Intel launches anti-theft service in India

Intel, in association with India's leading retailer Infiniti, recently announced the launch of Intel's anti-theft service in India. This service intends to safeguard and secure their laptops and will be exclusively available at Croma. The technology would be made available for all second generation core laptops and would come pre-installed on selected laptops. Commenting on this, R Sivakumar, MD, sales and marketing group, Intel South Asia said, "The initiative is said to be the first of its kind in the country, and for now, is available exclusively at Croma. Croma has already collaborated with couple of leading brands, while few are in the pipeline." Intel anti-theft technology is integrated into the laptop hardware as a foundation to lock down lost or missing laptops. Additionally, this service helps to create a secure data vault upon service activation, where private files can be encrypted and stored.

As of now, this paid service will be pre-installed on a few branded laptops retailed through Croma. In addition, the LFR will also offer the installation service to individuals who intend to deploy this solution on their laptops. The paid option starts at Rs 199, while other packages are worth Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,500 as per the extent of warranty. Intel will be responsible for service hosting, customer support and working with different OEMs to ensure their laptop hardware is embedded with Intel anti-theft technology. Going ahead, Intel aspires to re-invent personal computing once again with the introduction of Ultrabook devices that will deliver the most complete and satisfying computing experiences. Elaborating upon this, R Ravichandran, director, sales, Intel South Asia said, "The first Ultrabook devices, scheduled to be available during this year's holiday shopping season, are based on 2nd generation Intel Core processors. They will come in range of sleek form factors, and will wake up almost instantly from even the deepest sleep using Intel Rapid Start technology."

"The Ultrabook vision is a multi-year, industrywide effort that will roll out in 3 phases. Phase I is in process and will be realized this holiday season with the introduction of the first Ultrabook devices, while phase II will begin with the launch of Intel's 3rd generation Core processors in the first half of 2012. In 2013, Intel will introduce its nextgeneration, 22nm 'Haswell' processor, signaling phase III of the transition to Ultrabook devices," added Ravichandran.

At the channel front, Intel has a long running membership program called the Intel Technology Provider Program. Ravichandran said, "This remains the backbone of our channel engagements, whereby the channel, depending on their profile of business is categorized as registered, gold or platinum members. Each of these categories are linked to specific set of benefits to the members viz. Communication, account coverage, training, warranty support, loyalty benefits and marketing program support."

There are over 20,000 partners registered in the Intel Channel Membership program in over 200 towns. Adding to this, Ravichandran said, "Intel has always worked very closely with the channel community. All our programs for the channel are designed based on the business environment and feedback we get from the channel partners. Overall we've seen positive response from the partners for all our programs and initiatives."

In a nutshell, Intel's focus areas in the future include to ignite growth for channel partners; tablets, new form factors for netbooks and laptops; and embedded technologies such as digital signage and pointof-sales systems. Beyond this, the company has also expanded its service centers from 12 cities to 58 cities now.