On the PC’s role in India
The
number of computers sold in India annually before the advent of the PC was in
hundreds. After the PC revolution in India in mid 80s, the Indian computer
market started growing. The numbers went into thousands, then tens of thousands
and finally, now, into the millions.
The PC is just right for the Indian psyche and the pocket: we are a highly
individualistic and price-conscious people. The Internet has come not a day too
soon, and that is what is driving the sales of PCs into homes and small offices
in the so-called new economy, as well as in bolstering the IT infrastructure of
the "old brick-and-mortar" economy.
On the PC’s significance for the IT industry, despite thinning margins
Without the PCs and the servers, you can’t do a thing about processing
data. An obvious answer to thinning margins is to set up world-class
manufacturing facilities, and see the PCs and the servers as a sub-set of the
superset comprising the total solutions required by the targeted market. And
give outstanding service and support to customers. This is what the major PC
brands, I believe, are doing.