'We are in the process of evaluating and launching managed services in India.'

Pravir Arora started his career with Wipro as a senior sales executive in 1993 and during his tenure there, won several awards for his extraordinary sales performance. He has been with CA now for two-and-a-half years. As head-channels for India and SAARC countries, Pravir is responsible for distribution, OEM and SI sales. He talks about CA's channel initiatives in an exclusive interview with

DQCI.

We understand CA is in the process of reorganizing its product line. Is this true?

Yes, we have reorganized CA's product line into four main categories: BrightStor, Jasmine, eTrust and Unicenter.  These brands represent different families of CA products and technologies that lead back to the company's core solutions. 

BrightStor includes CA's storage management solution.  This suite helps customers manage and protect their data.  Whereas the Unicenter, which is the premier enterprise management solution product, has been made better.

eTrust on the other hand, delivers award-winning bulletproof security that makes CA the leading supplier of security solutions today. The Jasmine range encompasses all of CA's information management solutions, including e-business transformation, integration, portal and knowledge management, amongst others.

We have also introduced a whole new product line, which will address several market needs. We are also in the process of launching some more exciting products, which will be made available in the market shortly.  

Can you also elaborate on the features of BrightStor ARCserve 2000?

BrightStor ARCserve 2000 goes beyond protection of the most critical business asset, which is the data. It delivers data protection, high performance, easy administration and reliability to protect and meet the storage needs, irrespective of the platform and applications that are in use. 

The extensive set of options and agents offer data protection throughout the enterprise, and delivers enhanced functionality including online backup of applications and data files. It also provides advanced device/media management, which apart from being fast also offers seamless disaster recovery and support for fiber channel Storage Area Networks

(SANs).

What kind of distribution model do you follow?

We have a two-tiered channel network. Apart from the distributors and resellers we have also partnered with several systems integrators to address the enterprise segment.  

What kind of channel initiative programs have been rolled out by CA in the recent past?

We have identified a set of gold resellers who have invested their time, money and manpower into promoting the CA line of products. To these gold resellers, we have introduced various programs like quarterly rebates, invested in their marketing and promotional programs through joint events. We also help them train their manpower thus ensure maximum customer satisfaction.  

We even help resellers enhance their sales revenue by passing on leads received by us. We also help our channel partners to bundle CA's solutions with other products.

What are the benefits of being a CA solution partner?

CA's solution partners benefit from our experience as an industry leader. We are the first and only global enterprise software company to meet the exacting standards for worldwide ISO certification. We have been awarded over 130 patents for innovative software solutions while serving 99 percent of the Fortune 500 companies over the past quarter century. We back our e-business solutions with a worldwide global campaign aimed at ensuring customer satisfaction.   

CA provides a portal - www.ca.com/partners, which is exclusively designed for partners to leverage marketing tools and find technical information. This portal also includes a solutions resources center and highlights partners who are 'CA smart- certified'.

What kind of training do you provide to channels?

We have a constant skill development program for our partners and their sales and technical people.  This is not necessarily done under a common roof but at individual partner locations. 

This gives them enough time to understand and absorb our products at their own pace. We are also in the process of issuing a quarterly training calendar for the next financial year. There would be a different calendar for sales people and technical consultants.

Specific to channel partners, we organize web-cast training events to enhance technical skills of our partners. We also offer discounts on educational courses which are designed for company's solutions. Additionally, CA's premier solution partners will receive sales training for their sales persons to become savvy with CA's e-business solutions. 

What according to you drives the rapid growth in managed services?

In the past, organizations facing rapid change simply increased their staff. Unfortunately, that is not always possible. First, IT talent is scarce. Secondly, the rapid rate of change makes it virtually impossible to find talent with significant expertise in new skills and technologies. Increasingly, customers of all sizes are turning to a new ally, the managed service provider (MSP). 



These MSPs serve as an adjunct to the IT department and help organizations, especially small-to-medium firms, to manage rapid changes and increasing demands. Thus, MSPs enable these companies to focus on their core competencies instead of their IT needs.

CA India is in the process of evaluating/launching managed services in India.  CA is also the leading industry-wide supplier of business software for

MSPs. 

By deploying CA's innovative software solutions, MSPs continue to deliver higher service levels and increased customer satisfaction, while lowering cost of sales. CA's network and Internet management solutions, with their distributed architecture and extensive management functionality, provide the perfect platform on which MSPs can develop their businesses. 

With more experience than any other vendor, CA works directly with MSPs to understand their needs. From world-class technology to business development, marketing to support resources, CA and our MSP partners develop strong "win-win" partnerships that drive growth. 

Sunila Paul in Bangalore