WiredScribe: The Business of IT

If you thought that flashing a plastic card was the privilege of only the educated urban elite, think again. Smart cards have made inroads into the heart of rural India. And surprisingly, it is the Centre and the state governments that are taking the lead in bringing technology to the masses. Clink link below to read more about the status of smart card implementations across India http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20030623/focus1.shtml

Gone are the days when voice and electronic messaging were the hottest trends in communication. Unified messaging systems have now become a business tool for organisations the world over. But what’s the position on the home front? Stanley Glancy finds out http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20030623/indtrend1.shtml

Bill Cowper, industry director, Communications, Asia Pacific, Sun Microsystems, has worked in the telecommunications industry for 35 years, including 26 years with Telstra, Australia’s leading carrier. On a recent visit to India, he spoke to Stanley Glancy about Sun’s offerings for the Indian telecom sector . Click link to read more... http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20040405/opinion02.shtml

http://www.channeltimes.com/story/creating-opportunities/ The IT industry greeted Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s Union Budget 2006 with mixed emotions - a few lauded the FM’s fiscal prudence while others were critical of his decision to impose additional excise duties. However, a month down the line, when the confusion clears it will be business as usual for the channel. The excise duty and taxation issues can have an adverse impact on the IT channel in the short term. But several other measures announced by the FM will not only negate these effects, but can positively broaden the playing field for channel partners provided they get their act right. Education is the key to increasing the IT penetration ratio in the country. As long as close to 50 percent of the country’s populace remains illiterate, the target market is restricted to that extent. For 2006-07, the allocation for education has been enhanced by 31.5 percent to Rs 24,115 crore. The allocation for primary educ...

http://www.channeltimes.com/story/service-support/ That quality of service can make or break a company was made amply clear over the last few weeks when channel partners across the country took up cudgels against several manufacturers to protest against their apathetic attitude toward support service. And in each case, the manufacturer saw sales plummeting to unexpected lows till it promised to rectify its service support infrastructure. What made the situation even more interesting was that each of these manufacturers are acknowledged leaders in their space and are known to take service and warranty issues seriously. However, not many manufacturers have service centers of their own. Most outsource this requirement to third-party service providers. And therein lies the problem. While manufacturers do ensure that it partners with an established service provider, most leave it at that. No action is taken to ensure that quality standards are maintained at the promised levels ...

http://www.channeltimes.com/story/implementing-the-strategy/ Why do two competing companies with similar marketing strategies meet with diverse outcomes? The difference lies in the execution of the strategy. The success or failure of a strategy will come in its delivery, not in its objectives. Elaborate planning is not enough to win the channel s trust. Execution is the key. Strategy should extend beyond the drawing-board and deliver partners the tools and the capabilities to go to market successfully. Though execution plays a vital role in ensuring the success of a strategy, it could prove to be a daunting task. And therein lies the difference between a successful strategy and one that comes unstuck. The successful strategist expends equal amount of time and resources in formulating a strategy and, later on, in ensuring its success. The ones that fail to take off do so primarily because of lack of concerted efforts in its implementation. Manufacturers announce various ma...

http://www.channeltimes.com/story/the-vital-differentiator/ In the last few months there has been a spurt in the number of manufacturers vying with each other to introduce initiatives that will improve their after-sales service and support infrastructure. In fact, the trend started late last year, with Toshiba initiating “Talk-2-Toshiba”, a two-step process for users to reach Toshiba directly for service support solutions. Microsoft followed with its toll-free service program in January 2006. Taking a cue from Hitachi GST’s doorstep pickup and replacement service, Western Digital recently announced the launch of “WD Express” door-to-door hard disk warranty service. ECS is the latest to join the bandwagon with its pathbreaking “30-Minute Instant Service” policy for its 865G-M8 motherboards. Cost no longer seems to be the all-important criterion. Value has emerged as the key selling point. An aware customer today no longer thinks twice before buying a high-end LCD monitor o...

http://www.channeltimes.com/story/when-incentives-become-disincentives/ Principals regularly announce schemes and incentives to push sales. Nothing wrong with that. The problem arises when there are too many schemes running simultaneously. This is especially the case during quarter and year endings. Agreed that manufacturers are under immense pressure to meet their quarterly or annual sales targets and hence offer highly tempting discounts and incentives to push sales. And despite their misgivings, the channel generally laps up these schemes - the incentives on offer are usually too enticing to pass up. The problem arises when the manufacturer is not able to meet its commitments. Most manufacturers have multiple product lines catering to different customer segments. The issue gets complex when the manufacturer has multiple schemes running for each of its myriad SKUs. And the larger the manufacturer the more complex the situation! When thousands of claims pour in from all cor...

