American Power Conversion: Power Play

APC grew 14% in FY 2005 to post a revenue of Rs 770 crore, as it continued

its move from transactional business catering to small and medium companies to

large enterprises, with a specific focus on datacenters. The demand came from

the IT and ITeS industry, as also the banking vertical. Some momentum was

noticed in the automotive and manufacturing sectors. Growth was also driven by

PC penetration across 200 cities in the country. The company believes that for

every 100 PCs sold, 40 to 45 customers would buy a UPS, considering that 50% of

all PC problems were linked to power. During the year, APC introduced Smartups

RT, a solution meant for poor power conditions. Efforts were concentrated on

educating channel partners. APC's channel partner base now stands at 2,800 in

India, the number growing with increased PC penetration into the B and C class

cities.