PLUS
Kaspersky hosts a slew of partner meets in Mumbai /14 www.smechannels.com
india’s first IT magazine for sme business VOLUME 07 | ISSUE 09 | PAGES 48 | NOVEMBER 2016 | RS. 20/-
PARTNER CORNER
/35
DigitalTrack Solutions: IoT, Cloud are making security a nightmare for CIOs
CHANNEL ROADMAP
/27
DELL INDIA: Dell’s Primary Focus is to grow Outside Metros
SME CHAT
/28
Check Point : Joint calls, partner activities bolstering Check Point’s efforts
PAAS, SAAS, IAAS
THE FOREFRONT OF
DIGITAL INDIA
With enterprises convinced of the benefits reaped by deploying cloud technology, the choice is no longer whether to make the logical shift, rather a considerable amount of adoption is seen with IT services. /22
1
Accelerate your business, NOW!
Available stocks ready to be shipped.
At Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Intel®, IT challenges are unraveled and transformed into endless opportunities with the right product, at the right time and at the right price. Whether small or large organizations, HPE and Intel® has the perfect IT solution for all to efectually meet their changing workloads while accelerating their business further, faster.
Flexible options to meet changing business needs
Agile infrastructure management for accelerating IT service delivery
Scalability and performance to meet the new standard of growing business needs
SKU
Product Name
Description
866233-375
HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen9 Server
DL20; E3-1220 v5; NHP; 8GB; 2LFF NHP; DVD RW
860121-375
HPE ProLiant ML150 Gen9 Server
ML150; E5-2609 v4; RPSx1; 16GB; 4LFF HPE; 2x1GB; H240; DVD RW
860890-375
HPE ProLiant DL60 Gen9 Server
DL60; E5-2620 v4; RPSx1; 16GB; 4LFF HPE; DVD RW
866234-375
HPE ProLiant ML30 Gen9 Server
ML30; E3-1220 v5; RPSx1; 8GB; 4LFF HPE 2x1GB; DVD RW
859040-375
HPE ProLiant ML350 Gen9 Server
ML350; E5-2620 v4; RPSx2; 16GB; 8SFF HPE; P440 2GB; DVD RW
860912-375
HPE ProLiant DL160 Gen9 Server
DL160; E5-2620 v4; RPSx1; 16GB; 8SFF HPE; H240; DVD RW
860944/ 945/ 946-375
HPE ProLiant DL180 Gen9 Serve
DL180 E5-2620 v4; RPSx1; 16GB; 12LFF/ 8SFF HPE; P840/ H240; DVD RW
861541-375
HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen9 Server
DL360; E5-2609 v4; RPSx1; 16GB; 8SFF HPE; P440ar; DVD RW
859081/082-375
HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 Server
DL380; E5-2620/ 2630; v4/ v4x2; RPSx2; 16GB/ 2x16GB; 8SFF HPE; P440ar;iLo Adv
859082-375
HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 Server
DL380; E5-2630 v4; RPSx2; 16GB; 8SFF HP; P440ar;iLo Adv
HPE ProLiant Gen9 servers powered by Intel® Xeon® processors. Intel Inside®. Powerful Productivity Outside. For more details please contact your Local Savex Representative: Website: www.savextech.in | Email: kalpana.chauhan@savex.in | Sales queries: +91 8446000650 Technical support: 1800-425-994 (Toll free) © Copyright 2016 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP. © Copyright 2016 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP. Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
S:180 mm
RIGHT NOW, YOUR BUSINESS CAN GO IN A MILLION DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. AND ONE OF THEM IS RIGHT.
©2016 SAP SE or an SAP affiliate company. All rights reserved.
GROWTH IS LIVE. SAP’s suite of affordable solutions for small and midsize companies gives you constant control over your business. Live and in the moment. On premise or in the cloud. So you can make the right decision – right now. sap.com/India/live
PLUS
Cisco commences manufacturing operations in India /24 www.smechannels.com
india’s first IT magazine for sme business CHANNEL BIZ
CHANNEL BIZ
/37
Smartlink: Smartlink Starts Second Innings of Structured Cabling Business
/21
D-Link: D-Link to Maintain Healthy Growth Rates in 2016-17
CHANNEL BIZ
/41
Netgear: Concentrating more on the SMB space
MY EXPERIENCE EDITORIAL
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT SANJAY MOHAPATRA
sanjay@smechannels.com
I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OUR PARTNERS and attendees to SME Channels Summit & Awards 2016. This patronage was sought from the community to bring the grand event like this one as it was the need of the hour. We are going through a very critical and interesting phase of time where we are seeing a lot of things happening at a time. In the US a pro-business president has come to power. In India also we have a pro-business and pro-development prime minister. When the entire Europe is suffering from something other – to be specific from Brexit and illegal immigration issues and the entire middle east is suffering from the internal war and market slow down. Similarly, in the APCA, Japan and Korean’ currency is getting devalued day by day. In this situation, a few countries are looking positive among them prominent are China and India. As PM Modi says that the next decade is going to be the decade of the Asian countries, I feel the next decade is going to be a decade of India and China – more India and less China. The logic behind More India and Less China is that the population of China is becoming aging where as in India, there is a huge number of young population. Secondly, the efforts of prime minister are quite commendable and quite progressive in nature – be it surgical strike while defending the boarders or India or surgical drive on the country’s illegal financial hoardings. Although these acts are very recent ones but before this there were a lot of initiatives including Smart Cities, Digitization, Infrastructure Modernization, GST, Swachh Bharat, etc., which would have far fetching impact on the business community of India. Specially for the channel business, this would have a big impact as the requirement for IT products would be huge. There will be lot many data centres set up in India. All innovative next-gen technologies would be of high demand here because to make the projects successful, cloud computing would be at the center. This will need a whole lot of security and analytics technologies at its periphery. So, the partners need to realize these trends from now in order to make themselves relevant to the market or else there will surely be a new crop of partners who will surely try to take their place. I do not say that there is absolute zero efforts among the partners but if one looks at the possible size of market growth, we need more of talented and adaptive organization who invest in required certifications and make themselves ready for the future challenges.
Zebronics LAMP Bluetooth Speaker ZEBRONICS INDIA’S LATEST ‘LAMP’ Speaker the perfect confluence of light and music in harmony is ideal for the diskspace of the CEOs and MDs, although for the consumers, it is a nice product to have. Ergonomically designed in the shape of a lamp or could also be underlined as lantern, the speaker comes in handy with an integrated handle, that makes it easy to carry it around with you wherever you go. Delivering crystal clear sound while elevating the ambience with its dynamic color changing LED lights, Lamp Speaker builds an all-around audio experience. Housed in an optimized acoustic enclosure, the Lamp Speaker delivers sheer loud and impactful audio with its efficient 40mm driver.
SPECIFICATIONS speaker also supports several connectivity options which include Mirco SD cards & USB Pendrives. FINAL WORDING With attractive looks, lightweight design the product is already available in India. OVERALL RATING
4
SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
contents
2016
NOV VOLUME 07 ISSUE 09
ER COV RY STO
india’s first IT magazine for sme business
Publisher: Sanjib Mohapatra Editor: Sanjay Mohapatra Asst. Editor: Satinder Kaur Executive Editor: Smruti Chaudhury Sub Editor: Chitresh Sehgal Designer: Ajay Arya Web Designer: Vijay Bakshi Technical Writer: Manas Ranjan Satya Sagar Sinha Lead Visualizer: DPR Choudhary MARKETING 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 / 8587835685 sanjeev@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 EDITORIAL OFFICE Delhi: 6/103, (GF) Kaushalya Park, New
PaaS, SaaS, IaaS The forefront of Digital India /22
Delhi-110016, Phone: 91-11-41657670 /
With enterprises convinced of the benefits reaped by deploying cloud technology, the choice is no longer whether to make the logical shift, rather a considerable amount of adoption is seen with IT services. Additionally, initiatives like Digital India and with IoT in full upswing, cloud services are being embraced at an ever increasing pace.
Basavanagudi, Bangalore - 560004
CORPORATE STORY D-LINK/ 21
“D-Link to Maintain Healthy Growth Rates in 2016-17”
SME CHAT ZION RAM / 36 “Real Potential for ZION RAM
lies outside T1 markets”
MATRIX / 34 “MATRIX is all about Quality,
Fair Policies & Best Sales Support”
6
SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
#28/1, 3rd Floor, Sri Lakshmi Krupa, Near Shamanna Park, Model House Street, Ph. No. +91 88618 21044 E-Mail bindiya@ accentinfomedia.com Skype ID: b1diyajadhav
Printed, Published and Owned by Sanjib Mohapatra Place of Publication: 6/101-102, Kaushalya Park, Hauz Khas
Phone: 91-11-46151993 / 41055458 Printed at Karan Printers, F-29/2, 1st floor,
FINESSE / 29
PARTNER CONRER
Bangalore Bindiya Jadhav
New Delhi-110016
PARTNER CORNER “Challenges for Finance Industry”
46151993 editor@smechannels.com
Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-2, New Delhi
more inside Editorial~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 04
110020, India. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced without the prior written permission from the publisher.
Snippets~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 08
Subscription: Rs.200 (12 issues)
FEATURE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 30
All payments favouring: Accent Info
Products~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 45
Media Pvt. Ltd.
SNIPPETS PRODUCT | CHANNEL | CONSULTING | SERVICES
for more log on to smechannels.com
Cisco commences manufacturing operations in India Cisco announced the launch of its India manufacturing operations. At the event, Cisco and the Government of Maharashtra (GoM) also
announced new local strategic initiatives to help the digital transformation of the state, which includes the citywide deployment
of a smart city framework to roll out Smart City solutions in the city of Nagpur, digital learning for students and skills development for local
entrepreneurs in Dharavi to create an eCommerce hub, expansion of the Cisco Networking Academy program, and digital education and healthcare initiatives in Fetri village. The launch of the manufacturing operations took place in the presence of the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis; the CEO of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, Shri Amitabh Kant; Smt. Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India; Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins; Irving Tan, Senior Vice President, Cisco Asia Pacific and Japan; Dinesh Malkani, President, Cisco India & SAARC; and Jun Kim, Vice President, Cisco Supply Chain Operations. Cisco will manufacture and roll out a diverse product portfolio in India to support the government’s Make in India initiative. Cisco will use its India manufacturing operations to produce and ship orders for customers in India, as well as for testing, development, logistics, and in-house repair capabilities.
HPE, Intel jointly launch CoE over CaaS To help demonstrating High Performance Computing (HPC)as-a-service for customers, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) India, in alliance with Intel India, has announced the launch of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. Customers also can access this infrastructure remotely through
8
SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
a cloud-driven model that can be replicated in their datacenters. In India, research institutions and academia are increasingly adopting HPC to accelerate adoption of big data analytics, simulations of complex processes and large-scale research projects. Additionally, HPC will play a key role in the
Indian Government’s proposed National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), which aims to create a grid of seventy plus supercomputers connecting various academic and research institutions across the country to help develop applications of national relevance. At the HPE-Intel CoE, custom-
ers can access the latest purpose built HPE Apollo platforms and solutions from HPE together with technologies from Intel to validate their application stacks on industry leading infrastructure. The CoE will facilitate the on-boarding and training of new users and developers and enable experienced developers.
Think Fiber. Think CommScope.
Wherever your network is headed, it’s getting there with fiber connectivity. Nothing else offers the speed and agility your growing network demands— and no one but CommScope delivers the innovative fiber connectivity solutions you need to power the high-speed, high-bandwidth networks of tomorrow.
Visit CommScope.com/ThinkFiber
commscope.com © 2016 CommScope, Inc. All rights reserved. AD-110637-EN
SNIPPETS
HP improves Page Wide Web Presses for PSPs At Graph Expo 2016, HP has announced four new 30-inch HP PageWide Web Presses powered by High Definition Nozzle Architecture (HDNA) technology. The new presses provide high-quality color prints and enable print service providers (PSPs) to address a wider range of commercial printing applications, such as customized magazines, catalogs and books. HP is showcasing its industry-leading graphics portfolio and highlighting new production inkjet capabilities at Graph Expo, booth 1825, this week. The new HP PageWide Web Press T390 HD, T390M HD, T380 HD and T370 HD represent the expansion of HDNA technology throughout the HP PageWide Web Press portfolio, enabling enhanced print quality, productivity and versatility. The new capabilities allow PSPs to reconcile quality and cost differences between jobs printed with digital versus analog technologies, ultimately increasing the addressable application range and improving margins.
Symantec redefines future of Cyber Security at Partner Engage 2016 After accelerating its commitment to define the future of cyber security with the recent acquisition of Blue Coat, Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC), held its Symantec Partner Engage 2016 Conference in Tokyo, Japan this week, marking the company’s first public appearance as a combined organisation in Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ). With the aim to excite and engage its partner community about a new era for Symantec, the Partner Engage 2016 Conference was attended by approximately 200 most valued and strategic partners from across the APJ region.
VIP Forum 2016: Fortinet emphasises on best way to secure complex networks Fortinet conducted its annual Security Conference for Indian CIOs in Moscow, Russia. At the conference attended by over 100 CIOs from SAARC, Fortinet emphasised that the best way to secure complicated networked environments was simplicity and recommended the implementation of Segmentation, Universal Policy and Collaborative Intelligence as three important strategies for securing evolving environments. Presenting at the conference, Joe Sarno, Vice President, International Emerging, MEA, Eastern Europe, India & SAARC, Fortinet said: “Data centers are evolving along with customer demands for fast and secure cloud infrastructure and services. The growth of IoT devices and traffic represents both an opportunity and a threat to today’s digital businesses. Having a comprehensive security strategy, including a single pane-of-glass view of security management and policy across IoT to Cloud, is essential in establishing a consistent security posture for an organization.”
