CRN February 01, 2013 by UBM India

contents

February 01, 2013 l Volume 2 Issue 07

Cover Story With the arrival of cloud computing, the fortunes of PCs ebbing, the proliferation of smart data devices, the growth in online buying, and FDI in multi-brand retail, the current distribution ecosystem is set to undergo a major transformation

Distribution

Dynamics

20 Cover Design : Deepjyoti Bhowmik

NEWS Analyses

Channel Chief

Canon targets in-studio printing 8 VMware raises the Zimbra pitch

Fusionstor eyes `60 crore by 2014

Enjay strengthens SMB thrust

Cyberoam to launch virtual UTM

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Market Focus Intel to stop making desktop motherboards Intelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision to wind up desktop motherboard manufacturing over a period of three years may affect system builders in India

27 Role Model

Editorial 12

Computer Reseller News

HP outlines vertical strategy for CI

Stanimira Koleva Managing Director, Partner Business Group, Cisco Systems, APJC, speaks about Ciscoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new partner initiatives and India growth strategy

From software developer to solutions provider Vishal Bindra, CEO, ACPL Systems, tried his hand at other things before he found his true calling as a security solutions provider

Tech Focus Computers with human senses According to IBM, the five senses will no longer be exclusive to living things come 2017

starting line MUST

Canon targets in-studio printing

VMware raises the Zimbra pitch

n Amit Singh

Read

VMware plans to focus on enterprise messaging market by positioning Zimbra aggressively. Acquired from Yahoo, Zimbra is available in multiple flavors including an open source edition. “Version 8 of Zimbra has been a huge success, and we are trying to change the way enterprises run email and collaborate,” said Vinod Krishnan, Director, Advanced Technologies, VMware India. To start off, VMware has removed all stringent criteria for being a Zimbra partner. “A partner who can spend a few hours and register as a VMware partner online can now start selling Zimbra. All benefits of VMware Professional Partner will be made available to Zimbra partners,” said Krishnan. According to IDC, there are close to 100 million paid inboxes of Zimbra globally, however, in India the adoption rates are much lower. Admitting that Zimbra is a distant third behind MS Exchange and Lotus Notes, Krishnan said that a re-positioned product line centered around the cloud and virtualization will shift the advantage toward Zimbra. To make Vinod Krishnan implementation faster, VMware has launched the Zimbra virtual appliance, that can be hosted on any VMware eSXI or vSphere platform. “A partner can set up the appliance and start creating email accounts in less than 10 minutes,” Krishnan said. Another advantage which VMware is highlighting is the savings on hardware cost. “Up to 2,500 email accounts can be hosted on a dual-processor server while competing products require many such machines,” he added. Zimbra pricing starts at `1,500 per user per year for the hosted version, and about `2,700 per user for a perpetual on-premise license. VMware is also offering special prices and monthly payment terms. In addition, it is offering 30 percent discount for government accounts. For academic institutions, it is offering a bundle of 25 free user licenses for students for every paid faculty license. n — Ramdas S

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trengthening its strategy to become a top player in the inkjet printer category by 2015, Canon has entered the new domain of in-studio printing and is planing to aggressively push inkjet printers in the commercial segment. In 2012, Canon witnessed a 28 percent growth in its inkjet business amounting to revenue of `120 crore. “In 2013, we aim to grow our business to `150 crore and thus capture 25 percent share of the inkjet market. The in-studio segment is one of the key markets we will target to achieve our goals,” said Alok Bharadwaj, Executive VP, Canon India. Canon estimates the instudio printing market at `1,400 crore. “The in-studio printing opportunity is staggering. For instance printing of wedding albums is a `1,000 crore opportunity. Fine-art printing currently stands at `50 crore while pre-press and graphic arts printing market are estimated at `100 crore and `200 crore, respectively,” opined Bharadwaj. Identifying the requirement for high-quality prints in the in-studio domain, the company has introduced the Pixma Pro-1, Pixma Pro-10 and Pixma Pro-100 at an MRP of `94,860, `65,995 and `47,995, respectively. Targeted at professional photographers and advanced photo enthusiasts, the Pro series of printers meet the requirements of richness, vibrancy, fine details, color accuracy and control. Canon aims to target professional photographers for these products. “India has over 10,000 professional photographers and half of them are Canon users, hence we have a large target base. In-studio printing will negate their dependence on third-party print providers, and will increase

“The in-studio printing opportunity is staggering. For instance, printing of wedding albums is a `1,000-crore opportunity” Alok Bharadwaj

Executive Vice President Canon India

the security of their intellectual property,” explained Bharadwaj. The Pro-1 offers 12-color ink tanks and an Ethernet port to allow multiple users to use the printer over a wired network. The Pro-10 uses a 10-color ink system while the Pro-100 uses an 8-color ink system. The Pro series also offers the Optimum Image Generating system which analyzes the intended color and determines the most ideal ink-mix based on factors such as print mode. Pro-1 and Pro-10 also feature the Chroma Optimizer which adds a layer over the inks to create a uniform level of glossiness and regulate surface reflections. Canon will initially roll out the printers in the four metros, and later during 2013, expand to 11 more cities where the company has a direct service presence. Bharadwaj said that the Canon Image Squares will have exclusivity to sell the printers; they will be supported by highlyskilled consultants from Canon. Canon is also expecting increased acceptance of inkjet printers and MFPs in SOHOs and SMBs with the lowering of prices and running costs. “Inkjet in offices is a growing trend and we urge our partners to focus on this vast opportunity,” said Bharadwaj. n

starting line MUST

Fusionstor eyes `60 crore by 2014

HP outlines vertical strategy for CI

n abhijeet mukherjee

Read

HP is taking a micro-vertical approach for its converged infrastructure (CI) portfolio. It is targeting the retail, textiles, realty, jewelry, healthcare, oil & gas, animation, media & entertainment, telecom, IT-ITeS and BFSI. It recently expanded its Integrity server portfolio by introducing Integrity Superdome 2, three new Integrity server blades, and an entry-level Integrity server based on the Intel Itanium processor 9500 series. The new Integrity platform supports Unix, HP NonStop and OpenVMS. “With a decline in entry-level pricing, SMB customers are moving to CI. Overall, customers are moving core applications to Integrity servers and supporting applications to x86 servers,” said Santanu Ghose, Director, Business Critical Systems, HP India. According to him, the Intel Itanium processor 9500 series processes transactions up to 3 times faster, use 21 percent less energy. Customers can realize 33 percent savings in TCO. Said Ghose, “Most customers spend 90 percent extra for peak Santanu Ghose load. But each application does not peak at a given time, hence load sharing is the best thing that CI offers.” HP is also focused on promoting its Cloud System Matrix (CSM), a cloud in a box offering for private and hybrid cloud environments. “We are targeting large enterprises that want to build a private cloud. We have already deployed 110 systems in 45 organizations in India,” he informed. The company wants at least 10-15 percent of its CI revenue to come from its CSM solutions in 2013. As part of its strategy, HP plans to increase its partner engagement. “We have about 140 enterprise partners but only 25 are selling CI. We want to enable more partners to sell CI,” Ghose stated. The company plans to train partners in microvertical environments and building solutions specific to the needs of these verticals. n — Amit Singh

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usionstor, which had a direct presence in India till last fiscal, is going indirect. The company is eying an ambitious 67 percent increase in revenue in the country from `20 crore to `60 crore in FY2013-14. So far the company was billing in dollars and had no offices in India. It recently appointed Amod Phadke as its CEO. The company also signed up Global Infonet as national distributor (ND) and Mega Networks and Network Techlabs as regional distributors (RDs). “Till now we worked with OEM/ODM companies selling directly to customers, but now we want to create our brand and this can only happen through the channels. Initially we are not looking at a large marketshare— overall 5-8 percent by 2014,” said Phadke. While Global Infonet will cater to the entire storage portfolio, Mega Networks will meet the server needs of enterprise customers in the west, and Network Techlabs will provide the products to SIs and enterprises in the south. “We will appoint another ND, and two more RDs under Global Infonet,” informed Phadke. Fusionstor sees a huge opportunity for storage in the SMB segment especially in design and animation studios, while in the large enterprise segment the traction is more from media houses. “We are looking for an entry to the enterprise segment with SAN and servers, while we have already cracked a few deals in the government, for example, Delhi Metro and BARC,” Phadke stated. Fusionstor has customized solutions for the Indian market. “Our Compacto series comprises five servers fitted in a 3U rack

“Till now we worked with OEM/ODM companies selling directly to customers, but now we want to create our brand and this can only happen through the channels” Amod Phadke CEO Fusionstor

which is the best solution for data centers,” said Phadke. “In storage, from having a single controller SAN product we now have a dual controller SAN. We have added surveillance features in NAS as well as built in a micro video-recorder so that one does not need to procure it separately.” The company has invested in infrastructure and set up a 4,000 sq ft office in Navi Mumbai; the office includes an experience zone with all available products on display. “We are currently hiring, and recently appointed 35 sales and pre-sales staff,” Phadke added. “We have planned 10 roadshows in the current quarter whereby we will provide product knowledge to our partners,” he continued. “We are also doing individual SI training in our products, and have already trained 80 partners in the top six cities.” The company has 23 support engineers for its Mumbai-based call center backed by on-field engineers in the top six cities. “We have also stocked spare parts in the 30-odd offices of Global Infonet across India from where our engineers can pick up and make a replacement in 24-48 hrs,” said Phadke. n

