DT February Issue 2021

Page No. 08 “We Expect To Further Extend Our Footprint And Expand Our Business To Potential Markets In Asia”

Alex Chung, CEO & Co-founder, Nexstgo www. d i g italt erminal.in

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PN40 / PN60

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For feedback, email reachus@asus.com or info_india@asus.com

CONTENT

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COVER STORY

IT CHANNEL

IT HARDWARE CHANNEL BUSINESS IN UPCOUNTRY MARKET WITNESSING EXPONENTIAL GROWTH

Publisher & Editor : Rajeev Ranjan Executive Editor : Jyoti Janda Assistant Content Manager : Jai Prakash Content Coordinator : Suraj Rawat Office Coordinator : Raju Thapa Consulting Art Direction : Vikas Sharma Visualiser : Akriti Arora

PAGE NO - 28 -32

Source : https://wideom.net/

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BRAND FOCUS

Graphic Designer : Shubham Tomar Editdesk : Shilpa Baghel Production Head : Rajiv Singh Marketing Executive : Balvinder Singh Circulation: Rahul & Raju

Rise of Micron Consumer Brand Crucial In India

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FACE TO FACE

Our Channel Program Initiatives Are Ubiquitous & Multifaceted to Empower Partners Sameer Bhatia, Director Asia Pacific Consumer Business Group & Country Manager SAARC & India, Seagate Technology

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Lapcare: Cruising On SuccesS Ship Made Of Team Work Kaspersky Appoints Chris Connell as New Managing Director for APAC Region 24

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Tenda AC23 Dual-Band Gigabit Wireless Router Seagate Storage Expansion Card HyperX SoloCast USB Microphone

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www.digitalterminal.in

BRAND FOCUS

RISE OF MICRON CONSUMER BRAND CRUCIAL IN INDIA

India is one of the biggest market globally for any brands that is embarking on new innovations. The key sectors such as IT has seen immense growth in the Indian subcontinent and tech brands are striving to serve this market with their cuttingedge innovations. In the storage solution segment, the advent of new technologies driving the attention of consumers thereby the tech brands coming up with strengthened strategies for fulfilling this surging demand.

Micron is one of the most prominent market player in the storage market and has already cemented its position in the market through relentless efforts and next-gen innovations. Micron has served all types of enterprises, businesses and professionals with its storage solutions that have taken its growth journey forward.

Subsequently, taking a step ahead, Micron backed its consumer-focused brand ‘Crucial’ to make greater growth possibilities in the Indian market.

Crucial by Micron made its place in the Indian market very quickly as it brought a wide range of memory products. Class-leading memory products helped Crucial to garner a good market share and accelerate its growth forward. Moreover, the rise of new verticals like WFH and LFH created a good demand for memory products.

Crucial has clocked a good growth momentum in the DRAM and SSDs segment as it is constantly offering high-quality products. Crucial by Micron is channelizing its business with a very long term vision and putting all the required efforts to reach the maximum number of customers. With the increasing demand for high-end storage solutions across the verticals, Crucial is on its way to confront the competition and stay ahead of its counterparts.

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In the last one and a half years, Micron has seen tremendous growth in both the memory and storage side of the business due to boots in WFH, LFH, gaming penetration, and government initiative on digital India which fueled their market expansion.

They have succeeded in bringing the best storage solutions for all sets of customers to capitalize on these huge emerging opportunities. Also as per the various market reports, they have emerged very strongly and have been very well recognized now as Crucial by Micron.

Crucial as a brand of Micron consumer business is one of the largest memory manufacturers in the world known for its best quality products. Till 2019 Micron in India was considered more an enterprise and OEM brand. However, with the recruitment of key team members and focus from the brand on India’s business, Micron has seen a sea change in its market share, brand value, and consistency from the consumer business unit.

Being one of the largest manufacturers of storage products, Micron has taken several initiatives to boost its growth.

In the mid of 2019, Micron hired top executive and IT industry veteran Rajesh Gupta to manage Micron’s India & SARCC business who is currently serving as Country Manager and Director sales. Following the leadership expansion, Micron also appointed one more senior executive Parminder Kalra to manage the Consumer business.

Since then, the brand has emerged as the top contender in both DRAM and Internal SSD business in India.

Bringing key people into the system

and using their expertise had helped the brand in achieving success across the Indian market within a very short time. Their true channel connections really helped the brand in building one of the robust channel ecosystems across all markets in India. The brand is focused on putting processes and systems in place with consistent supply with competitive prices. In the last year, they have introduced channel-friendly programs, robust after-sales service, optimum distribution, and best quality products from the brand.

According to the market sources and data, the Crucial brand now in the internal SSD segment is selling 1 Lac unit and about 1.5 units in DRAM consistently quarter on quarter, making them the top contestant among the competition. Due to the emergence of various trends and continuation of the digital wave, demand for SSDs and DRAM will become more mainstream while demand from the PC upgrade market will also further fuel this market. By offering the best solutions at an affordable price point, building a strong channel network, and providing excellent service support, Micron seems to be doing all the right things in advance to capture leadership positions among the Indian storage & memory market by the year 2021.

www.digitalterminal.in

EXCLUSIVE CHAT

“WE EXPECT TO FURTHER EXTEND OUR FOOTPRINT AND EXPAND OUR BUSINESS TO POTENTIAL MARKETS IN ASIA” Despite huge challenges last year due to pandemic, the Indian PC market has shown huge growth in the last few months. This unprecedented growth is being fueled by the emergence of Work from Home & Learn from Home module in India. Entire PC brand geared up to tap these huge emerging opportunities as there was immense demand in consumer segment across India. A well-known global brand, Nexstgo, owner of popular brand AVITA in India also planned its strategy in the crisis to offer customers innovative and affordable PCs for their needs. In the last few months, AVITA has become the fastest-growing PC brand in India due to its well-planned product strategy according to each vertical. AVITA now being one of the prominent PC brands in India is serving the market with its wide PC lineup. Few of their product range like LIBER really brought innovation in computing for common people in India. The brand also being praised for offering high-end hardware at a very competitive pricing which no other brand offered so far for Indian customers. Such high-end machines from AVITA helped content creators and other professionals in getting their dream machine. Even to support entry-level customers, especially students, the brand introduced AVITA Essential Laptops at a quite affordable price point. Recently, AVITA also partnered with VAIO to bolster its growth momentum. To know more about brand vision and plans, DT was looking to chat with its CEO since a long time which came true as Rajeev Ranjan, Editor, DT recently held an exclusive interaction with Alex Chung, CEO and Co-founder, Nexstgo. The discussion revolved around the changing market dynamics, opportunities and challenges for PC brands and AVITA’s roadmap for 2021.

Read below the excerpts:

Alex Chung, CEO & Co-founder, Nexstgo

EXCLUSIVE CHAT

RAJEEV: AS THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC FORCED PEOPLE TO WORK FROM HOME AND LEARN FROM HOME, SO HOW DID THIS PANDEMIC OPEN NEW GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU? WHICH OF YOUR PRODUCT S SEEN THE HIGHEST DEMAND IN 2020?

ALEX CHUNG: Due to the pandemic, there is a rising demand of our laptop products that support the increasingly virtual working and learning lifestyle of the users, people start to realize laptop is a necessity especially under this ongoing new normal environment, which contributes a 10-time sales growth compared to last year. As AVITA roll outed new generations of laptops in a variety of colours, patterns and design elements, that are light and thin and powered by state-of-the-art technologies, such as our mainstream model LIBER V delivers a wide array of colours and patterns; entry model ESSENTIAL is an all-in-one modern PC, while the 2-in-1 tablet MAGUS provides users a more flexible and versatile usage to cater different scenarios.

AVITA laptops are very popular among students and fashionable modern users in India. To fulfil ever more demanding user expectations, Nexstgo will continue to develop full product portfolio and technologies enhancing the user experience in remote learning, working, entertainment and social interactions.

RAJEEV: WHAT ARE YOUR CHANNEL STRATEGIES FOR SERVING THE WFH AND LFH SEGMENTS? ALEX CHUNG: With our edge of first-ofits-kind brand positioning and the good value of money of our AVITA laptops, we expect to take holistic approach in penetrating markets and broadening customer profile in the Indian market.