10 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
MY POINT
“Artificial Intelligence is playing a role across the value chain of industries and is the fastest technology deployment to happen across industry verticals”. PARI NATARAJAN, CEO, ZINNOV
eScan strengthens ties with Microsoft as Gold Partner 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 development of security solutions. IT Security Solution expert eScan has ingrained its efficiency with Microsoft and proving its capacity to exceed the demands of its customers. ‘Microsoft Gold Certified Partner’ status is the highest level of certification recognized by Microsoft. In order to be recognized as a Gold Partner, eScan was required to demonstrate its proficiency in various relevant Microsoft competencies and product development quality standards. Each competency has a unique set of requirements and benefits, formulated to accurately represent the specific skills .
Quick Heal selects Savera Digital as a Premium Partner for Rajasthan To deliver Quick Heal’s innovative and advanced IT security solutions, the company has announced that it has formed a premium partnership with Savera Digital India Pvt Ltd in Rajasthan. Through this partnership Quick Heal will also expand its presence in the outlets already being served by Savera. Quick Heal has over 500 partners in Rajasthan. As a premium partner Savera will help the company service specific cities like Jaipur, Ajmer, Shekwati, Ganga Nagar, Hanumangarh, Bhartpur, Dholpur, Kota and Bhilwara. Commenting on this partnership, Abhijit Jorvekar, Executive Director & Senior VP Sales, Quick Heal Technologies said, “We are pleased to welcome Savera Digital as a premium partner. They have a strong presence and reach in Rajasthan and are amongst the fastest growing distributors of IT products in India. We are confident that this alliance will help us in further expanding our presence and creating a strong foothold in Rajasthan. Our combined strengths will beef up our reach to a larger customer base in the state.”
IP Telephony & UC
Networking Solutions
the experts you can rely on. Progility is a system integrator of choice for majority of the large and leading enterprises to design, deploy and maintain
Smart Solutions
IP Surveillance
Customer Focused, Progility sees through projects from concept to world-class technology and highly skilled resources across the country.
Video Conferencing Solutions
Data Center Infrastructure
Healthcare & Hospitality Solutions
Innova�ve | Flexible | Responsive | Customer Focused
www.progilitytech.com
SNIPPETS
Enterprise 3D printers shipment to grow 108 % in 2016: Gartner Worldwide shipments of 3D printers will reach 455,772 units in 2016, more than doubling the 219,168 units shipped in 2015, according to Gartner, Inc.’s latest forecast. Despite slowing growth rates after the market’s initial growth spurt, the increase in 3D printer shipments over the next four years will see the number of units shipped in 2020 total more than 6.7 million. “Once a niche market, 3D printing has continued its rapid transformation into a broad-based mainstream technology embraced by consumers and enterprises around the world,” said Pete Basiliere, research vice president at Gartner.. 3D printing is now experiencing widespread acceptance beyond its application in specialist industries. Today, 3D printing is being used to create prototypes, augment manufacturing processes and produce finished products. Industries in a broad range employ 3D printing to a modest extent. Gartner expects wider and more diverse growth to continue as new technology providers and processes emerge.
GATES ICT summit outlines roadmap for Channel Growth for 2017 GATES concluded the ICT RESELLER CHANNEL SUMMIT (AUTUMN) 2016 in Bengaluru with over 250 top executives from the ICT industry. The 3 – day event brought together leading resellers from over 50 cities that gave the technology vendors from around the world an opportunity to pre-schedule 1-on-1 meetings with senior executives and buyers. The event was supported by TOSHIBA as Platinum Partner, HP & X10 as Gold Partners and EDIFIER & Kingston as Silver Partners. The event’s Research Partners included GfK-India, NAVO Informatica & SPIRE Research & Consulting, and Media partners included CELLIT, NCN and ASCL. Over 170 companies participated at GATES ICT RESELLER CHANNEL Summit 2016. The delegate list included 160 reseller executives, 60+ vendor executives along with prominent speakers, industry experts and media partners. The event’s second edition got bigger as national, regional and international ICT and business federations supported the initiative and showed a lot of confidence and commitment for the uniqueness of the format. TAITRA – Taiwan External Trade Development Council, FICCI, FAIITA and FITDAK expressed appreciation for the seriousness and focus of the initiative – something that is vitally necessary for today’s context. Ashish Kapahi, CEO GATES, said: The Summit got better and bigger as the ICT community widely felt that such uniquely formatted events will further augment the Smart India vision. The event concluded with over 650 + 1 to 1 meetings between vendors and resellers channel partners. Many business arrangements and new agreements were entered into as a result of meetings at GATES ICT SUMMIT 2016.”
INDIA WLAN MARKET Q2 2016
EXECUTIVE MOVEMENT
DIGISOL appoints Shailesh Bhayade as VP – Product Management & Sales for Structured Cabling Solutions RAPOO has announced the promotion of Mukesh Chaudhary as the new County Head for India & SAARC. Tata Communications announces the appointment of James Parker as President of Global Sales.
Skybox Security ropes in Tal Sheffer as CTO
Source: IDC APeJ WLAN Quaterly Q2 2016
12 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
Opus Consulting Solutions appointed Nitin Kulkarni as the Chief Operating Officer.
R
SNIPPETS
Quantum announces new scalar storage platform Quantum Corp. has announced a new Scalar storage platform optimized for storing and managing the ever-increasing volumes of unstructured data. The first new products based on this platform are the Scalar i6 and Scalar i3 tape libraries and the StorNext AEL6 purposebuilt rich media archive appliance. The new Scalar storage platform takes the benefits of tape to the next level. It offers best-in-class storage density — twice that of earlier-generation rack-mounted libraries — enabling organizations of all sizes to reduce their data center footprint and further reduce their storage costs. As an example, Scalar customers can vault tapes within a system to provide on-premise, monitored cold storage for less than $0.001 per GB, or $0.0014 per GB per month — a fraction of the cost of public cloud storage.
KASPERSKY HOSTS A SLEW OF PARTNER MEETS IN MUMBAI In the dynamic world of online security, threats and solutions are changing by the second. It is thus, imperative, that the market leader not just stays ahead of the trends but takes its partners along as it does. Kaspersky Lab does exactly that, with its regular partner and end-customer meets. On October 24, Kaspersky conducted a Prospective Partner Meet for Kaspersky Security for Virtualization (KSV). The meet, held at the plush Hyatt Regency, Mumbai, was focused on educating prospective partners on the various features of Kaspersky’s cutting edge security solutions for virtual servers and VDI. On October 26, Kaspersky conducted a Prospective Customer Meet for Kaspersky Security for Virtualization. This was conducted alongwith their partners, Eden Infosol. Over 30prospective customers convened at the Hyatt Regency, Mumbai. Jesus Calle’s session on myths associated with security on virtualization environment was very appreciated by the customers. October 27 saw Kaspersky’s prospective customers of Kaspersky Security Intelligence Services (SIS) gather at the beautiful Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel, Mumbai. This meet was conducted in association with its partner G’Secure Labs. As more and more businesses are targeted everyday with numerous forms of cyber attacks, the need to be prepared has never been more urgent. Traditional anti-virus and firewalls are no longer enough. Altaf Halde – Managing Director (South Asia), Kaspersky Lab, said, “Kaspersky Lab owes its success largely to the unparalleled customer and partner networking that it has. These meets help us to directly and clearly communicate with them and helps us to better explain our products and its features. ”
ViewSonic announces ‘Gold Bonanza’ for partners ViewSonic has launched Gold bonanza festive offer for its valued partners. After their successful re establishment in Indian market distribution , dealer , reseller & retailer pipeline, they are aiming to become leader mid to high end monitors of 24” to 27”which includes professional, color, 4k, gaming, IPS and touch monitors. This tier 3 scheme is to ensure that all stockiest get benefit of demand generation for 24” and above size monitors, who in turn buys from ViewSonic’ distributors and can enjoy the demand generation from the reseller and small time dealers from IT market. Eligible tier3 finch partners of ViewSonic will win two gram gold on every 10 units of ViewSonic 24” & 25” monitors and One gram gold on every 5 units of ViewSonic 27” Monitors. “As our channel community continues to expand, our partners & distributors play a critical role in helping us to scale up and serve our growing number of customer base and extend our reach across new verticals”, said Pradeep Thamman, Country Manager at ViewSonic India.
Avaya drives innovation with live enterprise app Avaya is putting the spotlight on innovation at GITEX Technology Week, hosting for the first time ever a live Snapathon event at the show. Leading development partners from around the world have been invited to attend GITEX, and they will create live solutions on the stand that cover everything from artificial intelligence (AI) to driverless cars. In today’s rapidly changing technology world, emerging trends such as AI, augmented reality and virtual reality are driving innovation faster than many companies can keep up with. Avaya, a company founded on innovation, has focused on fostering a global community of development partners that it works with to bring solutions to market faster, and more agilely than competitors. Avaya has invited to GITEX Technology Week partners from its DevConnect community of global development partners, each focusing on key industrial verticals. These developers will innovate in realtime on the stand, creating snap-in solutions that address key industry trends, including speech-to-text, speech bots, location-based alerts, AI, and more.
14 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
Acer dazzles festivity with a slew of offers Acer India brings in another compelling reason to celebrate this festive season with increased fervor. The offer from Acer will be valid for purchases made from October 1st and will continue through the festive period. Further adding festivities, Acer’s new brand ambassador Anushka Sharma will be part of this festive campaign. Acknowledging the need for customers to be able to stay connected with their loved ones, Acer’s festive offers, are an effort to encourage customers to purchase Acer’s Aspire devices, enabling them to celebrate with loved ones. Chandrahas Panigrahi, Sr. Director and Consumer Business Head, Acer India, says, “We are pleased to offer great deals to our existing and prospective customers across the country. We welcome our customers to avail these special offers across our range of products, which include Bluetooth headphones, free antivirus and data recovery software, additional warranty and easy-payment schemes. We hope that these great offers and the forthcoming products will usher in a joyous occasion for all our consumers.”
SNIPPETS
Huawei Explores Partner Innovation with Global OpenLabs
Indian networking market posts growth of 10.5% in Q2 2016: IDC
Huawei hosted the Huawei Innovation Day AsiaPacific on November 2, 2016 under the theme of ‘The Brilliance of Exploration.’ This event brought together representatives from the industry, academia, governments and research institutes. With a focus on topics about exploration in the future, attendees shared their exploration themes and innovation practices, and their ideas on how to adapt to future changes. To help enable these ideas further Huawei plans to invest in OpenLabs in Asia Pacific. Huawei will team up with industry partners to build a flourishing ecosystem in the region, and drive growth through innovation. Neil Evans, Senior Solution Director of Huawei Australia, delivered a speech titled ‘New Era of Alliances in the ICT Ecosystem.’ He said that Huawei aims to be the nourishing “soil and energy” of the ecosystem which will push the entire industry forward, and support ongoing social progress through strong, strategic alliances.
Trend Micro announces Annual Channel Partner Day
According to IDC’s (International Data Corporation) APeJ Quarterly Switch and Router tracker, the Ethernet Switch market witnessed a year-on-year growth of 7.2 percent (in vendor Revenue) and stood at USD 110.4 million. Demand for L3 and ADC increased significantly across organization in Q2 2016. Large banking refreshes and spending from Automobile, Education and Professional services organizations were the key reason behind the growth of switching market in this quarter. Router market witnessed a growth of 31 percent Year on year in Q2 2016 due to investments from service providers segment for 4G rollout expansion. In Enterprise space, majority of the growth was driven by Professional services, Banking and Discrete Manufacturing units in Q2 2016. High-end routers saw a huge uptake from service providers segment where in SOHO routers was the clear winner in Year on year growth in Q2 2016 amongst enterprise deployments. Cisco continued its dominance with 63 percent market share followed by Huawei and Juniper. Huawei witnessed a significant Year on year growth in market share from 6.6 percent to 9.5 percent in Q2 2016 due to uptake from Telecom players. Brocade, F5 networks and Array Networks showed a strong Year on year growth in Q2 2016. According to IDC’s Quarterly APeJ Wireless WLAN tracker, the WLAN market in India clocked a Year on year de-growth of 4.8 percent in Q2 2016, and registered USD 46 million (Vendor revenue). This growth was predominantly driven by access points category. Consumer segment witnessed a growth while enterprise and service provider business declined Year on year in Q2 2016. Personal and Consumer Services, Transportation, Telecommunications and process manufacturing units were the key contributors towards Year on year growth in Q2 2016.
Trend Micro has announced its Annual Channel Partner Day, which was held from 13th to 15th October, at the ITC Welcom Hotel, Jodhpur. The company unveiled its latest strategic products and solutions and market & sales insights. Organizations today are moving quickly to embrace the economic and operational benefits of a hybrid cloud strategy and Trend Micro, the market leader in cloud security solutions, provides its channel partners and distributors with the strategic solutions needed, in order to help them serve their customers more quickly and confidently. Speaking on the occasion, Mahendra Negi Chief Financial Officer, Trend Micro, “Our objective is to equip our esteemed channel partners and distributors with the insights and information they would need in order to help them make the right decisions in the year 2016.
Seagate launches 2TB, 5TB drives
Epicor announces winners for Partner Program
Whilst the benefits of the cloud are undeniable, technology enthusiasts, game and creative professionals still want – and sometimes need - to take their digitally stored content with them on the go. Keeping a note of this, Seagate has announced availability of the 2TB FireCuda and 5TB BarraCuda mobile drives. 2TB FireCuda- The 2TB FireCuda represents the fastest, thinnest and lightest 2TB hard drive on the market today, using 8GB of flash to enable rapid boot times and game load speeds. Not only does it offer unmatched performance and capacity at a great price, it includes new firmware and highly sophisticated caching algorithms that continuously analyze how a system is being used.
