Microsoft has been initiating several channel engagement programs. Brief us on these interactions.
We have been conducting various channel programs. Channel partners need to understand the value of genuine software and its profitability to their businesses. To make this happen, we have changed the business model. We are now enhancing the value of the products so that partners learn about the advantages of genuine software. Right now, we are at the stage of providing a sense of profitability to the partners. We are analyzing partners to see whether he considers this business model as a valuable one or not. Till now, partners have not been proactive in informing customers about genuine software.

Anil Sethi Group Director-OEM Microsoft India

With the objective of promoting use of genuine software, Sethi has restructured the business model of Microsoft's OEM products by appointing nine new associate distributors, who will penetrate the market more aggressively

What is your strategy for the same?
Our strategy is to deepen and strengthen our channel engagement systematically. We have partners of various sizes for OEM and we have set up a team to interact with them and respond to their general queries. We are intending to increase interaction with them. We cannot assure exact profitability to the partners in regard to genuine software, but the mindset changes as the participation and engagement increases.

Tell us about the changes you have made to the OEM model.

On the basis of feedback that we have received, we have made several changes in the business model. Earlier we had distributors who only dealt with resellers. Now, we have enrolled nine associate distributors and will be appointing eight more. The total 17 associate distributors will penetrate the market more aggressively.

Earlier a reseller may not have had access to all customers, but with the involvement of an additional distributor the buying process has eased. A distributor is becoming more accessible to the end-customers in a large region.

In the first phase, 17 new associate distributors will cover 250 towns across the country. So, we are able to work with a large set of partners and they are informed about the right business approach which is beneficial to them. After this, we will check whether we need to increase the capacity.

You had interactions with channel associations as well. What is the idea behind that?
We have been addressing channel associations in different cities and through them, we pass on the message that channel partners need to educate customers about the value of buying a genuine software. It is all about the awareness among the buying community and this is another way to awaken the channel community to this fact. After all, a PC is sold through a reseller only.

Has the sale of genuine software been affected by the market slowdown as customers are not willing to pay a higher price for software during these times?
The impact of the slowdown is there but it has not affected the sale much. Business opportunities are still rife. Only difference is that customers have been holding onto their buying decision for a while. However, there is definitely a contraction in demand of genuine software in comparison to last year.

Amrita Tejasvi
(amritat@cybermedia.co.in)

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