With AVITA’s laptop edges of so many color and pattern variation, the brand is widely loved by the Indian young consumers and has got industry recognition and awards such as the “2020 Best Brand Award” of Economic Times and the “Best contemporary design for a laptop brand” of DT Awards. We will constantly be having strategic collaborations with e-retailers and channel partners to serve the WFH and LFH consumer segments. www.digitalterminal.in

RAJEEV: AVITA HAS BEEN VERY AGGRESSIVE ON THE FRONT OF RETAIL EXPANSION SO AFTER A CHALLENGING YEAR, HOW ARE YOU WORKING ON THE EXPANSION PLANS FOR CY 2021? WHICH KEY MARKETS ARE YOU TARGETING FOR FURTHER EXPANSION? ALEX CHUNG: In previous years, we conducted aggressive product category expansion strategy and developed different AVITA laptop series to the high-end, mass and entry consumer segmentations, along with the fast geographic expansion plans that brought Nexstgo an impressive growth and achievement in operating across more than 20 markets globally. Moving forward, we will continuously expand the AVITA product categories including ADMIROR – the Creator’s PC, and AVITA UBIQUE accessories and other IoT products. We have a plan to set up more AVITA brandshops to bring in unique products and add values to consumers’ lives with the aim to make our brands to the top-tier list in India.

Besides, we expect to further extend our footprint and expand our business to the potential markets in Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Europe and The U.S. in the coming five years.

RAJEEV: HOW DO YOU SEE COMEBACK OF VAIO IN INDIAN MARKET FROM NEXSTGO? HOW THIS WILL CHANGE THE PC MARKET DYNAMIC IN INDIA? ALEX CHUNG: Since 2018, Nexstgo has developed a strong partnership with VAIO Corporation in Japan, in which the two companies share the same vision in producing top quality products to enhance people’s lives. We are really happy to unveil such a strong comeback for VAIO business to the Indian market, introducing VAIO SE14 – the mainstream model for business travellers and the modern office users, and the VAIO E Series – designed for the young users to support their energetic work-and-play lifestyles.

It definitely is one of the milestones for Nexstgo. Recently, VAIO Z - the ultimate flagship device was also presented to the business

elites and premium users. In coming months, Nexstgo is set to bring an incomparable computing experience to the Indian market with launching a wide range of finest-quality laptops specially designed for modern office. For the long term growth, we will further expand product categories especially for applications & solutions, and also expand new customer segmentations, such as with the introduction of VAIO Z to the Indian Market.

RAJEEV: WHAT ARE YOUR KEY MARKETING PLANS FOR VAIO? HOW DO YOU PLAN TO EXPAND THIS BUSINESS AND MAKE A BALANCE BETWEEN YOUR DIFFERENT BRAND VERTICALS? ALEX CHUNG: VAIO is the premium and top-tier brand in Indian market.

We adopted different marketing approaches and different marketing communications for VAIO and AVITA. VAIO’s target segment is the premium and professional customers, corporate and SME clients, and also the modern young executives. AVITA, on the other hand, is a lifestyle consumer brand, targeting young users who like techfashion, trendsetters and students. We will use different product approaches to penetrate markets and broaden customer profile to recapture VAIO’s substantial market share and popularity among the Indian audiences again.

We will be bringing more products and setting up more brand stores across the top 10 Indian cities and target to create our own fan base. In order to reach out our target segments, more engaging mediums such as collaboration with KOLs & social media platforms will be used.

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FACE TO FACE

“OUR CHANNEL PROGRAM INITIATIVES ARE UBIQUITOUS & MULTIFACETED TO EMPOWER PARTNERS” Solid State Drive (SSD) is one of the most advanced storage devices which is being adopted at a large scale due to its high-performing capabilities. The opportunities for market players are enough and they are capitalizing on such opportunities to boost their growth. Seagate, being a market leader in India, is catering to the Indian storage market with its wide range of product portfolio and has seen the transformation of this market since long time. In a chat with Rajeev Ranjan, Editor, Digital Terminal, Sameer Bhatia, Director Asia Pacific Consumer Business Group and Country Manager SAARC & India, Seagate Technology shared his views on the overall scenario of the Indian storage market, adoption of SSDs and what strategies they are following to strengthen their market positions. Read below the excerpts:

Sameer Bhatia, Director Asia Pacific Consumer Business Group & Country Manager SAARC & India, Seagate Technology

FACE TO FACE

RAJEEV: HOW IS THE MAINSTREAM ACCEPTANCE OF SSDS FUELLING THE GROWTH OF INDIAN SSD MARKET? HOW DO YOU SEE INDIA AS THE POTENTIAL MARKET WITH REFERENCE OF SSD? SAMEER BHATIA: Gaming is a rapidly evolving segment in India with an expected revenue annual growth rate (CAGR 2021-2025) of 13.6% and a projected market volume of US$8,646m by 2025. The SSD solutions are designed and built specifically keeping in mind the dynamic needs of professional-level gamers – speed, endurance, and capacity.

Gaming storage brands, such as FireCuda and BarraCuda, are going further with a gaming SSD built for industry-leading speed, sustained abuse, lowest latency, and superior gaming.

SSDs not only deliver durable speed for the long haul, but also provides fast PC gaming storage speeds so gamers spend less time loading levels and maps, fewer seconds respawning, and reduce stuttering in open-world gaming.

A great example in this regard is in form of the new-gen consoles launched recently by Seagate in partnership with Xbox for their latest console, Series X and S. This unique partnership brings to market Seagate’s Storage Expansion Card that plays at the same peak levels as the console’s internal SSD. The secret ingredients are in the drive speed, load times, blazing fast NVMe, designed for PCIe Gen4x2 architecture.

Unleashing the speed of PCIe 4.0 x4, the latest gaming SSDs are those of PCIe Gen4 SSD and M.2 NVMe SSD, like the FireCuda 520 SSD built for pro-level gaming and nearly 45% faster than previous generations. Such solid-state gaming drive is out-of-the-box compatible with the new X570 chipset and directly plugs into any PCIe Gen4 motherboard for a compact performance boost to any PC build.

The success of our gaming SSD solutions – Seagate FireCuda 520, Seagate FireCuda 120, Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSD, and Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD - are positive indicators towards the increasing popularity of SSD offerings www.digitalterminal.in

in India. We are positive that this trend is likely to continue throughout the year.

RAJEEV: HOW DO YOU LOOK AT THE SURVEILLANCE STORAGE SOLUTIONS BUSINESS? HOW IS THIS SEGMENT PICKING UP THE GROWTH MOMENTUM YEAR ON YEAR? SAMEER BHATIA: With safety and security being the prime concern of individuals and organisations, surveillance systems in India are becoming an indispensable part of the country’s endeavour for a secured environment for its people. The rising need for advanced security, India’s smart cities agenda, growing IT infrastructure, increasing IT spending, surging need for video analytics and remote monitoring are the trends that have been driving the video surveillance market in India. According to BIS Research’s study, the Indian Video Surveillance market is expected to reach to $8.24 billion by 2022.

Data is at the crux of video surveillance – Seagate’s Rethink Data report last year revealed the how high-capacity data better the outcomes of business operations and efficiency spanning various industries. In India, 33% of data available to business in India is put to work, and this is bound to increase as surveillance data becomes part of the mix. From simply security to AI purposes, video surveillance has a lot to offer.

Looking ahead, surveillance vendors will be raising the bars for accuracy, efficiency and resiliency of video surveillance systems as they become the next-generation New Data Economy systems that safeguard the people and the environments.

Though Government and PSUs are the major target sectors for video surveillance in India, the country has also been witnessing a continuous surge in the use of video surveillance by sectors like banking, hospitality, transportation, education, and retail, etc. More and more citizens in the country are realizing the need and benefits of installing video surveillance infrastructure. Helpful for frontliners, video surveillance can lend itself toward both defending and pursuing business goals, and powering smart cities. For instance, video data proves useful if one needs to figure out when

a store was robbed; video surveillance, with AI, can help investigators decide which parts of the videos need to be viewed based on optimized features that flag suspicious behaviour. These systems can crunch a massive amount of data, such as security footage for public transportation. This is essential in a country like India, which, according to industry reports, sees 90% of the passenger traffic using road network to commute, and where banks that require additional identity verification.

Seagate offers an extensive range of surveillance products and solutions. In fact, Seagate was the first to pioneer a purpose-built drive for surveillance systems a decade ago. The purpose-built Skyhawk drives are optimised for surveillance, offering reliable data solutions for every application, be it smart cities, retail, finance or education.

