The world in 2020 has faced unprecedented challenges. For many companies, Supply Chains have been disrupted and operations impacted. The biggest change, however, has been for companies to continue their operations even while their employees are working remotely. Sanjiv Krishen, Chairman, Iris Computers commented, “Iris has embraced this change and has found ways to continue its operations across India. This has meant investing in video collaboration tools, secure systems and remote connectivity but we ensured that the employees were up and running within days of the reopening. Iris is also helping various enterprises to set an aggressive yet realistic trajectory to be remotely enabled. Some of the areas on the emerging technology roadmap that we have identified are the Datacentre (DC, DR), Edge Computing, Digital Office Solutions, IP Surveillance with AI, Smart Power Solutions, and Smart Furniture.”
“Everyone is safe at Iris and the business has resumed. It is still early to compare as it has been only two months since we resumed sales operation. The sales trend has been quite encouraging and at the same time, it is too early to take a call on the demand. We have already resumed operation barring those in the containment or the red zones. Demand for Mobility Solution and notebook is very high, in the last two months we are on track, and in fact, a few areas we have grown by10%. WFH is New Normal and we are exploring much deeper into this. Apart from healthcare and Temperature Sensing devices, we look forward to the tremendous growth in this pandemic,” added Sanjiv Krishen.
Challenges for Channel Businesses
Distribution channels in India have primarily been traditional and unique. Every business has a record that maintains data about their inventory, sales, and other crucial information that helps them make decisions and understand their growth at a glance. Sanjiv Krishen said, “With workforces having shifted from the workplace to working at home so too have the security risks and challenges. Many hackers have shifted their focus from trying to penetrate office networks trying to break into the comparatively weak home-based systems. Based in news reports, cyber-attacks have increased manifold since April 2020. India is fast becoming a major target for hackers because of the rapid adoption of online transactions but an inadequate understanding of secure online practices within the population.”
Sanjiv Krishen further added, “From our customers' perspective we are advocating strong VPN systems, secure VDI, Cloud, VA/PT and regular user training to minimize the risks of cyber-attacks. Liquidity of payment is an issue as lots of partners are struggling to get paid on time. Most distribution systems are complex and lack the new-age advancements to make it interactive and yield real-time results. With proper ERP and a Strong technical team, we are more agile and ready with good results. Major Challenges are: Cash flow and financial management, keeping up with the market, Planning ahead, Problem-solving, The right systems, Skills, and attitudes, Welcoming change, and lack of Scenario management across India.”
Support from Vendors Amid Pandemic
Iris computers have been always preferred choice for all leading brands since they started their distribution business. Currently they are national distributor for almost all top tech brands in India and cater to the large customers base across all verticals. The company has helped many brands in India to establish their feet and build good market share. But now in a time of crisis like today, partners are really looking towards bigger brands who can extend their support in getting back to business. Sharing his views on brands support, Sanjiv said, “The Iris brand has always represented reliability, flexibility, and variety. To that end we have partnered with only the best technology inventors and industry leaders like Dell, HP, LG, CommScope, Ruckus, APC by Schneider, Acer, Delta, Wacom, BPE to name a few. This allows us to be a one stop shop for our customers where they can get whatever they need along with the knowledge that the products and services will be world-class. As products (and services) age, sales growth, and profit margins get squeezed. Understanding where products are in their life cycles can help you work out how to maximize overall profitability. At the same time, we need to invest in innovation to build a stream of new, profitable products to market.”
“Extended Credit from the vendor, better Backend Structure as Front-end margin shrinking, we are also looking at aggressively channelizing work from home solutions, Secure VDI Environments, Smart Signage, and End to end wireless solutions with WiFi6 technology, Trusted Power Backup systems and Protection for home offices,” concluded by Sanjiv.
We all are aware about opportunities which are coming from newly emerged segment like WFH & LFH. These segments will continue to grow even in years to come as per expert’s opinion. Tech brands need to educate and align smaller partners who can add these new avenues as major force behind business continuity in current situation.
