Our channel strategy is different from others

Though LANDesk has a limited number of partners in India, it
is not looking at growing this number exponentially. Chris Lundell explained
that this is because LANDesk products require technical selling, unlike selling
a paper license or a box. He also believes that a smaller channel base is more
manageable

How long has LANDesk been present in India?

We initiated our business in the APAC region from Australia about three
years ago, and then started moving westwards. We went to SouthEast Asia and
established our presence there. Obviously, India was a marketplace we wanted to
reach very quickly. Because we have a leverage model, we came down here and
started recruiting partners. We came up with four or five different partners who
were very interested in systems management and security management. We trained
our partners and started to build pipelines, and won deals.

After this we got our staff to help develop our business with
their technical skills. But because we are a leverage business, majority of our
business comes from partners. We do not need a lot of feet on the street.

What is your go-to-market strategy? Do your work entirely
through your channel?

Occasionally, if a customer wants to interact with us directly, we do so.
But 95 percent of our business goes through the channel. We have got some
talented and strong partners here as well. We are looking at a situation where
we will build our brand in other countries and sourcing the staff from partners
that are based there.

Who are your local partners in India?

Allied Digital Services, GTL, Intertec, Lauren Information Technologies,
Nagaraj Technologies and Twenty Two by 7 Solutions, are our partners in India.
Besides them, we have partnered with Lenovo and Dell. Unisys is our partner in
other parts of the world, but it is not quite so strong in India.

Are you looking to increase your channel base in India?

We are getting calls from local partners who want to work with us. Our
strategy is different from that of other software vendors like Cisco, Microsoft,
Symantec, etc where they go a mile wide and an inch deep. This is because
products require technical selling.

We along with few of our partners are mutually investing in the
market. We will increase our partner base and would like to keep our partner
base manageable.

What is your criteria for selecting partners?

Initially we take a look at the different market segments. Then we map the
prospective channel partners in the different segments.

We select partners who we feel have enough potential to give us
reach to the enterprise, educational and the SMB segment. This is our general
approach towards selecting of partners. I think we have a good blend of large
systems integrators, smaller resellers and system integrators.

How do you go about training your channel partners?

Training channel partners is a critical aspect. There is a lot of skills and
knowledge exchange that happens during the training sessions. We provide
certifications like LANDesk Certified Engineer to our partners.

How has partnering with Lenovo at its Innovation Center in
Mumbai helped LANDesk?

We have integrated technology with Lenovo's ThinkVantage technology. They
demonstrate Lenovo's and LANDesk's latest developments in technology to the
customers. We have a global relationship with Lenovo which helps our business
worldwide.

Do you have a co-branding type of partnership with Lenovo, Dell,
HP and other vendors? Are you into joint marketing exercises too?

We are involved in both. Lenovo by far is our most strategic partner. We
have integrated our suite with Lenovo's ThinkVantage technology. We have good
terms with Intel too. We are participating in all the activities happening in
their Innovation Centers. LANDesk is an active participant at the Lenovo
Innovation Centers, collaborating to create solutions and then going to market
together with these solutions.

How important is the Indian marketplace and what is its
contribution to your overall business?

Our revenue contribution from the APAC region is around 10 percent of our
overall revenue. Last year, we did business of around $150 million in the
software segment. Overall, our business recorded almost $500 million.

Which are the customer verticals or segments that LANDesk is
targeting?

We are very strong in the financial services. We tend to do very well in the
industries where security is important. We are also strong in telecommunication
markets in South and southeast Asia. We are also doing a lot of interaction with
the government agencies.

Many networking vendors also have started providing security
products. Where do you see this convergence of system networking and security
heading?

Yes, we do see that convergence. However, their approach is a little bit
different. Usually their approach is from a hardware standpoint, while we are
looking at it from a software standpoint. We do not see a lot of competition
coming from the network vendors.

From where do you see the competition coming?

The competition that we face is mostly from other software vendors like
Symantec and Microsoft.

What is your customer base in India at present?

We have around 20 flagship customers in India that include ICICI Bank,
Yahoo, and Coca-Cola among others. We have 15,000 customers worldwide.

Do you have plans to expand LANDesk's infrastructure in India?

We have two offices in India. We have a LANDesk office and an Avocent office.
Soon, we will have only one Avocent office from where we shall operate. Avocent
is a team of 20 people, mostly into marketing.

It is perceived that LANDesk is mostly Mumbai-centric in terms
of its partners as well as accounts. Do you agree with this?

We are planning to expand our partner base in India. We shall have more
partners from the North and South. However, as of now, I agree we are
Mumbai-centric. In the next couple of years, we will be three to four times the
size that we are at present, and India is the big growth market for LANDesk.

Ravish Khapra


ravishk@cybermedia.co.in