue to focus more on that in order to increase availability and make it more price-competitive.
We are aiming to grow our business in FY 14 in double digit and to drive ADC products; the company is leveraging the RD model. For every state, ADC is appointing RDs and has so far signed up seven RDs and more are to join in a short time. Which verticals do you plan to focus aggressively? From its high end technology and innovation products, Krone from ADC has been very strong brand in telecom/govt/BFSI/B&E/FTTX/enterprise customers, which we would continue to leverage and also focus on SMB and mid-market segment which is growing at the moment. Do you have plans to expand geographically? Yes, we do have geographical expansion plans, which is one of the core focus and towards that we have already started appointing RDs/resellers and also direct ADC Sales executive presence. What new products and services you plan to bring out in the coming months? We have some new products launches in pipe line on which I would like to speak once it’s completely ready; w.r.t Services we do have a complete focused product management team in place which works on an online portal and make sure that the products are installed as per the standard guidelines with high quality work.
What are the opportunities for your channel partners here? The channel partner community in India and other SAARC countries is extremely vibrant and growing at a rapid pace. My focus is to build and maintain relationships with our partners, regain the brand loyalty and engagement with them. Our partners are an integral part of our success. What are your plans for them? Training on the latest technology trends is the key development activity, where we are going to continue the focus & followed by channel partner programs, partner listing on the ADC website, marketing materials, special discounts for premium partners, distribution of customer leads to partners, assigned sales/pre-sales support contact. What will be your GTM for the coming year? We have the best three national distributors on Board (Redington, HCL Digilife & Compuage), where each one of them has offices/ware houses in more than 30 locations across the country. With their wide spread network and appointment of RDs in each state and expansion of the channel partner network to meet the end customers, where ADC provides the complete technical support to channel partners/end customers would bring a win-win situation to ADC, partners and customers.
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SME CHAT
MUKESH KUMAR.S, MANAGING PARTNER, TRAVANCORE TELECOMS, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
“SOON IP IS GOING TO PLAY A BIG ROLE...” Incepted in 2009 Thiruvananthapuram based Travancore Telecoms has been witnessing a robust growth of 30% every year. Speaking to SME Channels managing partner of the company Mukesh Kumar.S reveals his aim to be a player in catering to the needs of the SME segment.
of products we aim to be a player in catering to the needs of the SME segment. What kind of telecom solutions you have? We have large number of hotel and hospital clients. So we mainly concentrate on these customers and provide them with excellent hospitality communication solutions. For IT customers we offer our IP/ISDN products, VoIP, ISDN, GSM Gateways to meet their exact requirements. Mainly we give Matrix product solutions to all our existing and targeted customers.
Brief us about your company? Travancore Telecoms was established in 2009 by two key partners Mr Mukesh and Mr Sangeeth, having an expertise of 13 years of technical and marketing experience in Matrix Telecom products. The company focuses on four areas: telecom, surveillance, and LCD digital appliances. Right from our initiation we have been leading in EPABX market in Kerala.
cally trained team of engineers. We have a strong team of engineers who maintain our after sales support. We also have an experienced marketing team that tactfully targets right customers with the right product.
What is your turnover and growth percentage? After joining hands with Matrix, our turnover has been increasing with a growth of 30% each year.
What kind of solutions and products are you dealing in? We deal in wide range of products that meet customer’s requirements of communication and surveillance needs in the SME segment. Through Matrix IP, VoIP, ISDN products, Gateways, Soho, we are able to give exact solutions in communication to our customers.
What is your strength in terms of market reach and others? Our strength is mainly in providing solutions to the customers with a well equipped and techni-
How do you find telecom market in India? Soon IP is going to play a big role in voice communication systems. With the help of Matrix IP range
How do you find Matrix products in terms of its advantages vis-àvis other brands? Matrix is “substance” brand. Substance is in the DNA of Matrix solutions. Substance in the form of technology, depth, genuineness and going beyond the mere outer façade and offer more values in all the areas. This is what differentiates Matrix from the lot. Matrix solutions are packed with “more”: more productivity, more applications, more flexibility, more functions, more features, more cost saving, more reliability, and more support. Matrix positioning is based on offering more of these true inherent values which customers expect from infrastructure solutions. As a partner what kind of products you want to add this year? We want to strengthen our existing product portfolio this year. We are also considering offering services of recycling electronic waste.