Keeping these systems running smoothly will require forward-thinking data management. As we replace fossil fuels with more sustainable, reliable energy sources — we must also replace traditional storage architecture with modern storage configurations built to accommodate the massive influx of video and metadata. Executives should implement IT 4.0 storage strategies to maximise performance at every stage of the data flow, from the edge to the cloud. IT decision makers should also transform their storage infrastructure at the granular level and reconsider the hardware they implement in their systems.

Businesses deploying video security solutions today are powering NVR and DVR appliances with Seagate Technology’s industry-leading SkyHawk™ and SkyHawk AI drives. Designed for surveillance and edge applications, SkyHawk drives record up to 64 HD cameras, are tuned for 24×7 workloads, and feature embedded SkyHawk Health Management software to monitor drive health and flag potential issues to prevent data loss. Seagate’s SkyHawk AI drives also support dozens of AI events. For servers in data centres and cloud applications, customers are using Seagate Exos® enterprise-class drives to scale storage capacity as well as to improve speed and data availability.

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FACE TO FACE

Both Exos and Nytro drives also offer heightened cyber protection as they come with Seagate Secure™ features.

Seagate’s Skyhawk drives have been known as the Best Surveillance Storage Brand in the recent Digital Terminal 2020 Awards, proving Seagate’s efficient and intelligent data infrastructure for video surveillance systems.

RAJEEV: WHAT IS YOUR CHANNEL ROADMAP FOR THE YEAR 2021?

WHICH ALL MARKET/REGION WILL YOU BE LOOKING TO ADD MORE PARTNERS TO ACCELERATE YOUR OVERALL GROWTH? SAMEER BHATIA: Our channel partners are essential towards engaging with customers and ensuring that we have a good understanding of their strategy and future plans. This equips us with the knowledge and insights to more effectively assess their needs and deliver the solutions and technology that they need to succeed, especially in today’s highly competitive business environment.

In this regard, our partners are continuously innovating to help our customers meet the changing infrastructure and data management needs that the explosive data growth demands.

Our focus is to align with our channel partners to deliver the industry’s best performing storage solutions that offer higher capacity, unparalleled reliability, and help in maintaining a high degree of data integrity.

Our channel program initiatives are ubiquitous and multifaceted - empowering our partners and distributors, enabling them with the right set of knowledge and tools. We help them in improving their businesses, and delivering compelling results of Seagate’s full suite of enterprise and consumer data solutions.

In 2021, through our distributors, we will continue to offer a plethora of training programs to our channel partners to achieve the above objectives, which are aligned with the latest IT industry trends and channel practices in India.

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the programs for our partners to address the right audience and customers, including, enhancing users’ in-store experience content development, providing training to sales staff, offering certification programs, as well as reaching out to our community through social messaging groups. These programs will include our marquee initiatives such as - Seagate Regional Meets, and Seagate Surveillance Weeks.

All the above activities will support our channel partners to understand the products and services better and offer the right set of products to end users based on their specific needs and requirement. We trust that these programs will continue to help strengthen our position as a market leader in the storage, software and system industries, while enhancing our channel growth rapidly.

RAJEEV: HOW DO YOU SEE THE ROLE OF SKYHAWK MOBILE APPLICATION FOR CHANNEL PARTNERS? HOW DOES THIS APP HELPED YOU IN SERVING & SUPPORTING YOUR PARTNERS IN INDIA? SAMEER BHATIA: Seagate’s SkyHawk Partner App portrays how we empower our partners and customers. It has been developed to bridge the gap between CCTV Installers, System Integrators, Resellers, Dealers, and Seagate Partners across the country. The app offers a variety of benefits and is a one-point contact for all partners globally. It helps support our partner ecosystem with key value additions mentioned below.

• New leads/business opportunity • Easy communication with Seagate and its authorised partners through an easy chat system • New product launch, and updates • Warranty & Replacements - Helps check SkyHawk HDD warranty from within the app

providing estimated price to clients for project related requirements • Partner Promotions – The mobile app features ongoing promotions by partners in the selected region while encouraging increased participation, recurring usage and engagement from users.

Our aim is to support our partners in maximizing their results by offering the best and most optimal storage solutions and services. The SkyHawk Partner App is currently available in India and Philippines. It has been installed by more than 21. 300 users with more than 8,000 registered businesses.

RAJEEV: HOW DO YOU SEE THE ROLE OF MAKE IN INDIA APP (SKYHAWK) FOR PARTNERS IN OTHER COUNTRIES? DO YOU THINK THAT IT’S REALLY A PROUD MOMENT FOR US? SAMEER BHATIA: Seagate’s SkyHawk app is a testimony to our commitment to the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

The app - developed in India for the world –bridges the gap between CCTV Installers, System Integrators, Resellers, Dealers, and Seagate Partners.

It represents the hallmark of excellence that India-made offerings represent, and offers a variety of benefits acting one-stop-shop for all partners globally.

Apart from the market in India, SkyHawk app is gaining traction in the Philippines market. In Philippines the SkyHawk app has been a total of 201 user registrations with the total app installation count at 422.

The SkyHawk App was also recently awarded as “The Best Make In India Partner Support App” by Digital Terminal itself, and it was a proud moment for us to witness the win. We will continue to invest our efforts in building the app further and take it across the globe as one stop shop for communication among our partners and customers.

• Storage Calculator – Helps determine the storage capacity required before recommending the right hard drive • Estimate builder - Useful tool for www.digitalterminal.in

BIG BYTE

DELL BEATS HP TO BECOME NO. 1 PC BRAND IN INDIA The India traditional PC market inclusive of desktops, notebooks, and workstations delivered another strong quarter with shipments growing by 27.0% year-over-year (YoY) in 4Q20, according to new data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. 2.9 million PCs were shipped in 4Q20 (Oct-Dec), with notebooks growing 62.1% YoY to contribute more than threefourths of total shipments. The growth driver continues to be the demand from e-learning and remote working, leading to a 74.1% and 14.1% annual growth in the consumer and enterprise segments, respectively.

2020 ended as the biggest year for notebooks with 7.9-million-unit shipments during the year. Notebook shipments grew by 6.0% in 2020.

However, if we exclude the mega ELCOT deal, notebooks witnessed an impressive 34.3% YoY growth this year.

Had the industry not been challenged by the component shortages, notebook shipments could have been much higher during the year. Contrary to this, desktop shipments saw a decline of 33.2% in 2020 as companies reduced their spending on fixed computing devices and preferred mobile devices to manage their operations remotely. This led to a 6.4% decline for the overall PC market in 2020.

“The massive demand in the consumer segment driven by online learning led the exceptional performance of notebooks.

Likewise, gaming notebook PCs were one of the fastest-growing categories, further proof of the growing importance of gaming in the country,” said Bharath Shenoy, Market Analyst, PC Devices, IDC India.

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Commenting on the ongoing momentum of notebooks, Shenoy adds, “The market saw demand across the price bands and concluded the biggest fourth-quarter shipments for notebooks in India. However, the severe supply challenges for entry-level CPUs and panels restricted the growth, as supply remains much lower than the current demand in the country.”

TOP 5 COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS: 4Q20 DELL TECHNOLOGIES replaced HP for

the top position in the overall PC market, as its shipments grew 57.1% YoY in 4Q20. The vendor also led the commercial segment with a share of 32.7% resulting in 15.2% YoY growth a despite decline in the commercial

segment during 4Q20. Dell’s consumer shipments registered an impressive 159.1% YoY growth and maintained the lead for the second position in the category.

HP INC. secured the second position with a 26.7% share with 8.8% YoY growth in 4Q20.

HP remained the leader for the full year of 2020. Also, HP maintained its lead in the consumer segment as its shipments grew 47.3% from the same quarter a year ago.

However, supply constraints restricted its growth in the commercial segment.

LENOVO slipped to the third position as its share dropped to 18.4% in 4Q20 from 21.7% in 3Q20. Strong momentum in its SMB and

consumer segments helped the vendor to register 3.7% YoY growth in 4Q20.

ACER Group retained the fourth position with an 8.5% market share in 4Q20. However, the vendor registered an 11.0% decline in its overall shipments, mainly because of its heavy reliance on desktops, which fell 36.9% from the same time a year ago.

