Fortune Grecells has developed a continuous data protection
solution, “IT’S BLACKBOX” specifically targeted at SME market.
Kshitij M Kotak
,CEO, Fortune Grecells,
speaks
to Marketflash, about its various plans and strategies.
What are
your specific plans to capture the SMB market?
We have
developed a continuous data protection solution, “IT’S BLACKBOX” specifically
targeted at SME market which we intend to market through channels across the
country. PILOT is successful, beta testing is complete and we have received
excellent reviews from satisfied users. This solution makes it practically
impossible for a company to lose its critical business data, provides access
control mechanism. Data stored on “IT’S BLACKBOX” system is safer against
viruses too for it is built on Linux where most viruses are castled. Like the
CVR Black-box from which the name of “IT’S BLACKBOX” is derived, the data is
saved against accidental loss, theft and locational hazards.
Unbelievably,” IT’S BLACKBOX” can also be deployed as remote location disaster
recovery mechanism or as a part of Business Continuance Plan and can be operated
across the world. This is at a price that is a dream for the end-user and offers
high margins to the solution provider / system integrator channel community.
Most SME
desire features that are of extreme use to them but are unable to demand them
for the mere fear of an assumed heavy price tag they might bear. This is an
assumption, we explain to the management. Fortune Grecells offers
business-enabling services that are most desired by all SME implementing what we
call as “FortunePC.com Best IT Practices.” This makes computing safer, faster,
economical and provides for features most required by SME such as email access,
internet surfing, multi-user fax communications, blocking spam and blocking
obvious smut and having access control mechanism in place.
We also
offer network integration of all 3 tiers of “IT’S BLACKBOX” making data safe. We
also provide for data protection of frequently accessed desktop data of each
user as also provide for maintenance of IT infrastructure through helpdesk and
Remote Infrastructure Management Support – RIMS.
Little do
most SME customers realize that the real cost of maintenance of IT
infrastructure is not the money paid to the service provider, but the money lost
by inefficient use or downtime of IT. These customers are extremely price
conscious and thus afraid to demand better services. For such customers, we have
launched an extremely low priced maintenance services at Rs.1100/- per annum per
computing object where we implement a subset of “FortunePC.com Best IT
Practices” and ensure that problems faced at the customer site are minimized and
more importantly, they are immediately fixed thus resulting in maximum use of
their IT infrastructure and plugging losses due to downtime. We also provide for
maintenance of IT infrastructure through helpdesk and Remote Infrastructure
Management Support – RIMS.
What are the upcoming launches and how will your target
the customers?
We are
shortly launching “ITEasily.com,” an e-shopping web site dedicated to sale of IT
infrastructure – Its slogan says what it is to stand for: “Best IT brands at
better prices”. SME, which do not command the volumes of Enterprise customers,
will be best benefited by this shopping site. We also plan to tie up with
implementation service provider partners across the country who shall install
the customer’s IT infrastructure bought from this e-shopping site. This will not
only benefit the service provider with additional revenue, but shall also the
customer who shall order peace of mind on the Internet at better prices.
We have
partnered with Microsoft to offer their ERP solutions. Initially, our focus is
Microsoft Dynamics NAV (previously called Navision) that is incredibly
affordable even to small businesses.
Microsoft
Dynamics NAV – Navision can automate and tie up processes for Financial
Management, Sales and Marketing, Purchases, Warehousing, Manufacturing, Resource
Planning, Services, HR and Administration providing for most desired flexibility
while ensuring industry best practices. This will save business stake-holders
from tantrums, non-performance of staff and plug the leaks within the existing
business processes as well as make users accountable and answerable while
empowering the management with knowledge to enable fast and correct decisions,
based on true picture and NOT JUST gut feeling.
With the
best technical partners in the country as our associates, and a collective
industry experience of over 34 years to map the customer business processes to
ERP implementation, we are armed with the ability to empower SME with the
cutting edge they need the most to get the most out of their business, at a
price they have not even dreamt of, with the versatility that is an object of
desire for their competitors.
Incidentally, we were probably the first at our levels to use RIMS in India to
service customers all across the country with a service level agreement with a
Retail MNC.
What is
Fortune Grecells go to market strategy for India?
It shall be
a combination of many things since for the first time in the history of Fortune
Grecells, we will be marketing ourselves. Till now, we have grown only through
references earned out of word-of-mouth publicity. For channels, though we can
spell things out more clearly as: superior margins and better image for
partnering with us to offer solutions and services that matter most to the
end-customer but nearly always ignored.
Can you
elaborate about your channel structure in India?
We intend
to have a single tier channel structure but a multi-dimensional one. There shall
be different sales and implementation partner channels for every offering that
is coming up within next 1 year as well as the ones which exist such as “IT’S
BLACKBOX”, “FortunePC.com Best IT Practices” and the one to be just launched as
“ITEasily.com”. Yes, we are on lookout for channel partners across the country
for all our value offerings. And yes, we are also on lookout for an unpolluted
mind as Channel Manager who wants to grow with the company.
What would be your areas of concentration both
geographically and vertically for Fortune Grecells?
Fortune
Grecells intends to sign up with partners in Mumbai and Pune first, cities where
we are locally present followed by metros, followed by cities such as Goa,
Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Kolhapur, Nashik, Satara, etc.
Tell
something about your clients and how you target them?
Till now,
Fortune Grecells has never targeted any sale. Our clients are the best
multinational and Indian names in Organized Retail and services industries such
as sales promotion, human resources and hospitality resources. Apart from these,
there are many SME who are our star customers, who may not own a brand equity
but are doing great for themselves and growing us as they grow.
My personal
belief is to have 100 small, loyal customers than 1 or 2 big ones who take your
bottoms off when they negotiate and your heart off when they pull out.
Do you have
any comments on issues that would be relevant to this market?
IT
service industry is the only one currently without entry barriers. It creates a
peculiar situation. New setups do not have any infrastructure costs so can
afford to charge peanuts. With little experience and possibly lower
understanding of business dynamics, they also mislead the customer. On the other
end, customer has become smarter, but is getting lesser price but zero services
from LFR. I shudder to think of the day when our policy makers wipe out the IT
channels for benefit of brands, a process initiated in 1995 by these same policy
makers and Finance Minister. Combine this effect with Large Format Retailers,
and those of IT channels who are not providing services, and not moving up the
value chain can start preparing themselves for employment.