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SME CHAT
JAYBALAN VELAYUDHAN, DIRECTOR STRATEGY & BUSINESS DEV (IT BUSINESS INDIA), APC
“IT AND CLOUD ADOPTION TO DRIVE SMB UPS MARKET” IT/ITeS and government computerization initiatives are leading to a growth for UPS market in Tier II and III cities. Jaybalan Velayudhan, Director Strategy & Business Development (IT Business India), APC, talks to SME Channels about the opportunities in the SMB market.
What is your assessment of the Indian UPS market? According to Frost and Sullivan Report, the India UPS market was worth $528.5 million in 2010-11 and estimates to reach $828.2 million by 2017-18. Data centres’ popularity has raised the profile of cloud computing in Asia. Following this development, governments have been eager to adopt cloud computing to accelerate economic development, which, in turn, has accelerated the uptake of UPS systems. Several public and private companies are included in governments’ programmes to convert all government agencies’ computing systems to a public cloud system, creating a cast market for UPS devices. End users will also look to adopt UPS systems once companies provide better product services. Participants can gain a competitive advantage by offering a combination of a warranty on efficiency, aftersales service, 24/7 customer service and spare parts. The mining, manufacturing and power utility industries will be the biggest contributors to market revenues. The introduction of smart grids all over the region is also creating considerable opportunities for the UPS market, as these grids require constant monitoring, intelligent control and communication. How big this market is for the SMEs/SMBs and what growth is it witnessing? The penetration of the IT/ITeS sector in tier 2 and
tier 3 cities and the computerization initiatives of the Government in various departments are leading to a growth for UPS market in Tier II and III cities. With anticipated growth in small towns in terms of geographical expansion we expect a lot of consumers/customers to focus on Remote management in the coming times in the 8- to –40 Kva space. Currently, we are present in app. 450+ cities, via our consumer/commercial product offering. Our target is to touch-base 550 – 600 cities by the end of this year, and we have specific geo expansion programs in place. The challenges related to customer service and reach are addressed by our Services team and we are fully equipped to take the plunge into the next 100-150 cities within India to establish a strong footprint there, with the support of our channel partners. We are also offering Remote management solutions as a part of our standard product offering, which is again unique to the industry. As per our estimates, we should be growing in double digits in both the IT/ITES, and Government verticals. We have also signed up some key contracts like the DGS&D rate contract for the online segment upto 6 kva, which should give us good volumes in the referrals orders opportunity available. What is the biggest challenge that this market is facing? The major challenges faced by UPS suppliers are that the market is highly competitive and fragmented with both multinational and Indian
players competing for the space and the mounting raw material price due to rising dollar price. The low end of the market is especially fragmented primarily owing to the low entry barriers. In our estimate, there are more than 500 brands of entry level UPS systems, currently operating in India, and in such a diverse and vast market we are very proud to be the market leaders. According to Frost and Sullivan, the competitiveness in the market is intensifying, with barriers to the entry of new participants, especially in the up to 20kVA power range, becoming lower. The biggest challenge faced by UPS manufacturers will be cheap imports from China and Taiwan as well as rising raw material prices. If you see, lot of local players shut down their operations in the 600 VA segment every year, since it is an easy category to enter, but a tough category to sustain in and live up to the customer’s expectation in terms of reliability, availability and service. What role is cloud and virtualisation playing in the growth of UPS? Cloud computing technology will not replace but boost total requirement of UPS power. Cloud operations such as outsourcing applications, information hosting, and associated storing and updating of duplicate data to provide virtual redundancy, will increase Internet traffic and therefore will require UPS protection. The sheer amount of data processed by cloud computing servers including the continuous
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center—small and medium, large data center) and then by the product portfolio (power and power distribution, racks and enclosures, security and environmental, management, cooling). We believe in extensive partner training as they are our key touch points with the customers. Customers have multiple options to choose from and are very prudent about their purchases. This makes it increasingly important for the channels to build a customer relationship and ensure satisfied customers by making both the pre- and postsales experience enriching. What is the ratio of your business from SMEs? Around 20-25 % business comes from SME/SMB segment.
