With businesses of all sizes increasingly looking at Disaster Recovery Management solutions to boost efficiency, Mr P. P. Subramanian, President & CEO, Sanovi Technologies, a leading player in the Disaster Recovery Management and business continuity space, tells VARindia how the company is geared towards making a mark.

What is the current market for DRM solutions in India? What are the recent trends in this space?
The market for DR in India is growing. Consider some numbers, there are over 140 numbers in the RBI's RTGS network. All of them must have a DR for their RTGS application. SAP has announced that it aims to expand its base in India to 10,000 in 2010. Customers who deploy ERP applications are the target DR customers.

The government has taken major initiatives in e-governance. Each of these projects has critical data that must have a DR solution. The market for DR in India is growing and demand is healthy. Our value proposition is simply a “strong differentiator” when it comes to competitive bids. Where the Partner is a “trusted vendor”, our offerings increase the Partners’ credibility and valuation with the customer.

Sanovi is a one-of-its-kind solution. We are the only one who can take a look at a DR Infra (if already existing) and be able to tell how close to the cliff the Customer is now by giving him an RPO and RTO clock for his apps. Where a DR Infra is getting built, we play an absolutely crucial role for ensuring that the DR works from day one.

What can a channel partner do to promote the usage of these products?
This is a big opportunity for channel partners to offer solutions and bring value to customers. Channel partners must become aware of drivers for DR such as regulations and business drivers for enterprise-class products. The channel can then engage the customer, raise awareness of the challenges in having a DR that works and offers solutions to customers.

Which are the ideal target verticals for these products / services?
DR management solutions are most applicable to verticals that have critical IT applications and by regulation need to demonstrate DR capabilities. Banking & finance, manufacturing, e-government, telecom are some of the verticals that are target for these products / services.

How do you justify DRM being an opportunity business stream for channel?
DR solutions and DR management are best delivered as a combination of products and services to integrate into customer business environments. This is an opportunity for the channel to open up a new practice and grow it by demonstrating expertise in DR.

How will the upcoming trends in the DRM space impact channel growth?
The trends in virtualization and cloud computing are changing the landscape of how users approach DR. The emerging space of DR management will create new opportunities for the channel to deliver new products and services to their customers.

How do you foresee the market for the DRM solutions in the B- and C-class cities?
SMB customers in the B- & C-class cities are becoming more aware of the need for DR. Their business process requires critical IT applications to be up. They are also looking for cost-effective solutions. Hence, solutions that package best process and cost- effective technologies that can be delivered effectively by the channel are a big opportunity for the channel.

What is your channel strategy currently? How many channel partners are you in touch with?
We operate with a select few Partners, and we will continue to be selective as this is definitely not a mass market solution. Partners who play in the Enterprise space and in verticals like banking and manufacturing in the SMB space are our kind of Partners. Large SIs, Data Center Providers, MSPs are currently engaged with us. This is a big opportunity for channel partners to offer solutions and bring value to customers. Channel partners must become aware of drivers for DR such as regulations and business drivers for enterprise-class products. The channel can then engage the customer, raise awareness of the challenges in having a DR that works and offer solutions to customers.

What is your channel strategy going forward and do you think that channels will bring in growth for Sanovi in the future?
Ours is an Enterprise Software, and by virtue of its nature, need Partners who are perceived as “trusted vendor” by the end-customer. We were – and are – engaged with Channel Partners, who are either in the business of providing complete IT integration solutions or into niche areas like Data Center solutions or vertical solutions for Banking and Financial sectors or Telecom sectors. The strategy is to be aligned with a few Partners who can truly deliver an Enterprise solution. We will, therefore, be engaged with only a handful of Partners in the Enterprise space. Going forward, as we move lower down the pyramid, we are packaging solutions that can be addressed by SMB- focussed Partners, in which we are offering out-of-the-box solutions that the SMB Customer will value and a Partner can deliver. Needless to say, the spread of Partners will increase.