http://www.channeltimes.com/story/whither-assembler-market/ The Indian PC market, according to a recent IDC report, recorded a 30 percent growth in fiscal 2005-06 over the previous year, exceeding the 4.6-million mark in unit terms. However, the assembled PC market has taken a hit for the worse, both in terms of market share as well as total units sold. Sales went down to 41 percent from 53 percent in FY ‘04. A MAIT-IMRB report has pegged the share of the assembled PC market at 34 percent of the PC sales for the first half of FY ‘06. The branded PC manufacturers have been slowly but steadily establishing themselves as the preferred choice. Also, the price differential between the branded and assembled PCs has reached almost negligible levels. Even the customer preference has turned to things branded. So, is this the end of the road for the unbranded assembler? Certainly not. Worldwide trends indicate otherwise. In most developed nations, assembled PCs account for anywhere fro...

http://www.channeltimes.com/story/retail-the-next-big-wave/ Of late there has been a sudden spurt in the number of IT manufacturers going the retail way. Retail is predicted to be the next big growth opportunity in India. And if you consider the number of huge malls and shopping complexes sprouting up across the country and the response it has generated, it might dispel any doubts you may have had. But IT and retail somehow still don’t seem to gel well. Industry watchers have been predicting the shift to the retail channel for quite some time now. However, though manufacturers have been making investments, the footfall conversion into actual sales is not what one might have expected. Also, the return on investment for the retail partners has not been quick. Of course, the strategy seems to have worked well for the manufacturer. The initial rationale behind opting for the retail channel was to create a direct interface with the end-consumer. Retailing provided principals the o...

http://www.channeltimes.com/story/a-plan-in-place/ Even as the first fiscal quarter closes on a relatively happy note, much is happening on the global front that portends great things ahead for India Inc. After much drama, Mittal Steel finally acquired Arcelor to emerge as the largest steel player in the world - three times larger than its closest competitor. The Tatas announced the acquisition of EOC, the third largest coffee brand in the world, in its bid to position itself as the most admired beverage player globally. These were just two of the several high-profile acquisitions announced in the last fortnight, heralding the arrival of the global Indian. For the channel partner, there are several lessons to be learned from these successes. The scale of operations may differ. But what helped Mittal bring the deal to fruition despite stiff resistance from several quarters? The answer lies in the business plan he offered the stakeholders of the target company in question. Desp...

http://www.channeltimes.com/story/join-the-fray/ Where will the ‘not so tech-savvy’ layman head for if he had to buy an IT product, say, a mobile handheld computing device? The answer is simple. He would be totally lost. Of course, we have our Lamington Road and Nehru Place and Ritchie Street and S. P. Road. But how many non-IT savvy end-users do you find visiting these places? Leave alone buying, you won’t find even window shoppers frequenting these places. And no, it’s not due to any lack of interest in checking out the latest gadgets available. Let’s just accept the fact. Shopping for IT products in any of these aforementioned IT hubs is definitely not one of the most wonderful experiences a customer can have. To begin with, let’s take a few factors which today’s customers generally look for in a preferred shopping locality. At the top of the list would be accessibility followed by the milieu - availability of parking facilities, the range of products showcased, the variet...

http://www.channeltimes.com/story/intel-introduces-notebook-building-blocks/ Intel announced two key channel initiatives at its recently concluded Solutions Summit held in Sanya, China: promotion of interchangeable mobile PC components through the use of common building blocks (CBB) and a new channel program based on a partner’s capabilities rather than pure business volumes. While Intel has been talking about standardization at the component level for quite some time now, the company has now taken several key initiatives to bring this dream to fruition. Asus, Quanta Computer and Compal - three of the top notebook ODMs in the world boasting a combined market share of close to 70 percent - have agreed to be a part of Intel’s CBB initiative. Intel has identified seven basic components namely, optical disk drives, customizable notebook panels, LCD panels, HDDs, battery packs, power adapters and keyboards wherein the ODMs can introduce standardization, making them interchangeable...

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