“AS PER OUR ESTIMATES, WE SHOULD BE GROWING IN DOUBLE DIGITS IN BOTH THE IT/ITES, AND GOVERNMENT VERTICALS.”
introduction of newer applications in the market are leading to the need for better UPS systems. Any server operation needs power and its requirement will grow when more information is processed and transmitted. Cloud computing technology will however change significantly current UPS market structure, affecting products, vendors and users. Main growth of UPS power is expected in hosting and application providing services, where large Data Centers, which process high quantities of data, will be required to supply the growing needs of numerous consumers looking for cloud computer services. What factors are impacting the growth of India UPS market? There are two key trends impacting UPS growth, one is the increased IT adoption in SME/SMBs to drive efficiency and productivity and secondly adopting cloud which enables SME/SMB a wider application portfolio for their businesses. Increased IT adoption helps PC and Server growth which in turn is a driver for UPS growth. In India, this segment contributes to nearly 40%45% of the UPS market.
As SME/SMBs adopt cloud, the IT infrastructure is moving offsite. What is left onsite is considerably reduced and thus the higher KVA range of UPS may not be a requirement. Lower KVA upto 20KVA should be sufficient to support such needs. What are the market opportunities for channel partners in this market? YSchneider Electric IT Business’s focus is to enhance channel relationships across the length and breadth of India. We are empowering our channel by giving them a wide and reliable product portfolio, comprehensive training, innovative incentive programs, and timely post-sales service backup. Currently, Schneider Electric IT Business has engaged 8000+ channel partners across the country, with an increased penetration in B- and C-class cities. Our global channel landscape program identifies the strengths of its partners and aligns their capabilities with the customer needs. At the company, partners are classified by the business environment (home, SOHO/business networks—wiring closet, server room/data
What all strategy and products you have outlined for SMEs in the UPS market? Our managed channel partners address –Global, Named, Mid-market and Small & Medium enterprise which constitutes 70% of India business. We have deployed a systematic channel landscape program which covers IT Resellers, System integrators, ET SI’s. Power solution partners focusing on UPS <20KVA are categorized into Registered, Select & Premier partners. We currently have a base of more than 6000+ partners of whom nearly 2000 partners buy every quarter. Elite partners are categorized into High Power Partners, Elite Data Center partners and Secure Power Partners. High Power and Secure Power partners numbering around 35 partners are focused on 3ph power solutions. Elite Data center partners around 40 odd partners are SI’s who do Data Center biz. We have a clear ambitious growth plans over the next five years based on leveraging our strong channel for growing home & business network biz, winning in the DC space, leadership position in the secure power in industry and infrastructure. As partners are integral part of our growth story we want to ensure enablement & participation of all our partners. Going forward, what is the outlook for SMB UPS market? As said earlier, the outlook for UPS in this segment will be driven by IT adoption and cloud adoption. SOHO/SMEs/SMBs which are the major end users of the less-than-1kVA range UPS, are gradually shifting from stand-alone UPS to small and centralized UPS systems thus moving to the 1-5kVA and 5.1-10kVA ranges. This range will grow well. The PC degrowth will impact the Line interactive UPS growth.
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SME CHAT
JAYBALAN VELAYUDHAN, DIRECTOR STRATEGY & BUSINESS DEV SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC IT BUSINESS INDIA
“IT AND CLOUD ADOPTION TO DRIVE SMB UPS MARKET” IT/ITeS and government computerization initiatives are leading to a growth for UPS market in Tier II and III cities. Jaybalan Velayudhan, Director Strategy & Business Development Schneider Electric IT Business India), APC, talks to SME Channels about the opportunities in the SMB market.