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edit opinion Why IT distribution will transform dhaval valia

ith the arrival of cloud computing, the fortune of PCs ebbing, proliferation of smart data devices, growth in online buying, and the pending policy for promoting FDI in multi-brand retail, the current distribution ecosystem is set to undergo a major transformation. This will impact every level of IT channels but more so the volume suppliers, including national distributors, regional distributors and sub-distributors. The need therefore is to anticipate the changes happening in technologies, market trends, customer behavior and the business models of vendors to alter the distribution ecosystem. Every IT channel partner will have to think about the impact of the shifts in the market and adapt his business to survive. The entire IT channel has been built around PCs, or what I call the Wintel ecosystem. However, both Intel and Microsoft, which drove the IT industry for the past two decades, are no longer the dominant forces they once were. Most analysts predict that PC shipments will grow in the single digits over the next five years; my own projection is that PCs will see negative growth. This is because the PC is no longer a viable business. Dell’s misfortunes, HP’s dilemma regarding its PC business spin-off, and Intel’s recent decision to exit desktop motherboard manufacturing are enough indications of this. Instead tablets, phablets and smart TVs are going to be the big bets for the future, so partners have to start building a business around these. In just three years tablets have captured the imagination of consumers and seen exponential growth; I expect sales of 8-10 million tablets during the year. The 5-, 6- and 7-inch phablet category will also witness massive growth. This category is already showing signs of fierce price competition. The success of Micromax’s 5-inch Canvass 2 has forced even Samsung to launch a 5-inch Samsung Grand model at `21,000. The phablet will thus become a de facto smartphone category. While smart TVs have had a slow start, over the next 2-3 years we will see increased innovation in this space. By 2015, the TV at home will probably double up as a computer as well. FDI in multi-brand retail will sooner or later become a reality, and online retail will grow. Add to that cloud computing services which will offer services on the fly and thus reduce the consumption of hardware and software. These tech and market changes will transform the dynamics of distribution. The road ahead is going to be uneven, but the time to start walking is now. n

E-mail CRN Executive Editor Dhaval Valia at dhaval.valia@ubm.com 12

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Volume 2, Issue 07

Managing Director Printer & Publisher Associate Publisher & Director Executive Editor Contributing Editor Assistant Editor Principal Correspondent Senior Correspondent

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edit opinion Private Dell ROBERT FALETRA

he recent news that Dell is driving toward a potential private equity deal which will take the company private could be a good thing for the channel as well as for Dell. A private Dell can focus on long-term value rather than the quarterly cadence that a public company is forced into as a result of the investment community. Dell is in the middle of a historic transition which requires taking gambles in some cases and making long-term bets in others. It is also still in a channel-building mode. When Dell came forward about five years ago and stated that its former direct-only sales model was a strategy and not a religion, it opened its sales model to the value-added channel in a meaningful way. The truth is, it was already selling through partners but its program was minimalistic and not terribly profitable for partners. Since then, the computing giant has not only invested in the channel and built a strong team around it, it has also had to race to a larger strategy that goes far beyond PC sales. Now with dozens of acquisitions under its belt and a formalized channel, it is battling the decline of the PC on a worldwide basis. The solution provider channel is morphing faster than many of the suppliers in the market to a cloud sales model. Fortunately for Dell, it has a channel it can leverage, but it needs to invest more heavily and build a cutting-edge partner base equipped at finding the new decision-makers inside the midmarket and high-end of the small-business market who are embracing cloud deployments. The Wall Street quarterly performance treadmill is an inhibitor to Dell’s transition. A private equity play that takes Dell off the public market means a longerterm business horizon and an ability to invest in such a way that the immediate bottomline need not be a consideration. Historically, Michael Dell has been able to focus on the details of making his model work. He and his team mastered just-in-time delivery and realized that for components pricing continually became less expensive and this fact could be leveraged. In the industry’s early days, Dell won many competitive bids by pricing its products on a cost base that would be achieved in future months. Its sourcing and manufacturing discipline became an advantage in the market. Dell now needs to be able to invest for a longer-term return and build a stronger channel. In my opinion, a private structure is better suited for that at this juncture. n Email Robert Faletra at robert.faletra@ec.ubm.com 14

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ITCG bags award It is exciting to see ITCG winning the prestigious award for business excellence. ITCG’s growth is definitely significant, and the way the company has grown over the years is appreciable. Its YoY growth not only indicates the prospects for ITCG but also the opportunity that exists in the segment it operates in. Abhinav Mathur Westcon India Bengaluru

ASIRT’s gold member program With reference to ASIRT’s Gold Member program, I would like to share a practice that we developed which is helping us to structure deals. As we provide our services through channel partners, we initially found it difficult to

convince customers regarding the service charges. Also, since the partners did not get the required price for their services due to strong negotiations they started to reduce the scope of their services which created a vicious cycle of bad service, complaints and customer fall-outs. We then developed a service catalog and published it on our Website, and started sending these catalogs with all our quotations. This has had a profound effect on how deals get negotiated. Now we are able to get the right price and customers get value for their money. I suggest that ASIRT members prepare a list of the services they can provide and then share it with customers. Limesh Parekh Enjay IT Solutions Bhilad

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

Advertiser Index Company name

Page No Web site

Sales Contact

Smartlink

1 www.digisol.com

helpdesk@digisol.com

Smartlink

2 www.digisol.com

helpdesk@digisol.com

Epson

dmp@eid.epson.co.in

Symantec

5 in.norton.com

in.norton.com/support

Sony

7 www.sony.co.in/vaio

sonyindia.care@ap.sony.com

Cisco

9 www.cisco.com/go/ucsbenchmarks www.cisco.in/servers

NEC

11 in.nec.com

enquiries@necindia.in

Seagate

13 www.seagate.com

www.seagate.com/goflexsatellite

Channel Champion

Compuage-Odyssey

35 www.compuageindia.com

RDP

Compuage-Edifier

37 www.edifier-international.com

info@compuageindia.com

Biz

38 www.indiaantivirus.com

sales@indiaantivirus.com

IBM

39 www.ibm.com

ibm.com/ipuresystems/in

Kaspersky

40 www.kaspersky.co.in

sales@sakri.in

www.epson.co.in

channelchampion.crn.in

www.rdpcomputing.in

odyssey@compuageindia.com 1800 200 2444

starting line Enjay strengthens SMB thrust n RAMDAS S

ujarat-based Enjay IT Solutions, which has transformed itself from a thin client computing vendor to an SMB IT solutions vendor focusing on home-grown solutions around enterprise mobility, security, CRM and storage, is planning an aggressive channel pitch. “We have come a long way from being a supplier of thin client solutions to being a vendor of our own branded range of enterpriseclass IT solutions that are targeted at SMBs,” explained Limesh Parekh, CEO, Enjay. Parekh said that the company’s focus is to offer solutions and technologies that are perceived as unaffordable for SMBs and to make these available at attractive price-points. “Take for example enterprise mobility, IP telephony or DR—all are considered to be unaffordable for a typical SMB if it approaches a vendor such as Cisco, Avaya or IBM. However, we have been able to not just break price-barriers but also ensure that a similar quality of service is provided.” Synapse had recently launched Synapse Mobile, a mobility application which helps SMBs to track all mobile devices in an organization, and store and analyze call logs, GPS data and other information, and make them available through a simple API within any application. “Sales and service organizations have seen that 70 percent of their communication with customers have shifted to mobile phones. Typical enterprise solutions in this space cost upward of a few lakh. Our solution starts at a few thousand rupees,” Parekh said. Enjay is also offering CRM integration services (with popular open source platform SugarCRM) for its mobility products.

“Typical enterprise solutions in the mobility space cost upward of a few lakh. Our solution starts at a few thousand rupees” Limesh Parekh CEO Enjay IT Solutions

He informed that the company is in the final stages of negotiations to bundle the client application with Karbonn Mobiles. “We have also signed up with telecom major Matrix to bundle our solution with their cards.” Meanwhile, Enjay is readying the next version of its storage product line, Enjay StoreVol, and is offering a Linux desktop platform called Tiguin with support based on Ubuntu. “Almost all our products have been built around Linux and open source,” Parekh informed. Last year Enjay slashed the number of its channel partners from 800 to 100, primarily to support partners better. Explained Parekh, “This move has worked because we are able to provide individual attention, and train and support partners depending on their needs. Now we will expand slowly and steadily. We understand the enterprise market is brand-conscious, hence our idea is to align with partners who are focused on the large SMB space.” The company, which clocked around `5.5 crore revenue in the last fiscal, expects to reach `8.5 crore during the current fiscal. “We expect this jump because our product lines are prime and we will explore markets outside India,” Parekh said. n

MUST

Read

Cyberoam to launch virtual UTM Network security provider Cyberoam is launching virtual UTM appliances. According to Abhilash Sonwane, Senior VP, Product Management, Cyberoam, the virtual UTM, to be launched in the first week of February, will have security features like firewall, VPN, antispam, antivirus, IPS, layer 8 identity-based control, Web application firewall, Web and application filtering and on-appliance reporting in a virtual appliance. It will support VMware ESX/ESXi 4.0/4.1/5.0; VMware Workstation 7.0/8.0/9.0; VMware Player 3.0/4.0 and Windows 2008 R2 Hyper-V Role. The licensing cost is based on the number of cores dedicated to security, and is reportedly 30 percent less than the physical appliance. The CRiV-1C virtual UTM appliance supports up to 1vCPU, the CRiV-2C virtual UTM appliance supports up to 2vCPUs, and the CRiV-12C model supports up to 12vCPUs. The company will also offer a subscriptionbased pricing option to its customers. Sonwane said that Cyberoam is in the process of getting Abhilash Sonwane a VMware-ready certification. “Once done, our appliance will be available in the VMware marketplace. Customers will be able to download the appliance for a free 1-month trial.” The products will be sold through Cyberoam and its partners working on virtualization projects. The company will scout for opportunities in data centers, server virtualization, office-in-a-box and BYOD for the virtual UTM appliances. Informed Sonwane, “We will train our existing partners in virtualized platforms; we will also teach them the importance of virtual security appliances and how to converse with customers migrating to a virtual platform. In addition, we will educate virtualization partners about security loopholes in a virtual environment and how these can be plugged with Cyberoam. This will enable crossselling opportunities to both the sets of partners, and therefore open up new avenues for us.” n — Sonal Desai

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channel chief “Partner led biz is growing at 45 percent” Stanimira Koleva, Managing Director, Partner Business Group, Cisco Systems, APJC, spoke to Dhaval Valia about Cisco’s new partner initiatives and India growth strategy It’s been close to two years since Cisco launched its Partner Led model to drive more business through partners. What are the performance highlights of this unit? After we launched the Partner Led model in 2011 we have seen tremendous growth of our partnerdriven business. The Partner Led business accounted for about $10 billion of the overall $43 billion revenue pie last year. In India we have seen even more dramatic growth rates—our Partner Led business has grown by 45 percent CAGR. Over here we complemented the Partner Led with channel expansion. We invested in increasing our geographical presence after the launch of Partner Led and thus increased our active engagement to 20 cities from the 6-city presence we had earlier. The top 14 non-metro cities where we increased our engagement are Chandigarh, Lucknow, Guwahati, Jaipur, Bhopal, Indore, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, Coimbatore, Kochi, Kanpur and Patna. Through channel expansion plans we increased our base of active resellers from 1,400 to 2,400 during this period. From a partner perspective, we moved nearly 1,300 of our named accounts to partners—only in India. Under our architecture specialization program introduced alongside Partner Led, we have 40 organizations and 600 partner resources certified in the architecture and technology specializations (borderless networks, collaboration, NGN and data center) under three different tracks—sales, pre-sales and post-sales.

