With an aim to firmly entrench itself in the server space, IT major IBM is
working towards increasing the intensity of its engagement with the ISV
community in the country. It has already created a dedicated national team of 10
professionals, who will work closely with the local ISVs or solution providers
in order to put IBM servers in use for their set of customers.
"ISVs are very important to us. They are the ones who know the customers
closely and do the actual deployments, so we are looking forward to increasing
our engagement with this community in India," said Alok Ohrie, Vice
President, Systems & Technology Group, India/South Asia.
This 'Influencer sales team', as they are called internally, are
responsible for maintaining relationships with ISVs in India. As IBM moves
forward into more cities beyond metros, it would increase the levels of
engagement with these partners.
With the company focusing on increasing the level of engagement with its set
of partners, it is also working towards making sure that small channel players
in B and C class cities move up the value chain with time. "It is always
our endeavor to train partners and provide them with the latest information and
technology. We want to help our set of 400 odd partners to move up the value
chain. So we have seen in the past how some of these partners graduate towards
selling a total storage solution instead of just a server," Ohrie added.
IBM India has taken some initiatives in order to better position its
offerings. The company has recently opened its first 'Explore Center' in
Noida and is now all set to open a similar center in Mumbai very soon.
"These Explore Centers will provide an ideal platform for us to showcase
our technology and products for our customers. We are not targeting any
particular segment in this. This is for all our customers. In addition to this
we are also engaged in activities like 'Gyan Vigyan', which is an educative
program targeted towards the SME focused partners," Alok explained.
Even though, the company has announced 'Pay Rs 1 and take away an IBM
server' scheme, it is still keeping itself away from the 'renting model'
as of now. "Our Rs 1 scheme is a big success. The response has been really
good and it's quite affordable to customers as they can pay the amount in easy
instalments. We are not doing anything on the 'Rent a server' model. Some of
our partners might be doing something on this but that is not the way where
market is moving," informed, Anil Sethi, GM and Country Manager, eServers
— India & SAARC Countries, IBM.
DQW News Bureau
New Delhi