Networking major, D-Link India, is constantly on the lookout for newer business segments. Just a few months ago, it got into the UPS business. And now, it is training its sights on the surveillance market.

The company will soon launch IP cameras, IP alarms and access cards in the market. This will comprise its digital surveillance division. D-Link will leverage on its existing channel network to push this new range of products.

During the recently held channel awareness drive 'Explore 2005-06' D-Link had outlined some emerging areas where its partners could invest in today and gain the first mover advantage. Said Tushar Sighat, VP-Channel Business, ( India and SAARC), D-Link India, “Margins are eroding and we want our partner to focus on newer business segments where they can make good money. Also, most of our partners are already selling to SMB customers, who will find the surveillance products useful.”

D-Link will offer IP cameras that can be fixed in a room and people can monitor the activities within the place, that too over the Net, anytime and anywhere. We will also offer access cards and IP alarms. “These solutions will cost upwards of Rs 25,000, which makes it affordable for all kind of SMB customers and even corporate houses and manufacturing units,” noted Tushar.

The vendor will create a network of 70 to 80 select surveillance partners whom it will train to offer these solutions. The partners will have to invest in this segment, train their people and D-Link will drive their resources to maximize the mutual return. It will also put in place a call center which will make outbound calls for lead generation.

“When our partners bag an order for networking, they can offer surveillance solutions as a value addition. These solutions will give partners better margins as there are not too many people with offerings from well known brands in the market. As these solutions become more prevalent we will offer them some other solutions, which will again boost their bottom line,” added Tushar, while talking about the lucre of this business.

Besides surveillance, D-Link is also looking at other areas, like IP-PBX systems, as a value offering for its partners. “Our R&D centers in Bangalore and Goa develop a lot of hardware for other countries. They have come up with a box which can be attached to an ordinary PBX system but can offer more lines, using IP,” Tushar revealed.

D-Link will launch these systems in India shortly and price it above the regular PBX systems by 25%. “With our systems, customers can make five to six concurrent calls. And if they want to add more lines, they just have to upgrade their software licenses,” Tushar said.

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