'Sun virtually can't exist in the country without it's the channel'

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As GM - Channels, Alok Sharma has been responsible for Sun's partner sales in India for the last four-and-a-half years. Armed with his previous experience at Wipro in direct sales and channel operations and at Apple Computers it its education business, Alok has spearheaded Sun's business ably in India. A mechanical engineer from the Institute of Technology - Banaras Hindu University, he is also an avid reader. He is of the opinion that channel partners have played a critical role in Sun's growth in India. In a chat with DQCI, Alok outlines the company's channel initiatives in the country.

What kind of distribution model do you have?

Sun strongly believes that the channel is a part of the company's DNA and does not consider it as an external element. We firmly believe in working with channels as a virtual Sun organization. We also impart company's latest information through training to keep them abreast of entire range of Sun's solutions. We work seamlessly with them to help them meet customer needs. 

Moreover, we have truly extended the organization's presence, working with channels. Every program that we have today, be it a product launches, addressing a particular customer segment or any other initiative that Sun rolled out, has a channel component to it. We owe Sun's market presence to our aggressive channel and marketing strategy. We also believe that Sun virtually can't exist in the country without its channel. 

Our channel partners form the core of our distribution model and we do not have a direct approach with end-users. The channel is also loyal to us as they feel that they don't have a competing product in the market today and they also recognize the value of working as a single Sun team. I believe that one of the key reasons for the success of Sun Microsystems in the country is our channel strategy. 

What is the percentage revenue contributed by channels today?

Sun's business model in India is 100 percent through channel partners. We believe that our channel partners have played an important role in Sun's growth in India. It gives Sun the ability to offer best of breed solutions to the customers, a clear value proposition over some of its customers. In fact, our whole e-business strategy is to support our channels and the business model. Today, our channel partners can have online access to any kind of product information; order status, event information etc. 

What kind of channel programs has Sun rolled out in the recent past?

Sun has always introduced fresh and exciting channel programs at regular intervals. Among the recent launches we had the 'Sun Spree', a channel loyalty program, which rewarded them for volume sales. Also we have introduced the 'Sales Biz' incentive, which is designed for different product lines, joint promotional activities, end-customer incentive programs etc.

What kind of training do you provide to channels?

We have several development programs, which are designed for channels starting from the competency program, management skills enhancement, prioritization and time management programs. We also have programs, which are industry specific targeting vertical segments. 

Which new products did Sun Microsystems launch in the market recently? 

This year has been one of the most important phases for product launches in Sun's history. In the worldwide market, one of the most important launches was the Ultra Sparc III. Also our latest launches in the Indian market include the Sun Fire servers series for enterprise and the Sun Cobalt Qube 3, which is targeted at the SME segment. We have also introduced an entire range of products based on Sun, Solaris and Spark Technologies, which are low-end ranges from $1000. We have also launched a new brand of Sun Rays products, the 'Sun Rays 150' and an entire range of storage solutions, which also includes a new filter.

Could you elaborate the features of Sun Fire servers?

The new Sun Fire servers are designed to deliver unprecedented levels of system availability, real-world application performance, flexibility and investment protection in a server line. The new servers are the cornerstones of Sun's systems; software and new availability environment that will help customers take advantage of the economic benefits of the Internet infrastructure.

The foundation for these mid-frame systems is a breakthrough technology and a next-generation, balanced system design that delivers mainframe-class functionality. Design innovations such as redundant component interconnection technology, the ability to dynamically split one system into multiple systems, duplicate hardware components, and "on-the-fly" processor upgrades, which was once unheard of in this class of system are now its standard features. At their core is the award-winning Ultra SPARC III processor, Sun's third-generation 64-bit chip, and industry-leading Solaris 8 Operating Environment.

What is the Sun Cobalt Qube 3 and what does it offer?

The Sun Cobalt Qube 3 is a versatile plug-and-play server appliance designed specifically for the Internet and Intranet need of small businesses, branch offices, workgroups, government agencies and educational institutions. Out of the box, the Qube 3 is a complete three in one server appliance: Intranet server secured shared gateway and public Internet server. 

The Qube 3 can easily handle over 150 internal users or 35 million objects a day and the requirements of even the most sophisticated sites. The entire standard Internet/Intranet services and applications are pre-installed, pre-configured and manageable through an intuitive web-based user interface called the server desktop. 

To facilitate the integration of additional layered services, the Qube 3's new software architecture was designed to make

the deployment of new web applications and services as easy as a click of a button. The Cobalt blueLinQ, application service delivery system will give customers instant access to new updates and services, as they become available.

What is the difference between the Qube 3 and the Qube 2?

Although it looks similar to the Qube 2, the Qube 3 has a completely new hardware and software architecture. On the software side, the Qube 3 is based on a new modular software architecture, called sausalito, making application development and localization easy, it offers new features like WebMail, BlueLinQ, LDAP, PHP scripting, SQL databases, and PPP hardware-wise. The Qube 3 now uses an Intel-compatible processor running at up to 450 MHz, supports up to 512 MB of RAM, 2 HDD with RAID 1 and offers USB and SCSI connectivity.

Sunila Paul in Bangalore