What is your assessment of the Indian UPS market? According to Frost and Sullivan Report, the India UPS market was worth $528.5 million in 2010-11 and estimates to reach $828.2 million by 2017-18. Data centres’ popularity has raised the profile of cloud computing in Asia. Following this development, governments have been eager to adopt cloud computing to accelerate economic development, which, in turn, has accelerated the uptake of UPS systems. Several public and private companies are included in governments’ programmes to convert all government agencies’ computing systems to a public cloud system, creating a cast market for UPS devices. End users will also look to adopt UPS systems once companies provide better product services. Participants can gain a competitive advantage by offering a combination of a warranty on efficiency, aftersales service, 24/7 customer service and spare parts. The mining, manufacturing and power utility industries will be the biggest contributors to market revenues. The introduction of smart grids all over the region is also creating considerable opportunities for the UPS market, as these grids require constant monitoring, intelligent control and communication. How big this market is for the SMEs/SMBs and what growth is it witnessing? The penetration of the IT/ITeS sector in tier 2 and
tier 3 cities and the computerization initiatives of the Government in various departments are leading to a growth for UPS market in Tier II and III cities. With anticipated growth in small towns in terms of geographical expansion we expect a lot of consumers/customers to focus on Remote management in the coming times in the 8- to –40 Kva space. Currently, we are present in app. 450+ cities, via our consumer/commercial product offering. Our target is to touch-base 550 – 600 cities by the end of this year, and we have specific geo expansion programs in place. The challenges related to customer service and reach are addressed by our Services team and we are fully equipped to take the plunge into the next 100-150 cities within India to establish a strong footprint there, with the support of our channel partners. We are also offering Remote management solutions as a part of our standard product offering, which is again unique to the industry. As per our estimates, we should be growing in double digits in both the IT/ITES, and Government verticals. We have also signed up some key contracts like the DGS&D rate contract for the online segment upto 6 kva, which should give us good volumes in the referrals orders opportunity available. What is the biggest challenge that this market is facing? The major challenges faced by UPS suppliers are that the market is highly competitive and fragmented with both multinational and Indian
players competing for the space and the mounting raw material price due to rising dollar price. The low end of the market is especially fragmented primarily owing to the low entry barriers. In our estimate, there are more than 500 brands of entry level UPS systems, currently operating in India, and in such a diverse and vast market we are very proud to be the market leaders. According to Frost and Sullivan, the competitiveness in the market is intensifying, with barriers to the entry of new participants, especially in the up to 20kVA power range, becoming lower. The biggest challenge faced by UPS manufacturers will be cheap imports from China and Taiwan as well as rising raw material prices. If you see, lot of local players shut down their operations in the 600 VA segment every year, since it is an easy category to enter, but a tough category to sustain in and live up to the customer’s expectation in terms of reliability, availability and service. What role is cloud and virtualisation playing in the growth of UPS? Cloud computing technology will not replace but boost total requirement of UPS power. Cloud operations such as outsourcing applications, information hosting, and associated storing and updating of duplicate data to provide virtual redundancy, will increase Internet traffic and therefore will require UPS protection. The sheer amount of data processed by cloud computing servers including the continuous
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SME CHAT
center—small and medium, large data center) and then by the product portfolio (power and power distribution, racks and enclosures, security and environmental, management, cooling). We believe in extensive partner training as they are our key touch points with the customers. Customers have multiple options to choose from and are very prudent about their purchases. This makes it increasingly important for the channels to build a customer relationship and ensure satisfied customers by making both the pre- and postsales experience enriching. What is the ratio of your business from SMEs? Around 20-25 % business comes from SME/SMB segment.
“AS PER OUR ESTIMATES, WE SHOULD BE GROWING IN DOUBLE DIGITS IN BOTH THE IT/ITES, AND GOVERNMENT VERTICALS.”
introduction of newer applications in the market are leading to the need for better UPS systems. Any server operation needs power and its requirement will grow when more information is processed and transmitted. Cloud computing technology will however change significantly current UPS market structure, affecting products, vendors and users. Main growth of UPS power is expected in hosting and application providing services, where large Data Centers, which process high quantities of data, will be required to supply the growing needs of numerous consumers looking for cloud computer services. What factors are impacting the growth of India UPS market? There are two key trends impacting UPS growth, one is the increased IT adoption in SME/SMBs to drive efficiency and productivity and secondly adopting cloud which enables SME/SMB a wider application portfolio for their businesses. Increased IT adoption helps PC and Server growth which in turn is a driver for UPS growth. In India, this segment contributes to nearly 40%45% of the UPS market.
