"We want to show SMBs that SANs are affordable and easy to deploy"

According to IDC, the Indian SMB segment is one of the fastest-growing
segments, with projected 21% CAGR from 2004 to 2008. Shyam Gopal is therefore
rolling out a host of initiatives to popularize Brocade's SAN solutions to
target this very SMB segment. This includes customer awareness events and
channel engagement programs, in addition to setting up a good infrastructure in
the country.

Elaborate a little on Brocade's strategy on SAN.

Brocade has a clear goal of deeply penetrating the SAN market in India. This
goal involves a renewed emphasis in working with our current OEM partners and
investing in building a stronger channel relationship with partners who are
aligned with our OEM partners. To fully address the enterprise, mid-tier, and
SMB market segments, we will continue developing our channel. Additionally, we
will focus on providing value to our end-users through SAN workshops to
demonstrate how they can benefit from Brocade's SAN deployment.

What potential do you see in the SMB space for your SAN solutions? What
are your strategies to capture this market in India and APAC?

The SMB market demands a high return on product investment equivalent to the
enterprise market segment, with solutions that are easy to deploy and manage,
and that provide excellent overall value.

Shyam Gopal

Today, SANs are as affordable as buying disk storage, with all the
operational advantages as well. Many of our partners are already offering
flavors of SMB SAN storage in India. One of our key ongoing strategies is to
show the SMB market that SANs are affordable and very easy to deploy with a fast
ROI.

What kind of channel structure are you looking at in India? Elaborate a
little on your OEM tie-ups.

The channel division at Brocade is focused on supporting our OEM partners on
all facets of selling SAN. To do this effectively, we have a two-pronged
approach with our primary OEM partners.

Also, We help train our OEM partners on our SAN solutions and accompany them
on meetings with end-user customers to help the implementation of enterprise SAN
solutions. We also offer value-add programs that our OEMs can leverage on with
their end-user customers and are introducing customers to the 'Brocade Connect
online', a web portal, which is a great resource for technical SAN
information.

For mid-tier and SMB markets, we work through channel partners of our OEM
partners to show them how Brocade SAN solutions can be deployed quickly and
easily for clear ROI. We provide extensive SAN sales and technical training to
channel partners of our OEMs and provide them with materials to use with their
end-user customers.

What is the level of outsourcing that you are doing for software
development in India? Who are your key partners for the same?

Currently our key software development partner is Wipro. We have had a
partnership with Wipro for developing SAN management tools, sustained
engineering of existing projects, and software testing since December 2003 and
plan to expand the engagement further in the future as well.

What kind of initiatives is Brocade taking to accelerate the transition to
SAN in Indian enterprises?

One powerful initiative we have launched is to empower our partners on how
Brocade technology can integrate with their own offerings to benefit end-user
customers in the most significant manner. At the same time, we directly interact
with enterprise customers as a SAN evangelist and trusted advisor to enrich
their understanding of the value of Brocade solutions. This results in a win-win
situation for our partners and customers to close deals in the shortest
timeframe possible. Technical seminars and, educational training webinars are
some of the key initiatives we continuously offer to help our customer's
transition to SAN technology.

KUSUM MAKHIJA

Brocade's SAN initiatives in India