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Kochi, June 30 As part of its commitment to offer SMBs better access to IT solutions, Microsoft India has announced the expansion of its distributor network.

A new sub-distributor network has been created to support the existing distribution model. This 40-member network will function across 33 cities in the country. Operating on a hub and spoke model, this has the capacity to support over 1,800-3,500 additional business partners. Through this, Microsoft also hopes to further expand its SMB partner community in India.

This announcement offers the large and vibrant partner ecosystem in the country the ability to transact Microsoft products and partner with the power of choice. This would really help us service our customers better and also improve the Microsoft footprint in the country, Mr Rajeev Mittal, Group Director, Small and Medium Enterprise, Microsoft India, said. The economic downturn has also brought on an additional problem of increasing credit crunch. With the new model, partners can look for support from the sub-distributors for help with understanding Microsoft policies and products, supply, and credit, he said.

The announcement will broaden the impact of the geo-expansion programme that Microsoft has undertaken over the last two years, increasing the number of Microsoft offices from four in FY ‘07 to 16 by the end of FY ‘09 and broadening the spread to tier II cities across India. The SMB community in these regions has benefited from Microsoft’s presence and from stronger partner network it has created and the company believe that with the sub-distributor model will be able to create similar impact, Mr Mittal said.

A significant percentage of SMBs are concentrated in upcountry India and they represent over 60 per cent of domestic technology sales, with demand doubling in less than a decade, and growing steadily, even in these times of recessionary influence.

More Stories on : Channels and Franchises | Software | Kerala

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