As SME/SMBs adopt cloud, the IT infrastructure is moving offsite. What is left onsite is considerably reduced and thus the higher KVA range of UPS may not be a requirement. Lower KVA upto 20KVA should be sufficient to support such needs. What are the market opportunities for channel partners in this market? YSchneider Electric IT Business’s focus is to enhance channel relationships across the length and breadth of India. We are empowering our channel by giving them a wide and reliable product portfolio, comprehensive training, innovative incentive programs, and timely post-sales service backup. Currently, Schneider Electric IT Business has engaged 8000+ channel partners across the country, with an increased penetration in B- and C-class cities. Our global channel landscape program identifies the strengths of its partners and aligns their capabilities with the customer needs. At the company, partners are classified by the business environment (home, SOHO/business networks—wiring closet, server room/data
What all strategy and products you have outlined for SMEs in the UPS market? Our managed channel partners address –Global, Named, Mid-market and Small & Medium enterprise which constitutes 70% of India business. We have deployed a systematic channel landscape program which covers IT Resellers, System integrators, ET SI’s. Power solution partners focusing on UPS <20KVA are categorized into Registered, Select & Premier partners. We currently have a base of more than 6000+ partners of whom nearly 2000 partners buy every quarter. Elite partners are categorized into High Power Partners, Elite Data Center partners and Secure Power Partners. High Power and Secure Power partners numbering around 35 partners are focused on 3ph power solutions. Elite Data center partners around 40 odd partners are SI’s who do Data Center biz. We have a clear ambitious growth plans over the next five years based on leveraging our strong channel for growing home & business network biz, winning in the DC space, leadership position in the secure power in industry and infrastructure. As partners are integral part of our growth story we want to ensure enablement & participation of all our partners. Going forward, what is the outlook for SMB UPS market? As said earlier, the outlook for UPS in this segment will be driven by IT adoption and cloud adoption. SOHO/SMEs/SMBs which are the major end users of the less-than-1kVA range UPS, are gradually shifting from stand-alone UPS to small and centralized UPS systems thus moving to the 1-5kVA and 5.1-10kVA ranges. This range will grow well. The PC degrowth will impact the Line interactive UPS growth.
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PRODUCT
REVIEW
GIGABYTE GAF2A85XMD3H MOTHERBOARD
DELL PRECISION M3800 MOBILE WORKSTATION BY MANAS RANJAN info@smechannels.com
GA-F2A85XM-D3H is a Gigabyte FM2 series motherboard which feature AMD A85X chipset, and support the AMD A10 APUs. The new AMD FM2 Series APU combines up to 4 cores with the latest 7000 series graphics core. The APU is based on the AMD ‘Trinity’ architecture. GA-F2A85XM-
DELL PRECISION M3800 is a 15-inch mobile workstation. It comes with 10 hours and six minutes of battery life with NVIDIA Optimus technology that maximizes battery life for extended productivity. It is available with Windows 8.1 Pro (64-Bit) or Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit). It also offers multiple storage configurations including two storage devices with a maximum of 1.5TB of storage (HDD, SSHD, or SSD), up to 35 percent more than HP’s 14-inch Z series Ultrabook, one 2.5-inch drive and one solid state Mini-Card storage device (mSATA). The Dell Precision M3800 features a Corning Gorilla NBT Glass display with five-finger multi-touch on all systems. It also offers multiple external monitor support with the optional Dell D3000 USB 3.0 Docking Station. It is designed with a backlit full-size keyboard, four USB PowerPorts (3 USB 3.0 & 1 USB 2.0), a large gesture-enabled touchpad, HD video webcam and Waves MaxxAudio Pro suite. Dell Precision M3800 is optimized for the top media and entertainment, engineering and design applications such as those in Adobe Creative Cloud, Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suite and AutoCAD, Inventor and Revit, Avid Media Composer, Dassault Catia and Solidworks, PTC Creo, Siemens NX and TeamCenter, among others. Besides the M3800 assures mission critical applications will run as designed, and comes with optional Dell ProSupport for premium 24/7 global support from expert technicians.
