Channel Satisfaction Survey 2014: DQ Channels identifies the channel favorites across 21 categories

"Tough times do not last, tough men do"--this oft-repeated adage suits the Indian channel partners perfectly. Years of recession coupled with currency fluctuations had left them bruised and battered, but not vanquished as like the proverbial Phoenix, we are again witnessing the re-emergence of the Indian IT channel community.

Notwithstanding the hardships impelled on the distributing community from 2010 onwards, many feel that slowdown acted as a catalyst for them as it forced the companies to re-engineer their business strategies that would deliver rich dividends later as well. As shrinking business cornered them further, the distributors were compelled to device alternative business strategies to keep their boat sailing during recession. Most of them focused either into consolidation and restructuring or ventured out into newer avenues.

And with the new Government generating much goodwill and positive vibes with the clarion call of Acchhe Din Ab Aa Gaye, DQ Channels also hopes some of these vibes to rub off on the channel partners. That will just not rejuvenate the channel partners, but also resuscitate the health of the domestic IT sector helping both the hardware and software vendors.

While the channels are the lifeline of the Indian IT industry, they draw their oxygen from the relationship they maintain with these hardware and software vendors. One of the best measures to gauge this relationship quotient has been the DQ Channels Channel Satisfaction Survey. The objective of this survey is to identify the channels choice for the best vendors across a range of product categories in hardware, software, and services.

The Expecteds and Surprises

While the survey parameters are explained in depth (see Methodology) and each category analyzed threadbare, it is interesting to note a few points which provides certain pointers towards vendor and channel relationship in India. While it is an MNC show all around (there is only one winning Indian brand-Quick Heal in anti-virus), there are few who are ‘more than equal' amongst all the available brands.

HP is a winner across three categories-desktops, notebooks and inkjet printers, Microsoft in two, viz., business applications and cloud computing and Cisco in two-- networking and unified communications. Though some may argue about the fallacy of such a comparison since all brands are not present across categories, it still implies which vendors have better and stronger relationships with the channel community. HP, Microsoft and Cisco have always been considered as the channel darlings and their winning position across multiple categories further reinforces this belief.

While in most categories, the traditionally strong names have either won again or regained the allegiance of the partners, there are a few surprising new winners thrown up in a few categories. Apart from Quick Heal in anti-virus, these would include AOC in monitors and BenQ in projectors. And in line with the times, cloud computing has come up as a new category for the first time.

The E-Commerce Googly 

The dynamics of channel satisfaction is also changing with the times. Gone are the days when partners used to remain satisfied with basic minimum level of services from vendors. They want vendors to offer highest quality of satisfaction at all levels of their relationship with the vendors-sales and marketing, delivery, installation, products/services, post sales .service. Partners are now asking for support in the medium they want and at the time they want. 24X7x365 is something which has become the norm rather than exception.

One important point which DQ Channels feels should be more than a footnote. E-commerce seems to be a seriously growing threat to the existence of many of the channel partners and system integrators. While a few of them are joining in the bandwagon, most still are at a loss to understand their future courses of action. Unfortunately, a few unable to sustain themselves are completely leaving the IT business.

Vendors too are ambiguous about their support for e-tailing sites. A very few of them have categorically ruled out the Flipkarts and Snapdeals and Jabongs in favor of their partners, most of them are doing a wait and watch as long as they are gaining from both fronts. However, the time is coming when everyone needs to take a definite stance to stop this uncertainty and not letting the entire channel business go on a tailspin. While this year's Channel Satisfaction Survey has not put forward questions related to e-commerce, DQ Channels is sure that in future it would dominate the relationship between partners and vendors.

Categories and Winners

Anti-virus: Quick Heal
Business Applications: Microsoft
Cloud Computing: Microsoft
Desktops: HP
Enterprise Security Solutions: Intel/McAfee
Hard Disc Drive: Seagate
Inkjet Printers: HP
Laser Printers: Canon
Memory(RAM): Transcend
Monitors: AOC
Networking: Cisco
Notebooks: HP
Projectors: BenQ
Security Hardware: Cyberoam
Storage Solutions: EMC
Structured Cabling: TE Connectivity
Tablets: Apple
Unified Communications: Cisco
UPS: Emerson
Virtualization: Vmware
x-86 Servers: IBM