Cisco recently launched the Partner Plus framework in India. Could you provide details about the new program and how it will benefit partners? Globally we rolled out the new program in August last year. In Asia-Pacific and India we have just begun rolling out this program. Partner Plus is a new partner engagement framework which comprises incentives and rebates, virtual access to Cisco engineers, exclusive customer intelligence and research data, and what Cisco describes as premium sales

“Our Partner Led business in India has grown at 45 percent CAGR in 2 years. Our active resellers increased to 2,400, we’ve moved 1,300 named accounts to partners” 16

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enablement and marketing resources.

Could you elaborate on the key features of Partner Plus? To put it in perspective, Partner Plus is an advancement of our popular and successful Avant Garde program with new features. It is open to Cisco’s Gold, Silver and Premier-level partners. Under the program partners earn incentives in the form of a co-op program, and if they hit certain sales targets they stand to receive cash rewards at the end of the annual planning cycle. While partner rebates will differ by geography, everyone will get a 2 percent base-level rebate which will be placed in their co-op fund; various accelerators have been added on. We have launched Partner Help Plus, a 24x5 partner access to Cisco engineers. Partner Plus partners can call dedicated Cisco engineers who specialize in areas such as collaboration or data center architecture to get questions answered for customers. The customer intelligence is research delivered by Cisco to partners; this includes detailed information on the mid-size segment, potential customer targets, and competitive analysis. Partner Plus includes elements such as the Cisco Sales Collaboration Platform.

What’s the progress of Partner Plus in India? In APJC we have about 700 Avant Garde partners; about 250 of them will be transitioning to Partner Plus by June 2013. In India we have about 150 Avant Garde partners of whom 35 have been transitioned to Partner Plus so far. Next year we will be expanding to more partners.

Could you also elaborate on the new Cisco Service Xchange (CSX) program which was launched a few months back? This is another unique feature we have launched under Partner Led to increase partner participation in selling services. The CSX is an online sales incentive engine that rewards partners’ sales executives for selling services; it covers the entire range of Cisco services including network management, optimization and 24x7 SMTC. In a short period of time, over 750 sales executives from 300 partner organizations across India and Saarc have registered for CSX. Partners who moved to selling services under CSX are seeing a close to 50 percent increase in revenue, and 70 percent of their profit comes

channel chief from Cisco services. While Cisco has gained significant ground in the US with its B and C series server lines, in India there is not much movement in the stand-alone server market. Despite being a new entrant in the segment, we have done well. In Asia we haven’t done as well as we had anticipated largely due to availability and delivery lead-times. However, in 2013 we are going aggressive with our B and C series server ranges. To address the availability issue we have invested in a server assembly hub in Singapore. This will allow us to configure servers quickly as per customer requirements and cut down delivery time from the earlier 8-12 weeks to 2-3 weeks.

How do you view competitors such as HP Networking and Huawei? The general perception is that they are stealing marketshare in large chunks from Cisco. Current analysts’ reports show marketshare gains in networking for us. In terms of net sales from a geographic standpoint, comparing the fiscal 2012 performance to fiscal 2011, we saw revenue increases across all three geographic regions including 6 percent in the Americas; 4 percent in Europe, Middle East & Africa; and 13 percent in Asia-Pacific, Japan & China. From a technology perspective, we saw growth across all our major product categories during fiscal 2012. While many of our peers reported negative growth, we saw solid revenue growth of 3 percent in switching and 2 percent in NGN routing as compared to fiscal 2011, and we continue to hold or gain marketshare in the majority of our key markets.

“We’ve on-boarded 35 partners under the new Partner Plus program. It offers higher incentives and rebates, stronger technical support, and better sales enablement” What is the key agenda for the Partner Led Business Group over the next 6-12 months especially in India and the Asia-Pacific? First and foremost is partner profitability. Partners prefer to work with a vendor who invests in their overall growth and profitability. In addition, partners want to move into new markets and they expect the vendor to help them move up the value chain. We are committed to create new market leads, generate demand, and enable partners to capitalize on new market opportunities. In addition, through our various incentive programs, we have enhanced the margins that partners with the right skillsets can make. The second is investing in partner enablement. Over the past few quarters we have increased our efforts to improve partner capabilities by providing leading practices, tools and knowledge transfer; this in turn enables us to have more repeatable, successful and profitable customer engagements. Going forward, we will further strengthen our engagement with our partners. The third priority is geographical expansion. In the coming years we have earmarked significant investments for India to increase our coverage to tier-3 and tier-4 cities. n

Clear Credible Competent Consistent Compassionate Communicative CRN Creative CRN – the 8th C of Channel Marketing www.crn.in

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special focus

SDN on the horizon

Software-defined networking is a new technology and can solve many problems in networking. But there is not much awareness of it in India, hence it will be a while before it finds adoption n AMIT SINGH

oftware-defined networking (SDN) is a form of network virtualization in which the control plane is separated from the data plane and implemented in a software application. This architecture allows network administrators to have programmable central control of network traffic without requiring physical access to the network’s hardware devices. Vendors such as Brocade, Cisco, HP and IBM have already announced solutions and strategies around SDN, and just about everyone in the networking segment is announcing support for OpenFlow—an open-source option for building the SDN control plane. In India the concept is still at the nascent stage, and therefore only few IT organizations are familiar with SDN. At present SDN is only for early adopters in the country. Globally, the SDN market is estimated to grow from $198 million in 2012 to $2.1 billion in 2017; this represents a CAGR of 60 percent from 2012 to 2017. Explains Mahesh Gupta, VP, Borderless Networks, Cisco India & Saarc, “SDN looks at separating the control and data planes in network devices and abstracting the control plane intelligence. The unique proposition is programmability that offers the addition or expansion of features, as well as the ability to change flows dynamically and even pass management up to higher-level orchestration tools.” The major forces driving the market are the rising need for mobility, new network architectures, surging cloud services and varying traffic patterns. “The growth will be driven by companies facing problems in networks with regard to security, robustness and manageability, and by innovating new revenue-generating services on network infrastructures,” says Edgar Dias, Regional Director, Brocade India. With the increasing adoption of virtualization in data centers as well as the ongoing server and storage virtualization, vendors see SDN as a natural step forward. “Organizations have evolved with the proliferation of data centers, BYOD and mobility; the sizes of networks and branches have also increased, making the network complex. That’s where the need originates. We expect most organizations to first partly transition to SDN and then gradually move the entire network over the software,” states Prakash Krishnamoorthy, Country Manager, HP Networking, HP India.

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Vendors are targeting enterprise and SMB customers from verticals such as telecom, BFSI, manufacturing, media, entertainment, IT-ITeS and BPO. In addition, they are targeting organizations with branch offices, and service providers and banks as early adopters.

Waiting and watching Customers and partners in India are in a wait-and-watch mode while some of them are getting familiarized with the concept. According to Gupta, “Many customers may look at making a multi-year transition in a phased manner which will open up new opportunities for top-tier partners including SIs and ISVs as several PoCs get fleshed out.” Vendors are conducting early field trials with customers to explore these new concepts and provide constructive feedback for product development. “It’s a new technology, and most customers are still unaware of it, and those who are aware are analyzing the pros and cons. We are testing the waters and will get into SDN after 8-10 months,” says Jayesh Shah, Director, Services, Orient Technology. Another SI planning to get into SDN is Network Techlab. “We are in the process of identifying resources who will then undergo training. It may take 3-6 months to actually start working on SDN,” informs Haresh Gada, Director, Network Techlab.

Benefits The technology has high potential to revolutionize networking. Typical networking intelligence is distributed across physical switches and routers, each with its own configuration. The current common practice for configuring network devices requires a skilled engineer to configure each firewall, router or switch separately when making a network change. It therefore makes good sense to use orchestration to push configuration changes where they need to go, automating the process to reduce the amount of work and the number of errors, and thereby providing a more robust programmable network. “SDN solutions simplify the management, configuration and console provisioning, and reduce deployment time. They automate manual configuration tasks across hardware, software and applications, and from data center to desktop, through a single control

special focus “We are in the process of identifying resources who will then undergo training. It may take 3-6 months to actually start working on SDN”

“We want to work with partners who have customers with complex networks, are well-versed in legacy networks, and want to go to the next level”

Haresh Gada

Prakash Krishnamoorthy

Director, Network Techlab

Country Manager, HP Networking, HP India

plane,” explains Krishnamoorthy. Adds Dias, “SDN gives service providers and enterprises control over how to manage their data to the level that they are able to enforce different rules and routing capabilities, including deciding what type of data goes local and what type of data goes remote.” But more clarity is required on the RoI. “Although the RoI of SDN is not clear at this stage, it definitely deserves a premium for delivering high uptime of mission-critical network,” says Gada.

Cloud computing push SDN can prove to be a key enabler for public and private clouds. “In the cloud era clients need a single point of control for the entire network, a point which enables them to deploy any application or service directly to the user within minutes,” Krishnamoorthy points out. “Additionally, SDN can be used to enhance the security of and visibility into network traffic. Overall, the feature-set and thinking behind SDN will be extremely beneficial to cloud architectures,” says Arpita Sengupta, Product Manager, Storage, Systems & Technology Group, IBM India & South Asia.

