Softlogic Information Technologies Engineering Services to leverage Dell relationship further

Softlogic Information Technologies’ Engineering Services Division provides post-sales support and consulting services to a host of clients in both Government and Private Sectors. Their team comprises of experts in the fields of enterprise IT solutions, medium scale systems to home and end user devices.

Softlogic provides on-site support services for products sold through them including attending to faults at the customer sites and to walk-in customers through their customer care center. In an interview with Kanishka Karunaratne, General Manager - Engineering - Softlogic Information Technologies Ltd, he spoke about the Dell partnership and how Softlogic Information Technologies enhances user experience through value added after sales services. Below are excerpts of the interview:



Q: Could you let us know about the partnership with Dell?



A: We started working with Dell in 1994 and were the sole authorised distributor and at present we have achieved The Dell Preferred Partner status.  Throughout this period of time we have more or less grown with Dell and experienced the depth of diverse technologies, ideas as well as market conditions.  Thus so, we have forged a strong relationship with Dell that has endured to this day.  It is not at all easy to maintain a good, ethical relationship with an international market leader for so long in the volatile IT industry.  We represent them in the solutions space of data centers, virtualisation, connected classroom solutions, storage & backup solutions, enterprise class servers, data security to simple desktops (commercial and consumer), specialised graphics workstation, laptops and mobile computing devices.



Q: What are the services offered from Softlogic for Dell Consumers both retail and corporate?



A: Softlogic Information Technologies has developed market-leading expertise in providing ICT-based hardware and system software solutions to corporate, small to medium-size businesses, and government organisations. The company is currently the leading importer of personal computers to Sri Lanka. It also markets and distributes notebook computers, servers, storage, network infrastructure and printers. For both Commercial and Consumer markets we invested on a state of the art Customer Care Center/Field Command Center in Narahenpita (35/10, Nawala Road, Narahenpita) and we work with the back end support of the Dell parts exchange center to repair any computer purchased through Softlogic (or through our wide dealer network) within a very short period of time.  We also cater to customers who have purchased from other vendors both locally as well as abroad to repair devices that are not covered by a local vendor warranty.  If a customer brings in a laptop that has an international warranty, we assist the customer to transfer the warranty to Sri Lanka and claim the parts through the parts exchange center and do the repair charging only for the local labour support.

Each of these sectors have unique requirements. Corporate, SMB and Government sectors mainly look at IT investments from a productivity level and also as a return on investment.  Therefore such business requirements demand from IT services companies, professional and fast response times to ensure that systems are available for usage at the employee’s convenience.  Thereby we have crafted the following services. Bronze – For customers with non-mission critical applications.  This is the entry level package with a part warranty of three years. Silver – With this we cover onsite repairs including parts for the first year and the remaining two years supported similarly to our Bronze package. Gold – Full three years covered with desk side support with free parts replacements. Customers who cannot afford to have a computer down for even a day select this option. Platinum – Designed specifically for mission critical applications such as backend servers that demand the lowest possible downtime.  We give 24x7x365 support onsite with spare parts.

Any call logged in to our support helpdesk is responded to within three to five hours in Colombo and during the next working day anywhere else in the country. To achieve this, we have set up support points in strategic locations around the island.  



Q: What are the benefits customer’s experiences through Softlogic Information Technologies?



A: Pre-sales understanding of customer requirement is extremely important. Our 17 years of relationship with leading companies in the Banking, telco, manufacturing, finance, healthcare and Govt. sectors have helped us understand and address their pain points deeply.

We have the highest number of Dell and Microsoft certified technical experts in the Sri Lankan IT industry.  Our total staff count exceeds one hundred out of which over 60 are engineers/technicians placed throughout the island. In addition to Dell and Microsoft we have experts who are certified on other leading industry brands such as Cisco, VMWare, EMC, Compellent, Molex, EqualLogic, etc.

There is another important aspect that is quite frequently overlooked in this highly competitive environment. Being honest to our customers is one key area that we firmly believe will keep us above the rest during years to come. Ignoring this basic human obligation to society is not an option that we shall even consider.  

Q: What are the trends when it comes to hardware services and after sales?



A: Most corporates are now moving towards total outsourcing of their internal support infrastructure to minimise operational burdens and reduce head count.  We currently support some leading banks as well as some multinational companies through our “Managed Services” arm and it has moved into one of our key focus areas due to its tremendous success.

In terms of the consumer market, the Laptop becoming a commodity has changed the service expectations of the customer.

Firstly you need to identify why a customer buys a laptop.  Whether he/she buys it to run a small business from home, use it to browse the internet for studies or use it as an entertainment device most customers’ life more or less revolves around their computers. And when it is out of commission it really affects that person’s lifestyle. Therefore, we need to be geared to support a wide cross section of the society with vastly different needs and aspirations and cater to the individual need.



Q: Do you see a growth in Sri Lanka for PC/Laptop Users?



A: Definitely yes. The personal computer is experiencing the same phenomenon the mobile phone went through from the day it was introduced way back in the 90’s. Just as same the laptop (more than the desktop) has lost its status as a niche market product and is becoming a device that the average Sri Lankan uses to assist them with their daily chores. With the advancements in the communications and entertainment industries as well as the education sector moving towards the concept of “Distant Learning”, I can foresee a bright future for the laptop computer in the Sri Lankan market.