ASUS maintained the fifth position with a share of 6.4% as it grew an impressive 183.6% YoY in 4Q20. Its VivoBook 15, VivoBook 14 and TUF Gaming models continued to be the frontrunner in its growth. Also, a balanced portfolio in the online and offline channels helped the brand to sustain this growth.

Commenting on the future outlook, Jaipal Singh , Associate Research Manager, Client

Devices, IDC India said, “2021 will give another opportunity to the vendors to leverage the missed prospects due to supply constraints in 2020. So far, consumer demand does not seem to be abating anytime soon, and enterprises also continue to place fresh orders. Additionally, many government education deals are under discussion which can set a strong foundation for 2021. However, if the current supply challenges continue for some more months, it can offset the ongoing demand to some extent. Availability of the devices will not only be critical for the category growth but will play an important role in the expansion of the market in the country.”

www.digitalterminal.in

NEWS IN BRIEF

KASPERSKY APPOINTS CHRIS CONNELL AS NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR APAC REGION

Kaspersky announces the appointment of Chris Connell as Managing Director for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Chris will spearhead the global cybersecurity company’s APAC business expansion efforts in addition to continuing his role as the Deputy Vice President of Global Sales for the company. Originally from the United Kingdom, he is set to be based in Kaspersky’s regional office in Singapore.

Chris joined Kaspersky as the GM for UK & Ireland in February 2019. In February 2020, alongside his role as Deputy VP of Sales Network, he was promoted to Director of European Operations, and took on the task of boosting the performance of the company’s European operations. Following this European reorganization Chris was responsible for one of Kaspersky’s burgeoning regions – Northern and Eastern Europe.

Overall, Chris has more than 23 years of professional experience in sales and commercial leadership in various companies and across many sectors, including solution selling, consumer, B2B and channel sales.

LAPCARE: CRUISING ON SUCCESS SHIP MADE OF TEAM WORK Lapcare as a brand believes in setting targets in terms of Brand awareness, sales, Brand equity, uplifting the product quality even higher and thrashing these targets within the set timeline. This trend is set by company’s belief in team work, thinking out of the box and always keeping its partners and customers first.

While pandemic has drained economies of all shapes and sizes, Team Lapcare pulled up the socks, fired up the brain engines and turned these crippling times into an opportunity. Becoming the true friend of ‘Work from home’ employees by providing quality essentials like laptop accessories and peripheral enabled the company to gain the trust of millions and sky-rocket the Brand equity and subsequent turnover.

The company is not only expanding through sales figures but also through channel expansion and portfolio expansion.

Already sitting up the hill of IT and peripherals market since more than 2 decades now, Lapcare is all set to launch high quality data storage solutions in the form of SSDs and Pen-drives.

Organization has always believed in re-molding itself and its portfolio in accordance to the time curve. Though

Lapcare has already been catering youth audience through gaming headphones, compact keyboards, power-banks, it is to take a leap ahead soon through launching a whole new range of Bluetooth speakers, True wireless earphones, neckbands, and other eye catching audio products. The essence of the product range would be quality, a big pack of features and accessibility.

Lapcare has deepened its roots on the online channels in the recent times and is observing significant increase in the E-commerce sales figure pie. The management is determined to keep the curve vertically up and is strategically ready for it with a dedicated team for online channels.

Becoming the most trusted brand in each segment they have a foot in, and keeping the momentum as paced as it is, is the organization’s primary goal.

While they have already achieved and surpassed the target of 40Cr/ month, Lapcare is all sparked up to reach new horizons through brilliant team coordination, positive mindset and customer centric ideology.

ESET DISCOVERED KOBALOS MALWARE TARGETING SUPERCOMPUTERS ESET researchers discovered Kobalos, a malware that has been attacking supercomputers – high performance computer (HPC) clusters. ESET has worked with the CERN Computer Security Team and other organizations involved in mitigating attacks on these scientific research networks.

Among other targets was a large Asian ISP, a North American endpoint security vendor as well as several privately held servers.

Any server compromised by Kobalos can 16

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be turned into a Command & Control (C&C) server by the operators sending a single command. As the C&C server IP addresses and ports are hardcoded into the executable, the operators can then generate new Kobalos samples that use this new C&C server. In addition, in most systems compromised by Kobalos, the client for secure communication (SSH) is compromised to steal credentials.

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TELECOM TODAY

AIRTEL ANNOUNCES 5G READY NETWORK IN HYDERABAD Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”) announced that it has become the country’s first telco to successfully demonstrate & orchestrate LIVE 5G service over a commercial network in Hyderabad city. Airtel did this over its existing liberalised spectrum in the 1800 MHz band through the NSA (Non Stand Alone) network technology. Using a first of its kind, dynamic spectrum sharing, Airtel seamless-

ly operated 5G and 4G concurrently within the same spectrum block.

This demonstration has emphatically validated the 5G readiness of Airtel’s network across all domains - Radio, Core and Transport. Airtel 5G is capable of delivering 10x speeds, 10x latency and 100x concurrency when compared to existing technologies.

Specifically, in Hyderabad, users were able to download a full length movie in a matter of seconds on a 5G phone. This demonstration has underlined the company’s technology capabilities. The full impact of the 5G experience, however, will be available to our customers, when adequate spectrum is available and government approvals received.

SONU SOOD IS THE NEW BRAND AMBASSADOR OF REDMI INDIA Redmi India announced Sonu Sood, popular actor and a real-life hero as the brand ambassador for Redmi 9 Power. This partnership will further the brand’s existing campaign – ‘More Power to you’.

Redmi’s brand ethos is democratizing innovation and ensuring technology is available for everyone. In 2020, actor Sonu Sood won hearts for his exemplary work in supporting migrant workers and those in need. He has been a strong figure in enabling those in distress such that they could have the

opportunity to a better life. His personality and initiative fall perfectly in line with Redmi’s philosophy.

In the COVID stricken society we see today, smartphones have become an essential commodity, be it for education or for communication. The brand first partnered with Sonu Sood as part of its continued efforts to empower thousands of students by donating Redmi smartphones under the #ShikshaHarHaath initiative.

SAMSUNG COLLABORATES WITH INSTAGRAM FOR ‘HUNT FOR THE NEXT GALAXY EXPERT’ INITIATIVE Samsung announced its partnership with Facebook’s photo and video sharing app, Instagram, to introduce a unique initiative called the ‘Hunt for the Next Galaxy Expert’.

In a world’s first, Samsung is partnering with Instagram to engage with creators by leveraging branded content to promote its flagship Galaxy S21 Series. The partnership

also uniquely involves engagement with Instagram’s ‘Born on Instagram’, which is a program initiated by the platform since 2019, to create a platform for creators across India to learn and grow.

Over the next few weeks, through a series of workshops and contests, the initiative

will provide creators with an opportunity to win the latest Galaxy devices, including the latest flagship Galaxy S21. The winner will win the title of ‘Galaxy Expert’ and will be a part of an elite league of creators across the globe, getting access to upcoming Samsung Unpacked events.

RENO5 PRO 5G RECORDS 148% HIGHER SALES THAN ITS PREDECESSOR OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G has broken the sale record set by its last predecessor Reno4 Pro. In the launch week of its first sale, Reno5 Pro 5G has witnessed 91% growth across platforms. The smartphone which empowered users to ‘live the infinite’ has wowed its fans with its advance AI highlight video feature, great design and amazing performance.

Commenting on the milestone, Damyant Khanoria, Chief Marketing Officer, OPPO India said, “The Reno Series is the epitome www.digitalterminal.in

of consumer centric innovation. With each generation of the Reno Series, we have experienced unprecedented growth. In Q320, it grew 50% and the Reno5 Pro 5G has broken all records with 91% growth in the launch week. The AI Highlight Video feature in Reno5 Pro has set an unparalleled videography experience and has received huge appreciation. Guided by our brand philosophy of ‘Technology for Mankind, Kindness for the world’, we will continue to bring forth ground-breaking technologies and meaningful experiences for our consumers.”

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IT CHANNEL

IT HARDWARE CHANNEL BUSINESS IN UPCOUNTRY MARKET WITNESSING EXPONENTIAL GROWTH

Source : https://wideom.net/

As the demand for Computer and IT hardware business in Metros is shrinking, the upcountry region is rapidly emerging as the new growth destination for IT hardware business in India. With Remote working and Distance learning gaining widespread adoption, the demand for computer hardware in C and D class cities is growing steadily. The conventional channel business, which has been very strong in the upcountry region aims to ride on this growth wave. However, the roadblocks of E-Commerce and product availability etc. is slowing down their pace.