To help businesses grow and transform in the past twelve months, Epicor Software Corporation has announced the global winners of its annual Partner Program awards, given to resellers in the Epicor Channel Partner Program who implemented Epicor solutions. Key among the winners was Six S Partners, an Epicor Channel Partner Program member who took home the prize of Global Partner of the Year for the second consecutive year. “Congratulations to all of our Partners who work tirelessly with companies worldwide to identify solutions that support business growth—it’s inspiring to observe the success these businesses are achieving leveraging Epicor solutions and services,” said Joe Cowan, president and CEO, Epicor Software.
16 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
SNIPPETS
RAH Infotech takes one more step towards global expansion RAH Infotech has announced that it has started operations in Dubai effective today. With this, RAH Infotech has taken one more step towards expansion which already has an established base in India, Singapore and UK. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ashok Kumar, MD & CEO, RAH Infotech said “Middle East is an ever growing market and we see huge opportunities in establishing our business in this region. Dubai being the hub of Middle East, it was our natural choice to setup an office here.
With some of our OEMs showing keen interest in spreading their reach in UAE and giving us further impetus, this was the right time for us to be present in this market. “Initially the operations will start with a senior sales and pre-sales resources and will be scaled up over a period of time. We have already hired the senior resources well versed with Middle East markets and are even expecting our first order from this region in a very short time” he added.
R&M expands footprints; appoints distributor for Rajasthan Swiss cabling company R&M has expanded its reach with the appointment of new regional distributor for Rajasthan. It also predicts a successful and a definite growth of the cabling market in 2016-17 with the appointments, R&M assures that customers will avail better and faster services in the state. In a release, the company said with this appointment its plans to reach out on tier-III cities in this State. Speaking on its expansion plans, Pankaj Bhardwaj, North Region Head said, “Our main focus lies on the quality of the product and the service which we offer. We have immense confidence in our regional distributor; they will certainly facilitate R&M’s growth and will help us in reaching the tier-3 cities of their respective state.
Kaspersky to improve cyber security of railway industry Kaspersky Lab has announced a new partnership with TÜV Rheinland to enhance the cyber resilience of the transportation industry, particularly in the field of railway cybersecurity. Under the framework cooperationagreement, Kaspersky Labwill contribute security assessment, intelligence reporting and penetration testing services to the wide range of services and solutions offered by the world’s leading Independent Safety Assessor (ISA) and certification body. TÜV Rheinland has specialized in the safety assessment and certification of railway control, command and signaling systems since the 1960s. Under the new terms of cooperation, Kaspersky Lab and TÜV Rheinland intend to join forces in providing railway customersin Greater China and Asia Pacific with a full range of security and safety services, including penetration testing, cyber security assessments, railway independent safety assessments, etc.
Konica Minolta Showcases educo ERP at World DIDAC Summit 2016 The three day event provided a platform to showcase the latest trends & technology used by institutions internationally in the fast changing world of education and network. Konica Minolta participated in this event to showcase its latest education solution “educo ERP”, which had a great response from the attendees from the event. During the showcase, Konica Minolta had a large number of footfalls (around 300 to 400 visitors) who were intrigued by the technology and the concept. Overall it was an overwhelming experience for Konica Minolta which was not only limited to responses but it also streamlined commitments for investing in the software and channel partnership.
18 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
DIGEST *ASTTECS ANNOUNCES VOICE LOGGER INTEGRATION WITH MATRIX IP-PBXS *astTECS has announced the successful interoperability of its Voice Logger with Matrix Eternity Range of IP-PBXs. This integration adds voice recording features to Matrix Eternity that include: comprehensive log reports, call playback, search and retrieve based on various attributes like date, time, source, destination and archiving in different audio formats. The enhanced capabilities will offer Matrix customers with flexibility to monitor & record their IP-PBX and SIP extensions. *astTECS Voice Logger extends Matrix Eternity range a competitive edge, combined strength and differentiated customer value, that will further drive enterprises to buy a reliable,and value for money comprehensive telephony system, while maximizing investment.
AMD UNVEILS RADEON PRO 400 SERIES GRAPHICS PROCESSORS AMD has unveiled a new family of powerefficient graphics processors, Radeon Pro 400 Series Graphics. Available first in the all-new 15-inch MacBook Pro, select Radeon Pro 400 Series graphics deliver extraordinary performance and efficiency gains over the prior generation to fuel modern creative efforts from anywhere inspiration strikes. Radeon Pro 400 Series Graphics are designed specifically for today’s makers – the artists, designers, photographers, filmmakers, visualizers and engineers that shape the modern content creation era. Harnessing
QNAP ANNOUNCES TS-X31P NAS SERIES WITH ARM CORTEX-A15 DUAL-CORE PROCESSOR QNAP Systems has released the TS-x31P NAS series, including the TS-131P, TS-231P, and TS-431P. Powered by an Annapurna Labs, an Amazon company Alpine AL-212 dual-core 1.7GHz processor, this series provides a secure private cloud NAS solution tailored for home, SOHO and workgroup users. In addition to basic requirements such as file storage, sharing and backup, the TS-x31P series supports value-added cloud-based note-taking app, centralized email account management and abundant multimedia applications.
WESTERN DIGITAL RECOGNIZES RASHI FOR ITS “CUSTOMER BREADTH” Rashi Peripherals was recently recognized for its “Customer breadth” by Western Digital at its annual EMAI conference held at Prague on the 11th of October. Amongst Distribution houses from Europe, Middle East, Africa and India; Rashi Peripherals was the only Indian Distributor to win this title. On accepting the Award –Rajesh Goenka, VP Rashi Peripherals added “We are glad to receive an award that affirms our path towards our objective of billing to every district in India, as of today we are billing to 80% of the districts, from Mumbai to Ongole. “
SNIPPETS
Microsoft recognizes Mindtree as Azure expert Partner Mindtree has been awarded the “Azure Innovation Partner of the Year 2016” by Microsoft. This award recognizes the company’s extensive and innovative solutions on the Microsoft Azure platform. By deploying Azure as a business enabler and development platform, Mindtree has built inventive and vertical specific solutions for its clients. “We are honored to receive this recognition from Microsoft and are excited about the future possibilities that Azure has to offer to our solutions. Azure serves as a scalable hosting platform for our solutions such as the recently launched Decision Moments, a data analytics platform that simplifies omni-channel personalization for our clients.” said Gaurav Johri, Senior Vice President and Head, Platform & Solutions Group at Mindtree.
DIGISOL forays into structured cabling market in India DIGISOL Systems has announced an aggressive entry into the Passive range of Structured Cabling business in India. DIGISOL took yet another important step in its corporate journey of 34 years of providing best in class Networking solution in India and will now offer an entire range of Copper, Fiber and FTTH Structured Cabling Solutions for customers in India along with its Active Products line. On the occasion, K. R. Naik, Executive Chairman, DIGISOL Systems Ltd. said, “Manufacturing in India is my passion, and I am happy to introduce a full range of passive products, of which majority are made in India & which was our main interest from day one of entering business 4 decades back. We are introducing products which will be game changers for System Integrators like patented keystones, manufactured locally and for easy installation, our 90 degree patch panels ranging from Cat 5e to Cat 6A. “We at DIGISOL, always strive to introduce our designed products that not only meet current needs but also take care of the future ones,” said Shailesh S. Bhayade, VP - SCS Business, DIGISOL Systems Ltd. He added, “With our strong presence in SMB & Enterprise, we will work with regional and national SI’s for enhanced presence in large scale projects”.
HP brings cost efficiency, reliability to office printing with new solutions HP Inc. unveiled an innovate line-up of new LaserJets that make high-quality, reliable printing more cost effective and mobile-enabled1 for entrepreneurs and SMBs in India. “Today’s fast-paced and mobile world requires businesses to look for ways to improve productivity at work,” said Parikshet Singh Tomar, Director, Printing Systems, HP Inc. India. “The new HP LaserJet Ultra is designed to meet the needs of small offices today, while extending the high-quality experience synonymous with HP’s LaserJet portfolio. We are also excited to extend the HP experience to customers and partners who have been eagerly awaiting a high-quality and highly reliable choice for their A3 MFPs.” Powered by JetIntelligence, the HP LaserJet Ultra MFP prints 22 percent faster at 22 pages per minute (ppm), with the first page out within 7.5 seconds. Cost per page is also reduced by 60 percent, while print quality has improved with the Black Precision Toner technology.
Matrix to exhibit solutions at Securexpo East Africa 2016 Matrix will demonstrate its range of biometric Access Control solution and its advance applications. Mobile being the next generation technology in terms of security, Matrix will display its “Your mobile is your identity” focused Access Control solution, whereby a user either scans the QR code through mobile or just twists his hand to gain access using Bluetooth. Furthermore, Matrix will launch COSEC DOOR FMX as a high performance door controller with Multispectral sensor. The device is powerful enough to take fingerprint of dry, wet, elderly, oily hands. Matrix will present its standalone Access Control solution where one can connect up to 255 devices and 25,000 users, without a server. Additionally, Matrix will be showcasing its Time-Attendance solution where attendance can be marked from hand-held device as well as using GPS/Wi-Fi through mobile. “During this exhibition, we will demonstrate our enterprise grade Access Control solution with realtime features such as Auto Push Events to Server, Instant Notification, Automatic Device Identification, Mobile as User Credentials and many more”, said Sagar Gosalia, Senior Vice President Marketing and Sales.
MSI strengthens presence with 11 new service centres in India MSI is pleased to announce 11 more locations to its Regenersis network. With even more local knowledge and personnel, MSI is dedicated to the goal of maintaining customer gaming gear of the highest possible standard. To highlight its devotion in being a leader in gaming notebooks, MSI is offering free upgrade services and end of year cleanup till January 2017. With working hours of 9:30AM to 6:30 PM, Monday to Saturday, customers can fetch a wide window of availability to fit their busy schedules and the toll free hotline and email address offers plenty of ways to get fast reliable service. India is a vast and diverse country with a modern and busy population. In order to customize the service in each area and decrease searching and wait times, MSI and Regenersis are eager to open new centers in a variety of locations. The 10 cities include-: Mumbai (x2), Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chandigarh, and Lucknow.
SME CHANNELS 19 NOVEMBER 2016
SNIPPETS
BlackBerry announces distribution agreement with Optiemus BlackBerry and Optiemus Infracom have announced a major handset distribution partnership in India, a key global market for BlackBerry. The partnership will see Optiemus distribute and promote BlackBerry handsets to the Indian market. This includes the new DTEK50 and DTEK60 by BlackBerry, the latest in the company’s DTEK series of secure Android smartphones with BlackBerry security software inside. Alex Thurber, Senior VP, Global Device Sales at BlackBerry said, “India is a very important market for BlackBerry and we are delighted to announce a new partnership with Optiemus Infracom Ltd that strengthens our network of key partners in India and enables us to deliver our secure BlackBerry Android experience to more customers.”
SUPERTRON BECOMES BINATONE NATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR BINATONE is proud to appoint SUPERTRON as National Distributor for Wireless & Networking product line. Binatone design and manufacture Binatone brand of products and is also global licensee manufacture of Motorola and AEG. Announcing this latest development S.P Singh , Managing Director, Binatone , India mentioned Binatone has been in Indian market for over decade and already enjoys good market share of its CPE with most demanding customers like Telco’s and ISPs is pleased to make foray into big time B2C business with SUPERTRON . Rakesh Singh, GM & Head Sales, who is driving this Channel initiative is upbeat on this tie up further commented SUPERTRON is among top 5 national distributor with deep market penetration and credibility of successfully building brands. The channel partners can now have access to BINATONE products through SUPERTRON branches across India and experience the brand that stand for reliability , affordability , and innovation. Mr.V.K Bhandari, Chairman , MD appreciated the product design and manufacturing capability of Binatone and see this as valuable long term business association.
Honeywell recognizes top channel partners at EMEA conference Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS) recognized the successes of its key channel partners at its annual Channel Partner Conference for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), held in tandem with the 2016 Honeywell Users Group EMEA Conference. Purshottam Kanji Trading Co, of Oman, was named Distributor of the Year for delivering major customer wins and new product sales. This partner increased year-over-year sales of Honeywell solutions by 34 percent, signing major customer wins, and driving orders for new products such as SmartLine and Guided Wave Radar. Izoform Endüstriyel Otomasyon San. based in Turkey, was named Systems Integrator of the Year EMEA. This partner achieved 30 percent growth year-on-year and brought in strategic wins in target industries.
ACER reaching every nooks and corners in India ACER has announced the expansion of its retail presence in India with the inauguration of its exclusive store in Ghaziabad. The new store is strategically situated at Hans Plaza, Ambedkar Road, Ghaziabad. Having achieved a stronghold in metros, Acer is penetrating the length and breadth of the country to address the varied computing needs of its customers. The new outlet will feature the company’s entire gamut of Laptops, Desktops, Monitors and Tablets. Addressing the launch, Chandrahas Panigrahi, Sr. Director and Consumer Business Head, Acer India says, “We are delighted to inaugurate our 1st exclusive store in Ghaziabad, and second exclusive store in western Uttar Pradesh, North India has always been a mature market and we look to expand our footprints not only in metro cities but also in small towns in order to reach out to the end consumers well. It is important for consumers to experience a product and understand its benefits to make an informed purchase decision”.
20 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
Zyxel launches Nebula cloud networking solution Zyxel Communications launches Nebula — a fully cloud-based networking and management solution to centrally manage all Nebula wired and wireless devices. With Nebula, businesses will be able to achieve real plug-and-play network operating experience and can setup, maintain and troubleshoot remotely, dramatically increasing staff productivity and business flexibility. Businesses with multiple offices or several satellite sites such as hotels and chain stores often find it challenging to manage multiple networks due to the lack of expertise or the complexities of a sprawling system. Slow tech support, complicated settings, and costly manpower or hidden consultancy fees often keep businesses from growing. As “Your Networking Ally”, Zyxel is breaking down the barriers with Nebula, which enables customers to view and manage their entire network across multiple sites in one secure online platform.
