Final Draft of Thesis

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am extremely grateful to my project guide Mr. Manav Marwah, Sales Manager, QuantM Net Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon, for helping me and providing me with me useful information. By interacting with him, I learnt various facets of professional
management in the consumer durable industry and I am sure the knowledge imparted will go in a long way in enriching my career. I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Sumit Kujur, management executive, QuantM Net Technologies and my faculty guide Prof. Dipti Sharma. The thesis could not be completed without their able support guidance. Thanking them is a small gesture for the generosity shown.
I take this opportunity to thank all senior executives, staff members and every associate of QuantM Net Technologies, without their cooperation I would not be able to complete this thesis report.
Finally, I express my sincere thanks to IIPM New Delhi for providing me the opportunity to carry out the thesis work.
Ankur Yadav
Fall Winter 07 09
Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2009 is set to be a difficult year for Indias potentially vast IT infrastructure market, as the country is buffeted by strong economic headwinds, QuantM has downwardly revised its five-year IT spending projections, and the total size of the IT market is now projected to increase from Rs 13.7 crore in 2008 to Rs 24.6 crore by 2013. IT spending growth slowed significantly in 2008, and is expected to ease further in H109, before starting to recover in H2.
Now days Information Technology is no longer an investment intended just to achieve cost reduction and operational efficiency. Today, organizations use technology initiatives to stay competitive- CRM, SCM and e-commerce applications are enabling organizations to improve order accuracy and fulfillment, reduce processing costs, and expand personalized service to strengthen customer retention. Information Technology services are essential to the success of every organization, large or small. With increasingly competitive business environments, CEOs and small business owners are under great pressure to maintain a highly qualified staff and to make sure their technology is obtaining a better ROI than their competitors'.
Here is IT Infrastructure management which answers the above. Remote Infrastructure Management of distribution channel of QuantM plays a vital role in todays dynamic business scenario. Remote infrastructure management is a suite of services that extends the reach and efficiency of corporate IT department. Remote Infrastructure Management allows organizations to focus on their core business goals; while leaving the monitoring and management of their technology infrastructure in safe hands.
As businesses of QuantM continue to expand, their reliance on technology grows with it. Maximizing the value derived from IT investments is a key challenge for enterprises. QuantM provides Infrastructure Consolidation, Standardization and Virtualization Services by leveraging on going Transformation and Innovation.
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Infrastructure
Management services ensure improved service levels, better response-times, minimized downtime and proactive support.
This comprehensive and flexible solution addresses all layers of technology and reduces IT operating costs while improving services levels. Infrastructure Management strength lies in planning, building and operating infrastructure, which enables the clients to drive costs from their IT infrastructure throughout their core operations. A robust, reliable IT infrastructure is the foundation of any viable IT organization. It is vital to know that a problem exists before it impacts critical business service. Companies need to go well beyond just business usual to stay ahead of the game. IT Infrastructure has to be rightlocated, with appropriate remote management for 24/7 monitoring and alert/incident handling for maximum availability.
Another imperative is a ready-to-serve support team, with the right infrastructure, domain and application support skills, positive attitude and ability to work under pressure. For this modern era technology and business pursuit, remote management services are becoming inevitable. Remote management services can help to manage complex IT infrastructures. Reliable service delivery is assured with IMS frameworks, ensuring availability and performance of servers, applications, networks and security. For achieving these there are some IMS guidelines.
This ensures smooth transitions into steady-state managed support, based on service level objectives. By delivering remote infrastructure management services global enterprises can cut down their costs of infrastructure management and gain access to expert skills. This can manage, maintain, and monitor all administrative tasks such as resource assignments and notification options, depending on the level of services desired. Above all, this provides flexibility. QuantM services save time and allow organizations to easily manage notification and escalation schedules via the Web.
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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
IT infrastructure outsourcing services trace their history back to 1974 when Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) exported their Infotech technologies and services to their US manufacturer. But the Indian information technology market was not even in the conception stage at that time. The Infotech markets within India were almost dormant and the governmental policies were hostile towards private information technology firms.
The IT infrastructure managements began with small-scale IT outsourcing from Bombay (now Mumbai) based IT companies whose information technology ventures included just supplying trained IT professionals and Infotech solutions to global Infotech enterprises. Even the import tariffs on the IT hardware and software were unreasonably high and software technology was not designated the status of an industry thus making them ineligible for banking finance. However in 1984, the Rajiv Gandhi government formulated the New Computer Policy (NCP 1984) that reduced the import tariffs on IT systems like hardware and software to 60% from 135% and the IT industry in India was recognized as a 'delicensed industry' thus opening the doors of banks and financial institutions towards the information technology services in India. The NCP also permitted foreign information technology companies to set up their wholly owned information technology divisions in India for export of Infotech services and solutions.
The information technology infrastructure in India has since then progressed even though it witnessed a set back in the late eighties when the government turned hostile towards the IT firms in India and the global Infotech conglomerates were forced to move out of India. Today the Indian software industry is a multi-billion dollar industry with record number of employment and recruitment opportunities. The Infotech business systems have solved the job problem of many Indian professionals. The Infotech careers are among top recruitments in the jobs sector in India.
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Various information technology institutes have come up in India in the past two decades that provide comprehensive Infotech courses and degrees and impart international standard information technology knowledge. These Infotech institutes and schools create IT professionals who are skilled in a whole spectrum of Infotech services and technologies. They offer information technology research opportunities to select few who after the esteemed training develop into global information technology professionals and make news by their services in the field.
IT Infrastructures in India consist of:

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Software Technology Firms in India: Mascon Computer Services Pvt. Ltd., Shreyan InfoTech Ltd, iTraitz IT Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Alphanet Computer Services, Blue Star Infotech Limited, CMC Limited, Citicorp Information Technology Industries Ltd., DSS Infotech Pvt. Ltd., and many more.
IT Companies in India: NASSCOM, Hughes Software Systems, Aditi Technologies, Cognizant Technology Solutions, QuantM Net Technologies Pvt. Ltd., HCL Technologies, Patni Computer Systems, Polaris Software Lab Limited, NIIT, Mind Tree, Larsen & Toubro Infotech, Infosys, Infobeans, IBM India, Iflex Solutions, Samsung India Software, Satyam Computer Services, Tally Solutions, Tata Consultancy Services, Videsh Sanchar Nigam, Wipro
Technologies and many more.

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IT Enabled Services (ITES) in India: Company finance and accounting, hr services, transcription or translation services, content development, animation, design and GIS, information technology engineering and other services including Infotech training in remote areas, Infotech data search market research, information technology network management and consultancy services.
BPO or Business Process Outsourcing Industry of India: Wipro Spectramind, WNS Group, Daksh e-Services, Convergys, HCL Technologies, Zenta, ICICI Onesource, MphasiS, EXL, Tracmail, GTL Ltd., vCustomer, HTMT, 24/7 Customer, Sutherland Technologies and many more.
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INTRODUCTION
Infrastructure Management principles enable the management of strategic and tactical processes related to all corporate assets from a common, integrated environment. It embodies concepts made possible by management's growing realization of the strategic importance of information technology (IT) and that IT can influence all aspects of an organization's business. No business unit, facility management included, is immune from this centralizing force. The roles in a Infrastructure Management includes the following
PCs and all other computing devices (e.g., laptops, palm tops) Communications and telecommunications protocols and vendors Vendors and other types of corporate-wide data Internal and external Web technology including intranets and extranets Benchmarking and financial metrics for cost-benefit analyses Various aspects of mission-critical work processes such as procurement and financial management.
IT infrastructure is the backbone of a global enterprise, and the biggest challenge is to align IT with business goals. The four key points of IT Infrastructure are
Availability Reliability Manageability Scalability
These are often referred as ARMS of the IT Infrastructure.
Today a reliable IT
infrastructure can prove to be a differentiator for any enterprise. IT infrastructure is the backbone of a global enterprise, and the biggest challenge is to align IT with business goals. The four key points of IT Infrastructure are Availability, Reliability, Manageability and Scalability, the ARMS of the IT Infrastructure. Today a reliable IT infrastructure can prove to be a differentiator for any enterprise. The move from legacy client-server applications to GUI intensive multi-tier applications has made the
Fall Winter 07 09 Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800
management of IT infrastructure more complex than anticipated. Today infrastructure comprises networks, systems, task specific appliances, storage devices, printers, mobile devices and much more.
A structured approach to solving issues and problem has been defined by the set of best practices in ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library). This has given a new dimension to IT Service Management, which breaks away from traditional infrastructure management and brings it under the scope of Service Support and Service Delivery. IT Service
Management helps in aligning business with IT, with built-in customer focus Infrastructure Management provides the following
Helpdesk - Call logging & resolution Server Management - Server administration & monitoring Storage Management - Storage allocation, administration & monitoring Network Management - Monitoring, administering and diagnostics of the network and its components Services Desktop Imaging Services - Desktop build and support services for end user computing Email management Mail-box administration and user management Database Management - Database administration, performance management, tuning & optimization Security Management - Continuous monitoring and reporting pertaining to intrusion detection, manage security services and security events. For an organization's
information technology, infrastructure management (IM) is the management of essential operation components, such as policies, processes, equipment, data, human resources, and external contacts, for overall effectiveness. Infrastructure management is sometimes divided into categories of Systems management, Network management, and Storage management.
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INTRODUCTION TO QUANTM NET TECHNOLOGIES

