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Are you offering your entire range of products in India?
Currently, we are offering our Indian customers Senao 802.11b, 802.11b/g
long-range CB3 models of access points/bridge/repeater, wireless IP phone and
wireless IPBX. In essence, we are targeting Internet service providers and
systems integration customers on one hand and the retail segment on the other.
The latter will take our products to a larger customer base.
We will add low cost long-range WLAN dongle, ADSL, and other
products to our portfolio in near future. This will permit wireless users to
utilize five times the bandwidth compared to the traditional 802.11b available
for multiple users.
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S Parthasarthy
Director-Sales,
Senao Equipment |
What kind of distribution model has Senao put in place in
India?
Our business model for India would be a bifurcated one constituting of
master or regional distributors and reseller partners. The distributor partners
would cover larger territories falling under their area of command, while
resellers will cater to the demands emanating from end customer or retail
segment.
How are you pursuing business developments in this part of
the APAC market?
As far as business development or building brand equity is concerned we will
first systematize various summits or channel programs thereby moving on to
end-customer awareness campaigns. We are contemplating organizing a national
level summit for channel groups in association with one of the CyberMedia
publications.
Senao made a delayed entry into the Indian market. Why?
Till recently Senao was operating through its liaison office and
distribution partnerships in India. Earlier, owing to the double duty structure
on imported goods, circumstances were not favorable for us to establish direct
presence here. But now when the excise duty on imported goods has been phased
out and the country is undergoing impressive economic growth, we are instigating
full-fledged operations here.
Also Senao Equipments has received government clearance on
100 percent foreign direct investment status. Its Indian office will act as a
remote business unit like free zone offices of Dubai and Singapore.
What challenges are you likely to face from established
players in India?
The wireless LAN market in India on the whole is predicted to touch 100
percent growth by the end of 2006. As per trend followed earlier, Indian
enterprises used to invest in voice equipment in the time-division
multiplexing-private branch exchange (TDM-PBX). Today, while PBX market has
matured reasonably, IP-PBX is yet to take off successfully.
IP telephony might not suit the requirements of small
organizations. But if the 5GHz range gets delicensed, IP telephony will
magnetize more SMB and SOHO segments.
Which customer are you targeting with your product suite?
Typically, there are three distinct customer segments that our products
target. These are home or small office home office, SME and enterprise or ISP's.
We can further split the SME segment into urban, sub-urban and rural markets. 80
percent to 90 percent of our business will actually come from these three
divisions of the SME segment.
What role does the channel play in your overall business
strategy?
We will invest heavily on building the best channels force for our suite of
product. But here I would like to mention one thing that greatly does discredit
to the Indian channel community. Despite their brilliant business sense, they do
not have appropriate knowledge about the products they are selling in the
market.
To change this, we are initiating the Senao certified
partners program that will help partners associated with us to gain more
prominence in the market. These programs will groom them not only on the
specialized products we market but also on the overall IT business tactics.
What are your plans for propelling Senao's growth in the
country?
As far as our growth plans are concerned, the channel will occupy the
nucleus of that. We will align our business plans in accordance with the market
dynamics. It is heartening to note that the lobby of box pushers has been taken
over by IT infrastructure evangelists. Through our channel support endeavor we
will enable partners to move up the value chain and become complete solution
providers.
Are there plans for establishing a manufacturing base in
India?
It is too early to talk about having a manufacturing facility right now. But
we would leverage on the skilled manpower of India by setting up our global
support center here.
Government regulations for VoIP and wireless products are
hampering its acceptance in India. How will Senao lobby with the policy makers
to resolve this?
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommended that the 3.5
GHz spectrum should be used for WiMax. But the wireless planning and
coordination wing of department of telecommunication is yet to deregulate this
band.
Being a vendor company, Senao has started production of WiMax
chipset for vendors and we will utilize the 2.4 GHz free band opportunity and
release WiMax 2.4 GHz indoor and outdoor in Q3 2006. We are also releasing
samples of wireless IP Phone and IPBX products for telecom providers to get
their feedback and improve product as per government regulations.
ANJALI CHOUDHARY Page(s) 1
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