RP tech India reached out to prominent partners across the country to understand the current business sentiments and future of the channel business in the upcountry market.

GROWTH FROM BUDGET LAPTOPS/PRINTERS

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The demand for laptops and networking solutions witnessed an exponential rise in 2020 due to virtual engagements. The trend is set to continue in 2021 onwards as WFH and LFH become mainstream practices. Budget laptops and printers witnessed huge demand from End-users and SOHO segment in C and D class cities.

Similarly, printers and storage solutions were sold in large numbers in the education verticals.

Mr. Dixit Gupta, proprietor of Jammu based Source Peripherals said, “Laptops and printers are huge in demand in Jammu since schools have started digital classrooms. The demand for budget laptops below Rs 35,000 is in high demand from home and SOHO segment. We have seen almost 40 per cent growth in the laptop sale on the channel in the last 10 months.”

Though schools turned virtual, the demand for printed notes continued to rise during the lockdown. This triggered the demand for low and mid-range printers.

Similarly, the requirement for steady broadband for WFH and LFH pushed the networking and access points business.

Mr. Amit Kotak, proprietor of Concorde Peripherals in Rajkot said, “The penetration of laptops/tablets has increased in Saurashtra and Kutch region post-COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from that Components, Servers and Storage demand have increased in Corporates and Education vertical for online communication.”

The entry-level peripheral segment saw surge due to demand for refurbished compute systems. “As laptop price increased exponentially due to sudden surge in demand, consumers turned to second hand, refurbished and entry-level

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IT CHANNEL

laptops. This triggered the demand for entry-level peripheral products”, said Mr. Vivek Khanna, proprietor of Bhopal based Blue Ocean Solutions.

THE E-COMMERCE CHALLENGE Offline channel and E-Commerce giants are seen locking horns over price in metros. However, the scenario is different in the upcountry market. Though E-Commerce is expanding its presence in the upcountry region, consumers prefer to purchase from local retail shops. Instal-

hefty discounts and still earn margins. We are small retailers with limited resources and we are unable to compete with the E-Commerce”, said Sushil Agarwal, Cafe De Net, Silchar, Assam.

Endorsing similar views, Mr. Vikash Jain Proprietor of Jain Computer said, “There are some areas of concern for retailers, most importantly the E-Commerce, which directly sells via E-Media. It gets difficult for retailers to compete with them.

A retailer invests a lot in starting up a business, in that situation he can’t sell the

of products. Hence, there is a rising demand to have a fair and uniform system of stock allocation in small cities/towns.

“Considering the demand for IT products in A-class city, the upcountry market will also have demands of IT goods and as the market is less occupied it will create a huge demand”, said Mr. Vikash Jain of Jain Computer.

Sharing similar experience, Mr. Amit Kotak of Concorde Peripherals said, “We were out of stock of laptops when the demand was huge and this led us to lose potential business. Saurashtra and Kutch is the largest region in Gujarat and contributes to almost 30-30 per cent total IT hardware business in the entire State.

Hence, we demand seamless availability of products and fair price policy from brands and NDs.”

SUPPORT FROM BRANDS/ NDS Being a budding market, the C & D class cities seek additional support from brands and NDs in terms of price, products allocation, credit and training. During COVID-19 crisis, many brands opted for virtual training and channel meets. However, partners say one-on-one training programs are necessary to strengthen the connections in the upcountry market.

Source : www.freepik.com

lation and service support are the most important aspect of channel business in C & D class cities.

“The beauty of the channel business in the upcountry market is that it is driven by relationship. But at the same time, we cannot underestimate the challenge of E-Commerce. We are very proactive and raise our concerns related to fair business practices in various forums. We take all the necessary measures to protect our business interest”, said Mr. Dixit Gupta of Source Peripherals However, many partners believe E-Commerce is a major threat to their business.

“E-Commerce companies backed by foreign investors are burning millions of rupees in market development, logistics and advertising. They can afford to offer www.digitalterminal.in

product in a lower margin for competing with the E-commerce sector.”

Mr. Vivek Khanna pointed out that the practice of stiff discounting by E-Commerce has made it difficult for retailers to do business as consumers argue on price.

“Consumers come with specific product and its price listed on online portals. They demand us to sell at the same price and on top of that ask for installation and service. It becomes very difficult for us to justify our price to them. This has led us to shrink our margins to retain customers.”

PRODUCT AVAILABILITY & PRICING Product availability has been a critical issue in the upcountry market. Partners lose potential business due to a shortage

“We understand that brands prefer E-meet due to COVID guidelines but now they should restart dealer meets in small cities to provide training on the latest products. Also, incentive/rebate programs are essential to pump up the energy in the channel business. We also expect sale out support to penetrate in the market”, said Mr. Amit Kotak of Concorde Peripherals.

Endorsing similar view, Mr. Vikash Jain of Jain Computer said, “In the process of exposure of new products, the upcountry partner will surely need support from Distributors & Brands. Most importantly they will need support on after-sale service at the nearest point. Also, extension in credit days can help them in keeping stock with them.”

Needless to say that the upcountry channel market has huge growth potentials. However, brands must emphasize channel support and marketing activities to tap potential business in developing cities/towns.

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INTERVIEW

“ConceptD is A Fresh Approach That Beats the Barriers between People and Technology” The Indian PC market is thriving due to the increasing demand for PCs by businesses as well as content creators. In the high-end PC segment, tech brands are emphasizing on delivering best-in-class solution and user experience through top-notch features in their PCs. Acer is a strong market player in the Indian PC market and has introduced ConceptD lineup to fulfil customer demand in this section. Rajeev Ranjan, Editor, Digital Terminal recently held a fruitful exclusive interaction with SUDHIR GOEL, CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER, ACER INDIA. During the discussion, Sudhir Goel gave insights about Acer’s ConceptD PCs, channel strategy, customer service commitments and etc. Read below the full interaction: RAJEEV: HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR DOMINANCE IN THE HIGH-END PC SEGMENT SINCE THE ROLLOUT OF THE CONCEPTD LINEUP? HOW IS THE CONCEPTD FAMILY BEEN PLAYING AN INSTRUMENTAL ROLE IN HELPING YOU TO STRENGTHEN YOUR FOOTHOLDS AMONG MODERN CONSUMERS? SUDHIR GOEL: Acer is not new to the high-end PC segment market. We have already made our mark in this segment via our high-performance gaming laptops and monitors, especially with the Predator Series. As far as modern consumer trends imply, the creative community is increasing. Right from social media influencers to video content creators, all are increasingly looking for gadgets and devices that can better support their creative goals. Even filmmakers, editors, and photographers are on the lookout for newer, better performing devices that help meet their needs of a higher number of ports, enhanced connectivity without the use of multiple adaptors, and overall ease of use. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the ConceptD family has been playing an instrumental role.

RAJEEV: PLEASE BRIEF ABOUT THE CHANNEL STRATEGY THAT YOU FOLLOW FOR THE CONCEPTD FAMILY. WHICH ARE THOSE MAJOR MARKETS THAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY SERVING AND WILL BE REACHING OUT TO IN 20

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THE COMING DAYS? WILL YOU BE APPOINTING NEW CHANNEL PARTNERS TO EXPLORE NEW MARKETS? SUDHIR GOEL: At Acer, our channel strategy is always aimed at delivering a strong vision to our partners by simplifying processes, providing the right sales and marketing materials, and many others. In addition to these, we also look at specific regions, the potential to grow, and the acceptability of the ConceptD family along with our other products into those existing ecosystems. Our partners have trusted Acer as a brand that offers cutting-edge products across the range to serve their customers along.

We work very closely with our partners to sell our ConceptD range products and through their support, we are seeing great traction in the India Content Creator market. Our partners go through regular training and demonstrations to help understand the differentiators and USPs of Acer products. The effect that our partners give us in the market is very critical and is the cornerstone of our growth in the country. In 2021, we are looking at adding more partners across India who can help and support us in our journey to reach out to even more markets and customers in India.

We have always trusted deeply on our channel partners for connecting with our potential and already existing customers.

