Supertron to distribute E-Smart video conferencing equipments

Kolkata-based Supertron Electronics has tied up with
Singapore based E-smart Technologies to become the exclusive national
distributor for the latter's video conferencing equipments. Being in the
market for the last two months, Supertron is still at the developmental stage.
This is because the market of their latest product category is highly convinced
of the opportunity that lies ahead in this particular business division as the
concept of video conferencing has arrived in India.

Supertron is currently appointing channel partners for their
new product range to be sold across the country. "This is the very initial
stage of the new venture and we are into setting up the network for us"
said VK Bhandari, MD, Supertron Electronics. "This is a very niche product
and requires proper technical know-how. Therefore, we are looking for those
types of value added resellers who are more into technical sales and towards
corporate and large accounts selling" he informed further. The company
plans to provide all the required support to its partners for the new venture.
"This is a highly prospective business opportunity and we are looking for
good partners to grow together" he said further.

VK BHANDARI: Looking at VARs who are more into technical sales and towards corporate and large accounts selling

Currently E-smart is on the process of tying up with a large
service providing company having their set-up across India, as their support
partner to provide the warranty supports. "It is in the finalization stage
and henceforth, the entire support part will be taken care by them"
informed Bhandari. "We have started off with Kolkata and Bangalore, also
Delhi to some extent and we have so far received very good response and
enquiries as well" informed Bhandari.

Supertron is confident of the E-smart products and their
aggressive pricing plans to capture about 5% market by this calendar year.
"We are not looking for volume initially, but this is a bottomline business
for us" said Bhandari who has already appointed specialized manpower in all
the regional hubs to handle this particular project. But the initial task for
the company is to educate the customers as well as, the partners. "This is
still at the concept selling stage. Just like a PC was about ten years back. But
now PC sells like a commodity. Therefore, we have to educate people first. But
we are confident of our product and is sure to control our position in the next
six months" said Debasis Roy, Head-Direct Sales, Supertron Electronics.

Earlier video conferencing was done through the ISDN
connection, which was fairly costly. But with the advent of IP that enabled
video conferencing to take place in a much cheaper rate through leased lines or
broadband connections, the affordability factor certainly worked out in its
favor. "The same also happened in case of the equipments. Earlier video
conferencing tools used to cost around Rs 5 lakh onwards. But now they are
available in the range of Rs 2 to 3 lakh" said, Debasis Roy, Head-Direct
Sales, Supertron Electronics.

Today such equipments are gaining popularity in various
market and industrial segments. "The estimated video conferencing market in
India is roughly around Rs 300 crore. And it is expected to move up in leaps and
bound in the coming years" informed Debasis.

The market segments that could be highly benefited with video
conferencing are Government, educational and research institutes, corporate,
hospital and medical institutes, hospitality sector. "This particular
concept could really help these industries in today's technical scenario and
at the same time, it is both cost and time saving" pointed out Debasis.

"The companies can cut down their traveling costs of the
employees and also save time by installing these equipments, thereby recovering
the investment and installation cost within a year or two. And the shelf lives
of the equipments are much higher. Therefore, its benefits are immense" he
explains further.

With e-Governance coming up in a faster pace, this business
seems to be immensely lucrative. "It will help to have regular interactions
with the state head quarters and the respective district head quarters or even
the blocks. Like, the West Bengal Government is one of the forerunners in
installing such equipments and they are looking forward to do it in a wider
manner" said Roy. "Similarly it is highly useful for distant learning
programs or even the medical sector" he said further.

The E-Smart video conferencing equipments have products range that suits all
kinds of requirements and pocket size. The product categories include the
desktop end point or video phone which is essentially an IP phone with a LCD
screen facilitating a one to one meeting. The models' cost range starts from
Rs 40,000 onwards. Board room style equipments come with speakers and a camera
that can pan (rotate) around 360 degrees and can cover a conference room of more
than 1,500 sq ft and accommodate more than 15 people attending a conference.

Piyali Guha