'All our products' designs are based on a 10-year technology roadmap'

Not many are aware that Panasonic has notebooks. Would you like
it to remain like this?

We are not into the mass-notebook business. Instead, we have a niche target
customer and we are addressing that clientele well. Our notebooks are US
Military certified, which shows that they can be used in extreme conditions
without any damage. This is why they are termed Toughbooks. They are also priced
on the higher side, around Rs 2 lakh. That is why our products are for certain
verticals like defense, education or research laboratories.

What are your plans for the SMB clientele?

When we say SMB, then we are targeting those companies that have less than
100 employees. According to our surveys, there are over 2.8 mn companies in the
country of which almost 80% fit our description of SMB. We feel that our
products fit such companies best. Here, we want to position our hybrid PBX
systems. We are educating the CIOs and IT managers of these companies to
understand exactly why IPBX makes sense to them.

And how are you going to interface with these customers?

Earlier we were operating with the office automation channel. Now our
challenge is to upgrade these partners so that they can handle convergence and
adjust to it. And we feel that the IT channel is better equipped to deal with
our products, which is why, we are aggressively tapping them. We are seeking
partners who are experts in voice-based and IP camera-based integration. Besides
this, we are actively recruiting network and security integrators.

What is your channel structure currently?

We have six distributors that import directly from Singapore and they cater
to our tier-two channel. These are our erstwhile resellers who have been
upgraded to the distributor status. The tier-two channel comprises eighty direct
dealers who in turn handle 650 resellers.

How will you address the problem of SMBs shying from the IPBX
technology because they have legacy systems in place?

All our products are legacy compatible. So they can work very well with the
systems they still have in place. In fact, all Panasonic products' designs are
based on a 10-year technology roadmap. And, this is something that even our
competitors will acknowledge.

Vinita Bhatia


maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in