Wipro continues to build a stronger channel as it tries to expand its market presence and work on many initiatives across its range of offerings. VARIndia finds out what the vendor has up its sleeves.
When it comes to making its presence vigorously felt in an industry, very few companies come close to Wipro, the leading IT giant. Wipro prides itself on being one of the IT companies with a comprehensive portfolio of products and solutions. “We address IT products built on the foundations of open computing, from client systems to Datacenter Systems. Client systems comprise of notebooks and desktops and in Datacenter System, we offer Servers, Storage, Secondary storage and associated system software.”
With decades of success under its belt, Wipro instills a sense of trust among the customers. With cutting-edge and innovative technologies at its disposal, the company offers trusted and successful products, which are used by a broad range of customers. In fact, Wipro has consistently and successfully provided innovative solutions tailored to a wide range of industries for its clients.
From the customer base perspective, Wipro’s solutions are being extensively used by companies of all sizes – large and small. “Wipro caters to a very wide customer base, with multiple product lines that cover enterprise, small and medium business and consumers. Our customers do not just buy a product from Wipro, but enjoy a complete lifecycle experience that starts from purchase, includes sales and support and extends to the responsible e-waste management of the products,” adds Ashok Tripathy, General Manager & Head, Systems & Technology and Infrastructure Availability Services, Wipro Infotech.
In addition to this, the company has a large network of distributors, resellers and dealers in India. “We have a three-tier model. For distribution, we work with national distributors – Redington, neoteric and Cyberstar. We engage 2,500+ resellers across the country and reach out to the market through our distribution system.” He adds, “Our distribution business over a period of time has grown faster than was anticipated. Apart from this, we have our partner base that has supported us for over a decade and we value their association with Wipro. We also have a considerable direct sales presence across the country which completes the three-tier model that we work with.”
A strong brand is critical to any successful enterprise. This has been well recognized by Wipro. “We are working on increasing our visibility by working with retail outlets across the country. We intend to intensify that effort as we go forward.”
Customer support is an essential ingredient in the successful marketing of products – from domestic appliances to high-tech computer networks. It is an important operation for most multinational manufacturing companies. It provides installation, inspection and maintenance to support their worldwide customers. Customer support on faulty machines or customer enquiries is usually supported by service centre or help desk of the customer service department via telephone calls.
As far as service support is concerned, Wipro clearly stands out as a company that ensures that all its customers receive due attention. The company has high quality and reputable pre- and after-sales services that are strategically built to deliver customer satisfaction. The company strives to provide the best experience to its customers and partners with its high-quality support services. The company’s sales services are well in order and occasionally when it does get complaints, they are addressed in time and properly. “Apart from our sales force who helps and guide our partners, sales support for desktops and laptops is available on request through a support line. Our resellers are well geared to sell these products.”
“However, for datacenter systems which comprise of servers and storage products, pre-sales support is vital due to the need of architecting a solution for customers. There is huge focus from our side in this space. We have our pre-sales architects across the country who give localized attention to our reseller partners when they need to position our aggressive and scalable server and storage solutions.”
For the next few years, Wipro has plans to reach out to as many customers as possible with its portfolio of products. “Our range of Datacenter systems are aggressively poised to win in the market and are well endorsed by our corporate customers. The focus is strong in this area. Also, few people know that we are one of the largest sellers of supercomputers, which are used for several technical and defence applications,” says Wipro. “It is yielding us spectacular results in the market. We have a complete range of multi-processor servers and blade computing systems suited for critical business applications, scalable storage systems and backup systems to deliver end-to-end IT infrastructure solution to the customer,” adds Ashok Tripathy.
Wipro has witnessed spectacular growth in India not only in terms of revenues but also in manpower. What sets the company apart from competition is its wide range of product portfolio coupled with complete client focus and strong channel strategy.
The next few years will be crucial for Wipro with regard to its focus and offerings. VARIndia spoke to Ashok Tripathy, General Manager & Head, Systems & Technology and Infrastructure Availability Services, Wipro Infotech.
Do you sell your products only under the brand name Wipro or do you partner with distributors of other brands as well? Our drive is to sell products with the Wipro badge. We have Wipro desktops, notebooks, servers and storage. On the system software side, we have a strong alliance with Microsoft, along with other system software players. Under the Wipro badge, we have multiple brands such as e.go.