D-LINK
CHANNEL BIZ
D-LINK TO MAINTAIN HEALTHY GROWTH RATES IN 2016-17 With a lot of buzz happening around smart cities, digitization, infrastructure modernization, etc., the companies in India are seeing a positive-growth for them and so is D-Link India. TUSHAR SIGHAT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO AT D-LINK INDIA LIMITED.
BY: SATINDER KAUR skaur@smechannels.com
I
ndia’s growth in the infrastructure market, has pushed the entire technology market to move forward aggressively. D-Link as a company relishes this growth. Tushar Sighat, Executive Director & CEO at D-Link India Limited, says, “We are happy about the buzz at the background, but without the buzz also the market is upbeat. Overall the enthusiasm of the people is very high and it is fueling the growth.” D-Link business is based on connectivity solution. In recent times there has been a growth in the usage of technology. Infrastructure projects are growing faster therefore their structured cabling business is also growing faster. From the business focus stand point, D-Link addresses the networking needs both of consumers and corporates. The growth in consumers’ consumption of internet is encouraging in India. They want Wi-Fi everywhere. So, the growth in wireless business is imminent. D-Link’s active networking products’ portfolio is also increasing because of the overall corporate market growth. The government is increasing its IT practice, which is fueling the overall culture of IT to be stronger in all the cities. Tushar adds, “Smart city initiative is a very good one where D-Link is actively involved. We are working with a lot of large partners who are bidding for smart cities. Overall the brand is gaining momentum from various business segments. Additionally, all our product segments be it Wi-Fi routers, ADSL routers, switching, cabling solution,
ISP solutions, etc. are doing exceptionally well” D-Link has select alliance partners like MOXA for industrial solutions and Gajshield for network security, which is further adding to company revenue. Talking about Alliance business Tushar added, “We have a dedicated business heads who are driving these strategic partnerships. This further broadens D-Link’s product portfolio & strengthens our position as an end-to-end networking leader” D-Link is enhancing its focus on Surveillance market, and is in the forefront in promoting IP based Surveillance technology. D-Link has been working closely for various surveillance projects with its business associates/ partners/ system integrators present across the country. D-Link has an extensive portfolio of High definition IP Surveillance cameras that include Full HD Indoor dome cameras, Full HD Indoor Box cameras, HD Vandal Proof cameras and HD Consumer cameras. “D-Link as an end-to-end networking technology provider offers complete surveillance solution. With the help of D-Link’s wireless products, cameras can be placed virtually anywhere for comprehensive monitoring of premises. Further Surveillance systems call for specialized storage designed to cope with a constant stream of surveillance data. D-Link has Network Video Recorder (NVR) solutions that are designed specifically to handle IP surveillance records, so administrators can maintain a repository of surveillance footage that is secure, redundant, and easy to manage”
“WE ARE THE NO.1 SMB SOLUTION PROVIDER. BUT WE DO HAVE SOLUTIONS FOR THE ENTERPRISES TOO.” added Tushar. D-Link India also caters to the networking demand of SAARC countries like Sri Lanka & Bangladesh. D-Link offers both consumer & enterprise solution to SAARC, and is witnessing steady growth in this region. D-Link’s competition is completely different in each product line. Tushar maintains, “Our strategy is to compete in all the markets we operate in and sustain growth. We foresee huge opportunity in the market and are addressing these opportunities individually with different strategy. We love it.” As per him, the company has empowered its internal resources to drive the business, which enables them to surpass challenges with confidence. This reflects in the results, last year D-Link grew by 15% to touch revenue of Rs.700 crores and for this year too, Tushar thinks the growth will be of similar kind.
Finally… He concluded, “We are the No.1 SMB solution provider. But we do have solutions for the enterprises too.
SME CHANNELS 21 NOVEMBER 2016
COVER STORY
PAAS, CAAS, IAAS
THE FOREFRONT OF
DIGITAL INDIA With enterprises convinced of the benefits reaped by deploying cloud technology, the choice is no longer whether to make the logical shift, rather a considerable amount of adoption is seen with IT services. Additionally, initiatives like Digital India and with IoT in full upswing, cloud services are being embraced at an ever increasing pace. 22 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
COVER STORY
BY SATINDER KAUR
skaur@smechannels.com
W
ith the growing dependency of businesses on technology that drives time and value efficiency, Cloud Computing has emerged as a new era in IT and is at the top of the agenda for every CIO today. With organizations increasingly moving towards a digital business strategy, Market Monitor predicts the cloud computing market revenue to increase at a 36% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This positions the cloud computing market at approximately $20 billion at the end of 2016. Cloud Computing’s adoption has seen a favorable ascent in the Indian context such that Gartner estimates it to account for bulk of
IT spending in India in 2016, reaching over $3 billion. In the Indian context, Cloud Computing is slated to have a direct impact on the how we do business and the benefits derived with primary concentration on SMB’s. Considering the accelerated growth of Cloud Computing, integration of the 3 cloud computing models namely – Saas, Paas, Iaas is anticipated. Eklavya Bhave, Head Channels and Alliances, India & SAARC at Citrix shares, “For companies on the path of digitally equipping themselves, shifting to cloud computing has been the most natural progression. It’s very difficult for companies to move to cloud by investing only on one of the three models. There is no
one right fit for all and investment in a particular model varies from customer to customer, depending on their needs. For instance, companies looking at adoption from a long term perspective should consider an integrated, synergized cloud computing strategy and would be best suited to invest in a combination of all three technologies.” According to Ramesh Loganathan, Vice President Products and Managing Director, Progress India , “SaaS, PaaS and IaaS are all interlinked and these are just layers. SaaS is the first layer, where an Enterprise can procure a solution from a software vendor that is in a SaaS model- where they don’t have to worry about servers, environment, software, versions, upgrades, administrators’ et al. The SME CHANNELS 23 NOVEMBER 2016
COVER STORY
“COMPANIES WHO MANAGE HYBRID CLOUD FOR THEIR CLIENTS WITH THEIR PARTNERS, SELL THE PLATFORM, OR THOSE IN THE APPLICATION SPACE WOULD PROBABLY SPEND ON EITHER PAAS OR IAAS.” MUKUL MATHUR, V P- GLOBAL BUSINESS PARTNERS AND CSI, IBM INDIASOUTH ASIA PaaS and IaaS are more for the software vendors, as platforms for their solution. IaaS is more actively used now with the likes of Amazon, Microsoft & Google clouds getting very mainstream. Though, PaaS seems a little slower in India.”
The software industry has completely modified the work lifestyle. It started with a simple explanation of Software as a service but over the time it has evolved to be the base of every software and projects being done by entrepreneurs. The horizontal SaaS models have been adopted by every industry, be it a core IT company, HR, Innovations, Healthcare, Banking, Communications etc. Discussing more on SaaS, Prasanna Bableshwar, Architect - IP Solutions, Happiest Minds Technologies opines, “In India SaaS is most suited and well received by Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), mostly because of them are first time technology adopters and they do not have legacy software baggage to carry along. SaaS also offers pay-asyou-go model which mostly does not require the SMEs to hugely invest upfront.
PaaS is situated in the “middle” of the cloud stack, between infrastructure-as-a-service and softwareas-a-service. Today there are multiple PaaS services. One aspect to watch prudently in the PaaS segment is the role of open standards and open source. IBM’s Bluemix is the best example of billion commitments to PaaS’ capabilities. With the growing popularity of PaaS, it will continue to offers an atmosphere for creators and companies to host and deploy, applications, storage boxes, connectivity tools and other needed features. PaaS is rapidly improving the speed of developing an app or the code of service, and allows the customer to concentrate on the application itself and its utility. As per the Gartner report, (PaaS) is forecast to grow 31.7 percent in 2016, to $82.1 million. This is an artifact of enterprises looking to develop and build applications in the public cloud that are cloud native, as well as non-cloud native applications that are refactored taking advantage of PaaS. The opportunity for PaaS to grow in India is immense as enterprises are looking to create applications in public cloud that are refactored using the advantages that PaaS offers.
PaaS Opportunities
IaaS Opportunities
SaaS Opportunities
“FOR COMPANIES ON THE PATH OF DIGITALLY EQUIPPING THEMSELVES, SHIFTING TO CLOUD COMPUTING HAS BEEN THE MOST NATURAL PROGRESSION.” EKLAVYA BHAVE, HEAD - CHANNELS AND ALLIANCES, INDIA & SAARC AT CITRIX
24 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
“SAAS IS MOST SUITABLE FOR ORGANISATIONS THAT WORK ON SHORT TERM PROJECTS REQUIRING COLLABORATION, WHILE IAAS IS WELL SUITED FOR STARTUPS” NEERAJ BHATIA, DIRECTOR -PARTNER, ALLIANCES, RED HAT
Along with PaaS and Saas, IaaS forms the three main pillars of cloud computing services. The IaaS market has seen huge uptick in the last few years given the many benefits that cloud computing provides and with enterprises getting over the apprehension of using cloud services. Whereas in the past, most of the discussions would revolve around private, conversations now have significantly moved towards public and also the hybrid cloud now that customers have more confidence in the ability of the services provider to offer robust security to the information and applications. IBM was the first company to open a datacenter in India (Mumbai) back in 2014 and followed it up with a public cloud datacenter in Chennai in Oct 2015. IBM’s services for cloud computing encompass the whole gamut from IaaS to SaaS and PaaS. IaaS is the fastest growing segment in the cloud services domain. The Gartner report suggests that the IaaS segment will reach $448.9 M by the end of 2016.
Partner’s Readiness Expertise is the key to unlocking bigger deal sizes, better close rates and higher profits. It depends on the solution and value proposition that the partner is focused on. The investment is subject
COVER STORY
“CLOUD IS ALREADY BRINGING GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTNERS, AND WITH CROSS-CLOUD ARCHITECTURE WE ARE BRINGING MORE CHOICE FOR CUSTOMERS.” SUNDAR BALASUBRAMANIAN, SENIOR DIRECTOR, GENERAL BUSINESS (COMMERCIAL SALES & PARTNERS) AT VMWARE
to factors such as the nature of the offerings or the business. Giving more information on this, Mukul Mathur - VP, Global Business Partners and CSI, IBM IndiaSouth Asia says, “Companies who manage hybrid cloud for their clients with their partners, sell the platform, or those in the application space would probably spend on either PaaS or IaaS.” This way the investment is channel-
ized and product oriented as the company would be using this as its commodity booster. IBM has number of skill development programs to enable partners to enhance offerings for their clients. The strategy has always been to choose the right skill set only. To IT buyers, strategic partners are merchants that have gone beyond effective delivery of services to develop constantly and transpar-
“CLOUD COMPUTING HAS TRANSFORMED FUNDAMENTAL WAY PARTNERS, CUSTOMERS ARE DOING BUSINESS.” PRASHANTH SUBRAMANIAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, QUADRA SYSTEMS PVT. LTD
computing..
simplified..
India’s First 14.1”
LAPTOP
9999
1
LET YOUR
dreams Set Sail
Intel Inside®. Amazing Experiences Outside. Intel® Quad Core 1.84 GHz Processor
8.5 Hours Backup
32GB Storage
(Expandable upto 128GB)
Available with
(10,000mAh Battery)
12,999
1 Local Taxes and Handling Charges are Extra.Intel, Intel Atom, the Intel logo and the Intel Inside logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Windows is a registered tradem.ark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
1
# Work
# Social Networking
# Education # Entertainment
# and more
SME CHANNELS 25 NOVEMBER 2016
COVER STORY
“IN INDIA SAAS IS MOST SUITED AND WELL RECEIVED BY SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE (SME), MOSTLY BECAUSE OF THEM ARE FIRST TIME TECHNOLOGY ADOPTERS.” PRASANNA BABLESHWAR, ARCHITECT - IP SOLUTIONS, HAPPIEST MINDS TECHNOLOGIES
ently. Receptive and reliable collaborators creates value for an enterprise. IBM looks for partners to synchronize with the new age technology and can provide end customers with the solutions that will help them succeed in the market. As far as Vmware is concerned, it offers a range of partner training programs to build partner solution skills and enable them to become a trusted advisor to customers. Apart from this it also invest extensively in workshops, events and roadshows which provide opportunity to build awareness and drive adoption in market that helps create opportunities for partners. Sundar Balasubramanian, Sr. Director, General Business at VMware opines, “Cloud is already bringing great opportunities for partners, and with the Cross-Cloud Architecture we are bringing more choice for customers. For our solution provider partners, there are opportunities to help customers integrate platforms built on the Cloud Foundation principles into their own private clouds. While this is something that is already happening through the SDDC, Cloud Foundation will make it even easier for partners to help customers take advantage of hybrid and public cloud environments.”
Challenges for partners Cloud industry has become a dynamic market. As we see software enhancing minute to minute, the products and solution will equally have to get modified. It is important for organisations to keep a holistic view when it comes to cloud and keep a right mix of the services, when deciding what solutions to deploy. Sharing his view, Neeraj Bhatia, Director -Partner, Alliances & Commercial Sales, Red Hat excerpts, “Most organisations today are adopting a digital business strategy and moving away from the traditional IT practices to cloud services. The simple strategy for organisations should be to analyse their business needs and adopt cloud solutions accordingly. For e.g. SaaS is most suitable for organisations that work on Short term projects requiring collaboration. Similarly, IaaS is well suited for startups and organisations that are not sure of their application.” The cloud has truly democratized the IT capabilities across every organization. Being a technology partner for Citrix, Prashanth Subramanian, Executive Director, Quadra Systems believes that the adoption of cloud has shifted their focus from being a ‘technology deployment’ provider to a ‘technology adoption’ provider. He says, “Conver-
“ANALYSING IT REQUIREMENTS AND REACHING THE RIGHT PLATFORM IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR.” VISHAL BARAPATRE, GROUP CTO, IN2IT TECHNOLOGIES
26 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
“SAAS, PAAS AND IAAS ARE ALL INTERLINKED AND THESE ARE JUST LAYERS.“ RAMESH LOGANATHAN, VICE PRESIDENT PRODUCTS AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, PROGRESS INDIA
sations with customers have matured and revolve around how we can help utilize a technology in a manner that best benefits their business, suit their business goals and maximize their business benefits. This makes for deeper, more profitable, win-win customer relationships.” “The adoption of each cloud service model will raise business standards but partners have to “analyse”. Analysing IT requirements and reaching the right platform is the need of the hour. Apart from that, analyse the risks associated with the implementation of cloud service models that must be overcome. Once you are done with managing risks, you are all set to experience increased flexibility and economies of scale with effective management of resources and data”, says Vishal Barapatre, Group CTO, In2IT Technologies.