FEATURES
D3H delivers an enhanced visual
n 18 mm in thickness and starting at
experience that includes triple digital
1.88 kgs
display support with AMD Eyefinity
n 10 hours and six minutes of battery
and impressive DX11 3D gaming.
life with NVIDIA Optimus technology n Available with Windows 8.1 Pro (64-
Bit) or genuine Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit) n Loaded with 16GB memory and 4th
generation Intel Core i7-4702HQ 8 threaded quad-core processor with up to 3.2 GHz clock speeds
GA-F2A85XM-D3H supports AMD’s Trinity processors and uses the A85X chipset. It sports eight SATA 6Gbps ports, three video outputs, a quartet of USB 3.0, and scope for Dual Graphics and two-card CrossFire. The back panel comes with three 3.5mm audio
n NVIDIA Quadro K1100M GPU with 2GB
outputs, a PS/2 port, and an optical S/
of GDDR5 memory
PDIF out connector.
n Multiple storage configurations
including two storage devices with a maximum of 1.5TB of storage (HDD, SSHD, or SSD) n One 2.5-inch drive and one solid state
Mini-Card storage device (mSATA).
PRICE Starting Price of Rs. 1,49,999
CONTACT S1800-425-0088
WARRANTY One year hardware limited warranty
OVERALL RATING
n Price: Rs. 7,200 (approximately), Warranty: 3 year, Contact: india.mkt@gigabyte.com Phone: Tel: 022-40633222 Toll-Free: 1800-22-0966,
50 SME CHANNELS DECEMBER 2013
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NEW ARRIVALS
PRODUCT
PANASONIC HGST
PANAS0NIC KX-MB15
PANASONIC’S KX-MB1500 series printer helps in taking care of the office requirements, including print, copy, scan and fax functions from one compact machine. The KX-MB1500 series covers two models, the KX-MB1520CX and KXMB1500CX printers. It allows users to check the file on a PC before printing, or edit it by rearranging pages or changing them to a 2-in-1 or even a 16-in-1 format. With copy functions such as Quick ID Copy, PC Fax, Color Scanner Function and Quick ID Copy function, the KX-MB1520CX printer comes with built-in digital speakerphone and PC-Fax function. The KX-MB1500 series printers come with a slim back design so that consumables and paper can be replenished from the front n Price: KX-MB1520CX is Rs. 8,999 and KX-MB1500CX is Rs. 10,990, Warranty: One year on site, Contact: Pooja Sharma (9811620273), Richa Sethi (9560498765)
HGST TOURO MOBILE PRO 1TB HGST TOURO MOBILE PRO is a 1 TB drive which provides faster read and write speed. Apart from the local storage of 1TB, HGST Touro Mobile PRO gives consumers an unpaid remote access to 3GB Cloud Storage allowing the consumers to share and save their favourite photos, movies, music, important documents etc. This two level protection secures the users’ data. Besides these devices gives the option to upgrade to a paid account and receive an extra of 250 GB of Cloud Storage along with iPhone and iPad mobile digital device apps. HGST Touro Mobile Pro is USB 3.0 compliant and USB 2.0 compatible. It has 7200 RPMs spin speed, and is compatible with Windows 8,7, Vista, or XP and in Macintosh, it is compatible with Mac OS 10.5 and Intel processor based Macs only. It has a capacity of 1 TB local storage + 3GB Cloud Backup.
n Price: Rs. 7100, , Warranty: 3 Years, Contact: Ramesh. rajahmani@avnet.com (9958137676)
DAHUA
DAHUA DH-CA-FW181G CAMERA THE DAHUA DH-CA-FW181G (Waterproof IR Camera) is a high resolution camera which comes under 720TVL range and is especially developed and compatible for day or night tough outdoor surveillance environments including parking lots, streets and many more. The new camera provides users with a day/night surveillance tool for securing premises and delivering solid evidence of events that occur especially in darkness or low light. By featuring 1/3” HDIS for superior color performance, the camera offers up to 720 TV lines of resolution, enabling to produce quality images in any lighting condition. The new Dahua DH-CA-FW181G camera is furnished with weatherproof housing and is shipped with IP-66-rated housing. This camera feature 6mm fixed lens and comes with Smart IR range of 20mtr allowing the user to set the camera for any outdoor location. n Price: On Request. Warranty: 3Years, Contact: Security@adityagroup.com , Contact: 01204555666
SME CHANNELS 51 DECEMBER 2013
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13
Strategic Power Solutions
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Date of Publication: 20 of Every Month Date of Posting: 22 & 23 of Every Month
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