Sunday Nov 10, 2024
FT
Sunday Nov 10, 2024
Tuesday, 31 March 2015 02:41 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Intel’s channel business in the Asia Pacific and Japan region exceeds 30,000 members and out of that lot, 7,000 channel partners are based in Sri Lanka and are known as Intel Technology Providers (ITP). Patel also discussed about Intel’s strategy to assist channel partners across the globe which includes a program called ‘Working Capital’ and also explained how Intel empowers distributors in emerging countries through special foreign exchange programs.
When asked whether the desktop PC sales have diminished in the region, Patel said, “If I compare 2014 versus 2013, we actually grew our channel business and it showed good growth prospects, especially in the desktop category. We see the revenue going up but it has been slightly flat in terms of volumes. Our desktop PC business has been quite robust over the year. People are still buying desktops and we have seen it is not just the case of first-time computer buyers. We see several enthusiastic markets which prefer desktops for many purposes such as gaming and content creation and they seem to prefer desktops. Sri Lanka is not an exception to that.”
Joining Patel, Intel Sri Lanka Country Business Manager Indika De Zoysa said that the country won two special awards at the recently-concluded Intel Sales Conference 2014 in USA.
“We saw a definite growth in sales last year, which secured us two awards at the Intel Sales Conference 2014. We won the award for highest growth in desktops and the award for ‘Plan to Year’ in the emerging market category. These awards show that we have grown significantly in the Asia Pacific and Japan region. As a country, we have grown and regionally as well,” said De Zoysa, confirming that Sri Lanka’s sales growth has inclined profoundly last year.
Internet of Things
Patel also revealed that the Intel Compute Stick, the most anticipated Intel innovation which turns a Smart TV into a Desktop PC, will be available in Sri Lanka by April with a couple of other products to be followed.
When Daily FT asked about how Intel’s operations toward promoting Internet of Things (IoT) are going on, Patel revealed this: “We have a separate IoT group and our embedded device business grew by more than 20% in 2014. We still see continued growth in that sector. It is expected that the world would see 20 billion connected devices by 2020. These forecasts kind of ensure that there is a great growth opportunity for the IoT sector. Basically, we want everything connected and if everything’s connected; we think we could do it best. What is relevant for the channel business is continuation of innovation.
“Last year, when we launched the Next Unit of Computing (NUC), Sri Lanka really embraced that well and we saw some good sales. The next product that we will be launching here is the Intel Compute Stick which would convert a smart TV into a Desktop PC. We have a breadth of products to be launched and Intel will ensure that those products will be available in Sri Lanka soon.”
Patel was also firm on developing country’s infrastructure in order to compete with matured markets. However, Sri Lanka does not fall behind other countries when it comes to the adoption of new technologies, he said.
“When you look at matured markets; they have their infrastructures well-placed. Of course, Sri Lanka is also adopting those infrastructures but matured markets had a head-start a couple of years back. Infrastructure is important as well as education. If you look at countries like Korea and Singapore; their infrastructures are amazing. Infrastructures do not just talk about IT and broadband but methods of transportation as well. Look at the time it takes to travel from location A to B and calculate the productivity factor.
“But to be honest, quicker emerging markets like Sri Lanka catch up quickly with these factors. When it comes to adopting technologies, Sri Lanka is well ahead like a mature market. I don’t see a difference there. The volume scale might be different which is understandable but Sri Lanka is on par when it comes to adopting technology.”
Patel also praised Intel Sri Lanka’s commitment towards promoting ‘Intel Teach’ and other activities, stating that the execution of these initiatives has had been faultless.
“It is a pretty interesting time for Intel. We are already innovative and we are looking forward to introduce several key products to the market. Apart from that, we are also looking at developing the society. A couple of years back we launched the ‘Intel World Ahead’ program with the aim of connecting the next one billion people into the internet. In order to do that, education needs to play a great role. For that, we launched ‘Intel Teach’ program across the globe. As a country, Sri Lanka has done well and the initiatives Intel Sri Lanka has rolled out here have been done parallel to other international countries. As a country, Sri Lanka is not lagging behind,” Patel said.
“The programs we have launched in Sri Lanka are part of the growth which Ferhad spoke about. These programs help us to think of ways how Intel could help people to enrich their lives through technology. If you take a program like Intel Teach; we have trained more than 42,000 teachers in Sri Lanka, across all provinces. It has reached 15% schools, 15% of teachers, 20% of students, 50% of teacher educators, and 65% of pre-service institutions in the country. Since 2006, we have been strengthening the capacity of teachers on using technology in the teaching learning process. We are very privileged indeed to say that Intel Sri Lanka’s non-sales related activities such as this have become fruitful over the last 15 years,” opined De Zoysa.