Finally… It’s time for partners to focus on Vertical-centric solution, understand challenges & business benefits to the customers and offer the right kind of solution. Cloud Computing holds tremendous potential to let explore the ease of doing business while enhancing operational efficiency and reducing costs. Success will depend on how well organizations manage their use of Cloud and the changes required in skills, processes, business models, and relation¬ships—both inside and outside the traditional walls of the enterprise.
DELL INDIA
CHANNEL ROADMAP
DELL’S PRIMARY FOCUS IS TO GROW OUTSIDE METROS For a brand to evolve, there is a need for a two-way dialogue with customers. Operating in isolation does not compare to collaborative growth, in that it is necessary to understand what customers want from any brand, in order to build better products and to deliver a seamless technology experience. BY: SATINDER KAUR
NIKUNJ MURUKUTLA, GENERAL MANAGER, CONSUMER & SMALL BUSINESS, DELL INDIA
skaur@smechannels.com
A
clear vision and consistent enthusiasm with regards to its multiple product offerings, gives customers reason to invest trust in the brand. Each product from Dell’s kitty is crafted keeping in mind the value it adds in the life of the user, thereby resulting in an innovative end-to-end product portfolio, wherein there is a technology solution for each unique technology requirement. Innovating to deliver the best and latest technology to customers is a key factor for Dell in driving growth and in building relationships with users. Nikunj Murukutla, General Manager, Consumer & Small Business, Dell India excerpts, “We believe in purposeful innovation and that belief is what keeps our products new and exciting. Along with the PCs across different categories – we offer preinstalled software along with it such as the antitheft software called Lojack – which is completely unique to Dell.”
Expansion plans for India Dell’s retail presence spans across over 1200 cities and towns in the country across multiple retail formats - Dell Exclusive Stores (DES) as well as Large Format Retail partners like Croma, Reliance Digital etc. and multibrand outlets (MBO). Shedding more light on this, Nikunj Murukutla says, “We have more than 650 DES (Dell Exclusive Stores) across regions – even in remote towns like Dimapur, Nagaland, Islampur, Nagercoil, Burj in Gujrat, Sri Nagar and many more which gives us a first mover advantage in terms of exclusive present, by inviting customers to reach out whenever
they have a technology-related need.” Marketing and promotion has always been a primary function for Dell’s PC business and it is planning to continue the same in its approach to engage with customers. While Dell differentiates its audience by different categories across Tiers and according to their understanding of technology and willingness to adopt PC technology, company’s range of promotional offers through the year, offer something for every individual. Nikunj Murukutla further adds that Dell value the feedback system immensely in partnership with the channel partners across regions. This mechanism works two ways for Dell – to understand the customer’s needs and to communicate the finer details of its wide range of products, offerings and services. For example, the anti-theft software inbuilt in Dell’s devices which is very unique to Dell is often not considered in the initial stages of a purchase decision. But with the help of our channel partners it becomes easier to communicate offerings in detail to the customers to close the end sale. According to Nikunj Murukutla, “Channel meets across various cities on a very regular basis work best for channel management and enables our partners to consistently hear from us as we reiterate their importance in the functioning and growth of our business. Our partners appreciate when they hear from us in detail on the available products, various ways of approaching the customers and upcoming products. We also try to engage and keep our partners aware of the initiatives we are taking to create consumer awareness about PC adoptions. This year we launched
“WE HAVE A PLAN TO CONTINUE OUR REACH TO CUSTOMERS BY ADDING 30-40 CITIES IN THE NEXT 6 MONTHS’ TIME.” Dell Aarambh – a pan India PC for Education program aimed at the three key pillars of the education ecosystem – the teachers, parents and students in Tier 3 cities and beyond.” In a larger context, PC adoption can enable the nurturing of digital citizens who will serve as the building blocks for a rapidly developing Digital India. Channel is indirectly front-ending the brand across regions to its customers – hence channel partners play a major role in enabling decisions of the finer details of execution when it comes to customer engagement activities. They are truly Dell’s partners when it comes to building awareness about PC technology and Dell’s end-to-end technology offerings, and the company ensures that they feel the same as they work with them.
Finally… Focusing more on 2 in 1s and slowing bidding adieu to tabs, Dell’s products speak for themselves and its marketing campaigns focus on creating more awareness about PC use. Dell is taking help of its channel partners to make initiatives like Dell Aarambh, festive offers, more successful.
SME CHANNELS 27 NOVEMBER 2016
SME CHAT
BHASKAR BAKTHAVATSALU, MANAGING DIRECTOR, CHECK POINT, INDIA & SAARC
JOINT CALLS, PARTNER ACTIVITIES BOLSTERING CHECK POINT’S EFFORTS Rather than installing applications on company’s premises, businesses are turning to providers who permit access to a host of cloud-based apps at a lower cost. The cloud helps businesses avoid costly on site deployments that may require highly trained staff along with installations on multiple servers and every end user device. What is the total market size of the hosted Service Sector (including applications (software as a service), security, monitoring, storage, web development, website hosting and email) in India? Gartner is predicting the cloud-based security services market, which includes secure email or web gateways, identity and access management (IAM), remote vulnerability assessment, security information and event management to hit $4.13 billion by 2017. Does Indian market have a clear understanding of it? It is far easier to get people up and running on a cloud based application. With a cloud-based service, the rollout time is reduced considerably as there are minimal costly hardware deployments and no client updates. A business can utilize easy subscription billing for cloud-based applications as well. The client is charged only for the specific services they subscribe to and the number of users who actually use the cloud applications. Indian Govt. has been steadily
28 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
advocating digitization of its agencies. How big a role will the service sector play in this initiative? There is growing traction, acceptance and utilization of the cloud as a provider of security services. Some cloud applications are designed to provide security services on-premise and help customers manage their devices through the cloud. Other cloud applications are designed to manage the security functionality that you already have in place, offloading the monitoring and tracking of security threats to an off-site professional team that is dedicated solely to this task. What kind of excitement do you see among your partners? Our alliance with VMware and Microsoft has helped us adopt faster on cloud, IoT and new technologies. Joint calls and partner activities strengthen our efforts. What steps are you taking to position yourself in hosted services? The Check Point Cloud-Managed Security Service delivers comprehensive web, network,
“INDIAN MARKET, WITH ITS LARGE VOLUME OF SMBS IS PRIME MARKET FOR HOSTED SERVICES. ALREADY AT THE CONSUMER LEVEL THERE IS WIDESPREAD ADOPTION OF STORAGE AND EMAIL AS A SERVICE BUT THE SAME IS NOT YET TRUE FOR LARGE ENTERPRISES.” and data protection. This best-in-class patented technology provides same proven technologies protecting the Fortune 100 companies to SMBs at an affordable price. Businesses can effectively transfer management of their security to out team’s security experts who monitors security activities with 24/7 coverage. What are the initial challenges do you see with adoption of hosted services? Customer side education is the key challenge. In addition concerns related to long term vendor lock in and their ability to manage multi-tenancy environments are some other reasons why this market is not growing faster.
FINESSE
PARTNER CORNER
CHALLENGES FOR FINANCE INDUSTRY As banking is moving into more digital, the chances of fraud and threats increases. Institutions need to upgrade their AML (Anti Money Laundering) and Fraud Management Systems to provide them with real-time insights.
T
he finance industry worldwide has a reputation has being ahead of the curve when it comes to IT. Whether it’s new algorithms designed to take trading to new speeds, or the latest security solution designed to provide the utmost protection from criminals, finance organisations are well aware of the benefits that IT can bring to the bottom line. The finance industry is changing globally and will have to definitely transform here in India as well. Here things are no different, but there are still challenges that finance organisations face. Some of the challenges faced by the IT departments include the following:
Customer Experience and Payments. Today’s customers expect an Omni-channel experience. He should be able to purchase, transact, make payments, deposit, etc.seamlessly across channels; whether it is at the counter, through internet banking , mobile platform or at the ATM. There is a huge expectation not only to offer the omni-channel platform, but also to ensure that the cross selling and upselling to be enabled at every touch point. There is also a huge need for the CRMs and various other systems for real time analytics to be working together. The innovations in payments brought in by the mobile players will take away a major part of banks’retail business. Also, new financing models such as crowd funding and peer to peer funding is becoming increasingly popular with corporate and establishments. Closely looking at these sce-
narios, we can see that software and technology with innovation is taking away from the traditional banking space. The pressure is mounting on Financial institutions, especially their IT departments to rapidly transform their current business model.
Compliance & Risk Management. As banking is moving into more digital, the chances of fraud and threats increases. Institutions need to upgrade their AML (Anti Money Laundering) and Fraud Management Systems to provide them with real-time insights. The region is also has a unique compliance issue as most banks struggle with their customers’ information. In many cases there are none or very little KYC (Know your customer) informationavailable or it is outdated. As the documents expires periodically, the banks need to collect and update the customer’s KYC information regularly. This will become more difficult as the new compliance regulations are being introduced. It is always an on-going challenge for the banks’ IT to keep their KYC information updated.
Master Data Management Banks use multiple systems to do their business. Typically the top banks may have between 150200 systems used by their various functions and departments. Customer information is stored in silos and the absence of a central structured data repository providing a single 360 degree view of the customeris always another challenge to the
SUNIL PAUL, CO-FOUNDER & COO, FINESSE
“THE FINANCE INDUSTRY IS CHANGING GLOBALLY AND WILL HAVE TO DEFINITELY TRANSFORM HERE IN INDIA AS WELL.” banks and financial institutions. This will also make it difficult to carry out effective analytics as the ‘Big Data’ from various channels and social media is pumped in. Another major concernfor the finance institutions hereas it is anywhere else is security. Moreover the recent vulnerability incidents have forced many banks to relook at their cyber security. Thus we are seeing thatfinance institutions are spendingrelatively more on security solutions and services than organisations in other industries. Yet, theyhave to do a lot to enhance their security, vigilance and to create a stronger policy with an effective approach. Most banks are yet to implement systems for real time fraud management system across channels or effective Bi/Analytics solutions. Finance institutions are under huge pressure to stay ahead of the game, especially technologically speaking. Fintech players have already stated eating the breakfast of large institutions. Obviously, there are multiple factors, including the regulators standpoint and risk aversness which will also play a major role in the game.
SME CHANNELS 29 NOVEMBER 2016
FEATURE
CONNECTIVITY
AS THE MAINSTAY OF
IT INFRASTRUCTURE... The enterprise networking industry is anticipated to witness growth owing to ongoing technological innovations in wireless LAN technology and high-speed Ethernet switches. Increasing shift towards wireless adoption, expanding the mobile workforce, rising bandwidth requirements and growing base of mobile internet devices are the key factors which are expected to drive demand.
BY SATINDER KAUR skaur@smechannels.com
I
n enterprise segment, the role of networking remains indispensable as networking continues to be the backbone of any IT Infrastructure. Investment in developing a robust & secure network infrastructure is still a top priority for most business verticals be it Banking, Hospitality, Education etc. Today 10G infrastructure is being adopted by SME & Enterprise customers to get the maximum performance. Sanket Kulkarni, VP – Channels (India & SAARC), D-Link excerpts, “Mobile device along with internet is bringing about sea-
30 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
through change in consumer lifestyle segment. Connectivity has become the key, as people are constantly looking at ways to interacts & engage - with technology being the enabler.” This has resulted in huge demand for wireless networking equipment’s from both end-users & enterprises. The role of government is promoting technology adoption is also commendable. Broadband penetration in smaller & remote cities is driving demand for connectivity equipment’s across the country. According to Harshavardhan Kathaley, Director - Partner Sales, India & SAARC at Juni-
per Networks, “Networking hardware market is expected to be the next disruptor and the avenue for innovations as organizations look to conquer its space in this highly competitive, analytical and information driven world.”
India’s Networking Market... Networking market in India is on growing stage, people are adapting to new technologies and are opting for High-end devices, which ultimately is leading to need of better Wi-Fi and powerful connection. People are more connected digitally
FEATURE
SANKET KULKARNI, VP – CHANNELS (INDIA & SAARC), D-LINK
“CONNECTIVITY HAS BECOME THE KEY, AS PEOPLE ARE CONSTANTLY LOOKING AT WAYS TO INTERACTS & ENGAGE - WITH TECHNOLOGY BEING THE ENABLER.”
now than ever. From last year 802.11n wireless standard to this year highly trending 802.11ac we have seen huge leap in Wireless world. According to a new IDC report, the networking market in India grew at 10.5% during the Q2 of 2016 as compared to last year. Banks upgrading its networks and spends increasing from automobile, education and professional services organizations were the key reasons behind the growth of switching market in this quarter, as per the report. 4G rollout and expansion in the enterprise space, owing to professional services, banking and discrete manu-
facturing units. Giving more details on the trends, Lynn Wang, V.P. SOHO Business, TP-Link India says, “AC routers are gaining market presence now. As people have more devices supporting dual band functionality we are seeing new generation inclining towards this new trend. Also as people are going for bigger house and improvement in lifestyle Range Extender are picking up sales.” Vertical wise, education has picked up in a big way, followed by Government and PSU. However, this has been an organic growth and we expect it will take another 2-3 years at least to see expo-
nential growth in the networking space. One more product line, we have to give a credit for the growth of networking is surveillance and getting into that field is going to be the next step for all the networking vendors. On the enterprise networking front, we would say that we have seen growth in wireless controllers and that is mainly because there is a lot of requirement of wireless hotspots. Thus, that market has picked up a lot.
