As India’s technology ecosystem evolves with the rise of innovative Indian brands, and growing demand for AI and data security, distributors are playing a crucial role in taking new technologies to the market. In this exclusive conversation with Rajeev Ranjan, Editor, Digital Terminal, Zakir Hussain Rangwala, Founder & CEO, BD Software Distribution Pvt Ltd, shares his perspective on partner engagement, emerging technology brands, secure AI solutions and BD Software’s strategy for driving new opportunities in the Indian market.
Rajeev: What is your strategy for supporting emerging Indian technology brands?
Zakir Hussain: India has a large pool of talented technology professionals developing highly innovative products. However, one of the key challenges many of these companies face is access to the right resources and market capabilities.
Many companies are primarily looking for investors or strategic investment, while others have already developed strong products and are looking to scale them further. In many cases, these companies are technically very strong but lack expertise in marketing and market development.
The important point is that many of these products have the potential to compete with some of the best solutions available globally. Our approach is to identify such companies and create a clear division of responsibilities. We tell them, “You focus on what you are good at, and we will focus on what we are good at.” This allows both sides to work more effectively over the long term.
As these companies grow, we also grow with them in the market. We introduce these new technologies to our partners by highlighting their technology, support capabilities and value proposition, and encourage partners to take these solutions to their customers.
Rajeev: Where do alternative brands create the biggest opportunity today?
Zakir Hussain: We are proud to be an alternative-brand distributor for several leading technology categories. Many of the competing brands we work with offer products that are equally capable of competing with established names. The challenge is often not the quality of the technology but its market visibility, availability and reach through the partner ecosystem. These brands can compete with some of the best products in the market while offering a strong value proposition.
This creates value for everyone in the ecosystem—the partner, distributor, vendor and, ultimately, the customer. Customers can access good-quality products at significantly lower prices, sometimes 50% to 70% lower than the solutions they may otherwise consider. It has been a successful journey for us. We have partnered with several new vendors and have continued to build successful relationships over the years.
Rajeev: What attracted BD Software to Vigyan Labs and its solutions?
Zakir Hussain: Vigyan Labs has developed several innovative products. Its Power Saver software, for example, is already being used by a large number of users, including customers in the banking sector. The company has some very strong products, but its primary strength lies in technology rather than marketing.
These are technically strong teams with solutions that have the potential to compete at a much larger level. Their solutions are already being used in institutions such as IIT Powai and IIT Nagpur, and they are also working with India Post. This is where we see an opportunity to contribute. We can help such technically strong companies take their solutions to the wider market.
Rajeev: How do you see the growing need for secure, private AI solutions?
Zakir Hussain: Data security has become a major concern as organisations increasingly use AI platforms. Putting sensitive data and business information into platforms such as ChatGPT and other AI solutions can create concerns around data exposure.
A solution that allows organisations to deploy their own AI environment, enabling thousands of users to access AI capabilities without their data leaving the organisation or requiring the public internet, offers a significant advantage.
That is why we felt it was important for Vigyan Labs to explain this technology directly to the market. We increasingly receive questions from customers and partners about how they can protect their data while using AI, particularly when employees may unknowingly enter sensitive information into public AI platforms.
Vigyan Labs has strong technical capabilities, is working with several government departments and has a strong team with an IIT background. We see significant potential in its solutions and are helping bring them to the market.
Rajeev: What role will Made-in-India technology play in this opportunity?
Zakir Hussain: The solution is an appliance and is Made in India. This provides an important advantage because the necessary testing and certifications, including BSI-related requirements, are already addressed.
It is a Made-in-India product with a strong security proposition. Although we are primarily known as a software distributor and do not traditionally operate in hardware or areas such as firewalls, this is a different kind of opportunity. It is an AI-focused solution that addresses an important need in the current environment and is readily available as a Made-in-India product.
Rajeev: How does BD Software’s event strategy help new vendors grow?
We use these platforms to identify where a particular technology or vendor can create value. Once we identify the right opportunity, we bring the relevant vendor to that platform because the interaction can help the vendor grow and also help the market understand the solution better. We currently work with around 28 vendors. We identify the markets and platforms where each vendor can be most relevant and then bring them into those opportunities. This approach allows us to promote solutions to CXOs, CISOs and CEOs while simultaneously creating awareness within the partner community.
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