The October Techday hosted by ASIRT was an informative and enlightening one where Members got the opportunity to further their business by leveraging the government e-marketplace portal. A team from HP showcased some of their latest laptops and desktops designed with cutting-edge technology engaging Power and Elegance while the market leader NPAV presented their holistic network security offerings, with innovations to protect any device connected to a Computer.
Ramesh Pyla, Regional Sales Manager, HP Inc., India c. started the evening with an insightful discussion on changing industry and market dynamics with respect to Gaming as a category, HP’s market share in the industry and the rising demand for technically superior & aesthetic laptops to cater to this segment. This was followed by key industry and market insights into the changing customer preferences, HP’s deep understanding and fresh approach to create customer delight and thus increase its market share with new, innovative product offerings. Their latest range includes the high performance, Omen series of gaming laptops with superior thermal control, dual storage facility, immersive VR experience enhanced by an exceptional audio system, and award-winning design. This was followed by HP Spectre series of stylish, hybrid laptops, the HP Pavilion series of laptops and the latest, technically superior range of All-in-One laptops, with features like Privacy Camera, Quad Speakers, Wireless Charging and Ultra WQHD 34” curved display, designed for the smart homes/ offices.
Highlighting HP’s commitment to design and the shift in consumer preferences, Mr Ramesh Pyla, said, “Currently, consumer expectations across categories are more focused on the design element. Earlier, IT was all about specifications. Now, with rising awareness, most brands, including HP, are moving to set new benchmarks with value-add features and design, like weight, thinness etc. Earlier, computers were restricted to home or offices but now they are essentially mobile and attach a sense of reputation/image to the owner. Keeping this in mind, HP is diversifying with varied portfolios across metros and tier2 and 3 cities. For tier 2 and tier 3 towns, where affordability comes first and design element is secondary, we have been promoting the HP 15 series in a big way. Alternately, in tier 1 and metros, where PC’s have a higher penetration, we are focusing on offering superior design element. We aim at balancing both, niche offerings and functional products that create volume, through a vast range of products for consumers across the country. Our Two-in-ones/ convertibles, for example, have increased from 6% to 62% market share! In gaming, we were late entrants but today are at 37% market share. Our super premium category products hold a 31.2% market share. So across all categories, HP is very bullish and we aim to touch 40% market share across all categories. In specific spaces like hybrid and gaming, where the brand players are limited, we are aiming to capture more than 40-50% market share. We aim at being looked upon as leaders and our journey, with expanding market share, says our story, and our entire roadmap is linked to that.”
Speaking about HP’s relationship with SI’s, Pyla said, “SI’s are the bridge between the brand and the corporates. Thus, despite being a large retail and commercial brand, our association with SI’s is vital as they can educate and offer a customized solution for both, niche as well as bulk requirements of all, the corporates, small businesses and individual customers. They remain the backbone of our business as we are able to generate our numbers through them. Our presence here, at the ASIRT platform, is thus important. ASIRT has been playing a vital role in bridging the gap between vendors and SI’s, providing the knowledge base and training to Members etc. Their agenda and quality of Members are much more superior to other mass Associations.”
The next session for the evening was a presentation by Sumeet Kela, CEO, and Co-Founder Biz Secure Lab Pvt. Ltd., popular for their Net Protector Antivirus (NPAV), one of India’s largest home-grown range of holistic security products and solutions. Ranging from their latest solution, the Net Protector – Total Security product, that offers Anti-Spam, Anti-Malware, Anti-Spyware, Email Backup, OS-Firewall etc, the Total PC Protection Z-Security product with Web Control, DLP, Data Backup, Anti –Ransomware Shield, Advertise Blocker and Antiphishing etc, NPAV also shared details of their Admin Console Server protector for Business Networks, NP Remote Support, PC Optimiser (Registry Cleanser), Corporate Web Control, Data Vault for data protection and the latest NP Mobile and NP Tablet Security products for Android.
Kela also shared some interesting case studies and instances where NPAV had offered timely assistance and helped avert major client crisis resulting out of ransomware and malware attacks, especially for banks and financial institutions.
Speaking about NPAV’s commitment to quality product offerings and strengthening their bond with channel partners, Sanjeev Kela, Founder MD, Biz Secure Lab Pvt. Ltd., said, “NPAV was launched in 2006 and today we are No. 1 in terms of volumes and No. 2 in terms of revenue, across India as our products range is large and economical. Further, we are highly focused on R&D and innovation. Our latest offering, Z Security offers security from Ransomware besides other viruses and also has the important Tally data Backup feature. This data back-up and protection is a unique feature that no other anti-virus company offers.
Further, NPAV products have small installation footprint which does not slows down the PCs making us popular among SI’s and Channel partners, who readily recommend our products to end consumers. The perfect combination of price (Cybersecurity and data back-up provided at a fraction of a cost!) and quality deliverables offered by NPAV is a testimony to our commitment to quality.”
Speaking about his association with ASIRT, Sumeet added, “In terms of business growth channels, 90% of sales are driven through SI’s and channel partners, similar to the Members of ASIRT. Due to continuous engagement with ASIRT being associated for the past three years, the response we got has been very rewarding. We have showcased and presented our various products during ASIRT Techdays and had the opportunity to educate them. As a result, we have got many repeat orders from their Members who have been recommending us to their clients.
Further, in terms of quality of SI’s, ASIRT has a set of more technically savvy Members who understand the latest tech innovations and the value we bring to the business. It has thus become an important platform for a technology-driven organization like NPAV to participate and engage with the SI community through ASIRT. ”
The presentation ended on a high note with a prize distribution for winners of NPAV’s Lucky Draw. The enthusiastic attendees filled in their feedback sheets to participate and were aptly rewarded through gifts graciously handed away by Sanjeev Kela.
The next highlight of the evening was the evolve speaker, Vinay Agarwal, CEO, ACE Technologies, who has been working closely with the team of IT professionals to streamline the latest Government E-marketplace (GeM) portal.
Agarwal shared tips and guided Members on how they can leverage the E-marketplace portal to explore opportunities for working with multiple national and state level government organizations by selling IT Products and Services. Through the talk, Agarwal highlighted multiple modifications and updates that the portal had gone through as well as future alterations that were in pipeline, offering Members a guided, step by step tutorial on every aspect of the GeM portal (gem.gov.in).
After an interactive Q&A session, the evening came to an end, followed by a networking dinner.