The Latest Trends... It’s interesting times in India wherein technology is
SME CHANNELS 31 NOVEMBER 2016
FEATURE
MANDAR JOSHI, HEAD - CHANNEL BUSINESS, DIGISOL SYSTEMS
LYNN WANG, V.P. SOHO BUSINESS, TP-LINK INDIA
“AC ROUTERS ARE ‘MAKE IN INDIA’ GAINING MARKET AND ‘DIGITAL INDIA’ PRESENCE NOW AS INITIATIVES ARE PEOPLE HAVE MORE GOING TO PROVIDE DEVICES SUPPORTING IMPETUS TO THE DUAL BAND COMPLETE ECONOMIC FUNCTIONALITY CHAIN OF ACTIVITIES WE ARE SEEING IN THE COUNTRY.” NEW GENERATION INCLINING TOWARDS THIS NEW TREND.”
bridging the gap between rural & urban India, as it is driving business productivity and transforming day to day living. Under Digital India program, government has set an ambitious plan to build 100 smart cities across the country. Further Rural Broadband for All, Universal Mobile Access, Wi-Fi in Varsities and Public Wi-Fi Hotspots are the core agendas of digitization program. As a result internet connectivity is going to be crucial, and therefore offering huge business opportunity for brand like ours. This is the reason, it is rightly said that with the kind of smart phone penetration, next only to China, this is the right time for Indian consumers to experience the connected world of Internet. Foreseeing the boost in manufacturing through Digital India initiatives, Mandar Joshi, Head - Channel Business, DIGISOL Systems explains, “‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ initiatives are going to provide impetus to the complete economic chain of activities in the country. The IT hardware manufacturing Industry will have a major role to play here with Digital India Initiatives announced by the Government. The 9 pillars under the Digital India initiative are going to be huge demand generator.” DIGISOL
32 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
has already launched indigenously manufactured “DIGISOL” branded Routers “DG-HR3400-I” & “DG-BG4300NU-I” and Networking Switch “DG-FS1008DG-I” under the Make in India initiative and have been receiving overwhelming response from the market. Another technology that is gathering a lot of attention in recent times is - Web of things or Internet of Things (IoT). Moving forward, all device shall be interconnected & can be accessed from anywhere through the internet. Given the number of existing internet connected devices, IoT will act as an obvious extension for todays connected world. D-Link is already working on devices that are IoT enabled & has introduced a series of products based on IoT like Smart Plug, Audio Extender, Motion sensor etc. There is an overall market growth happening due to improving technology awareness and need from the general Indian SMB, SME and SOHO markets. For example with increasing internet speed, we see more and more wireless coverage in the mid segment. Purpose-built 10 G solutions , for example 8 port 10G aggregator for media industry, are gaining ground. Talking
HARSHAVARDHAN KATHALEY, DIRECTOR - PARTNER SALES, INDIA & SAARC AT JUNIPER NETWORKS
“NETWORKING HARDWARE MARKET IS EXPECTED TO BE THE NEXT DISRUPTOR AND THE AVENUE FOR INNOVATIONS.”
about PoE driven surveillance solutions, Subhodeep Bhattacharya Regional Director, India & SAARC,NETGEAR opines, “PoE switches are seeing a huge growth which inturn is driving sales of switches, storage and wireless access products.”
Partners require Technical skill-set... Channel partners should work with a vendor who can help them develop their solutions expertise, sales skills, and profitability. Channel partners should work with vendors who give good incentives for selling the vendor products and should help partners make money from vendor products. They should choose to work on solutions that are disruptive and that can be adopted well by the market. Channel partners should get the right level of guidance both from a programme and an enablement perspective. Srikanth Natarajan, Director, Channels & Alliances, India and SAARC, Brocade excerpts, “Brocade wants to hand pick partners across markets. We want partners who understand technology and who have the Datacenter DNA in them. We would like suitable partners across regions to take advantage
FEATURE
SUBHODEEP BHATTACHARYA REGIONAL DIRECTOR, INDIA & SAARC,NETGEAR
SRIKANTH NATARAJAN, DIRECTOR, CHANNELS & ALLIANCES, INDIA AND SAARC, BROCADE
“POE SWITCHES ARE SEEING A HUGE GROWTH WHICH INTURN IS DRIVING SALES OF SWITCHES, STORAGE AND WIRELESS ACCESS PRODUCTS.”
“BROCADE WANTS TO HAND PICK PARTNERS ACROSS MARKETS WHO UNDERSTAND TECHNOLOGY AND WHO HAVE THE DATACENTER DNA IN THEM.”
of Brocade’s industry-leading solutions, training, and other programs to ensure they are competent in physical, virtual and hybrid solutions and don’t get left behind.” As far as Juniper is concerned, over the last few quarters it has been making enhancement in the “JPA – Juniper Partner Advantage” program. We now have one of the best partner program framework which is simplified to cover all the partners’ viz. SI, VAR, Distributors, Services partner etc. While the program requirements are simplified, the partner benefits have been increased significantly on Rebates, Marketing Development Funds, Demo labs, Demand generation campaigns, Enablement & Training etc. These enhancements will make it easy for partners to work with Juniper
Finally... Technology is constantly evolving so is the customer. It is imperative for partners to update themselves on new technology trends, understand customer buying pattern and look at offering a solution rather than a product. Partners should look at enrolling for various industry certification programs that will help them upscale their business.
SME CHANNELS 33 NOVEMBER 2016
PARTNER CORNER
MUKESH KALRA, DIRECTOR, TEEN TELECOMMUNICATION, DELHI
MATRIX IS ALL ABOUT QUALITY, FAIR POLICIES & BEST SALES SUPPORT The telecom market is innovative and growing at a rapid pace. The constant updates in terms of cost effective solutions pushes the channel partners to remain abreast with the technological advances in the telecom industry. This helps them to provide clients with solutions that are cost effective and meet their needs. Brief us about your company? Teen Telecommunication was established in the year 1996. It started with only three employees and has since grown into a company with 35 employees. Since its inception, TTCPL has seen various phases in telecom business. We started with dealership of Meltron EPABX, moved ahead to Samsung, NEC & ALCATEL. What is your turnover and growth percentage? Last year, we had a turnover of about five crores. Our turnover varied between 3 to 6 crores in the last 10 years. What kind of solutions and products you are dealing in? Today MATRIX is our main product, which we started dealing in just six years back. The reasons for Matrix being our main product are straightforward policies of the company and the ability its R&D Centre to transform the product range with the latest features and designs as per the requirement of fast changing competitive World Market.
34 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
How do you find Matrix products in terms of its advantages vis-àvis other brands? Matrix is a brand that stands for ‘SUBSTANCE’ in terms of technology, depth, genuineness and going beyond the mere outer façade and offering more values in all areas. This is what differentiates Matrix from its competitors. It strives to offer MORE in everything it does – technology, applications, functions, features, performance, flexibility, reliability and support .
What the company needs to do to improve the market share Matrix product range of EPABX up to 1344 Port caters to more than 80% of the market. We hope and are confident that Matrix will gradually expand its port range in the near future.
What is your strength in terms of market reach? Our major market strength lies in Govt. sale and we have generated a wide customer base in this sector for Matrix. We have also added a few customers from the private sector into the customer
“WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO EXTEND OUR SERVICES TO COMPANIES HAVING MULTI-LOCATION OFFICES AND PROVIDE THEM WITH BENEFIT OF MATRIX VOIP SOLUTIONS.” list. Along with this, we are also planning to concentrate on education and retail sectors. As a partner, how are you gearing up with the latest market trends? What kind of excitement do you see among your customers? Most customers are interested in VOIP. We really want to move ahead along with Matrix in this vast field. What kind of benefits you are getting for being MATRIX COMSEC’s partner? Being a Matrix partner gives us the benefit of dealing a wide range of Matrix products, fair policies, best sales support in the industry and all India policy of installation and coordination between dealers.
PARTNER CORNER
SRIKKANTAN VENKATESH, DIRECTOR, NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE & SECURITY, DIGITALTRACK SOLUTIONS (SNS)
IOT, CLOUD ARE MAKING SECURITY A NIGHTMARE FOR CIOS Network security market in India is challenging as the dynamics are changing with cloud being adopted by most of the customers to service their IT needs in one or other areas, this keeps the partners on their toes to position the right and cost effective solution to help customers deploy and maintain solutions. Brief us about your company. DigitalTrack Solutions provides “End to End” Integrated IT Infrastructure Hardware Desktop, Laptop, Servers & Software Licenses. Network Infrastructure like LAN, WAN, Wifi & Wireless Solutions, Network Security, Information & Data Security, Storage, Backup & Virtualization Solutions. How was your journey with the company like Fortinet? We have been associated with Fortinet for the past 10 years and journey is great. The relationship has come a long way starting with their flagship product UTM and we have moved on to other technologies like WIFI, Email Security and Web Application Firewall. What is the potential and challenge for Fortinet in the market? With regards to the security market Fortinet as an innovator and leader comes up with new technology solutions which keeps them ahead of the competition. Fortinet has also maintained its positions as a leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant. As a partner, how are you gearing up with network security market? What kind of excitement do
you see among your customers? We have to constantly educate and update ourselves with current cyber security trends and technologies. What steps are you taking to position yourself in network security market? DgitalTrack has been in the industry for over a decade now and we have constantly evolved our services to be abreast with emerging trends and disruptive technologies. What kind of benefits you are getting for being Fortinet’s partner? DigitalTrack has won the Best Fortinet Partner Award for Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh for 2016. We work very closely with Fortinet’s Sales and Pre-sales teams in the region to close major deals. How do you find Fortinet’s products in terms of its features visa-vis other brands? From wired/wireless networks and messaging systems to web applications, databases and much more, Fortinet’s solutions portfolio helps secure the broad information infrastructure, allowing
“WE AS A SECURITY PARTNER CARRY THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ASSESSING OUR CUSTOMER’S RISKS AND ENSURING THEY HAVE THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS IN PLACE TO MITIGATE ALL THREATS IN THEIR NETWORK.” customers to ensure security and control of their networks, users and data. What is your strength in terms of market reach? We have a young and energetic team with a gogetter approach which has helped us win many deals in the South Indian market. We have local presence in all major South Indian cities and have plans to expanding our operation to other regions. Can you give some important tips for your peer group aspiring to take up network security into their portfolio? Understanding of technology and the customers pain point with a solution centric approach rather than box selling is a key to succeed in today’s market. Technical expertise is a very important component to be in the security domain.
SME CHANNELS 35 NOVEMBER 2016
SME CHAT
VIPUL MODI, VP – MARKETING & SALES, ZION RAM
REAL POTENTIAL FOR ZION RAM LIES OUTSIDE T1 MARKETS Indian market is gradually consolidating at its 2 extremes – The Extreme High end and Extreme low end. Both need attention. The high end will drive demand for VR, extreme Entertainment machines as well as Servers whereas the low end will drive demand of the Thin PCs and zero clients. What is your Core focus with respect to the channel or the SMB Segment? Our core focus with respect to the channel is to give them assured profitability. We assure them the profit they will make while selling ZION RAMs. In addition to high grade memory module, we offer complete peace of mind to our channel partners. In most brands, due to high failure rate and poor handling, many channel partners end up losing money.
ity along with the revenue growth? Currently we are spread across more than 200 districts in India with a partner base of more than 3000 SIs and channel partners. We offer several channel-friendly, multi-tiered schemes to incentivize and reward the partner community for their significant contribution to our business. These scheme acts as an additional incentive to partners as it is our conscious effort to help partners in achieving the rewards beyond the usual profits through these scheme.
What kind of strategy have you planned to position Zion RAM successfully in the market? We want to keep the plan very simple. We will be focusing on 1) Creating value for our customers by aggressive marketing and channel engagement activities. 2) Offer peace of mind to our customers in terms of post-sales support. We want to ensure the profits channel partners make from us get retained with them. 3) Focus on increasing the spread of our reach by reaching out to new partners .
Please comment on the changing role of channel partners? The role of the channel partners keep changing. Many companies in the industry, use channel “partners” to reach to their customers. The changing role of channel partners helps in distributing and implementing the vendors’ product to the customers. At Zion the changing role of channel partner is very friendly they leverage the brand and build awareness amongst the user’s extruding the product to be user friendly.
What is your channel base in India? What are your unique initiatives for the channel nourishment? How do you ensure partners’ profitabil-
36 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
Tell us about your market share and geographical expansion especially in Tier II and Tier III cities. Our major share comes from the T2, T3 markets in India. We had realised that the real potential lies
“2017 IS SIGNIFICANT YEAR FOR US AS WE ARE LOOKING AT A GROWTH OF OVER 30% IN TERMS OF UNITS SOLD. ALSO, WE ARE FOCUSSING TO IMPROVE OUR PRODUCT MIX IN FAVOUR OF GAMING RAMS ON ONE HAND AND SERVER RAMS ON OTHER.” outside T1 markets pretty early. Currently more than 65% of our business happens outside the metros. As far as market share is concerned, we do believe we are the major shareholder in these markets since it’s really difficult to really estimate the market in these areas due to grey channels and influence of bigger cities. Zion’s strength lies in its relationship in T2 and T3 cities of India. Road map and focus areas for channel in 2017? 2017 is going to be a very challenging year. There is a rapid transition happening in consumer behaviour. While on the product side, we are gearing up to adapt ourselves to this changing behaviour. Our idea is to come up with products that are more visually appealing and offer similar power packed performance that we are known for.
