“D-Link is One of The Most Preferred Networking Brands Amongst Partners”

D-Link has always maintained its leadership position in the Indian networking market not only by offering excellent quality products for consumers in India, but also successfully enjoys best channel support across all region. Brand’s channel strategy always remains growth centric for partners. D-Link stands committed to its partner and resellers who have earnestly endorsed them in India for close to 25 years. Tushar Sighat, MD & CEO, D-Link (India) Ltd. provides insight of company’s overall achievements in year 2017 and his game plan for Year 2018 while interacting with DT.

DT:  What have been the crucial milestones of your company during year 2017? 

Mr. Tushar: Since last couple of years our focus has been on nurturing organic growth. We continue to lead the market with our Wireless & Switching solution, along with end-to-end network offering. This year we ventured into CCTV segment and thereby expanded our existing surveillance product portfolio. D-Link CCTV product range includes Analog HD Camera, DVR, DVR Enclosure, and CCTV Cable box.Throughout 2017 D-Link continued with its effort to enhance its focus on enterprise business segment with renewed business strategy. Taking the digital route, D-Link amplified its engagement with System Integrators (SI) through D-Link partner portal (partners.dlink.co.in), a one-stop business tool that helps make business easier for SI’s. 

DT: How do you support Government of India's 'Make-in-India' program?  

Mr. Tushar: ‘Make in India’ is a positive step, as it will promote Industries to use the resources available in the country & contribute towards the nation building process. We are already working in this direction & have also acquired a company Team F1 in Hyderabad last year. The objective is to use Team F1 expertise in developing software for our hardware. According to me, at present, designing the product in India is more feasible than manufacturing, so right now we do not have any plans to start our own factory. But in future if we get more incentives from the government and conditions become more favorable, we will evaluate and see if we could manufacture in India. 

DT: What's your channel strength currently in India? How do you plan to boost channel strength in year 2018? 

Mr. Tushar: D-Link today can proudly boast of a strong partner network PAN India. Channel community have been crucial propagator of D-Link’s technological advancements, enabling us to reach out to our prospective customers across the length & breadth of the country. D-Link is one of the most preferred networking brands amongst partners & resellers. D-Link today has a strong business network with healthy mix of National distributor, Business distributor & Channel partner. At present D-Link has 4 National Distributors, 80+ Business Distributors, over 15000+ re-seller reaching out to customers present across the length & breadth of the country. We are building a network of Value Added Distributors (VAD) who can further enhance our market reach. D-Link stands committed to its partner & resellers who have earnestly endorsed us in India for close to 25 years now. Throughout the year we at D-Link introduce various schemes for partners that give them an opportunity to enhance their business value. 

DT: How do you assure your customer excellent service support? What are your investments plans to enhance service support infrastructure to cover entire India?

Mr. Tushar: Customer engagement is a long term commitment and after sales plays a crucial role in building a brands credibility. D-Link has made huge investments in developing a state-of-the art service support infrastructure in India. Today D-Link reaches out to its customers in 150+ cities through its own D-Link Service Centers (DSC), which is support by its wide network of D-Link Service Partners (DSP) and Partner Courier Pickup (PCP). Further D-Link offers ‘Service at your door-step’ for Broadband, Wireless and 3G Lifestyle products with D-Link Direct Service (DDS). Further Advance Replacement Next Business Day Warranty (AR-NBD) by D-Link is a premium support program designed exclusively for enterprise customers, wherein it offers hassle free quick resolution through a dedicated tech support team, along with advance replacement facility to customer location at zero additional cost. 

DT: What will be your key Go-To-Market Strategy for year 2018? 

Mr. Tushar: It is our unique positioning & brand reliability that has positioned D-Link as the leader in networking space. It is the spirt of ‘Innovation’ that has led to introduction of products that provide high-performance and cost-effective solutions to deliver better connectivity, security, efficiency, and cost savings for both home and office. Moving forward we shall continue to maintain our leadership position in the consumer networking segment. We have a gamut of innovative products that address the growing demand of end-customers. So be it high speed portable 4G devices, or Smart home solution based on IoT technology. D-Link has it all.Another product segment we foresee huge potential is Surveillance & Security, and D-Link is all geared up to meet the market demands with its new CCTV range. 

DT: What will be major products you will be launching in year 2018?  

Mr. Tushar: D-Link is in the forefront when it comes to delivering efficient technology solution that offer the latest & best in networking domain. D-Link helps both businesses and customers Connect to More. Our enterprise solution enables organizations to connect to their customers; while our consumer range lets people to connect to their friends, family and a plethora of experiences. D-Link continues to lead the networking industry with innovative products that provide high-performance and cost-effective products to deliver better connectivity, security, efficiency, and cost savings solutions for both home and offices. 

DT: Please share your current revenue and market growth rate. What is target for year 2018? 

Mr. Tushar: D-Link has maintained its leadership position with stupendous growth results. In CY 2016 D-Link clocked a healthy turnover of Rs. 715 Cr. Its D-Link’s focused market strategy & practical business approach that resulted in consistent growth for the company. Infact D-Link has been consistent in its performance over the years with steady growth results. Moving forward our core objective is to sustain the growth rate while maintaining a balance between our revenues, profitability, and stakeholders interests, etc.