Virtual environment SDN plays a key role in environments where it is common for virtual machines to be added and moved regularly. Such an environment can be difficult to support with traditional network infrastructure which relies on fairly static connections between switches and servers. With SDN those connections can be made more dynamically, and with the proper level of security. Informs Sengupta, “It is similar to the multi-tenant concept of server virtualization, where a single server can support multiple virtual machines. SDN enables a single switch to have separate data planes, each with its own service level that is appropriate for each data flow.” Meanwhile, even as SDN starts emerging, vendors have started talking about software-defined storage (SDS) and software-defined data centers (SDDCs).

Software-defined storage SDS is a concept which has emanated along with the SDN. Beyond storage virtualization which creates an abstraction layer around multiple physical storage devices to represent a consolidated view of the host environment, SDS allows the creation of an abstraction layer within the host environment to mask the complexity of storage management whether it is single storage or a storage virtualized environment.

“Going forward, software defined data centers will offer flexibility and agility whereby the control plane of the infrastructure is entirely driven by software and the underlying data plane services are provided by hardware. This will result in infrastructure services, those are consumed as programmable software,” says Abhijit Potnis, Director, Technology Solutions, EMC India & Saarc.

Software-defined data centers SDDCs combine techniques of cloud computing and SDN into a manageable entity. “The essential idea of the SDDC is that specialized software will replace specialized hardware throughout the data center, reducing the tedious configuration work on a per-server and per-networkdevice basis,” explains Rajesh Viliyakath, Brand Manager, System x & Bladecenter, IBM India & South Asia. “Data explosion and big data are creating the need to expand and make changes in the data center rapidly. SDDC offers rapid and seamless scale-out expansion which is critical for data centers, hence data centers are expected to be the early adopters of the technology,” says Abhilesh Guleria, Country Head, Multimedia Product Group & IT Platforms Group, NEC India. SDDC also has the potential to create virtualized converged overlays on data center equipment, allowing servers to inter-operate seamlessly with storage and networking.

Opportunity for partners Since SDN is a new concept, vendors are currently creating awareness and training partners in solutions, technology insights and architectural design. “We are scouting for systems integrators with a national and regional presence, as well as VARs, for our SDN portfolio,” informs Krishnamoorthy. “The preferred candidates will be partners who have customers with complex networks, and those who are well-versed in legacy networks and are willing to get to the next level.” Partners who have a presence in virtualization solutions will also be the perfect candidates, says Potnis. Adds Guleria, “Hardware is getting commoditized, and the basic hardware layer is all similar across the board, hence the differentiation lies in the software-defined layer. Partners must grab this opportunity.” Concludes Dias, “While it is still early days, SDN has the potential to transform network infrastructure into a platform for innovation. We are partnering with industry technology leaders and network operators, and also working closely with standards bodies such as the Open Networking Foundation to make this a reality.” n

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cover story

Distribution Dynamics With the arrival of cloud computing, the fortunes of PCs ebbing, the proliferation of smart data devices, the growth in online buying, and FDI in multi-brand retail, the current distribution ecosystem is set to undergo a major transformation n RAMDAS S

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cover story

ndustry observers believe that in 2013 the traditional IT channel business may see de-growth. While there were years in recent times when growth rates dipped, channels and analysts feel that overall YoY growth has never been negative before. “If you ignore the large government deals which anyway are expected to be billed directly by the vendors, many segments within the IT industry might see overall markets shrinking. This would start an era of consolidation among IT channels,” says Vishal Tripathi, Principal Analyst, Gartner India. Adds MP Sampath Kumar, CEO, Positive Systems, “We see 2013 as a transition year when several peers in the industry may slow down their business, diversify, or even shut shop. From here onward it will be the survival of the fittest.”

The mobility race A majority of the national distributors (NDs) made the move to distribute mobile phones, smartphones and tablets, while the tier-2 distributors and regional distributors (RDs) have been late to join the mobility race. HCL has been distributing Nokia for more than a decade, while Redington has been associated with BlackBerry and Apple. It’s estimated that iPhone and iPad contribute more than 20 percent of Neoteric’s business, while Savex grew its topline to over `1,000 crore in FY2011-12 on the strength of Samsung’s mobile and tablet distribution. Many sub-distributors (SDs) admit that they did not take the early bus on the mobile phone and tablet opportunity. There are several reasons given for this, the main being that PC and mainstream peripheral vendors lacked the aggression to make inroads into these markets. While Acer and Dell have almost exited the smartphone market, Lenovo launched its smartphones only in late 2012, and HP still does not have a smartphone/tablet strategy in place. “The IT industry has been caught flat-footed by the mobility transition,” concedes S Rajendran, CMO, Acer. “You cannot blame just the vendors; even our OEM suppliers have been unable to address the transition. But we will do a catch-up act.” The market leaders in the smartphone/tablet market in the country (such as Samsung, Micromax and Karbonn) have already established their distribution networks; consequently, many IT SDs are not able to figure out their place in the market. Those in the know agree that channels can still catch up because the smartphone and tablet markets are still in

“If you ignore the government deals which are expected to be billed directly by the vendors, many segments in the IT industry might see markets shrinking”

their infancy. “We are talking to SDs from the IT industry for distributing our Eken tablets. Tablets are essentially computing devices, and there’s a role for the IT reseller,” says George Thomas, CEO, Aldous Glare Trade & Exports. The going may not be that easy for many because telecom distribution, which drives the present mobility game, works on lower margins and faster cash rotation. “The dynamics of the mobility business are different, hence only the more adaptable and smarter tier-2 IT channels will be able to make the transition,” says S Sudhir, MD, Inspan Infotech.

Distribution models LG and Dell were among the first to experiment with regional distribution almost five years ago. While LG switched to NDs, Dell has evolved a model which is a combination of NDs and RDs, a model which the industry calls hybrid. HP has a regional distribution model for consumer PCs while its commercial products are sold through NDs. Toshiba and Acer have opted for a mix of NDs and RDs cutting across product lines. “India is a nation of much diversity, and to address its varied needs it is important to appoint a mix of RDs and NDs,” argues Rajendran. Apart from the deeper coverage that has helped Acer to scale to 5,500 registered resellers across the country through the new model, Rajendran says that the idea is to bring overall business hygiene. “Depending on the product line we have either exclusivity or limited exclusivity (2-3 distributors) for a region or the country. This ensures that all stakeholders are able to earn more margins and sustain the business.” Lenovo, which still has a national distribution model, is working on channel hygiene by getting its RDs (tier-2) to work with only one ND. “We have also split product lines across NDs. For example, the AMD line is now sold only through Neoteric,” informs Rajesh Thadani, Director, Consumer Business, Lenovo India. Commercial business is still driven through NDs with most vendors leaving it to the distributors to develop the MOQ business. Many vendors are also using NDs such as Cyberstar, Neoteric and Supertron to do fulfillment on select products; for instance, Dell and Acer for servers.

From sales-in to sales-out One of the immediate trends with markets slowing down has been a shift to sales-out schemes across the distribution value chain. During most of the past decade and half vendors focused only on sales-in schemes,

“We see 2013 as a transition year when several peers may slow down their business, diversify, or shut shop. From here on it will be survival of the fittest”

Vishal Tripathi

MP Sampath Kumar

Principal Analyst, Gartner India

Chief Executive Officer, Positive Systems

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cover story Five best distribution practices

olkata-based NCS Computech grew its topline during the last fiscal by 57 percent when the average industry growth rate was in the single digits. The CEO of the `87 crore sub-distributor, Manohar Malani, expects a healthy growth in excess of 15 percent during the current fiscal as well as the next, and recommends five best practices which tier-2 channels must follow if they seek long-term growth. Identify growth partners: It’s important to understand the partners who will grow during the next year, and support them. The biggest reason for slow growth or potential shrinkage is that the small partner is not being supported properly. We have identified around 600 partners among 10,000 resellers in the territories we operate in, and have launched programs to support them. We are investing in manpower to train them, and are betting that these 600 will drive our growth.

Manohar Malani behalf of the vendor.

Go beyond the vendor: Most partners in tier-2 distribution are content with the vendor doing everything to drive the business with the partner doing the fulfillment. Reverse the equation, win over vendor confidence, and drive activities to build confidence in the channels so that they can instill confidence in their customers. One way to do this is to take over and manage seminars and training camps on

Create a difference: Ask yourself this question: ‘Why is a partner buying from me?’ If the answer is ‘Credit and great price’ you are unlikely to grow the business. This is because someone will offer a better price one day, and the partner will walk away. But if the answer is ‘Better service and support,’ remember that the smart partner who is likely to grow will continue working with you. Move away from transactions: If the promoters of the distribution house are involved in transactions all the time, then the overall growth of the company suffers. Transactions must be driven by their team, and decisions must be based on processes and systems. The captain of the ship must just ensure that the correct systems and processes are in place, and that they are adhered to. Use the extra time to learn new management techniques. Understand the quality of revenue: You need to go beyond ERP and CRM systems and invest time in analyzing the business. Understand the quality of a business transaction and not the mere margins you make in one. n

“Ask yourself this question: ‘Why is a partner buying from me?’ If the answer is ‘Credit and great price’ you are unlikely to grow the business”

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which meant that incentives were dished out based on the volume of purchases. However, most vendors now see this model as the root cause of excess channel inventory and the liquidity crunch in tier-2 channels. “Dell has done away with sales-in schemes for the past two years,” says Sanjay Yadav, Director, Distribution, Dell India. “In fact, after launching the Dell Gainz program three years ago, there may be just 1-2 schemes which have been sales-in.” Kumar says that most mainstream vendors have shifted to sales-out schemes over the past six months or so. He attributes the shift to the implementation of ERP and inventory management within partner organizations. “2-3 years back only the NDs had data on the inventory carried by the channels. Now the SDs have also computerized. Vendors such as HP have even provided us with a Tally extension tool that pulls data from our Tally ERP, and this is used for planning sales-out to tier-3 channels. Vendors like Toshiba and Acer have already moved schemes to the sales-out model.” Lenovo has announced the implementation of a tool called Zyne that is presently being rolled out at RDs in south India. Thadani informs that by the beginning of the next fiscal the vendor will migrate other RDs as well. Software vendors such as Tally have also announced sales-out schemes. “We are launching a program where partners will receive sales-out benefits. The idea is to ensure that partners who actually sell make more money,” explains Shoaib Ahmed, President, Tally Solutions. Though Acer has already started the initiative to shift to sales-out schemes, Rajendran feels that sales-in schemes will be around to bring in predictability and ensure that distributors stock. “Larger companies with strong systems, processes and manpower on the street will be able to implement sales-out programs effectively. Smaller vendors will find it difficult to implement such schemes and will need to mostly depend on sales-in schemes,” opines Narayan S Rao, CEO, Matrix Technologies.

