"We plan to have training programs in vernacular languages in smaller cities"

Thomas M Kilroy was recently in town to not only understand the dynamics of
the Indian market, but also to announce Intel´s channel roadmap for the days
ahead.

In his conversation with DQCI, Thomas talks of India being an emerging market
with immense potential. He also discusses his plans for the Indian market and
informs about Intel’s channel marketing budgets going up. A graduate in
business administration, Thomas adds that the year ahead will see a lot of
activity on the mobile front.

n
Is there anything unique that you see in the Indian
market?

India is a progressive country and it has been growing rapidly in the
past. The growth being seen here is across all buyer segments. India with China
make the two biggest and fastest growing markets for IT industry. We have to
keep apace with these markets. We have been trying to be in these markets
personally and tap it with best-of-the-breed offerings. Our aim is to gain the
best marketshare and mindshare. For this, our personal involvement has been
tremendous and we are trying to build a direct relationship with our channel
partners.

But the unique thing about the market is its fragmented nature. So the
smaller towns present a great opportunity. And even within bigger cities, the
markets are not centralized. The situation here is unlike China where the number
of malls and hotspots are greater in number and less scattered across the
geography. As a consequence the street activity in China can be centralized.

n
Like the market, the needs of the customer here are
diverse, what then is your focus in India?

You are right in saying that Indian requirements are as diverse as
India. Here everything is required, right from a Celeron to the P4 3.06 GHz
processor. To meet this diverse product mix we are trying to have flawless
distribution mechanism and create the right kind of push to a particular
product.

We are also planning to ramp up the education levels of the channel partners,
especially in the smaller cities as they are growing tremendously in India. Our
strategy is manifold. We plan to have regional training programs for the smaller
cities in vernacular languages and give them the best of the knowledge
materials.

n
How was the response of partners in the smaller
cities?

Smaller cities have given a very warm welcome to me. They are touched
by the fact that a senior official of Intel is visiting them personally. We want
to make sure that we reach these cities with the same level of enthusiasm, as we
have been able to do in the bigger cities. The requirement levels in these
cities also impressed me and I feel the major market movement is happening in
these smaller cities.

n
How are the activities on the mobile front?

Mobile is having the maximum focus from our side. We are in talks
with major OEMs to get the number acceleration. On the assembling front, our
efforts are focused at percolating this product down to the masses. We want to
create a suitable ecosystem that can support the complete mobile movements.

It may be too premature to say the market for assembled mobile computers
cannot be built. We are in talks with a number of chassis manufacturers. The
reseller community has shown great interest in the concept and I think in the
next one year the market for these whitebooks will pick up.

n
What are your strategies for End of Life (EOL)
products for an emerging market like India?

One of the main aspect of our strategy is that we try to reserve End
of Life (EOL) product inventories for the emerging markets. For example, Latin
America is a very Celeron centric market and to cater to this market we have to
supply them with requisite numbers irrespective of the fact that we are
producing them or not. Similarly in the Indian market we know that slower clock
speeds sell more than the higher speeds and this is the reason why we keep ample
inventories for these markets.

n
Do you think that the gray market poses a threat to
the business?

Gray market is eternal. We can only try to curb, but we cannot
eliminate it completely. To reduce it to the minimum levels we have a uniform
price structure across the globe.

n
Are you planning anything new in the GID program?

While the basic character of the GID is not likely to change, the
tactical programs or the flavors driving the program constantly evolve. We, on a
regular basis, conduct channel surveys to ensure we know the pulse of our
partners. Partners who have demonstrated a track record of being able to deliver
solutions are given the Premium Provider tag.

Our role will always be to ensure that we are instrumental in technology
evolution and enabling the channel to go with us in that direction. Next on the
agenda will be to build and grow the whitebook market with GIDs. And within our
partners, those interested in doing servers, we have a great roadmap for them
too.

n
So in a nutshell, what can the channel look forward
to in the year ahead?

As I said, a higher percentage of our business is coming from
emerging markets. And within India we will focus on the small and medium
businesses, the government, and education. We are looking at market segment
share gains for any of the verticals we target.

From the channel standpoint, we are looking at a consistent strategy and
investment. And I reiterate that channel marketing budgets here in India will go
up. More so we are looking at growing the business for our partners beyond the
desktop.

MOHIT CHHABRA and SHWETA KHANNA