19 ALLIED DIGITAL SERVICES:Stepping On The E-Biz Ladder

In 1999-2000, networking accounted for 12 percent of its revenue while manufacturing of its Gateway brand and services were 74 and 14 percent respectively. Five revenue streams namely distribution, services, networking, e-biz and manufacturing came to be evolved during the year. These are expected to bring in 40, 7, 10, 30 and 13 percent revenue respectively.

The company is targeting a turnover of Rs 105 crore for 2000-2001, 25 percent up from Rs 85 crore in 1999-2000. The present sales figures show that 50 percent of the revenue is from distribution, 10.5 percent from services, 14.5 from networking, 5 from e-biz and 20 percent from manufacturing.

In the beginning of 2000, Allied Digital learnt that the best way to ensure the growth of their organization was through employee empowerment. It has divided itself into five major special interest groups (SIGs), which will target area like networking, WAP, UNIX servers, virtual private networks, etc. Employees can pick any of the groups depending on their skill sets and enhance their knowledge in that particular field. This kind of specialization helps them address specific problems faced by the customers.

The one downer for Allied Digital in 1999-2000 was Dell’s decision to go direct in India after opening its own subsidiary in the country. Allied Digital was Dell’s partner for over four years and had executed many orders for Dell. But, now business from this end might soon see a slowdown.

The one big event that marked the year for Allied Digital Services this year was the development of its web site

www.oldpcindia.com. This is a site wherein buyers can buy second-hand IT products at low prices. The site, which is in the beta stage, will soon be launched officially.

In Q2, 2000, Allied Digital tied up with Bangalore-based JatayuSoft for enabling WAP-gateways for major corporates. Besides this, the company has also partnered with NIIT to provide complete networking solutions to the various outlets of the training giant. Recently, Allied has also tied up with Talisma, a Microsoft funded e-CRM solution provider in Asia, for setting up a virtual CRM infrastructure for corporates. Currently, a memorandum of understanding has also been signed with Dishnet DSL for back-end deployment of their VPN network.

Another highlight of the current year has been the establishment of a call center in the beginning of 2000. Besides the one in Mumbai, similar call centers will be set up at 38 different locations in the country where the company has its offices.

Allied Digital is also getting into the retail segment with its first multiple branded outlet in Mumbai. The move has been taken to popularize its internal brand 'Gateway' range of PCs. Other outlets will soon be opened in Pune, Coimbatore and Chandigarh by the next year.

Allied Digital is also scouting for companies, which it can acquire. At the moment, it has taken equity participation in two companies, whose names have not been disclosed.