Lauren to launch servers, laptops

After a successful PC launch Lauren is set to introduce servers in JFM 2005
to be followed by notebooks

Mumbai-based solu-tion provider, La-uren Information Technologies is all set
to introduce servers in the JFM quarter of 2005, followed by notebooks in
December, 2005.

The company entered the hardware business with its PCs in October, this year.
The machines, priced between Rs 22,000 and Rs 29,000, are currently selling
around 150 units every month.

Lauren has standardized its machines on Intel platform. "This move will
help us position ourselves in the space between local assemblers and local
brands," said Ratnakar Kanchar, Director, Lauren Information Technologies.

Lauren has appointed a sep-a-rate team to sell these machi-nes at its six
branches in the country. It also has service cen-ters at nine locations, across
India. The company aims to sell 2,500 units in the first year, especially after
April 2005 when PC prices are expected to go in a downward spiral.

Lauren will sell all its machines directly, rather than rely on a channel.
"We are alre-ady catering to several corpo-rates and can leverage on them
for our hardware sales," said Kanchar. He is eyeing the rep-lacement market
in the corpo-rate sector and has tied-up with Bajaj Auto Finance for provi-ding
easy payment schemes for customers.

The company has an arran-gement with a contract manufacturer at Silvasa, to
manufacture the products based on their specifications. "We have put in
several quality checks in place, to maintain a consistency in our machines. We
have also incorporated a 24-hour burn-in test," added Kanchar. Lauren has
also finished the documentation for ISO 9001:2000 certification and the machines
are slated to carry this accreditation.

The company offers four models of its PCs-L240CS1, L240SS1, L280PS1 and
L300HS1-and is targeting corporate, SOHO and home user segments.

Vinita Bhatia

Mumbai