Different directions A few SDs believe that they need to grow their business by increasing their territories, striking tier-1 relations, or even setting on the path to becoming NDs. “With growth from their territories limited, several SDs are willing to move up the value chain and try to be a national player or a tier-1 distributor. Many regional players such as Supertron Electronics and Inspan have successfully transitioned,” points out Vishal Srivastava,

“Dell has done away with salesin schemes for two years. After launching the Dell Gainz program 3 years ago, there may be 1-2 schemes which are sales-in” Sanjay Yadav

Director, Distribution, Dell India

cover story “We are launching a program where partners will receive salesout benefits. The idea is to ensure that partners who actually sell make more money”

“We have focused only on regional distributors. We feel that this is working for us and other similar-sized and similar focused vendors”

Shoaib Ahmed

Kevan Li

President, Tally Solutions

Head, Sales & Operations, Antec India

CMO, Defenx India. SDs who have expressed their intentions to scale nationally include the Kolkata-based Balaji Solutions and the Kochi-based Aldous Glare. In fact Aldous has stopped sub-distribution outside Kerala to focus on tier-1 relations. Others are considering the options of either consolidating or growing vertically. “With markets shrinking, we are looking at consolidating our strengths to make some extra gains on the bottomline this year,” says Kumar. “The climate is not healthy for expansion outside the state.”

Many are planning to make larger inroads within their territory. “We have been advised by HP to provide more coverage within our territories, so that would be our focus over the next few quarters,” says K L Lalani, Director, Lalani Group. Others feel that with the pressure on vendors to trim multi-tier channels, several financially-strong SDs will be invited to form direct relationships especially by smaller vendors. “We have focused only on RDs, and we see this working for us and similar-sized and -focused vendors,” states Kevan Li, Head, Sales & Operations, Antec India.

Leveraging alternate channels for growth Dinesh Nair, Director, BigC Technologies, talks about the importance of alternate channels and how his company is tapping them Why are you investing in developing alternate channels? If you consider the Karnataka, TN and Kerala markets, we are the youngest tier-2 distributor. We see that 80 percent of IT resellers have built relations with existing sub-distributors, and are comfortable, hence we have started targeting alternate IT channels. Presently around 8 percent of our `5-crore monthly business is accounted for by non-IT resellers. Which are the most promising among the different segments? It mostly depends on the product mix you carry. Dinesh Nair The principle is that there exists a potential to use any channel to address a consumer base which is already comfortable spending a specific amount with retailers of that channel. For example, you can sell software CDs, data cards and USB drives through premier bookshops, and all types of consumer IT products through consumer electronics stores. Consumers need to have confidence in the channel. We are also tapping telco channels to sell Netgear routers and wireless products to the home segment. How are you developing the alternate channels? We first started talking to smaller retail outlets. The LFRs are

already being catered to by national distributors, but smaller city-based consumer electronics and white-goods store chains can be catered to by sub-distributors. We have strong alliances with around six such store chains in Bengaluru. We have tied up with telco distributors who are not very IT-savvy. Another important market is online retailers. Right now they are looking for just a good price. Our sourcing is very strong, and they pay well. How do you plan to grow the business? Today we have about 30 billing partners from non-IT channels doing about `40 lakh per month. The idea is to grow the numbers beyond Bengaluru and to other states. Predictability is an issue, and buying patterns are different. Moreover, every segment is different. For example, stationery shops and bookshops work on the consignment model, which means that if they cannot sell they return the goods. With the rapid obsolescence in the IT industry, this model is unthinkable for many products. Once a channel is developed, it’s important to start catering to more of their demands. For example, we will start importing some innovative technology lifestyle products to be sold specifically through our CE partners. n

Today we have 30 non-IT partners doing a total billing of `40 lakh per month. The idea is to grow this number beyond Bengaluru and to other states

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cover story “We may not see distributors merging, but ownership changes are likely at tier-1. At tier-2 you would see some players slowing down and exiting”

“We do not expect any dramatic change in the business climate in the US and Europe, and hence foresee many global brands eying promising Indian brands”

Suresh Pansari

Sunil Pillai

CMD, Rashi Peripherals

COO, iValue Infosolutions

Consolidating, exiting Many in the industry are predicting consolidation across all tiers of the distribution channel. “We may not see distributors merging, but changes in ownership are likely to happen at tier-1. At tier-2 you would see some players slowing down and exiting,” predicts Suresh Pansari, CMD, Rashi Peripherals. Adds Sunil Pillai, COO, iValue Infosolutions, “We do not expect any dramatic change in the business climate in the US and Europe, and hence foresee many global brands eying promising Indian brands to take advantage of growth opportunities. With organic growth reducing by the year, it’s imperative to look at inorganic growth through the right partnerships.” Three months back, a Delhi-based ND, Iris Computers, was acquired by Inflexion Point, a boutique investment firm led by former Apple and Pepsi executive John Sculley.

However, the biggest worry for channels is the risk of several SDs dropping out. “The days of phenomenal growth are definitely behind us. With toplines and margins shrinking, there will be some natural filtration, and we will see a few of the tier-2 distribution partners exiting the business or looking at other pastures,” remarks Tejas Sheth, MD, Asia Powercom. It is not just the tier-2 channels; even some of the lesser-known brands are exiting the market. “The overall marketshare of assembled computers has been dipping though the segment is healthy in terms of absolute numbers. You will also see some market leaders dropping out for various reasons,” says Sudhir.

Alternate channels Several distributors, vendors and tier-2 channels have started exploring the possibilities of alternate channels. “There’s limited growth through traditional IT channels,

Case Study: Balaji Solutions, Kolkata

How to increase capital rotation

he most important method in mainstream and the cost of funding with banks. “Remember that banks are also businesses, and if you can distribution is to increase the number of rotations of the working capital which are linked to inventory negotiate hard with them the way your customers do with you they will also provide you the benefits cycles. The more the number of rotations of cash you ask for.” Seksaria recommends that all the more the topline growth. Kolkata-based Balaji Solutions took four steps to increase the rotation of partners negotiate with banks on payment terms, finance rates and loan options. “Remember that capital from five-and-half times a year to seven-andhalf times; this saw its topline soar from `193 crore even a half percent lower rate can bring in 1 percent extra margins in the overall business and in FY2010-11 to `236 crore in FY2011-12. grow your topline by 10-15 percent.” “Last fiscal we saw market conditions toughen Next, the company studied the payments made with higher interest rates and a slower economy by partners. “We discovered that 80 percent of the which resulted in payment delays. Despite nearly Rajendra Seksaria `18 crore of working capital through bank partners banked with five banks in the country. We overdrafts and promoter investments, plus nearly `10 crore opened accounts in each of these banks and started depositing in vendor credit, we felt that growing the business looked the checks in the respective banks; this cut down the time for payments to return to the system by around eight days.” difficult,” recalls Rajendra Seksaria, Director, Balaji. Balaji also started incentivizing partners who were paying The first step was talking to vendors. “We re-negotiated with our vendors on increasing credit limits. We did not ask against delivery by offering attractive cash discounts. “Faster and prompt payers need to be rewarded, and they will grow them for more time, but for more credit with similar payment terms. Vendors listened to our plans and provided the goyour business faster. We implemented systems with stricter policies which automatically weeded away bad paymasters, ahead. Sound and solid plans always get a good ear.” The Balaji management then discussed interest payments thus reducing our risks and releasing more capital.” n

“Remember that even a half percent lower rate can bring in 1 percent extra margins in the overall business and grow your topline by 10-15 percent”

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cover story “With toplines and margins shrinking, there will be filtration, and some tier-2 distribution partners will exit the business or look at other pastures”

“Previously, when a vendor asked us to stock, we did. But we have become smarter since last year, and are moving all our channels to just-in-time inventory”

Tejas Sheth

Reeta Budhey

Managing Director, Asia Powercom

Director, Business Algorithm

hence future growth will need to be driven by alternate channels,” says K Ravi Lakshman, CEO, Sakri IT Solutions. “We have already started exploring FMCG, book retail, mobile shops and stationery shops for the Kaspersky product line.” Today, Kaspersky software is available at 1,000 alternate retail outlets across the country. A number of other antivirus companies are trying to following suit. “We are presently exploring mobile currency shops,” says Srivastava. Lakshman says that though the revenue brought in by non-IT channels is around 1.5 percent, in the long term the distributor expects a share in excess of 10 percent. Rashi is also piloting some projects to study how alternate channels can be explored. Apart from FMCG and consumer electronics, the distributor is studying the pharma retail segment. BigC Technologies, an IT distributor from south India, estimates that around 8 percent of its revenue comes through 30 non-IT partners including a few FMCG and electronics store chains. “We are increasingly seeing a lot more inquiries from non-IT channels for reselling a wide range of computer accessories, laptops and peripherals,” says Dinesh Nair, Director, BigC. Meanwhile, Cisco Consumer Products (CCP), the division which sells its products under the Linksys brand, has announced a program to sell the products at mom-and-pop stores. Says Mohammad Meraj Hoda, MD, Emerging Markets, CCP, “Under the program our partners will connect with mom-and-pop stores in their vicinity to increase sales.” Cisco has plans to connect around 6,000 stores across 10 of the largest cities. Not everyone is excited by the concept. “Honestly, we have been toying with this idea for a decade, and despite all the hype there has been little that we have seen working. As a vendor we feel that returns would be better in supporting existing IT and LFR channels rather than chasing newer channels,” says Rajendran. He feels that online procurements can be as much as 10 percent of the market in three years time, and this could be the alternate channel that distributors should chase. “Local distributors can even offer logistics support to large online retailers in customer delivery and stocking.”