What do you mean by e.go? The literal meaning of e.go is an electronic device on the move. From a conceptual side, ego means consciousness of one’s identity as distinct from others. Ego is a reflection of one’s personality, of what you stand for. That identity of a global Indian, the individual’s core values and attitude is manifested by the lifestyle range of notebooks – e.go. Every person has an individuality with an identity. e.go defines that individuality, what one stands for.
How do you position this brand? e.go is a lifestyle premium range of products, which are differentiated in terms of their overall positioning, both conceptually and aesthetically.
Why would a person go for e.go brand of products when there are brands like HP, Compaq and Dell around? There are two factors that a customer evaluates before deciding on a particular brand. One is the perception that the customer has about the brand and the other is what value/benefits he actually derives from that brand; both direct and indirect references of what the brand means to him. So, the consumer’s perception of e.go depends on the beliefs one would associate with the brand and the pride of owning a quality product of Indian origin.
If you look at our overall psyche, as Indians, we have been conditioned with a colonial mindset. We tend to gravitate towards “foreign” products and perceive they are better. However, if we take a look at India as a country, it is emerging as a global superpower and it is time that Indians took pride in that fact. If we consider IT services, India is recognized as a powerhouse across the world. It is high time that people recognize that we are a capable country with products and services which can be counted amongst the best in the world.
Customers associate certain tangible and intangible benefits from a brand that are derived from the features in every good product. That could be in terms of the product itself or the pricing or its availability or the service support. When these elements come together, the product comes to life. e.go offers the consumer the pride of identity as an Indian at the psychographic level and a great design led product with excellent services at a tangible level.
Wipro has got a wide range of products in the market. They are into IT and telecom. Do you believe in using actors to endorse your brand? We believe that the consumers are intelligent enough to make their decisions, they don’t believe in brands just because there is a celebrity endorsing a particular brand. It is debatable as to what value a celebrity endorser adds to a brand. The celebrity does bring an instant recognition in a crowded market, but ultimately the product has to deliver and stand for itself. Wipro has been offering quality IT products that have stood the test of time. For us, the product is the star and customers are our brand ambassadors.
Do you think laptops will replace desktops? Going forward, the industry might undergo a transformation, but desktops still continue to be a more stable platform for delivering longevity of usage. Typically, if you take enterprises, a desktop gets refreshed every four years, while a laptop is replaced every three years. However, laptops offer additional functionality which is anytime, anywhere mobile computing. So, there is always a push and pull factor. Up to a certain level in an organization hierarchy, there will be proliferation of desktops and beyond that there will be mobile devices. In the consumer space, more and more people will go for mobile devices. There have been many projections that the laptop market will supersede the desktop market which keeps changing. But we do not see that happening till around 2014.
What is your idea about brand showrooms? Do you have plans for coming out with brand showrooms? We do not think company-owned brand showrooms are mandatory. But, yes, we are working on increasing our visibility by working with retail outlets across the country. We intend to intensify that effort as we go forward.
What message will you like to give to the Indian channel partners? The channel community is an integral part of the IT ecosystem. The Indian economy is poised to grow and organizations which partner with their customers and technology providers consistently to deliver value will be the ones who benefit most from this growth. Partnerships, increasing capability and delivering value should be the foremost focus for the channel partners.
What kind of initiatives are you taking to take Wipro to the next level in the next few years? We are working on many initiatives across our range of offerings. We are investing in e.go to ensure a strong presence in the notebook market. Our desktop range continues to be our mainstay. There are many innovations we are taking forward to deliver value to our customers.
Our range of Datacenter systems are aggressively poised to win in the market and well endorsed by our corporate customers. The focus is strong in this area. Also, few people know that we are one of the largest sellers of supercomputers, which are used for several technical and defence applications. It is yielding us spectacular results in the market. We have a complete range of multi-processor servers and blade computing systems suited for critical business applications, scalable storage systems and backup systems to deliver end-to-end IT infrastructure solution to the customer.
While our relentless focus on systems continues, our belief in green computing is unwavering. We were the first company to launch RoHS products and PVC & BFR free products in the country. We are driving this as a responsible organization, despite the fact that there is no regulatory framework to push us to do it.
We are strongly poised and look forward to the support of our partners for mutual growth.
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