The 110% Professional

He attributes his success
to the fact that he gives his very best to any task that he takes up, leaving no
scope for regrets later on.

Give more than your best in whatever you do. Try for 110% and see what
happens. Success or failure is immaterial. Even if you fail, you will feel
satisfied that you gave it your best shot and you won't regret that you did
not try hard enough." This is the personal philosophy that Intel's
Regional Manager, Sandeep Aurora firmly believes and follows.

This give-it-your-best-shot attitude has kept him in good stead. Till
recently, he was Regional Channel Manager and was based out of Intel's office
in Nehru Place. January 2005 saw his promotion to Regional Channel Manager for
Intel India and a move to the garden city of Bangalore.

In his new role, Sandeep is responsible for distribution, product marketing
and channel marketing programs and initiatives in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and
Bangladesh. Given his experience in handling channels since the time he joined
Intel in 1997, Sandeep reckons he can understand the pain points and pressure
points that a partner goes through and the kind of support needed like marketing
programs and collaterals.

Sandeep Aurora Regional Channel Manager, SE Asia, Intel  “Success or failure is immaterial. Even if you fail, you will feel satisfied that you gave it your best shot and you won't regret that you did not try hard enough”

"It allows me to work around programs, so that partners are able to
fulfill their customers' needs better. The role also involves making sure
there are enough roll-outs of channel programs and making sure our distributors
are carrying right products at the right time," elaborates Sandeep.

Prime focus areas

To expand Intel's business, Sandeep has identified two areas-SMEs and
geographical expansion in more cities for Intel's consumer side. Though the
former pose a great opportunity for the company, there is a lack of
comprehensive go-to-market plan to address this segment.

He hopes to correct this by educating SMEs about using IT to become
competitive and more profitable. The plan would also involve providing more
tools like collaterals, case studies and the right products to channel partners
so that they can address the burgeoning segment.

Sandeep has also chalked out programs to help both dealers and consumers in
tier two and three cities. This involves the two-pronged strategy of making
consumers aware of how a PC can make a difference to their lives and secondly
creating finance options that makes it easy for consumers to buy a PC.

"A case in point is our tie-up with Bank of India where around 2,500
branches are authorized to give PC loans for everyone who's buying a PC from
any of the Genuine Intel Dealers (GIDs) in any city. The EMI is as low as Rs 450
a month," explains he.

Fighting the challenge

The abysmally low PC penetration in India is a challenge that Sandeep hopes
to address. "We need to make sure we are communicating our message to
enough customers and business users, because we believe that IT is going to
change lives for the better."

This message involves creating awareness about the usefulness of technology
and delivering it to a wide spectrum of people. While customers are aware of
products like Pentium 4 or Centrino, Sandeep thinks that the key lies in giving
them a hands-on experience of the products.

Another challenge is on the channel side, where Intel has around 15,000
channels in B- and C-class cities alone. Given the wide spread, Sandeep says it
is crucial to make sure that dealers and channel members constantly get top-of
the line information on new products and technologies.

Among his accomplishments in his previous role, Sandeep is satisfied with his
team's dedicated effort to support channel partners. "The fact that my
team could make sure that channel members were enabled with the right kind of
resources and were aware that the Intel sales team is available to help them out
of any crisis situation and guide them on a day-to-day basis gives me
satisfaction." He contends that this factor has led to channels growing
their business every year.

"Sandeep inside"

When he is not thinking channels, you would find Sandeep spending time at
home discovering and rediscovering changes in his 11-month old baby daughter. He
unwinds by watching movies at home on his DVD player. No crowded theaters for
him, thank you, he would rather watch it in the comfort of his home. He digs
thrillers, comedies and action flicks. Music and reading are his other hobbies.

Prior to Intel, he worked with HCL for six years and worked as Area Manager,
looking after corporate sales, when he left the company for Intel. Sandeep did
his Bachelors in Science in Delhi University and followed it up with an MBA from
IMT Ghaziabad.