RAJEEV: WHAT IS THE USP OF YOUR CONCEPTD PCS? DO YOU THINK THAT IT WILL SUCCEED TO FEND OFF THE COMPETITION TO AN EXTENT, IF YES THEN HOW? SUDHIR GOEL: ConceptD caters to a wide- range of artists and creators, right from amateurs to professionals, and helps promising content creators to boost their existing skills and help create routine tasks faster. We found that creative professionals are constrained by the lack of PC hardware dedicated to them especially on Windows platform which almost all are comfortable with. ConceptD is a fresh approach that beats the barriers between people and technology and enables creators to release their full potential. It is not simply about making things unique, but about setting new yardsticks and breaking new ground. ConceptD exemplifies our focus on delivering working professionals, consumers with solutions that empower them to do their best work, live a better lifestyle, and enjoy the best entertainment experiences.

RAJEEV: ACER HOLDS A QUITE GOOD MARKET SHARE IN THE INDIAN PC MARKET. YOU ARE ALSO A MARKET LEADER IN GAMING PC AND MONITOR MARKET. WHERE DO YOU SEE ACER IN THE INDIAN PC MARKET BY THE END OF 2021? WHAT IS YOUR TARGET FOR THIS NEW CALENDAR YEAR www.digitalterminal.in

INTERVIEW

KEEPING IN MIND THE CURRENT MARKET SCENARIO DUE TO COVID-19?

SUDHIR GOEL: In 2021 we are establishing the bar high and projecting a slew of innovations in its product line this year. Amidst that, our main focus is to further strengthen both the gaming and creators vertical since both the industry is intensifying rapidly and has become an essential growth driver for us. We will be continuing to launch products that are unique to the market.

Acer has always been a technology player that has presented the world to newer technology and continuing the same. Growing demand for technologically advanced products, due to changing consumer behavior and increasing needs across various industries is going to be vital in driving the growth of the PC market over the next decade in India. According to leading research agency the surge in PCs led by the covid-19 pandemic will continue well in years to come. Also, Post-COVID, growing acceptance of blended work and learning mode will be the norm with technology and cloud as its back-bone and Acer will play a crucial role in this.

RAJEEV: WHAT REMAINS YOUR CORE SERVICE COMMITMENTS FOR YOUR PC CUSTOMERS? PLEASE BRIEF ABOUT YOUR SERVICE INFRASTRUCTURE ACROSS THE INDIAN MARKET. SUDHIR GOEL: We understand that now with PC becoming the backbone of how people work and learn customers would expect zero to minimal downtime and all our service support infrastructure is

geared to ensure we address the needs as fast as possible. Today we have partner network of over 2500+ channel partners and 100+ exclusive stores in over 370 cities and towns and a network of over 1500+ Acer Customer Service Centers present across India. Customers can reach out to us in multiple ways to engage with us and get support right from telephone, email, website and WhatsApp and our team of service engineers and support staff are available to attend our customer requirements.

SUDHIR GOEL, CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER, ACER INDIA

GUEST ARTICLE

HARNESSING THE POWER OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WITH HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING Authored by Mr. Manish Gupta, Senior Director & General Manager, Infrastructure Solutions Group, Dell Technologies India.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to change lives. From fueling medical discoveries to smart collars that can decipher and display the emotions of our household pets, this emerging technology is enabling organisations to innovate.

According to IDC, by 2025, AI-powered enterprises will see a 100% increase in productivity and new product introduction success rates, higher than those of their non-intelligent peers. By being able to anticipate the market and operational changes with AI, organisations will respond much faster than their competitors. They will be agile enough to adapt to changes in the market and innovate.

Hence, accelerating AI solutions for businesses should be the focus for organizations in India. For example, HPC workloads are becoming more data centric and adding AI technologies to advance the capabilities of traditional HPC modeling and simulation. In the next few years, HPC technologies, such as HPC-enabled machine learning training, will go from experimentation models to production models. As CTOs and CIOs in India look to create an enterprise infrastructure that provides robust performance and scalability for large and highly complex AI models while keeping deployment costs low, the answer may lie in HPC for three key reasons:

1. Data analytics Businesses relying heavily on data analytics generate new insights which improve efficiencies and give them a competitive edge. However, when it comes to analysing large sets of

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unstructured data that are exponentially increasing in volume and velocity, traditional IT infrastructure is often hamstrung due to slow storage speeds.

To adapt to significantly larger data sets and compute-intensive analytics processes, researchers are looking to exascale computing systems, capable of performing one quintillion calculations per second. Powered with HPC, these advanced performance systems are expected to have a profound impact in the faster identification of pandemics, discovery of effective medication and indication of hazardous weather conditions before they happen.

2. Acceleration of AI deployments According to a study, in India, almost 70% of organisations are currently investing in Artificial Intelligence to deliver better business results. As HPC and AI continue to converge and evolve to involve more use cases across industries, the possibilities are nearly endless.

Organisations are increasingly looking for pre-designed and pre-validated solutions to generate value instead of constructing IT infrastructure.

To help companies with roadblocks involved in setting up an AI system, large vendors are also beginning to introduce reference architectures together with HPC infrastructure for data scientists and researchers working. With HPC and software combined, launching new AI applications is becoming easier and faster. Technology vendors are helping data scientists focus less on maintaining AI systems but more on experimenting, exploring and uncovering insights.

Organizations do not need to walk their

AI journey alone. By collaborating and working with end-to-end technology infrastructure providers, organisations can co-design and customise unique HPC infrastructures to meet AI research, development and AI model deployment needs.

3. Growing support for HPC globally and in India The business benefits of AI are being increasingly recognised, with infrastructure providers now helping the research community and customers capitalise on HPC, expanding it from a niche market to a broader audience.

More than ever, customers and partners have access to guidance from technology vendors on how to kick-start their AI initiatives including design, installation, maintenance and most importantly, delivering tangible business outcomes for their organisations.

Organisations are focused on promoting open collaboration, bringing together the wide-ranging experience and knowledge of technology developers, service providers and end-users in a worldwide forum that promotes the advancement of innovative, powerful HPC and AI solutions.

It is no doubt that businesses must prepare for a future where machine learning, deep learning and highperformance data analytics are commonplace to stay competitive. Today, harnessing the power of AI with HPC is within reach for organisations ready to take the next step forward towards their unique digital transformation journey.

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FEBRUARY 2021 I

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NEW ARRIVALS SEAGATE STORAGE EXPANSION CARD

Seagate Technology plc officially announced the launch of Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S in India. The Storage Expansion Card will deliver an additional 1 TB of external storage for a streamlined gaming experience, replicating the speed and performance of the consoles’ internal SSDs and Xbox Velocity Architecture. The Seagate Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S is the only external storage device that enables users to achieve the same performance as the Xbox Velocity Architecture when playing games that have been optimized for the next-generation of Xbox consoles. The custom storage card seamlessly mirrors the functionality of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S internal SSDs and adds 1 TB of capacity letting gamers collect new and legacy games across four generations of Xbox including existing backward compatible Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox games. Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S includes a three-year limited warranty and will be available at INR 23,499.

CANON PIXMA G SERIES INK TANK PRINTER Canon India expanded its iconic PIXMA G Series lineup with the launch of seven new Ink Tank Printers - PIXMA G3060, PIXMA G3021, PIXMA G3020, PIXMA G2060, PIXMA G2021, PIXMA G2020, and PIXMA G1020. Built to stand out with high ink volumes and low cost printing, the new PIXMA G Series printers include the drip-free, handsfree ink refilling mechanism, and a 24

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user-replaceable maintenance cartridge designed to ensure minimum downtime and maximum productivity for homes and businesses. Equipped to cater to the evolving consumer demands and businesses for cost-efficient and reliable ink tank technology, the new models are specifically designed to deliver a better printing speed as well as Spill-Free and Easy to Handle Ink Filling. Additionally, the printers feature an ‘economy’ mode that helps consumers print up to 7700 colour pages or 7600 black pages on economy mode. The printers also come with an On System guide to clean the Paper Feed Rollers that helps to reduce the service calls and increase better customer experience.

TENDA AC23 DUALBAND GIGABIT WIRELESS ROUTER

Tenda AC23 as an expansion to the current AC21 and AC23 high speed series which are likewise based on ac2100 network portion. Tenda AC23 resembles other wifi AC2100 routers with dual band; anyway it accompanies savvy innovation with the mix of both radio groups in a solitary SSID name.

