AMD to certify SIs in East

AMD organized the System Builder Yatra (SBY) in Siliguri, West Bengal for the system integrator (SI) community, aiming to impart training and certification to partners in the upcountry market. As a part of this initiative, AMD has also created an interactive portal, which gives information on the latest schemes and product launches to all their channel partners.
Since the launch of this initiative three months ago, AMD has been educating and certifying SIs across 36 cities. Shortly, the company will organize specialized workshops based on partner profiling, depending on the technologies offered by a certain section of the channel. Also, they will extend SBY to Kolkata, targeting premier SIs.
“Our conscious effort has been to ensure that SIs across the country are able to increase their business. The strategy is to transform their businesses into higher value-added services to make them VARs than just transaction-dependent players,” commented Sandip Naik, Channel Head-Sales, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, AMD.
The company has recently launched Puma platform and Phenom processors counted as the chief competitor of Intel's new range of the Atom processors. “The Puma platform is the answer to the shift in consumer demand towards graphics functionality that has been seen recently. By having complete control over processors, graphics cards, chipsets, wireless modules as well as power-saving and security features, the Puma platform can deliver unmatched mobile experience over competition,” Naik added.

In the desktop segment too, Phenom tri and quad core processors had been introduced earlier this year. It features Phenom X4 9100e and Cool 'n' Quiet 2.0 technology. Trillion floating point operations per second (TeraFLOPS) graphics cards, the ATI Radeon HD 4850 and ATI Radeon HD 4870 has also been introduced. Recently, AMD expanded the 4800 series with the ATI Radeon 4870 X2 graphics card that has boosted AMD sales across India.

Commenting on the emerging market trends in the East, Naik emphasized, “The market in the East is slowly changing, and still has a long way to catch up with the rest of the market in India. The purchasing power in the East has not increased considerably; however, we have seen that the Internet users in India account for only three percent of the population, indicating significant potential for continued strong growth. We do see a huge opportunity here for companies and distributors to help grow the market.”

Presently, AMD is working with the West Bengal Government and has supported its Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Department to leverage the benefits of ICT to enhance the lives of its residents. PCs powered by AMD processors have been set-up to ensure that their proprietary software such as the Gram Panchayat Management System, the Integrated Fund Monitoring and Accounting System and the Rural Household Survey could be deployed quickly.

“Our channel strategy is to expand our presence among partners, both at the horizontal as well as vertical level. It is important to strengthen our relationship with existing partners as much it is to reach out to new partners across new geographies. Also, with the kind of innovative product line-up that we have released recently, it is important to support it by concentrating our efforts to educate and motivate our existing channel partners. We always focus on a balanced strategy by widening the market share and penetrating deep into the market,” Naik concluded.

As PC penetration continues to increase in India, there has been a significant increase in the number of consumers who prefer branded solutions. AMD is working with its channel partners and distributors to help meet these needs. As part of the company's marketing strategy, AMD is making a conscious effort to reach out to the end consumer directly through aggressive advertising and online campaigns.