EMC lines up no-frills data storage systems for small cos

KOLKATA: EMC Corp, the world���s leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions, has realigned its ���go-to-market��� strategy for India to beat the slowdown. The $15-billion company has just launched an array of storage products customised for the Indian market which has reduced the entry-level price point by 35%.

The company also intends to bundle a no-frill version of its software solutions along with the hardware exclusively for the Indian market. Plans are afoot to make a major foray into the consumer product segment in India this year with external hard drives and online back-up solutions. EMC expect its latest strategies will ensure growth in the Indian market.

Talking to ET, EMC Data Storage Systems India head (strategy, marketing and corporate affairs) Praveen Sahai said the latest storage portfolio for the Indian market are actually no-frill products. "We have thereby reduced the entry price from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 2.6 lakh. It will help us to target the smaller enterprises and the small home office segment. More such India-specific products are in the pipeline," he said.

EMC is also looking at bundling its software solutions with its hardware. "We are bundling our back-up software with the latest hardware portfolio. We will bundle more such no-frills version of our software in areas like document management and optimisation," said Mr Sahai.

The company feels its software business will grow at twice the pace as compared to hardware in India. "Our software solutions enable optimisation and consolidation of an organisation���s storage capabilities. In the current scenario, when companies are trimming their IT budget, the software segment has a huge growth potential," Mr Sahai said.

Currently, around 60% of EMC���s revenues in India are generated from the storage business, 23% from software and the balance from services. "The strategy is to grow the contribution from software business in India on par with the global level which is around 40%. While the software business in India has potential across industry verticals, the hardware business will largely target telecom and government orders," Mr Sahai said.

EMC also plans to target the consumer segment in India is a major way. "This is a greenfield area for us. We have already built the sales channel and will start promoting the business from mid-2009," said Mr Sahai.

The company last year announced a restructuring exercise of its Indian business. As part of this, it formed two separate divisions to separately target large clients and smaller ones, undertake strategic senior level recruitments, expand its office network and double its channel and reseller network by 2009. EMC employs 2,000 people in India with three R&D facilities in Bangalore and Hyderabad.