The cost of money Perhaps the biggest worries for most distributors at both tier-1 and tier-2 levels have been the cost of finance and operations. Finance costs in the business have moved from 7-8 percent to 12-13 percent on an average, with

some tier-2 channels seeing their costs rise to as high as 16 percent. This, together with increases in operational costs by as much as 40-50 percent over the past five years, is affecting distributors at all tiers. Besides, the forex market has been unstable over the past 18 months or so, and this has hampered the business of importers who were dependent on foreign currency. “While hedging is one way we are locking the price to ensure that no losses happen, we lose money when the rupee strengthens in between,” grumbles Lakshman. According to him, many tier-2 distributors do not understand the hidden intricacies of the cost of finance and operations. “For many, when the markets were growing, there was cash rotation, so several hidden costs of finance and operations were not noticed. But with the market shrinking these costs will hit them hard.” Most tier-1 distributors have stopped overdependence on forex and many vendors have stepped in to cover the unstable rupee. “We are covering potential losses in stocking through some back-end rebates,” informs Li. Many tier-2 distributors have also learned to say ‘No’ to vendors. “Previously, when a vendor asked us to stock, we used to stock. But we have become smarter since last year, and are moving all our channels to justin-time inventory,” says Reeta Budhay, Director, Business Algorithms. Many partners have cut down on bank and other external borrowings to reduce the cost of finance. Discloses Budhay, “We had a limit of `1.35 crore in FY2010-11 which we reduced to `1.05 crore in FY201112—and utilized only `65 lakh-`70 lakh. Instead of spending on interest, we purchased products with cash for discounts. This added to our bottomline.” Adds Nair, “The cost of operations has shot up, and in a transaction, partners are overlooking the cost of procurement, stocking and deliveries. We have started factoring in these.”

Specialty distribution The past decade has seen the emergence of many tier-1 distributors who have been focused on niche segments instead of supplying to mainstream markets. Two examples: Aditya Infotech, which is focused on the multimedia, animation, surveillance and broadcast verticals, and Tirupati Computers, which is focused on gaming and HPC. This is slowly getting replicated in tier2 channels. “In many metros we are noticing small SDs who are aligning themselves to the needs of a specific segment

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cover story “With toplines and margins shrinking, there will be filtration, and some tier-2 distribution partners will exit the business or look at other pastures”

“Previously, when a vendor asked us to stock, we did. But we have become smarter since last year, and are moving all our channels to just-in-time inventory”

Tejas Sheth

Reeta Budhey

Managing Director, Asia Powercom

Director, Business Algorithm

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market focus Intel to stop making desktop motherboards Intel’s decision to wind up its desktop motherboard manufacturing in 3 years may not make a huge impact globally, but could severely affect system builders in India n Ramdas S & Sonal desai

ntel surprised many of its system builder partners when it announced that it was going kill its desktop motherboard business over a period of three years. The company said that its next generation of desktop processors, code-named Haswell, and due by mid-2013, will be the last processor family for which it will build its own branded motherboards. However, Intel stated that it will continue supplying boards for the server and workstation market. The company clarified that it is not exiting the desktop market, and will continue making desktop processors, designing motherboard chipsets and making available new designs and form-factors. “We are going to be putting a lot of money into developing new all-in-one desktop technology, reducing the cost of touch technology, and bringing new perceptual computing and voice commands to the desktop,” said Steve Dallman, GM and VP, Reseller Organization, Intel. “We will redeploy resources that we have and use them to develop new innovative products for desktops.” There were mixed reactions to the news in India. According to Kshitij Kotak, CEO, Fortune Greycells, “It will hurt smaller system builders who were banking on the genuine Intel motherboard advantage. Larger system builders have already established relationships with other motherboard makers.” “Whenever we pitched an assembled PC against an Acer or an HP, our USP was that we were providing a genuine Intel processor and motherboard while the MNC brand had an OEM board. We will lose this advantage now,” complained Irfan Khan, Systems Aid Technologies. Most system builders admitted that the announcement took them by surprise. Remarked Amit Rambhia, Director, Vardhaman Technologies, “There is no doubt that it will affect our business and we are awaiting full details of Intel’s plans. Perhaps it is good that Intel is exiting manufacturing to focus on design and R&D.”

Sergis Mushell, Principal Research Analyst, Gartner, provided a global perspective. “Intel’s exit should not impact the market severely because it is not a major player. The only impact will be on availability of high-end boards, but I believe another vendor will fill the void.” However, unlike mature markets such as the Europe and US, where Intel’s motherboard marketshare is in single digits, India has a strong affinity for the brand. While there are no research reports on the desktop motherboard market, Intel alongwith Asus and Gigabyte is perceived to be among the top three players with marketshare between 20 and 30 percent in India. “I believe this would severely impact the smaller system builders selling 5-10 boxes per month,” said Toshy Thomas, CEO, ABC Systems. “Although Asus and Gigabyte would continue providing products, the fact that Intel is pulling out signals that the company may no longer have interest in system builder market.” Understandably, motherboard makers such as Asus, Gigabyte and Mercury have reacted positively to the news because it improves their chances in an otherwise shrinking desktop motherboard market. “With Intel’s exit from the market there will now be a greater pie of the addressable market available for us. This would also increase healthy competition among players and result in some new and exciting products,” said Vinay Shetty, Country Head, Component Business, Asus India. “The overall impact of this decision will be positive as Intel will continue to provide CPUs and design support for the desktops.” Sunil Grewal, Sales Director, Gigabyte’ added, “We will introduce a wider range to cover the vacuum once Intel exits.” However does Intel’s decision signal toward the end of road for desktops is a million dollar question. Desktop share of the PC shipments has been dwindling and to add to that overall PC shipments are stagnating, while new form-factor devices like tablets are growing exponentially. n

“It will affect our business and we are awaiting full details of Intel’s plans. Perhaps it is good that Intel is exiting manufacturing to focus on design and R&D”

“The overall impact will be positive. Intel’s exit would increase healthy competition among players and result in some new and exciting products”

Amit Rambhia

Vinay Shetty

Director, Vardhaman Technologies

Country Head, Component Business, Asus India

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role model From software developer to solutions provider

Vishal Bindra, CEO, ACPL Systems, was one of the trio who developed India’s first antivirus. He also tried his hand at other things before he found his true calling as a security solutions provider n AMIT SINGH

he journey of Vishal Bindra, CEO, ACPL Systems, who started as a software developer in 1990, has been truly exciting. He changed tracks to become India’s first antivirus (AV) developer, a security reseller and one of the most trusted security solutions providers. Today, Bindra runs a `45 crore business across north and south India with customers including Airtel, Vodafone, Max Life Insurance, Nokia, KPMG, Apollo Tyres, Punj Lloyd, Ranbaxy, Dabur, NIIT and Domino’s.

In the beginning Smitten by IT, Bindra studied COBOL and C after completing his graduation from the Delhi University in 1989. Together with Ravi Mehra and Avnish Das, he started a software development company, Ampersand Consultants (which was later named ACPL) with a seed capital of `14,000 to buy a PC; their office space was borrowed. “Those were tough times,” Bindra recalls. “We used the same PC for software development and to rev up our software development skills.” The company got its first break in 1990 with a project worth `25,000 for automating the admission process at Jesus & Mary College. “While developing the software we developed an AV named Smart Dog to fight a virus that had infected our PC,” Bindra informs. ACPL sold the AV through resellers in Nehru Place. Although unknown in the market, it gained an edge over MNCs through its competitive pricing, free trials and money-back guarantee. “For `199 we were offering a 1-year license for protection against one virus, and for `399 a 1-year license against five viruses. Compared to the MNCs who sold their products for `2,500 per user license per year, ours was a bargain deal,”recalls Bindra. The company appointed RDs in Delhi and Mumbai, and its revenue rose from `2 lakh in FY1990-91 to `1.5

“We have implemented DLP solutions for more than 2.5 lakh nodes for 22 customers. Some of these customers are NIIT, Max Life Insurance, Maruti, Apollo Tyres and SRS” 28

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crore in FY1996-97.” Bindra got a jolt in 1997 when Mehra and Das decided to part ways. “Also, there was stiff competition and we lost a lot of talent to the competition. We closed our AV department, and tied up with Trend Micro and WatchGuard to resell their AV and firewalls,” he informs. During this period, the ACPL team spent quality time with customers explaining the threat scenario and the need for data protection. In 1999, for projects worth `36 lakh, it implemented the Trend Micro AV and firewalls for 600 users at Motherson Sumi and 800 users at Hughes Scott respectively. Simultaneously, Bindra focused on servicing his customers which led to retention. As part of transition from product-selling to solutionselling, Bindra obtained the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) certificate in 2003. It helped him to understand business processes and suggest changes to complement security solutions. In 2005, he acquired the ISO 27001 Lead Auditor certification. “The BPO sector required security solutions to align their business processes with ISO requirements. We signed up big BPO customers and our revenue rose from `3 crore in FY2002-03 to `5 crore in FY2005-06.” During this period ACPL installed AV solutions to secure 2,500 nodes at Airtel for a project worth `40 lakh. It made similar deployments at Dabur, Indo Rama, Santel, BHEL and Apollo Tyres. During 2005-07 ACPL transformed itself into a solutions-selling company. “We introduced security support services and offered proactive remote support to customers in 2008. We started with 6-7 customers, offering SLA-based support through a ticketing portal. Today we have more than 100 customers,” Bindra states. With the changing landscape, customers asked ACPL for solutions with allied technologies such as networking, data center and services. “We helped customers to migrate from IPv4 to IPv6, and also streamline their data center, networking and server-related problems. As the demands increased, we added network design and implementation, and data centers to our portfolio,” informs Bindra. In 2009, ACPL built a data center entailing networking, servers and security worth $1 million for a large telecom

Role model player. In FY2009-10, the company consolidated signed up with Websense for DLP, and RSA and McAfee for security analytics.

1990

Current business

MILESTONES With two partners started Ampersand Consultants which was later named ACPL. Developed India’s first AV and named it Smart Dog

Best practices The company has a customer support system in the form of a Web portal for complaint log-in, ticket evaluation and remote technical assistance through Webex. ACPL also acquired ISO 9001 and 27001 certifications in 2010. “Over the years we have upgraded our CRM and ERP solutions to generate automated intimations.”