DIGISOL
CHANNEL BIZ
SMARTLINK STARTS SECOND INNINGS OF STRUCTURED CABLING BUSINESS Digisol passive products are again surfaced in the market with the complete range of Copper, Fiber and FTTH solutions. The parent company Smartlink ensures that it brings out quality products at a competitive price point so that it can regain its partners’ allegiance. BY: SANJAY MOHAPATRA sanjay@smechannels.com
P
laying a master stroke in the Indian IT manufacturing space, K. R. Naik, Executive Chairman, DIGISOL Systems, starts manufacturing of the Passive range of Structured Cabling products in India. With this DIGISOL will now offer an entire range of Copper, Fiber and FTTH Structured Cabling Solutions for customers in India along with its already established Active Products line. K. R. Naik, Executive Chairman, DIGISOL Systems Ltd. said, “Manufacturing in India is my passion, and I am happy to introduce a full range of passive products, of which majority are made in India & which was our main interest from day one of entering business 4 decades back. We are introducing products which will be game changers for System Integrators like patented keystones, manufactured locally and for easy installation, our 90-degree patch panels ranging from Cat 5e to Cat 6A. Speaking exclusively to SME Channels, Mr. Niak said, “The reason behind entering into passive manufacturing is that in the past, our (made in India) products were not appreciated in the global market, but now the things are changed and people are looking at Indian manufactured products with respect. Therefore, we see an opportunity in the market in the pass products’ range.” Besides, what it seems, Schneider Electric which bought the Digilink passive product brand from Smartlink earlier, could not grow the business unit as per the requirement of the market,
which created enough space for other players to come in. It too encouraged the master of the business to pitch in again. Another factor may be the Make in India initiative by the government of India, under which there has been an increase in the perceptional value of India products and a passionate person for manufacturing Mr. Naik cannot stay out of it for a long. So, he had to only switch on the existing infrastructure to make it happen. DIGISOL’s cabling portfolio will include Copper cabling solutions (Cat5e, Cat 6 & Cat 6A), UTP/STP LAN Cables, Keystones, Patch Panels, Patch Cords, Face Plates etc. The Fiber range will have Fiber cables, Fiber Patch Cords, Pigtails, LIU couplers and an entire FTTH Product line. He added, “In his Goa facility, there will be end -to-end manufacturing except for some connectors, which he might import from other countries.” The biggest USP of Digisol is its unique design, which are easy to install. For example, the 90-degree patch panels ranging from Cat 5e to Cat 6A are best in class, which the competition does not have as these may cost more. Therefore, the SIs and customers are happy about Digisol passive products. Mr. Naik said, “We are entering into the same market, which we left five years back. And, especially with the growth in the infrastructure and datacenter market, the demand of structured cabling products will grow fast in coming time.” Of course, Shailesh S. Bhayade as VP - SCS
K. R. NAIK, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, DIGISOL SYSTEMS LTD.
“THE REASON BEHIND ENTERING INTO PASSIVE MANUFACTURING IS THAT PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT INDIAN MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS WITH RESPECT.” Business of DIGISOL Systems is responsible for this business and part of his job role, he will ensure that the company will work with regional and national SI’s to be presence in large scale projects. Digisol has a good reach among the SMBs and their go to market will be the channel, of whom the company has own allegiance of for many years now. So, the complete product range would be primarily available through the DIGISOL regional distributors, spread Pan-India.
Finally … DIGISOL cabling products adhere to EIA/TIA and ISO/IEC international standards. They are RoHS compliant and are backed by international 25 years product warranty performance. DIGISOL Structured Cabling Systems is here to fulfill the network connectivity needs of medium to small businesses and home networks, as well as SME & Enterprises requirements.
SME CHANNELS 37 NOVEMBER 2016
SECURITY
SYMANTEC
SYMANTEC PARTNER CONFERENCE: PARTNERING FOR GROWTH IN 2016 This time it is more sensible act for Symantec as it has acquired Blue Coat. Partners are happy because Blue Coat is completely complementary to Symantec. They would have a wide range of solutions now. BY: SANJAY MOHAPATRA
sanjay@smechannels.com
S
ymantec APAC partner meet organized in Tokyo, with a large contingent of Indian partners, showcased the growing capability of Symantec (post its Blue Coat acquisition). The event was also to update the partners about addressing the cloud generation with the combined capability of Symantec and Blue Coat, the firepower they have in the market. Although the complement assimilation of both the companies would happen around March 2017, but the pre-curser event at Tokyo paved the path for the APAC partners to understand the value proposition of both the companies. With the theme of “Defining the Future of Cyber Security, TOGETHER, Partner for Growth in 2016, this event saw Dr. Hugh Thompson, CTO, Symantec talking about the integration of Symantec Data Loss Prevention (DLP) with Symantec CloudSOC (formerly Blue Coat’s Elastica CloudSOC Cloud Access Security Broker [CASB]) and Cloud Data Protection products to address the need of the cloud generation. He said, “Combined, both the companies leverage more than nine trillion elements of security data, providing unparalleled visibility and protection for Symantec customers across their entire environments. Symantec now protects 175 million consumer and enterprise endpoints, 163 million email users, 80 million web proxy users, and processes nearly eight billion security requests across these products every day. This level of visibility across endpoint, email, and web traffic allows Symantec to discover and block targeted attacks that would be otherwise undetectable from any one control point.” “Symantec products are now blocking 500,000 addi-
38 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
THE PARTNERS WHO WON THE AWARDS INCLUDED SYMANTEC APJ GSI Partner of the Year: Hewlett Packard Enterprise APJ Distributor of the Year: Ingram Micro Asia Pacific APJ Partner of the Year- Innovation: HCL Technologies Regional Partner of the Year: ASG Group, Pacific; Amidas Hong Kong Limited, Greater China Region; Imperium Solutions Pte Ltd., ASEAN; ESCARE, Korea; Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd, Japan, and Softcell Technologies, India.
BLUE COAT APJ GSI Partner of the Year: Dimension Data APJ APJ Distributor of the Year: MTech Holdings Pte Ltd. APJ MSP of the Year: Telstra Australia Regional Partner of the Year: Arrow ECS Australia, Pacific; Beijing JN TASS Information Technology Co Ltd, Greater China Region; Nexus Technology, ASEAN; EDEN T&S, Korea; Macnica Networks, Japan, and Meta Infotech, India. “Our partners play a critical role in driving business success and contributing positively to cus-tomers across the Asia Pacific and Japan region and I am looking forward to embarking on a journey to define the future of cyber security, together with our partners,” said Edwin Yeo, Vice President of Channels and Commercial for Asia Pacific and Japan, Symantec. “Many congratulations to all our award winning partners. I am confident the new Symantec will provide our partners with more opportunities to innovate and accelerate growth in 2017 and beyond.”
SYMANTEC
SECURITY
DR. HUGH THOMPSON, CTO, SYMANTEC
TORJUS GYLSTORFF, VP, SYMANTEC CORPORATION
“SYMANTEC NOW PROTECTS 175 MILLION CONSUMER AND ENTERPRISE ENDPOINTS, 163 MILLION EMAIL USERS, 80 MILLION WEB PROXY USERS, AND PROCESSES NEARLY EIGHT BILLION SECURITY REQUESTS ACROSS THESE PRODUCTS EVERY DAY.”
“COMBINED, WE ARE THE LARGEST PURE PLAY CYBER SECURITY VENDOR. WE HAVE A DEFINING POSITION WHEN IT COMES TO OUR PARTNERS BECAUSE OF OUR SHEER SIZE.”
tional attacks per day for the endpoint, email, and web security customers,” he added. Torjus Gylstorff, VP, Symantec Corporation said, “We have one of the unique moments in the industry right now. Symantec is in a market which is truly phenomenal. There is a lot of demand for cyber security solutions. We have an addressable market of US$18.7 billion a year. It is growing approximately 9% year on year globally. Particularly, in the APJ region, it is growing at 12-14% YoY, which is a great starting point for any kind of business.” “We have just completed the acquisition of Blue Coat and we are working on setting up the business for the future. Combined, we are the largest pure play cyber security vendor. We have a defining position when it comes to our partners because of our sheer size as an organization and the fire power we have in the market,” he maintained. When we look at the product portfolio, there
was a very limited overlap between the focused areas for Blue Coat and focused areas for Symantec. So, what the company is bringing to the market now through the partners is a product portfolio, which is many ways complementary in nature. Symantec is very strong at end-point, DLP and e-Mail security where Blue Coat has no presentence. Blue Coat is very focused at the network centric security model including ProxySG, networking visibility, SSL VPN, security forensics, etc. This means those technology areas are relevant for many customers. Torjus added, “We have together with our partners’ a significant opportunity to go on to address the significant market with complementary technologies that can increase and improve security posture of our customers. If you look up for the cross-sell opportunities, there is a significant opportunity for the selling of better and more security to the existing customers for us. And
obviously, if you look at the broader market, we are well positioned in the market.” He assured, “We are hundred percent committed to our partner community. Our model is partner centric and we do our business with partners. That is even more accentuated in this region because with the complexity and diversity of this region, it requires to have local knowledge and local resources on ground to do the business on an effective way.” Taking this opportunity, the company had also awarded some partners in the regional level and India had a good share of partners in the list. These partners were from both the companies
Finally… Symantec has three months for the integration. It is working very quickly to bring benefits to the market through integrated technologies and integrated partner programmer.
SME CHANNELS 39 NOVEMBER 2016
SME CHAT
NITIN MISHRA, SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT – PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, NETMAGIC (AN NTT COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
IAAS TO BE A FUTURE WAY FOR ENTERPRISES India is growing faster than any other economy in the world and as the global majors are taking place within the Indian economy, there has been a strong demand of data centre and cloud services in India in recent times. Netmagic (An NTT Communications Company) has already started making significant capital investment, so NTT as a company would be able to grow its footprint.
What are the products and solutions you have? How would you differentiate Netmagic from other player in Cloud services in India? We offer the entire range of IaaS service comprising colocation, Private cloud, Public cloud (simplicloud) and hybrid cloud (SimpliVPC). These services are complemented by managed services, security services and connectivity services. After being an NTT Communications Group Company, we offer the promise of an agile and flexible organization with strong financial parents. Our one of its kind operations methodology, combined with more innovative offerings differentiates us from competition. How bullish is Netmagic about opportunities in ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’ programs? We are aligning with larger SIs to participate in projects like “smart cities”. We are also empanelled with DEITY. We believe that government will open host of opportunities to service providers through its initiatives. What are your investment plans for India? We are planning to invest about Rs 2,000crore to set up two new facilities, one each in Mumbai and
40 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
Bengaluru, by April 2018, apart from increasing its headcount to meet growing business. There are Japanese companies who have keen interest in India, especially in infrastructure space. . Where do channel partners stand in Netmagic’s scheme of things? We are having a renewed focus on channel partners to reach to broader market especially with public cloud services. Channels have been integral part of out go to market. What are the key strategies you have designed to empower your channel community? We support the entire sales cycle along with partners through dedicated solution engineering efforts. This is a key as partners need to improve probability to win. Our compensation for partners is based on nature of services; hence they can earn more by focusing on value creating services. How do you choose the right mix of partners? We work with partners that has complementing offering which can be ISVs, SIs or application integration companies. Secondly we look for partners that have built the depth in skills in sales and marketing organization. Thirdly ability to do solution based on cloud based offering and
“ WE BELIEVE IN STABLE AND PREDICTABLE EARNING FOR PARTNERS WHEN THEY ENGAGE TO SELL NETMAGIC SERVICES. WE WILL SOON ANNOUNCE “CLOUD PROGRAM”, WHICH WILL BE EXCITING FOR PARTNERS” understanding of customer domain is preferred. What are the training activities you are planning for the partner organizations in near future? As part of cloud program we are rolling out multiple training covering public, private & hybrid cloud and managed services and security. What have been the product enhancements this year, what are the niche areas Netmagic wants to grow and why? We are rolling newer offerings in PaaS like Hadoop platform and expanding into hybrid capabilities like VFA+ and VLB+ offerings that allow customers leverage common network across IaaS platforms (public/private/hybrid)
NETGEAR
CHANNEL BIZ
CONCENTRATING MORE ON THE SMB SPACE With the roll out of 4G services, the networking equipments market is getting a boost. Keeping a note of this, NETGEAR is aiming to provide the entire IT ecosystem starting from switches to wireless and storage devices to its customers. SUBHODEEP BHATTACHARYA, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, INDIA & SAARC, NETGEAR.
BY: SATINDER KAUR skaur@smechannels.com
N
ETGEAR is a company which is focused on developing networking and storage solutions for SMB & SME organisations and as these are more technology conscious and are using more and more IT infrastructure. In a candid interaction with SME Channels, Subhodeep Bhattacharya, Regional Director, India & SAARC, NETGEAR shares, “India has always been a very attractive market for us. And I hope it continuous to be so both from SME prospective and as well as from home perspective. NETGEAR always follow a three step strategy for its expansion: 1. Expand using expanding product lines2. 2. Expand your geographical reach 3. Expand channel partners. Expanding geographically is presently a prime thing for NETGEAR. Being channel focused company, NETGEAR has a multi-tier channel distribution strategy. Subhodeep Bhattacharya further explains, “We believe in having a stable channel model where partners don’t change frequently, and we expand partner base only when we are expanding in geography or when we are expanding in terms of a new product or solution which current partner bases can’t provide. NETGEAR work with 140 odd subdistributors, via which we reach to 2000+ channel partners through the country, most of them are long term engaging partners.” NETGEAR has a direct reach to 15 cities in India and then with
the help of its distributors, it further has its reach to 50 -55 odd cities. Other than this, NETGEAR also has a host of solution partners to length and breadth of India and SAARC to provide solutions using switching wireless controllers and storage products. NETGEAR is focusing on training its partners on the latest products and solutions and rolling out extensive partner training program throughout the country. NETGEAR also has a host of solution partners to provide solutions using switching wireless controllers and storage products. When asked about the challenges faced by NEWTGEAR, Subhodeep Bhattacharya excerpts, “One of the greatest challenges in the Indian market that we come across is the fact that many of our competitors are focused on selling low quality products in their effort to achieve a lower price point. Invariably such products end up costing more for the customers.” NETGEAR offers class leading lifetime warranty on most of its products and it would always prefer customers to choose quality over price. NETGEAR is focused on SMB organisation which as a category is the fastest growing in India. NETGEAR’s vision is to be the most reliable IT infrastructure brand for SMBs and the company is aiming to provide the entire IT ecosystem for them starting from switches to wireless and storage target devices. In the SMB space, there is a big void, where the company is offering technically advanced products , provid-
“WE WANT TO TAKE THE ENTIRE NETGEAR RANGE OF THE PRODUCTS TO EVERY NOOKS AND CORNERS OF THE COUNTRY. WE ARE PUTTING ALL OUR EFFORTS IN CREATING GREAT CHANNEL ORGANISATION AND SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE TO REACH AND SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS.” ing fair storage environment for virtualization, back-up for archival and surveillance solutions. .