Powered by 4X4 MU-MIMO technology of 5GHz band, it provides wider Wi-Fi coverage and faster Wi-Fi speed than regular routers with 3X3 MU-MIMO technology. The built-in signal amplifier is used on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands

of AC23 to enhance the penetration capability and expand the Wi-Fi coverage. AC23 provides USB sharing, supporting memory sharing, printer remote access and other features.

You can set up a local FTP server by connecting AC23 with a hard drive. HD movies and photos can be uploaded and shared with your family anytime, anywhere. Tenda AC23 Dual-band Gigabit Wireless Router is available at an introductory price of MRP 19500/-.

HYPERX SOLOCAST USB MICROPHONE

HyperX announced the release of HyperX SoloCast USB microphone for streamers and content creators.

SoloCast offers Plug N Play audio recording capability and a tap-to-mute feature that indicates the mute status when the red LED is flashing. Using a cardioid recording pattern, it provides a clear sound ideal for streamers, casters, students, and working from home.

SoloCast microphone offers an easy Plug N Play setup. It utilizes a cardioid polar pattern that is more sensitive to sound sources directly in front of the microphone, making it great for in-game voice chat, streaming voice audio, and audio recordings for content creation. The SoloCast microphone joins the HyperX microphone lineup with the QuadCast microphone. Both microphones are compatible with PC, PS4, and Mac® and works on major streaming platforms like Streamlabs OBS, OBS Studio, and XSplit and is certified by Discord and TeamSpeakTM. The new HyperX SoloCast USB Microphone is now available for INR 5790/- on Amazon.

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PRODUCT REVIEW: KINGSTON CANVAS GO! PLUS SDCG3 MICROSD CARD Kingston recently upgraded its Canvas portfolio of SD cards with the launch of its new Canvas Go! Plus microSD cards. The Canvas Go Plus series offers storage capacities starting from 64GB and goes up to 512GB. We received the 256GB variant microSD cards for review. The microSD card comes along with an optional SD adapter. We tested the canvas series storage product on various parameters during the review.

Read below the complete and detailed review: As per Kingston, the Canvas Go Plus memory card support blazing fast read/ write speeds up to 170/90MB/s. These storage products can help you shoot 4K UHD videos and high-quality pictures with ease. These memory cards are ideal for those who love to shoot on DSLR/GoPro cameras for excellent pictures and videos. Additionally, Kingston stated that Canvas Go Plus memory cards are waterproof, temperature proof, shock and vibration proof and X-ray proof. So we were quite happy with the review of this product from Kingston.

Although, the company says that it can deliver 170/90MB/s read and write speed, but we wanted to be assured from our end. So we went through a speed test for its read and write speed.

First, we checked its write speed which generally means that we transferred a 4GB file from our Lenovo AIO PC to the Canvas Go! Plus MicroSD card. The data file included high-quality pictures, MP3 files, MP4 files, ZIP files, some word documents and etc. The memory product recorded data transfer speed upto 82.5MB/s. Such write speed is considered good and it can save your time while being in an urgency to copy your data from any device to the SD cards.

After checking its write speed, we moved ahead to check the read speed.

The read speed means transferring the data from the storage device to your local device. We transferred that 4GB data file from the Canvas Go! Plus memory card to our Lenovo AIO PC. The www.digitalterminal.in

read speed was also commendable as the memory card recorded 158.2MB/s speed.

The read/write speed of the Canvas Go! Plus MicroSD card is amazing and there is one more good news for those who are looking to buy the Canvas Go! Plus device. The memory card comes with a lifetime warranty which means you do not have to worry about its quality.

Kingston has shown a commitment to the quality of its product by offering a lifetime warranty.

As the microSD card is capable of shooting the 4K videos, we used the memory card for shooting videos in our DSLR camera. The overall experience while shooting the videos and clicking the pictures was truly overwhelming.

We can say that this device is good for professional photographers/ videographers.

transfer used to be a tough task but with the Canvas Go! Plus storage, it is no more a challenge as per our own experience. The data transfer speed which we experienced was really great.

Moreover, its compatibility is also noticeable. The memory card worked well with our DSLR and we did not face any issue while shooting the videos or while copying the videos/pictures from the SD card to our PC. This Canvas series is aimed at professionals who can boost their performance. We find Canvas Go! Plus MicroSD worthy in our review and we give it 4 stars out of 5.

PRICE & AVAILABILITY The Kingston Canvas Go! Plus microSD Card is priced at INR 4600 and available across the online platforms.

DIGITAL TERMINAL VERDICT The Canvas Go! Plus microSD card from Kingston is really a great offering and it is good for today’s content creators who work on big storage files. Data FEBRUARY 2021 I

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CYBERSECURITY

KASPERSKY REPORTED 20% INCREASE IN ACCOUNT TAKEOVER INCIDENTS IN 2020 In 2020, every second fraudulent transaction in the finance industry was an account takeover, a report by Kaspersky Fraud Prevention has found. According to anonymized statistics of events detected

by Kaspersky Fraud Prevention from January to December 2020, the share of such incidents increased from 34% in 2019 to 54% in 2020. Two schemes to get access to a bank account – ‘the rescuer’ and ‘the investor’ – remain among the most common since 2019.

The importance of digital financial services and e-commerce increased in 2020 with people spending more time at home as a result of the pandemic.

Kaspersky experts suggest that, in turn, it caused a spike in social engineering techniques being exploited by cybercriminals. That’s why it is especially important both for financial institutions and clients to be aware of typical fraudulent schemes and to be able to protect themselves.

In addition to the rise of successful account takeovers, in 12% of fraudulent incidents, legitimate remote administration tools (RAT) such as TeamViewer were misused in an attempt to gain access to user accounts.

Kaspersky Fraud Prevention team distinguishes that there were two common types of approach used by attackers to obtain access to accounts – both continuations from similar trends noticed in 2019. The first tactic sees scammers masquerade as ‘the rescuer’, where they pretend to be security experts and act out scenarios to ‘save’ users. They call bank customers posing as security officers and report suspicious charges or payments and offer their help. The rescuer may ask customers to verify their identity through a code sent in a text message or push-notification, to stop a suspicious transaction or to transfer money to a ‘secure account’. They can also ask a victim to install an application for remote management pretending that it is required for troubleshooting. The scammers often introduce themselves as employees of the largest bank in the potential victim’s region and use a 26

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spoofed caller ID for incoming calls to pose as a real bank.

The second example is where cybercriminals act as ‘the investor’. This scenario involves fraudsters posing as employees of an investment company, or as investment consultants from a bank. They call customers offering a quick way to make money by investing in cryptocurrency or shares directly from the client’s account, without having to go to a bank branch. As a prerequisite for providing the ‘investment service’, the investor asks the potential victim for the code received in a text message or push notification.

“Bank clients always place a high value on ease of access to their accounts and performance of usual financial operations.

And now this has become especially important. That is why we believe that solutions for the financial industry should provide a high level of security measures - including protection against fraud which are seamlessly integrated into the user experience. And of course, it’s worth regularly reminding clients about fraudsters’ techniques, so that they are likely to notice something,” explains Claire Hatcher, Head of Business Development, Kaspersky Fraud Prevention.

To help individuals and businesses stay protected from ever-changing fraud

techniques, Kaspersky recommends online services and retailers adopt the following measures: • Limit the number of attempts to conduct a transaction; cybercriminals may try several times to enter correct credentials • Educate your customers on possible tricks malefactors may use. Regularly send them information on how to identify fraud and the best way to behave in this situation • Conduct annual security audits and penetration tests to find security issues in a company’s network • Have a dedicated fraud analysis team capable of finding and analyzing the emerging methods fraudsters are using • Implement multi-factor authentication to minimize the chance of accounts being taken over • Install a fraud prevention solution that can be quickly adapted for identifying new attack schemes and methods The Kaspersky Fraud Prevention report is based on incidents associated with cybercrime and on data detected by Kaspersky Fraud Prevention after thorough analysis of consumer behavior in the banking sector and e-commerce.

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CHANNEL FOCUS

MCAFEE AND INGRAM MICRO EXPANDED THEIR PARTNERSHIP McAfee and Ingram Micro Inc. have announced an expanded worldwide relationship that builds on the transformation of the McAfee channel program. The new agreement will provide access to McAfee products and solutions across Ingram Micro’s global distribution network, including its regional Cloud Marketplaces and Centers of Excellence.

