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Dell recently announced the launch of a platform to address the purchasing needs of small businesses in India, where they can buy customised products and solutions. BusinessLine spoke to Raj Kumar Rishi, Vice-President and Managing Director, Consumer and Small Business, Dell India, for more details. Excerpts:
How has Dell’s business with small enterprises been so far?
Dell has had a great run in the small business (SB) segment and India is a priority country. Dell commands 20.5 per cent of the market share for the segment at the half-yearly mark at 2019, as per IDC. We do believe that there is significant headroom for growth in the SB segment.
We have a strong offline partner network that is addressing the small businesses in India. In 2018, Dell opened its first-ever small business solution centre in Bengaluru... now we are launching the next such centre in Chennai later this week.
Additionally, we are upbeat about the government’s focus on MSME segment, launching projects such as Tech-Saksham to bridge the technology gap and making them competitive on a global scale.
Along with other leading brands, Dell has partnered with the government to help MSMEs overcome challenges in adopting technology.
What prompted Dell to open this portal? Was it feedback from SMEs?
Customers are at the core of everything we do at Dell. In India, the changing dynamics of doing business, the emergence of digital commerce, the nature of the current business models, policies and reforms such as GST, are truly changing the way small businesses perceive technology adoption.
The launch of the SB online store is driven by our focus on small businesses technology needs, our experience in the Indian market by selling directly to customers, the legacy of driving the same sales model in North America and our commitment to this group of customers who need tech support to deliver business results.
In the wake of the economic slowdown, do you think small businesses have the spending power to drive the success of this portal?
We firmly believe that small businesses continue to be a key growth driver of the Indian economy. The existing relationship between businesses and Dell has been a core reason of making this investment in starting this online sales engine.
What will the expansion plan look like? Your ‘small business advisors’ are based only in Delhi and Bengaluru... Are these your main markets?
The SB segment for Dell is already in expansion mode with the launch of the online direct sales model. Specific to our team of ‘small business advisors’, this is a key engagement model for us. Delhi and Bengaluru are Dell hubs where our teams sit, but they service customers from across the country.
What are your business expectations from this? Any revenue targets?
One in every five small business customers is buying a Dell PC. We are upbeat about this segment and we are working towards maintaining our stronghold with the widest engagement any OEM can offer.
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