Finally … NETGEAR is putting a lot of focus on developing 10G solutions with switches and storage products. NETGEAR is also focusing on developing higher end Wi-Fi controllers and WAVE 2 wireless solutions. Today NETGEAR has one of the most exhaustive switching ranges in the industry and the Gigabit Smart POE is a particular favourite of its channel partners.
SME CHANNELS 41 NOVEMBER 2016
GUEST ARTICLE
WEATHERING THE STORM OF ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY:HOW CAN MANUFACTURERS ACHIEVE GROWTH WHEN OTHERS ARE NOT? The challenges and economic pressures on the manufacturing sector are distinctive to this part of the economy. However, companies should be making the most of the ‘Make in India’ initiative and use the opportunities provided to emerge on top.
India has become the world’s fastest growing large economy. India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.6 per cent in 2015-16, up from 7.2 per cent a year ago1. Although the global economy is witnessing someunpredictability,India is relatively well positioned to weather the global uncertainity. India’s economic growth is expected to accelerate, with estimated GDP growth at 7.8 per cent in 2016-2017 and 7.9 per cent in 2017-20182. However,there is uncertainty aboutthe momentum and there are ample of risks. The manufacturing sector in India has emerged as one of the high growth sectors and is key to realising economic growth in the country. With the launch of the Indian Government’s ‘Make in India’ programme(2014) and itslarge-scale policy reforms, the outlook for the Indian manufacturing sector was upbeat over the last year. While this positive vibe continues, the appearanceof roadblocks on the domestic front and a demand slowdown globally and in emerging markets have caused uncertainty and forced manufacturers to rethink their strategy.
Barriers to growth 42 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
Some of the barriers that have been affecting the growth of the Indian manufacturing sector for decades include the lack of domestic demand, competition from foreign markets, high input costs, supply chain bottlenecks and decreasing profitability. In addition to this, other challenges– such as bureaucratic hurdles, policy paralysis, and logjams in the implementation of key reforms,can be resolved with government intervention. With theIndian governmentpromotingthe ‘Make in India’ programmeat a global level, some of these issues have been addressed;though many are yet to be resolved. The challenges and economic pressures on the manufacturing sector are distinctive to this part of the economy. However companies should be making the most of the ‘Make in India’ initiative and use the opportunities provided to emerge on top.
Smart manufacturing There are big changes happening in manufacturing through digital transformation. This fourth industrial revolution, or ’Industry 4.0’ as it is commonly referred to, is explained as a way of increas-
ing competitiveness through the convergence of the manufacturing process with technological and innovative applications and processes resulting in a merging of the virtual and physical worlds. McKinsey recently published a report which stated that the digital revolution is now breaching the walls of manufacturing as it continues to disrupt media, finance, consumer products, healthcare, and other sectors. It commented that “the explosion in data and new computing capabilities—along with advances in other areas such as artificial intelligence, automation and robotics, additive technology, and human-machine interaction—are unleashing innovations that will change the nature of manufacturing itself.” The problem is that manufacturing companies have traditionally been slow to react to the advent of digital technologies across the manufacturing value chain and operating model. While there are a few manufacturing companies that have made rapid advances in deriving significant benefits from digital software such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), their number is still small. It’s time for a new approach. Manufacturers should be working now to build an agile platform
GUEST ARTICLE
ANISH KANARAN, CHANNEL DIRECTOR, EPICOR SOFTWARE, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA & INDIA BRIEF PROFILE Anish has more than 17 years’ experience of ERP industry. Prior to joining Epicor in 2011, Anish spent three years with Microsoft and was handling new business acquisition for Saudi Arabia. Anish has a decade long experience in managing Sales, Business Development & Channel Management for global ERP solutions such as MS Dynamics, ORION, BaaN, Intuitive& SAGE.
that will allow them to adapt to future customer requirements. Organisations that embrace the latest technologies – from mobile to scalable integrated platforms and from SaaS to next gen analytics – will be able to jump on the wave of economic recovery when it arrives.
Improving visibility The pressure on manufacturers to accelerate production cycles and become more customer centric is driving change, although perhaps more slowly than people have predicted. A key factor in this is the extent to which companies are restricted by the lack of visibility they have over an organisation’s core processes. Manufacturing generates more data than any other sector of the economy, with an abundance of operational and shop floor data that can be used to increase yields and reduce costs. The problem is that few companies are harnessing it. Last year, one oil-and-gas company was reported to be discarding 99 percent of its data before decision makers have a chance to use it. Manufacturers are increasingly realising the need to adopt technologies that allow them to transform their operating models and digitally connect processes, events, actions, internal and external partners. Introducing software such as ERP can drastically improve the visibility of the
whole production process, resulting in efficiency savings across the organisation. Take, for example, the inventory management processes. Central to ensuring that the inventory usage is maximised, is the ability for manufacturers to increase visibility of all inventory levels. This includes static materials and maximising the value of, and gaining real-time visibility into, inventory in-transit. In a world where markets are stagnating or declining, it is the businesses that use technology to combine efficiency with customer-centricity that will prevail. These are, after all, the businesses that can provide customers with maximum flexibility and choice at a low cost.
Ensuring growth through investment Downturns force businesses to become smarter in order to compete with, and outperform, their competitors. Coming out of the last global economic downturn, the most successful companies have made progress in boosting competitiveness through efficiency and flexibility. Companies should be looking to invest, drive efficiency, increase productivity, and increase market share now. While the effect may be small during slow times, it could help them survive and the effects will then be magnified as the
economy recovers. Companies that wait until economic recovery before they invest could be months or years behind. Younger businesses have an advantage in this context because of their inherent agility. Nevertheless, agility doesn’t have to just be the domain of the small or the young. A list of the top ten lean manufacturing companies in the world, which includes top brand names such as Nike, Intel and Ford, shows the extent to which the implementation of these technology-driven initiatives helps even the largest companies achieve success. Throughout the manufacturing sector, we’re seeing advances in technology that are proving to be the fundamental linchpin shaping this new business model. Technology systems like next-generation ERP give operators at all levels accurate and timely information with which to make informed decisions. As a result, smart manufacturing businesses are investing now, with the needs of tomorrow in mind. They are also making better use of the technology investments they have already made to jump ahead of competitors and spot new market opportunities. The journey is well underway from the longoutdated oil-and-overalls image to modern and highly innovative manufacturing.
SME CHANNELS 43 NOVEMBER 2016
REVIEW
PRODUCT
MATRIX SATATYA 64 CHANNEL PREMIUM NETWORK VIDEO RECORDER
TP-LINK ARCHER C60 1350MBPS DUAL BAND AC ROUTER #POWEROF5
Matrix SATATYA NVR64P is an IP video recorder suitable for enterprises providing a high-resolution security solution. It is built on
BY MANAS RANJAN
a Core i3 processor for smooth and reliable
info@smechannels.com
performance. This recorder, along with its
TP-LINK OFFERS SPEED OF AC1350 MBPS with Wireless Dual Band Router Archer C60. Equipped with five dedicated antennas, it transmits the latest wireless standard 802.11ac for fast, stable Wi-Fi throughout the home. In order to keep up with increasing demands in wireless networking, Wi-Fi routers have simply needed to be faster and stronger. As bandwidth-intensive activities such as HD streaming on television and mobile device screens has become a normal part of life, homes require a network that can deliver the necessary speed from room to room. By combining superfast wireless and robust signal strength, the Archer C60 is the Wi-Fi router homes have been looking for. The Archer C60 comes with the latest wireless standard 802.11ac. This advanced Wi-Fi is designed for high-traffic online activities and can help to run applications at triple the speed of the previous 802.11n standard. The result: faster, stronger and more capable Wi-Fi to unleash every wireless device. Thanks to dual Wi-Fi bands transmitted at 3Ă—3 MIMO, the Archer C60 connects to multiple devices at the same time without interruption. The strong 2.4GHz (450Mbps) Wi-Fi band is perfect for sending emails, surfing the web and listening to music. The 5GHz band reaches 867Mbps for HD streaming, gaming and video chatting, without delay.
FEATURES n AC1350 dual-band delivers up to
1317Mbps Wi-Fi speeds over 2.4GHz (450Mbps), and 5GHz (867Mbps) bands n Advanced 802.11ac Wi-Fi unlocks
the performance of compatible wireless devices n Three 2.4GHz antennas and two 5GHz antennas create superior Wi-Fi coverage, with an organized antenna arrangement to reduce signal interference and enhance stability
software, ensures organizations get preventive and effective security with rich features like adaptive recording for saving storage space, camera-wise recording & backup retention, calling from mobile app and email notification with snapshot. Furthermore, features like E-map and cascading ensures effective monitoring never letting organizations miss unwanted events. Key Features: 1. Cascading: Connect multiple NVRs and
n 3x3 MIMO supports more data
HVRs from a single device without a server
transmission and reception for greater wireless speed and stability
2. Full HD Recording: Record 64 cameras at
n Set time limits and block websites
through parental controls to keep children safe
PRICE On Request
2MP 3. Adaptive Recording: Saves storage space up to 50% 4. Camera wise recording retention: Retain recordings based on priority of cameras 5. Calling from Mobile App: Call a SIM number
WARRANTY
or an extension (MATRIX EPABX) assigned to
On Request
any camera directly from the mobile device
CONTACT On Request
6. Integration: Database level integration with access control, fire alarm and other sensors
OVERALL RATING n Price: On Request, Warranty: : 1 Year, Contact: MATRIX COMSEC, More@ MatrixComSec.com
SME CHANNELS 45 NOVEMBER 2016
PRODUCT
NEW ARRIVALS
DIGISOL
DIGISOL AC1200 DUAL BAND WIRELESS 11AC USB ADAPTER
LINKSYS
LINKSYS WIRELESS AC ACCESS POINTS FOR BUSINESS
DIGISOL SYSTEMS WIRELESS DUAL BAND USB adapter DGWN3860AC enables notebook/ desktop computers having USB interface to connect wirelessly with other clients in the network. The DG-WN3860AC complies with IEEE 802.11ac & IEEE802.11n standard and is backward compatible with IEEE802.11b/g standard. DG-WN3860AC Wireless USB adapter can achieve wireless data transmission rate up to 860Mbps in 5GHz spectrum. Its dual band operation offers flexible wireless connectivity which enhances sharing of files, photos, audio, video and gaming experience over wireless network. The DG-WN3860AC wireless USB adapter supports WPS PUSH button, which simplifies wireless client setup procedures so that even an inexperienced user can setup a secured wireless network without any configuration.
THE LINKSYS LAPAC1750 AND LAPAC1200 Dual-Band Access Points cater to professional environments and are especially targeted towards the SMB (Small and Medium Business) and Startup Segments. With the growing demands of multiple devices on a Wi-Fi environment in a business network, the Linksys LAPAC1750 and the LAPAC1200 Dual-Band Access Points for business deliver the next generation of Wi-Fi technology (802.11ac) to provide faster speed and more Wi-Fi capability for everyday business than ever before. The Linksys LAPAC1750 and LAPAC1200 Dual-Band Access points are now available in India via Linksys India authorized channel partners.
n Price: Rs.1899/-, Warranty: Limited Lifetime Warranty Contact: www.digisol.com
n Price: On Request, Warranty: On Request, Contact: http:// www.linksys.com/
CANON
CANON NEW CATEGORY OF ENTERPRISE LASER PRINTERS IN INDIA DESIGNED TO ADDRESS THE PRINTING needs of the Government, Large Enterprises, BFSI and Healthcare segment, Canon India’s new Single Function Laser Printers LBP 351x and LBP 352x. Catering to the productivity focused workplaces, the printers can print above a printing speed of 40 PPM, which is a first from Canon for the Laser printer portfolio. The multi-function MF 515x also supports legal sized scanning and enables easy operation for all levels of users. LBP 351x and LBP 352x proves the testimony to Canon’s technology leadership and design superiority. This printer unleashes the power of Heavy-duty workhorse and are the fastest printers offered in A4 Laser range by Canon. With black-and-white printing speed at 55ppm and 62ppm respectively, the LBP351x and LBP352x are also leading in their category with minimalistic power consumption, utilizing a minimal 2W in sleep mode. In accordance with Canon’s Kyosei philosophy, the printers enables businesses to foster a greener work environment through reduced paper consumption and cost-efficiency.
46 SME CHANNELS NOVEMBER 2016
The printers support mobile and cloud printing, which enables users to print easily from any compatible device. n Price: INR 87,495 to INR 149,999, Warranty: On request, Contact: Customer service 1800 180 3366
RNI NO: DEL ENG/ 2010/ 31962
Postal Reg. No.: DL-SW-1/4145/16-18
Date of Publication: 13 of Every Month Date of Posting: 15 & 16 of Every Month