PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Cyberoam’s business development manager, Pranav Parikh, talks about the challenges facing PC retailers and the firm’s plans over the next few years.
What products and services will you be promoting at Boot Camp this year?
We will be promoting Cyberoam NetGenie appliances for SOHO and home use.
What do you see being the biggest challenge facing PC retailers at the moment?
The biggest challenge comes in terms of competition from large format retailers or those who operate largely on an online basis. PC retailers cannot beat these giants on price point no matter which category they get into. In order to operate in the same market, they must create differentiation by offering ‘unique’ products. This doesn’t mean that they have to expand their product portfolio; it means creating more categories of products. These new products can help them to widen their customer base.
Additionally, they need to ensure that they include products which are not only meant for one-time sale but also allow them to attach a service element. NetGenie is one such product which can make all these propositions as it is a ‘unique’ product which meets the requirements of concerned parents as well as small business owners.
In your opinion, what’s the most important thing for retailers and resellers to bear in mind when dealing with customers?
Engagement is the key. Dealers need to engage to understand customer requirements in both presale and after-sale scenarios. This engagement ensures long term relations. Additionally, it is very likely that the customers will recommend a store to their friends and family members if they trust the dealer.
On a different front, they also need to adopt an online sales model as it is no longer a thing of the future. Online models ensure smooth order execution, gives a wider reach and can be instrumental in case a store wants to scale up.
If you could wave a magic wand, what would you change about the channel?
We are in the business of providing network security to people and this is a job of huge responsibility. Hence, instead of focusing all our energies on competition, businesses like us should focus on collaboration.
Instead of competing with each other we should be complementing each other as we are on the same side. An easy way to understand this is that our opponents, the cyber criminals, are not competing with each other. There is a lot to be covered in the network security market and everyone has enough space to grow. If businesses realise this, they can take security to new levels.
What distinguishes you from your competitors?
Some of the features that makes our NetGenie products stand apart from competition are: Threat-free Wi-Fi, protection from bots and hackers, advanced internet access controls that allow user-wise and schedule-based internet controls, and user-based internet activity and security reports.
What is your proudest moment as a company?
Cyberoam has a Common Criteria EAL4+ certification for its Layer 8 user identity-based Firewall and has been positioned as a Visionary by a leading analyst firm in its 2013 Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management. It has consistently received 5 star ratings in the SC Magazine security reviews. However, the launch of NetGenie was a defining moment and it came in at a time when home and small office Wi-Fi networks are exposed to online threats and there are no available solutions in the market catering to the needs of concerned parents and small office owners.
What are the key brands/lines you carry?
NetGenie home appliances, NetGenie SOHO appliances.
What are you most looking forward to at PCR Boot Camp?
The idea is to increase awareness about our product and make people understand the unique benefits of Cyberoam NetGenie appliances. We hope that a lot of people would be interested in exploring the unique abilities of NetGenie when put on display.
What are your aims and ambitions for the next few years?
We want to see our appliances become part of a larger number of networks and in the process hope to build a bigger group of satisfied partners and customers. We see ourselves as one of the top three preferred brands in the industry in the near future.
PCR Boot Camp 2014, held at the Brewery in London on Wednesday May 21st, is free to attend for retailers and resellers –to secure your place register here today.
