“This is the right time when upcountry cities should be given considerable attention”

Starting as a sub-distributor of software and hardware and later switching
to networking, Apsis Technologies has come a long way under the supervision of L
Madhu. He is now marketing his own brand -Ambernet. Madhu is confident that soon
Ambernet will be a leading networking brand in the country

Can you give a brief background about Apsis?

Apsis Technology deals with networking solution and provides IT solutions. It
was started in 2000 and was a distributor of brands like LG and Canon. Later, we
shifted to networking and from 2003 onwards we were completely into it.

Today, 99 percent of our revenue comes from networking. We are also into
designing, building and deploying advanced IT solutions. One of our divisions
handles distribution of various major players like Linksys, Clipsal, 3Com,
Systimax, Cisco, etc. We started our operations in Bangalore and shortly opened
brances in Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi and Pune. Recently, we

started offices in New Delhi and Kolkata too.

L Madhu CEO, Apsis Technologies

Visualizing the increasing market opportunities in forthcoming years, we have
started our own brand of passive products for networking and cabling under the
name of Ambernet. We have tied up with a German-based company, IC Intracom, and
are their sole distributor of two brands-Manhattan and Intellinet in India.
Manhattan is for PC products and Intellinet is for networking products.

What strategies have you adopted for the market?

We have systematic plans to move ahead in the market. For the first three
years we had two to three branches. Gradually, we opened branches in other
regions.

In the fiscal 2007-08, our sole motive would be marketing our brand Ambernet
across India. It is at infancy and needs lot of meticulous planning to place it
in the right market. For six months we would be consolidating our efforts only
on brand building. There are various promotional activities that need to be
worked on including advertisements in various newspapers and IT magazines.

You have opened offices in metros and B-class cities. Where do you expect
more growth from?

This year, we would be focusing more on B-class cities. This strategy would
get looped with our brand building exercises, so that both actions can be
carried out hand in hand. There is lot of potential in B-class cities as the
customer awarness about technology is increasing and so is their spending power.

This is the right time when upcountry cities should be given considerable
attention. This fiscal, we would be concentrating on both corporate as well as
SMB segment. Last year, we were focusing 70:30 on corporate and SMB segment
respectively. This time we will invest equally on both sectors.

We have two different sets of employees who look after SMB and on corporate
segment. This balance would bring beneficial results from both verticals. In
2006-07 the company has grown at 75 percent and we believe that our efforts will
help us jump higher.

What is your channel structure?

At Apsis, we have two regional distributors in every state across the
nation. One is for Manhattan and another for Intellinet. We have separate
distributors for both the brands. Each of these distributors have their own
channel partners and system integrators who are specialized for retail business
and networking respectively.

Our partners are among the best in the market and provide the kind of
knowledge and expertise our customers need on every day basis. We are planning
to add 100 more partners by the end of 2007-08. This action would be directed
towards marketing our brand and enabling end-users to reach us easily. We also
give all kind of sales training to our partners so that they understand the
nature of our business.

We are also coming up with two programs for our channels. One is Channel
Plus, a cash benefit scheme. The other is a retail advantage scheme where we
design the retail shops on a world-class basis to showcase our products. This
will include Manhattan, Intellinet and Ambernet. We have got immensely good
response from our partners and system integrators.

Five years from now, where do you visualize Apsis Technologies to be,
especially in the face of competition from big players?

I believe that unless you don't diversify in your working sphere, you cannot
expand. Hence, it was very essential for us to innovate. We have the right set
of people with us and have also generated trust in our customers. Now our prime
focus is on Ambernet.

Of course, competition is coming from all sides. But if you concentrate on
quality work, your survival is assured. Customers are now well educated and more
mature. They can differentiate between good and bad quality and non-quality
work. We are targeting to reach the top position in networking in India by 2012.
We are focusing towards our objective and I am sure that the right approach and
correct strategies will lead us on the success path.

We have branches in major parts of the cities through which we are offering
our services to the BPOs, KPOs and many MNCs. As the potential in Indian IT
market is increasing, there is lot of scope to grow and expand. In coming
months, even if 10 brands enter at the same time, there is enough space in the
market to accommodate them all. Competition is there in the market and we have
to strengthen ourselves. Only those who have the spirit to deal with healthy
competition can survive in the market.

Do you have any plans to go global?

It is my dream to launch my brand successfully on the global platform in the
next two to three years. Countries like Taiwan, China and UK have great
potential and space to flourish.

But immediately we would be concentrating on the domestic market and after
attaining a remarkable position here we will expand our presence globally.

AMRITA TEJASVI