2012

2011

2010

2009

2003

1997

1994

ACPL grew 141 percent from `14.5 crore in FY2009-10 to `35 crore in FY2010-11 and a further 28.5 percent to `45 crore in FY2011-12. Appointed RDs in Delhi and Bindra attributed the growth Mumbai to addition of new technologies, deep-selling, and large projects in Future expectations The other two partners decided Bindra opines that the IT industry DLP solutions. “We also offered solutions around information rights to go their own separate ways. is currently plagued by delayed management (IRM) and dynamic business and payments. “Business AV department shut denial of service attack prevention.” from the government is not moving, IRM email archiving and storage and telecom is not optimistic either. Obtained the Certified solutions provided nearly 15 percent This is inflicting about 20 percent Information Systems Auditor of its revenue. slowdown in overall business. certificate ACPL implemented security Moreover, the standard 30-day credit analytics projects for 10,000 nodes period has extended to 50-70 days.” Built a data center entailing for two large insurance companies in ACPL is targeting 10-12 percent networking, servers and FY2010-11. It also implemented IRM growth in the current and next fiscal. security worth $1 million for a It is focusing on new technologies solutions for 10,000 people in a large large telecom player telecom company. like APT, database security, and “We implemented DLP solutions identity and access management. Acquired ISO 9001 and 27001 for more than 2.5 lakh nodes for 22 Targeting large enterprises, ACPL is customers including NIIT, Max Life expecting 15-20 percent revenues certifications Insurance, Maruti, Apollo Tyres and from APT and database security in Implemented a DLP solution SRS,” Bindra says. the next two years. Says Bindra, “We He says, “Many customers were are targeting revenue of `75 crore in worth $1 million for a large not keen on DLP. We set up PoCs, 2015, 30-40 percent of the revenue IT services company for one and helped them to calculate the RoI will come from services.” lakh users upfront. This approach resulted in a The company is also planning to 4-fold increase in the conversion of establish its own SOC for managed Crossed a turnover of PoCs to actual deals. DLP contributed security services by April-May `45 crore 20 percent to the revenues.” 2013. “We are aiming to host 25,000 ACPL also made an effort to move devices on managed security services away from vendor-centric solutions. Says Bindra, “For in a year,” Bindra reveals. every project, we suggest solutions from 3-5 different ACPL will also explore opportunities for its security vendors. Although customers consult us, we let them services in the education segment. “Since the budget choose the vendor. This approach strengthens our is a constraint for many institutions in the education credibility in the market.” segment, opex-based security services can be a good value In FY2011-12, ACPL implemented a DLP solution proposition for them.” worth $1 million for an IT services company for one lakh Besides, the company is seeking ITIL certification for users. It completed a VDI project valued at $220,000 for its support and implementation services by September 1,000 users. It also established VAS infrastructure valued 2013, and SAS 70 compliance for its data center and SOC. at $600,000 for a telecom player. “We set up a redundant and highly-available networking and application delivery On a personal note infrastructure. Using this the customer rolled out pushBindra considers Ratan Tata as his role model. He likes mail, instant messenger service, and hosted an app store traveling, and Mughlai cuisine is his favorite. that can handle more than 1 app downloads per day.” He has tried cuisines including Italian, Mexican and Japanese while traveling across the world. “I travel twice a year, and Canada is my dream destination. I have already “For each project we suggest solutions from covered half of Canada, and will cover the rest next year.” To keep himself abreast of the best practices, he reads 3-5 different vendors. Although customers books on business management, self improvement and consult us, we let them choose the vendor. biographies. His favorite books are Inside the Tornado by Geoffrey Moore and Small Giants by Bo Burlingham. n This approach strengthens our credibility”

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tech focus Computers with human senses According to IBM, the five senses will no longer be exclusive to living things come 2017 n Kristin Bent

lot can change in the computing industry over the course of five years, and IBM expects the next five, in particular, to be a doozy. The tech-giant has made some lofty projections in its most recent 5-in-5 list, an annual compilation of five major innovations it expects to take place over the next five years. All the projections found on this year’s list are related to the five senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. IBM predicts that computers will start acting a lot more like humans by 2017.

The sense of touch Today we use our smartphones to shop for the comfiest sweater or softest bed sheets money can buy. But can we ever really be sure those new sheets have a 500 thread count without actually touching them first? Worry not, because according to IBM, the next half-decade will usher in a new infrared and haptic technology that will enable a smartphone’s touchscreen and vibration technologies to actually simulate the sensation of touch. Users, then, will be able to reach out and touch those bed sheets or that new sweater directly on their smartphone screen, instead of just banking on the accuracy of a product description.

The sense of sight IBM projects that in the next five years the recognition systems used by computers will become so advanced that, in addition to actually seeing objects, they’ll actually be able to analyze patterns in the context of big data. The result, it predicts, is one that will particularly benefit the retail, agriculture, and healthcare industries. In medicine, for instance, computers will be able to identify a tiny area of diseased tissue during an MRI, apply this information to a patient’s broader medical history, and provide a faster and more accurate diagnosis.

The sense of hearing Voice recognition isn’t exactly a new concept in computing. Existing software, such as Apple’s Siri can already hear what a user is saying and respond accordingly most of the time, at least.

computers will be able to sniff out the cleanliness of a hospital operating room, the condition of a crop’s soil, and even any issues with a city’s sanitation system before a human nose ever catches a whiff 30

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IBM estimates that computers will be able to analyze and make predictions based on sounds. Embedded sensors that can pick up sound patterns and frequency changes will be able to predict, for instance, when a bridge might buckle before it does by listening for weaknesses in its structure. IBM said these embedded sensors could also be used to help parents determine the needs of their newborn baby by analyzing the sounds of its cry.

The sense of taste IBM feels that computers in 2017 will host a new digital taste buds technology that helps them piece together what IBM calls the perfect meal. By analyzing how the chemical compounds of certain foods interact with each other and tapping into psychophysical data that shows which chemicals produce feelings of pleasantness among humans, computers will be able to compile original recipes suited to their users’ individual tastes. IBM said many of the resulting recipes will be completely new to humans, incorporating ingredients we would never imagine to use on our own.

The sense of smell The worst part about the common cold is that you never know you’re getting it until it’s too late. Once that first sneeze is sneezed, that trip to the pharmacy seems inevitable. But IBM predicts computers will be able to change all that by 2017 by adopting the ability to smell. Users may be able to breathe on their computing devices, have those devices extract data from the molecules in their breath, and receive valuable diagnostic information in return. What’s more, IBM suggests computers will be able to sniff out the cleanliness of a hospital operating room, the condition of a crop’s soil, and even any issues with a city’s sanitation system before a human nose ever catches a whiff. n

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tech focus Android under Attack Android smartphones and tablets are most at risk of an attack. We give you the five malware threats that are most widespread n Robert Westervelt

martphones and tablets running the Google Android platform are most at risk of an attack, according to security experts. More than 70 percent of all Android malware belongs to a few malware families, noted Trend Micro, in its 2012 review of mobile and social media threats. The most aggressive malware threats are tied to SMS Trojans, designed to rack up premium text message charges and high-risk apps that collect as much user data as possible, the security firm said. Here’s a look at the top five malware threats to hit Google Android devices.

Android premium service abusers Premium service abusers subscribe users to various services that add to their phone bill at the end of the month, according to Trend Micro. This threat ranked as the highest mobile threat type, accounting for 40.58 percent of threats in 2012. A large number of the attacks are labeled as SMS Trojans, designed to send text messages to premium numbers. The premium numbers often charge a costly fee for unwanted services. Security firm F-Secure detected premium service abusers that slipped into the Google Play official Android app market masquerading as free versions of many popular applications. They were quickly removed, but not before being downloaded thousands of times.

Android adware Android apps that use abusive advertising tactics ranked as the second highest mobile threat. Apps tied to aggressive advertising networks accounted for 38.3 percent of Android threats, according to Trend Micro’s analysis. Android adware abuse is often tied to apps that manage to display ads outside of the app, using pop-up notifications, browser bookmarks and taskbar notifications. Many of the apps identified as adware tap into contact lists and attempt to collect other personal data without requesting permission from the device user.

Android data stealers Android data stealers often bilk users of information

Premium service abusers, subscribe users to services that add to their phone bill. This ranked as the highest mobile threat type, accounting for 40.58 percent of threats in 2012 32

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such as their operating system version, product ID, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number and other information that could be used in future attacks. The data stealers consisted of 24.9 percent of all Android threat types in 2012, according to Trend Micro’s analysis. DroidDream, detected by researchers at Lookout Mobile Security in 2011, gained the most notoriety. The malware was found embedded in more than 50 mobile apps in the official Google Play store. It was believed to have been downloaded 5,000 times before it was removed. The malicious code was designed to break out of Android’s application security sandbox to send information from the phone to a remote server. Variants of DroidDream still circulate on third-party Android app stores.

Malicious Android downloaders Malicious downloaders accounted for 22.8 percent of all Android threat types in 2012, according to Trend Micro. Once a malicious downloader has infected a victim’s Android device, it is designed to contact a remote server to await instructions or download additional Android malware. In July, OpFake malware was seen bundled with a legitimate version of the Opera Mini browser. The designer of the malware mimicked the installation process of the Opera Mini browser, requesting permission from the user to modify rights to SMS and MMS messages, read contacts and modify the contents of the device’s SD card. The victim was then prompted with a second permission request to install Opera Mini. A similar tactic was detected in China with as many as 1,00,000 victims. Once installed, the malware silently downloaded paid apps and multimedia content from an official Google market in China racking up charges on the victim’s phone bill.

