“Channel partners will play a key role in sustaining and expanding the brand’s presence.” Ann Bai

Kingston Technology Corporation, the leading multinational computer technology corporation, is the largest independent producer of DRAM memory modules. Known for its high speed memory products, the company is matching its growth with the speed that its products deliver. Kingston ranks in the top 100 names in Forbes ‘500 Largest Private Companies in U.S.’ list.
In an exclusive interview with Sujata for ChannelTimes, Ann Bai – DRAM Sales Director, Kingston Technology, APAC region, shares plans for Kingston’s DRAM product line in India, the market scenario and the role of the channel partners.

How is the market for DRAM evolving in India?

PC penetration is now being seen in smaller cities and towns and this is great news for Kingston because one of the challenges we had observed previously was that there wasn’t enough PC and internet penetration in the far-flung parts of the country. The market is likely to see larger DRAM deals as companies grow in size and scale. We have wide range of products in DRAM memory and we are confident that this will help Kingston’s presence in the Indian market grow even more. In the past couple year, Kingston’s market share has grown tremendously in India. We are very confident of to gaining more products and brand awareness in India.

What is new in Kingston’s DRAM product line?

We have a new range of HyperX products for gamers and extreme hardware enthusiasts. Kingston HyperX Predator and the HyperX Beast are our high-end, premium range of memory modules that guarantee ultimate gaming experience with faster speeds and exceptional performance. Kingston’s HyperX 10th Anniversary Edition memory celebrates ten years of killer performance with a sleek silver heatspreader. It’s covered by a lifetime warranty, free technical support and legendary Kingston reliability. In addition, we are promoting our system-specific RAMs and ValueRAMs. Last month we have launched LRDIMM which is designed with a buffer chip to replace the register to help minimize loading., iIt can increase overall server system memory capacity and speed.

DRAM forms a significant part of Kingston’s products. How do you see it contribute to the growth of the company?

Kingston started in 1987 with DRAM memory. Until today, it is still a core product line for the company. We are very passionate about the DRAM business and we have added a wide variety of products to offer more choice in the market. DRAM in India is growing year over year and it will make a great contribution to the revenues for Kingston in the future. Currently, the company is focused on having greater market penetration and channel development.

What is Kingston’s market share in DRAM and how do you plan to increase it? Do you see the channel partners playing some role?

According to the third-party research firms, Kingston is ranked as the #1 memory module manufacturer in the world with over 50% market share, and we have similar plans for India. We intend to launch more high quality memory products and will also offer exceptional after-sales service. We have plans during 2013 to reach out to those untapped Tier II and Tier III cities in the country and thus expand on our existing market. The channel partners will play a key role in sustaining and expanding the brand’s presence in the country. We believe in strengthening and supporting our partners by introducing exciting creative marketing promotion for the channel partners and end users.

There are many players in the DRAM market, what differentiates Kingston products and what is its unique proposition?

There are several things that set Kingston apart from its competitors. Kingston’s products go through a stringent quality and performance test before they’re out in the market. Every single DRAM module has an unparalleled quality and performance. All Kingston DRAM memory modules come with lifetime warranty and exceptional after-sales services in 60 service location across India. We have a wide range of DRAM memory products to choose from, to meet every customer’s requirement. We have the know-how and we are very committed in the memory business.