Considering that the market was volatile during 2013-14, D-Link was more than happy when it registered a healthy 37.8% growth. Buoyed by the successTushar Sighat, CEO, D-Link (India), during an interaction with Channel Times shares his market plans and the success story of D-Link in India.
Excerpts from the interview
CT: Overall, how was the FY13-14 for you with respect to channel business?
Sighat : Our focused market strategy and practical business approach allowed us to sail through these tough times. Despite the challenging times with market being highly volatile, we successfully managed to record relentless growth Q-o-Q. D-Link India had a very successful year 2013-14 with 37.8% growth in revenues with 10.2% growth in Net Profits.
Our strategy, committed focus along with uninterrupted support from our channel partners enabled us to record steady growth along with improved revenue productivity.
CT: Was there any significance for the FY13-14?
Sighat: D-Link continued to lead the market in SMB/ SME sector with good traction for our products/ solution. D-Link’s positioning as an end-to-end networking leader, coupled with quality product & service reaffirms trust amongst SMB/ SMEs. In consumer space, D-Link embraced the 5th generation wireless standard & introduced a host of next generation 11AC wireless routers & adapters with cloud functionality that were very well received by end-consumers. D-Link’s innovative products like DSM-260, BabyCam provided D-Link with an edge over competition.
Further its wireless routers, regular ADSL/ Broadband routers were also well accepted by end-customers. Enterprise segment brought in good business opportunities for D-Link during 2013, with D-Link enhancing its presence IP Surveillance segment. Also our strong focus on Structured cabling business contributed to substantial revenue growth. D-Link continued to bags large projects in Government & Education verticals.
CT: Explain the highlights of FY13-14 and prioritize the fiscal according to revenue.
Sighat: As part of our strategy to focus on target business segments, we have internally streamlined our business model. At present D-Link India has five major business revenue streams – Channel Business, Enterprise Business, Structured Cabling business, 3G and Lifestyle business.
For us channel community continues to drive majority of the business with our partners/ reseller being an integral part of the system.
In Enterprise segment our 5S Solution strategy (Switching, Structured Cabling, Surveillance & Storage, Security, and Software) has enabled us to position D-Link as a key networking players with complete end-to-end network solution. Structured cabling was another key segment for us during 2013. Also the fact that we are the only vendor to be able to provide a complete solution to our customers including the active and passive range of product has helped us garner good customer mind-share.
Further, our 3G products were well received at consumer end with high demands for dongles. Additionally our mydlink products have also started gaining customer mindshare for the unique functionality it offers vis-à-vis other brands in the market.
CT: How are you going to face the new fiscal for channels?
Sighat: Going forward D-Link shall continue to strengthen its ties with its partners/ reseller present PAN India, through various lucrative incentive programs, roadshows etc. Direct interaction with partner has always been a top agenda at D-Link. Hence we shall initiate dialogues through platforms wherein we can engage and interact with partners directly. As we embark on another challenging year ahead we look forward to a prolific business engagement with our channel community.
CT: How confident is your organization over the Indian market? How do they foresee the business through channels?
Sighat: Earlier IT penetration and acceptance in India were slow and limited. However things have now changed, with acceptability increasing manifold. In the next 10 years, SMB & SME and consumer segments will offer tremendous growth opportunities for networking products, with enterprise growth continuing to be stable.
CT: What are the marketing/joint-marketing activities on the cards for the partners?
Sighat: Partner Engagement is a key aspect of our strategic marketing approach. We are always scouting for avenues to engage with partners be it through in-house road-shows, seminar or industry events. Over the year, D-Link has built a strong network of partners/ re-sellers who continue to promote D-Link products/ solutions diligently. And as an organization that is committed towards enhancing partner engagement, we introduce offer/ incentive schemes on regular basis.
Our incentives programs are designed in such a manner that partners from B & C class cities are also given ample opportunity to grow, as the key objective is to provide profitable business opportunity. In addition to this, we organize training/ educational seminars city-wise so as to ensure that the partner are updated on latest developments in networking domain, and well versed to handle customer requirement. We have also rolled out certification programs for partners/ resellers that will give them extra confidence in their business.
CT: Which are the cities that you are concentrating on?
Sighat – D-Link has a strong distribution network with Ingram Micro & Redington as our National Distributors and 90+ national/regional/business distributors present all across India. Besides has a wide network of over 500 dealers and 5,000 resellers catering to the networking needs of customers present across the length & breadth of the country. Having such a network enables us to serve and supports our existing customers from proximate locations which gives our customers easy access to our products and helps us service them and enables us to reach new customers. We definitely look forward to expanding our partner/ reseller base & penetrate deeper into tier 2 & tier 3 cities.
CT: What are your plans for service support?
Sighat: D-Link has recently set-up its own service centre known as ‘D-link Service Centre – DSC’ across India. With DSC we will now be addressing any service related concern of customers present in over 49 cities. In addition to this D-Link has also introduced a toll free no. 1800-233-0000 for all kind of technical assistance.
At D-Link we are constantly working towards enhancing customer experience & investing establishing a strong support infrastructure. As a result, last year we had introduced ‘D-Link Direct Service – DDS’. D-Link Direct Service (DDS) is a revolutionary service initiative from D-Link that aims to offer customers with complete peace of mind. Infact the motto of D-Link Direct Service is ‘Service at your door-step’.