Android rooter A less common but dangerous kind of malware, rooter malware has the capability to root infected devices, giving an attacker complete control of the Android smartphone or tablet. Trend Micro found that rooter malware made up only 4.4 percent of all Android threat types. Root privileges grants a remote attacker access to files and the device’s flash memory. The threat is designed for targeted attacks to remain stealthy and persistent on the device, evading detection by most mobile antivirus applications. One such threat called Gonfu was detected in 2011 and can root a device by installing a malicious package called Legacy. Once infected, the rooting capability renders manual app remove ineffective, according to Trend Micro. n

channel buzz ASIRT Gold Member program

he Association of Systems Integrators & Retailers in Technology (ASIRT) recently launched ASIRT Gold Member (AGM) program to help channel partners deliver quality customer service at standard rates, and beat reckless competition. A panel of SI and retail partners framed the recommended rate-chart for the program. The rates and list of services offered under each head has been arrived at by consensus. A minimum pricing has been set for all

services and against each service the deliverables and turnaround time that the customer can expect from AGM has been listed. For instance, for a comprehensive AMC for a PC they have set the rate at `3,900 per node for 1-5 PCs. This rate comes down with a higher number of nodes; for 50+ PCs, the AMC per node will be at a minimum of `2,900 for a comprehensive support contract. Similarly, for product installation services, the minimum rate for

n Dhaval Valia, Executive Editor, CRN, presenting the ASIRT Gold Member plaque to Kaushik Patel, CEO, Icon Computers

n Chetan Shah, Chairman, ASIRT, outlining the benefits of the ASIRT Gold Member program

installing a desktop or notebook will be `1,500, and `750 for a printer or scanner. For server installation, OS deployment with file and print services will be charged at `10,000 for 10 users and `500 for every additional user. The program is free for all ASIRT members. “Nearly 44 of our 100 members have become gold members. We expect the majority of our members to take advantage of the program,” said Chetan Shah, Chairman, ASIRT. n

n ASIRT members attentively listening to the benefits of gold membership

Care Office rewards partners

are office Equipment recently announced the winners of its Ab Mein Bhi Sikander partner scheme. According to the scheme, on the purchase of any Dell Inspiron or LG notebook, dealers won assured gifts such as Dell LED monitors, pen drives, Wi-Fi routers, adapters and wireless mice. Other prizes distributed to the partners included five motorbikes

and five 40-inch LED TV, 10 refrigerators, 20 32-inch LCD TV sets, and 53 digital cameras. The main attractions of the scheme were the 2 Maruti Alto cars and two sets of gold jewelry worth `2 lakh. The winners for the Maruti Alto cars were Online Infotech and Anyway IT while the winners for the gold jewelry sets included Planet Info World and Xenon Computers. Said Hemant Shah, CMD, Care

n Sapandeep Kapoor, outgoing RM, West, Dell India, giving away the Alto car keys to Jayanti Patel, Partner, Anyway IT Solutions

n Sejal Patel (L) and Ashwin Patel (R), Partners, Online Infotech, receiving the Alto car keys from Hemant Shah (C), CMD, Care Office Equipment

Office, “Care devised this scheme to offer rewards to the dealers so that they could attain the maximum benefits.” More than 150 channel partners across Gujarat participated in the scheme, and over 6,000 notebooks were sold. Winners were selected on the basis of a lucky draw. IT partners, leading vendors, as well as the Presidents of FITAG and ACMA were present at the event. n

n Ajay Kalay, incoming RM, West, Dell India, giving away the gold ornament set voucher to Kalpesh Vakharia, Owner, Planet Info World

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

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New Products Acer Iconia B1 tablet

cer has launched a tablet, Iconia B1, which is targeted at the youth, new users and families. The tablet runs on Android Jelly Bean 4.1 OS, and is powered by a 1.2 GHz dualcore processor. The 7-inch capacitive multi-touch screen has a resolution of 1024x600. The tablet has a 0.3 MP (VGA) front-facing camera for video chats. It is 11.3 mm thick and weighs 320 grams. The B1 features 8 GB of internal storage which is expandable up to 32 GB. Other features include a 3.5 mm audio jack, microphone jack, internal speaker and 512 MB RAM. It supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, micro-USB and GPS. It has a 2710 mAh battery. Priced at `7,999, the tablet comes with a 2-year warranty and is available with Acer authorized distributors. n

TP-Link TL-MR3040 router

P-Link recently launched a portable wireless router, TL-MR3040, designed to provide high-speed Internet access anywhere on the go. The portable 3G/3.75G battery-powered wireless N router has a life of up to four hours with its 2000 mAh battery. The router is ideal for connecting tablets, smartphones, portable gaming consoles and other mobile electronic devices. Other technical specifications include a 10/100 Mbps WAN/LAN port, USB 2.0 port for a 3G modem, a mini-USB port for power supply, and wireless standards of IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11g and IEEE 802.11b. Priced at `3,999, the router comes with a 3-year warranty and is available with TP-Link authorized distributors. n

Portronics Pico Power charger

Lenovo A2107 tablet

ortronics has launched an emergency phone charger called Pico Power. It has a micro-USB interface and can be used as an extended battery. When not in use the battery can retain the charge for 15 months; it gives up to three hours of power when in use. The charger has an LED power indicator, built-in micro-USB tip for use with all micro-USB compatible phones, and micro-USB cable. Priced at `799, the charger comes with a 1-year warranty and is available with Portronics authorized distributors. n

enovo recently launched its A2107 tablet in India. The tablet is powered by Android 4.0 (ICS) OS, has a 1 GHz Cortex A9 MediaTek processor, and comes with 16 GB of internal storage and 1 GB of DDR2 RAM. It supports 3G and WiFi, provides a battery life of eight hours, and weighs approximately 400 grams. The tablet has a 2 MP rear camera and a 0.3 MP front camera. The tablet boasts of an HD video with 720 p playback and bright 350 nits HD display, and comes with dual-stereo speakers. The product also has an internal rollcage to protect it against damage if dropped. Priced at `13,999 (excluding taxes), it comes with a 1-year warranty and is available with Lenovo authorized distributors. n

The products featured here have not undergone any benchmarking or testing. The trailers contain information provided by vendors and distributors. To feature your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s products in CRN, send write-ups with photos to editor@ubmindia.com

Computer Reseller News

01/02/2013 www.crn.in

Cabinets, Keyboards, Mice, Headphones, TV Tuner, USB Speakers, Multimedia Speakers, SMPS, UPS, Webcam & more ! Agra - 6453125, 4041027, Ahmedabad - 64508450, 26851663, Amritsar - 6450186, Aurangabad - 645 7141, Bangalore - 65687567, Baroda - 6595588, Bhopal - 6464925, Bhubneshwar - 6510444, Calicut - 6515152, Chandigarh - 6512547, 2694932, Chennai â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 64501273,28412414, Cochin - 2205051/52/53, Coimbatore - 6572160, Dehradun 6546333, Delhi - 64734905, 26387897, Ghaziabad - 6517809, Goa - 6514657, Gurgaon - 6453544, Guwahati - 9207411634, Hubli - 6453123, Hyderabad - 66901598, Indore 6510124, Jabalpur - 6457306, Jaipur - 6577844, 2280421, Jammu - 2437478, Kanpur- 9235601410, Karnal - 6450508, Kolhapur- 9223101332, Kolkatta- 64517248, 22315174, Kottayam - 6452013, Lucknow - 6546333, 2286134, Ludhiana - 6512545, 6450125, Madurai - 6463839, Mangalore - 6451030, 2494355, Mumbai â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 65261670,65990329, Nagpur - 6502571, 2420009, Nasik - 6450103, Parwanoo- 645108, Patna - 6453850, 6450116, Pondicherry - 6530470, Pune - 65205706, 24497489, Raipur - 6538333, 4221307, Rajkot - 6593588, Ranchi - 6455499, Siliguri - 6450108, Surat - 6596267, Trivendrum - 6535433, Varanasi - 6454820,Vijaywada - 6622872, Vizag - 6590992.

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Computer reseller News

COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS

15/01/2012 www.crn.in

01/02/2013 www.crn.in

shadow ram GET

Fake dealer on the prowl

Personal

one are the days where one could assess credit based on a bank statement. A dealer recently approached a prominent Chennaibased sub-distributor with a bank statement which showed transactions worth `15 lakh between him and another prominent sub-distributor. As per the statement, the dealer was paying around `1 lakh everyday to the sub-distributor. The Chennai-based sub-disty casually checked with his peer who confirmed that the dealer was indeed doing transactions. But the duo did not talk about the exact amount or credit terms. Having done this superficial background check, the sub-disty provided material to the dealer on credit of about `10 lakh. The latest is that the dealer seems to have vanished into the thin air. Checking back with his peer, and upon further investigation, the sub-disty discovered that the bank statement was fabricated. “The statement gave us the impression that he was receiving 15 days credit up to `15 lakh while in reality he had done just a few transactions to build a reference and manipulated the statement to dupe us.” A case has been registered. n

“We need stringent laws” Nilesh Goradia, Head, Presales, Citrix, has 15 years experience in the IT industry. At Citrix, he is driving business across virtualization, networking and cloud solutions. If not in the IT industry: I would have been a theater or television artiste. Biggest passion: My job.

Nilesh Goradia

Behind the wheels: A car is a utility. I do not dream of

buying flashy cars. Gadgets I can’t live without: My iPad and BlackBerry. Weekends are for: The music of Jagjit Singh and Kishore Kumar, and books, health and socializing. Favorite holiday destinations: New York, Kota Kinabalu, Coorg and Lakshadweep. Hate the most: Crimes against women and senior citizens; also, indiscipline in public and personal lives.

Total PC Protection 2013

Favorite movies: Dasvidaniyaan, Khosla ka Ghosla, Haapus and Life is Beautiful. Favorite stars: Sanjeev Kumar, Aamir Khan and Amol Palekar. Role models: Warren Buffet, Deepak Parekh and Sam Pitroda. Ultimate ambition: To become an entrepreneur.

Call :

098 22 88 25 66 092 72 70 70 50

Wildest thing I have ever done: Walking on the sea-bed in Malaysia. Thing I most want to do in life: To excel and work with responsibility and honesty in whatever I do. If I became the PM: I would enforce stringent laws and open fast-track courts to punish crimes against women, children and senior citizens. Celebrity I would like to spend a day with: Amitabh Bachchan. I wish I had half his energy levels. One person I would like to meet and why: Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, to understand the value of humility in life. Deepest and darkest fear: Death. n

Computer Reseller News

01/02/2013 www.crn.in

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