“We want to be a total solution company in the networking field”

Panduit is banking high on the Indian market and plans to invest heavily
in the country to ride the growth wave, especially keeping the slowdown in the
US in mind. The company is banking on the channel to have a wider reach across
the length and breadth of the country

Do you think that Panduit has entered the Indian market a bit late?

We have been in the Indian market for a decade now and have been working
with BPOs, KPOs and multinational companies. We are well known in the IT/ITeS
sector.

We don't want to be a cabling solutions company only and this is why we
introduced high-end cabinets and server racks. We want Panduit to be a total
solution company in the networking field.

How do you plan to go about in the Indian market?

We will be making strategic investment in the Indian market and will be
investing on various aspects right from headcount to infrastructure, branding to
marketing through advertise­ments. We will also participate in events that cater
to
banking, telecom and financial sectors.

We will also continue with our Panduit Certified Installers program and will
be concen­trating on data centers, fiber routing, identification solutions and
intelligent solutions. At these workshops we impart hands on education to the
channel part­ners technical team about how to define the right cabling solutions
for their clients, identifying the stress points in the network, how to do the
correct crimping etc.

Kumar Natarajan Regional Director-India and South West Asia, Panduit

Which sectors are you concentrating on in India?

We are already present in BPOs and KPOs. Panduit is bullish about sectors
like banking and finance, telecom, oil and gas in India. Presently, worldwide
the sectors-wise contribution of various verticals to our turnover is: IT/ITeS-45
percent, BFSI-20 percent, telecom-10 percent, manufacturing-15 percent and
others 10 percent.

Are you providing your channel with any training?

We began the Panduit certified program in August 2007 across the four metros
in India. As part of the program, partners are given product, solution as well
as application training.

How do you provide support in the Indian market?

Presently we have a 24-hour toll free helpline support system, which is
operated from Singapore. We are also appointing people in various regions to
look after the support system. Panduit currently has offices in Mumbai, New
Delhi and Bangalore and plans to open new offices in Hyderabad and Pune soon.

A couple of months ago you were part of the World Strategy meet. What was
discussed in it?

The Panduit world strategy meet was held between February 11 and 15, 2008.
The senior profes­sionals of Panduit arranged it to network with the employees
working worldwide and inform them about the company's aims and future policies.