McAfee launched its SaaS portfolio on the U.S. Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace in late 2020 and plans to expand its footprint on Ingram Micro’s network of e-commerce platforms throughout 2021. Both companies recognize the opportunity and impact of cloud transformation happening

within the channel landscape. Together, the two companies are working to help channel partners embrace these dynamics and enhance their offerings to address customer needs and drive initiatives to accelerate the opportunity by offering McAfee Device to Cloud Suites designed to help organizations accelerate cloud adoption.

Additionally, Ingram Micro is expanding its services capabilities with McAfee to provide migration services to move from legacy security technology to McAfee MVISION products.

its channel partner engagement and enablement,” said Scott Zahl, executive director, global partner enablement, Ingram Micro. “Together with McAfee, we are providing our mutual channel partners with access to one of the world’s most trusted cybersecurity solution portfolios and award-winning channel programs. Add to the mix our security expertise and bestin-class resources including our regional Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplaces and global Centers of Excellence, and there’s never been a better time to work with Ingram Micro and McAfee.”

“We are proud to play an increasingly important role in McAfee’s global channel strategy and applaud its efforts to increase

PROTEGENT ANNOUNCES THAILAND SCHEME FOR ITS PARTNERS Protegent has launched an all-inclusive Thailand tour scheme for its dealers/ Partners. This announcement seems to be exciting the partners after almost a year of pandemic situation.

Partners can also buy combination of Protegent packages to qualify for the scheme as per product points. A total of 360 points needs to be achieved within three months to avail this offer.

How to avail Protegent Thailand tour scheme:- Dealer/ Partner has to purchase 12 boxes of Protegent Total security (10 user pack) for three months to qualify for this scheme. Scheme is valid from 1st February 2021 till 30th April 2021.

A word from Marketing Manager of Unistal Systems Private Limited, Ms. Sarita Verma, “2020 was a challenging year for all of us. Unistal Systems is ahead in the industry and the 1st company to offer a great outdoor travel scheme to all

our esteemed partners”. She also added that we are confident of registering more than 500 partners (PAN India) for this scheme. Last time, in 2019, when Protegent launched its Dream Thailand scheme for the partners, it was a huge success, and we believe that this time too, our partners will repeat the history and even do better.

IRIS GLOBAL SUPPLIED 1700 LENOVO TABLETS TO RKS CORPORATION FOR UNDP The Delhi based IT Computer Distribution Company Iris Global, in its yet another partner encouraging initiative helped RKS Corporation to bag the prestigious UNDP (United Nations Development Program) order for the supply of Tablets to Cambodia, said the Chairman, Iris Global, Mr Sanjiv Krishen.

He said the tender was floated by the UNDP for the supply of 1700 Tablets to Cambodia and the tender was won by a partner of Iris Global. This order was

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successfully completed; the delivery was done on time and was smoothly executed.

“It was a wonderful experience; the order was executed smoothly with an extremely well-coordinated mutual understanding between both the companies. The delivery was done on time. We are looking forward to completing many more projects like this in near future”, said Mr Raman Sharma MD of RKS. Mr. Sanjiv Krishen, further disclosed that

all the tablets were from Lenovo and the export commitments were fulfilled flawlessly.

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SMARTPHONE SHELF

Realme X7 5G Realme introduced the newest additions to its X series family, the realme X7 5G & realme X7 Pro 5G. Both realme X7 5G and realme X7 Pro 5G are powered by laudable MediaTek chipsets ensuring par-excellence performance and feature bold, futuristic designs.

Oppo Reno5 Pro 5G OPPO launched the ‘OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G’ with an appealing design. Keeping pace with the upcoming 5G revolution, OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G will be the first 5G-ready smartphone from the Reno series in India with an Industry-first AI Highlight Video feature.

OS: ColorOS 11.1 based on Android 11 RAM: 8GB Storage: 128GB Expandable Upto: NA Display: 6.5” FHD+ Super AMOLED Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ Rear Camera: 64MP Quad Camera Front Camera: 32MP Battery Capacity: 4350mAh

OS: realme UI based on Android 10 RAM: 6GB and 8GB Storage: 128GB Expandable Upto: NA Display: 6.4” Super AMOLED Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 800U 5G Rear Camera: 64MP AI Triple Camera Front Camera: 16MP Indisplay Battery Capacity: 4310 mAh Realme X7 5G will be available in two variants, 6GB+128GB and 8GB+128GB for INR 19,999 and INR 21,999 respectively. The smartphones come in Space Silver & Nebula color options.

The OPPO Reno5 Pro 5G is available in 8+128GB model in Astral Blue and Starry Black color variants priced at INR 35,990.

POCO M3 POCO announced the launch of its latest smartphone - POCO M3. With this, the brand will be taking forward the legacy of the M series by offering the best performer in its segment.

OS: MIUI 12 based on Android 10 RAM: 6GB Storage: 64GB and 128GB Expandable Upto: 512GB Display: 6.53” FHD+ Processor: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 662 Rear Camera: 48MP Triple Camera Front Camera: 8MP Battery Capacity: 6000 mAh POCO M3 is available in three colours: Power Black, Cool Blue and POCO Yellow. It is available in 6GB + 64GB and a 6GB + 128GB variant, priced at INR 10,999 and INR 11,999 respectively.

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SURVEY FINDINGS

INDIAN CONSUMERS BELIEVE AI DRIVES BETTER CONSUMER EXPERIENCES: PEGA SURVEY New research from Pegasystems Inc. reveals Indian consumers are extremely open to artificial intelligence (AI) adoption to drive better customer experiences.

Conducted by research firm Savanta, the study surveyed over 1,000 consumers in India on their views about AI as it relates to morality, ethical behavior, and empathy.

Of the respondents, 74% constituted millennials and GenX. The study found that Indian consumers generally trust new technologies like AI if they see the potential to improve their productivity and make things simpler.

But at the same time, respondents still worry about the ethics behind AI and the potential for it to act with bias. In a still maturing market for technology adoption like India, it’s important for organizations to understand their customers’ perceptions, knowledge gaps, and preferences of AI to optimally implement it.

Other key findings of the study for organizations to consider include: AI IS ACCEPTED AS KEY FOR BETTER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: Eighty-four percent of respondents agree AI has the potential to provide better customer experiences, improve brand reputation, and increase customer loyalty. Almost 78% said

they are comfortable interacting with AI for business-related queries.

CONSUMERS PREFER TALKING TO MACHINES OVER HUMANS: The study found 60% of Indians are more likely to tell the truth to an AI system or chatbot as compared to a human. This could be because engaging with a neutral bot would ease people’s concerns about the embarrassment of saying the wrong thing or creating a misunderstanding given the huge variety of cultures, subcultures, and myriad of beliefs across the country.

MANY BELIEVE AI CAN DEMONSTRATE EMPATHY: Seventy-five percent of those surveyed believe that machines can behave morally and thus make ‘good’ decisions based on empathetic considerations. In addition, 76% of respondents in India believe that when an organization uses AI to make relevant, appropriate, and valuable offers to their customers, it is an example of AI demonstrating empathy.

MOST BELIEVE AI ACTS WITH BIAS: Eighty percent of respondents believe that AI- based decisions can be biased without

any human interventions. As AI models adapt and learn from experiences, only 33% of respondents believe AI will evolve to become less biased over time.

CONSUMERS TRUST COMPANIES THEY DO BUSINESS WITH – Eighty-five percent of those surveyed in India believe companies have a moral obligation to do what’s right (beyond what is legally required), and 79% of respondents trust companies have customers’ best interests at heart.

To maintain consumer trust, organizations must ensure they implement AI responsibly or risk losing this hard-earned loyalty.

Organizations should adopt transparent and unbiased AI, which means their AI models can explain exactly why a decision was made. By combining AI-based insights with proper AI governance, organizations can more safely adopt AI while driving better customer engagements.

To help ensure unbiased decisions in an organization’s AI systems, Pega had announced the Ethical Bias Check feature in its Pega Customer Decision Hub™ customer decisioning engine. To learn more about how Ethical Bias Check is helping businesses reduce unintentional bias from their customer service and marketing strategies.

Source : www.freepik.com

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RNI No - DELENG/2010/31992