S Sriram is confident that iValue InfoSolutions' three different go-to-market strategies, which are bound to the evolutionary phases of every product, will help the product to gain traction. He elaborated on the company's decision to work with lesser known brands and customized solutions for different verticals

What does iValue's business model entail?
We work with customized solutions so that there is traction built around the product itself rather than pushing sales through the channel. Onus lies on us to work with the customers, fine tune the model, build traction and empower the partners. When our partners come on board, they understand that if we do this together they can replicate the model with their existing customers and generate more business.

Does this mean you have a different sales strategy for each of the products you distribute?
Because of our experience with Select, we realized that different brands and products are at different stages of evolution. So a niche product first has to get technological acceptance, then it becomes mainstream and only after that it becomes a commodity that customers know and ask for by name.

When we are dealing with a niche product, it has to be more customer-centric. We also need to have more traction with the channels later with our pre-sales support, getting them trained on the solution front and the business benefit it will offer to them. So at different points the approach to the solution has to keep evolving. By just having one approach, we will not do justice to the product.

Most of the brands you have tied-up with are not very well known. Is this a conscious strategy to align with the lesser known entities so you can build the market from scratch?
Yes, most of the vendors we are working with like, Ruckus or Array, are not very well known in the market. This is because we wanted to reserve our time and energy on those 15 emerging brands, which are relevant to our customers, rather than focus on value-added solutions, especially in the first year of our operations.

If we had more run rate products then we would have spent more time and bandwidth on the transactional business rather than on understanding the needs of various verticals and seeing how to position these emerging solutions there. This strategy has ironically helped us in the slowdown because now we can plan with customers about the right solutions for their verticals and business needs, rather than trying to just achieve numbers.

So you are giving customized solutions to a particular set of customers in a defined vertical?
We look at business challenges in different verticals individually and then give a customized set of solutions. If you look at ITeS that have compliance norms, we first understand what those compliance norms are and then do an audit of their existing infrastructure and finally suggest solutions for it. In the process, we can become aware of new issues which may crop up and therefore, we can offer better and more efficient solutions that fit their budget.

Vinita Bhatia
vinitavs@cybermedia.co.in

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