QuantM was incorporated in 1988 as a unique concept of vendor independent integration Sevices Company providing the heterogeneous platform integration for servers, network and databases. Over the year we have added the skills and competence to address the more recent infrastructure needs of storage, middleware and security.
QuantM is the Business Enterprise Solution Team with focused approach to design, integrate and manage the information technology infrastructures. From the technology perspective the infrastructure is defined as the integration of the sixth technology elements of platform servers, storage, networks, middleware, database and security.
QauntM over its 14 years of constant growth has remained focused and has earned the most preferred partner status of the customers, employee and investors. QauntM has achieved this due to experience, resources, competence and leadership it has built over the years of strong value based business relationships among the enterprise organizations.
QauntM has grown year on year due to its ability to identify, learn and reply on newly emerging technologies without losing its focus on its core strengths.
Mission
The be the most preferred business partners for its employees, customers, vendors and investors, and to achieve this status through the dedicated team, which adheres to the highest level of ethics, dignity and integrity.
Vision To be constantly learning and growing leader in the business of designing, integrating and supporting the most scalable, reliable and available technology infrastructures.
Focus
QuantM has never diluted its continued leadership effort by getting itself involved in the business activities not in line with its vision, mission and core competence. QuantM has since the beginning has been concentrating on the technology infrastructure element integration with the targets to develop the scalable, reliable and available technology infrastructure solution.
QuantM has undergone a major financial, competitive, and cultural transformation since 1993. The Business Transformation Management System (BTMS) is a component of that transformation, and is used by QuantM worldwide to identify, develop, and deploy QuantM information technology and infrastructure. BTMS provides Operational Management guidance related to Solution Performance Management. Solution
performance Management Metrics include reporting on web traffic, customer events (such as quantity of orders), customer satisfaction, and availability and response time. In the area of availability and response time metrics ibm.com has exceeded the base guidance, and has been a pioneer in extending standards.
QuantM is the organization within QUANTM that develops, deploys and manages QUANTMs web presence. This organization controls the QuantM.com Internet domain, provides web sites for Commerce and stakeholder (i.e. customers, investors, the press and potential employees) support, and provides guidance to all external QUANTM web sites.
This paper reflects the experiences and lessons learned by QuantM.com in managing the Quality of Service metrics, availability and response time for QUANTMs web presence. We strive to identify performance or availability service delivery issues prior to customer impact. For infrastructure components the costs to setup monitoring and act upon alerts are built into the service delivery rates, and are not considered discretionary. Discrete web processes or web link monitoring setup alert handling and reporting, is done for Key Applications or Business Processes. We have alerts generated for infrastructure
component issues, application availability issues, or errors in business process monitors.
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MARKET PLACE IMPACT OF AVAILABILITY

Service availability and response time expectations are two basic Quality of Service metrics an institution needs to achieve to maintain satisfied constituents. For example if there are two gas stations close to your home, and one is open more hours and the wait time to be served is significantly shorter, over time you are likely to use the more available gas station, and possibly switch forever.
We at QuantM know our customers rely on the web to learn about our goods and services, shop, buy and effectively use the goods and services. The ibm.com retail segment presents the most significant customer retention challenges to IBM. Retail customer sites are sticky, which is to say someone keeps going back or sticks to the same web site as long as it satisfies their need. If the retail web site is unavailable, the customer will switch to a new site if their needs are immediate. Once they switch sites, they may not switch again until the competitor site fails to satisfy their needs.
Fig. 1: Customer Satisfaction trend compared to site
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KEY APPLICATIONS AND BUSINESS PROCESS

Key Applications or Business Processes are designations at ibm.com that mandate a minimal level of system availability, system response time, and metric reporting. Key Applications or Business Processes meet one or more of the following criteria: 1. Use by external QuantM Customers. 2. Quantity of revenue or order captures volume. 3. Web Site or Event influencing company image in major way a. Investor webcasts or hosting of a major sports event website are extremely visible events that can define the QuantM image to an influential segment of the QuantM stakeholders and customers. b. In general we use quantity of expected site visits to ascertain the Web Site or Event is critical. QuantM measures web site traffic using Surf aid. 4. Quantity of visits by entitled customers. a. QuantM customers have executed contracts with QuantM for specific customer functions (like technical support) that have implied service level objectives 5. Alternative processing cost exposure. a. QuantM has found certain functions related to product delivery, like order status, when unavailable generate a deluge of alternative contacts into QuantM that are dealt with in a less cost effective manner b. In high volume, low margin item handling an order processed by other then the web is prohibitive as alternative order processing costs reduce profit margins.
Fig. 2 Key Applications

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Applications
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SETTING AVAILABILITY TARGETS
The service level expectations, in commercial and non-profit operations, historically started out with the hours the physical facility was open by law, became a differentiator among firms. A web site, or any technology that enables access to a commercial
organization (i.e. automated teller machines for banks), raises customer expectations that these institutions are always available to process a request with prompt response time.
QuantM strives to achieve the highest possible availability, tempered by the costs for supporting the infrastructure or application architecture. The QuantM availability
standard is 99.5% for the underlying web infrastructure, excluding the specific system maintenance time requirements. On top of that infrastructure availability standard, we have put in place specific Key Application or Business Process availability requirements. An example is that for the Key Application www.ibm.com homepage we have set a 95% availability target (about four hours per year), which we have exceeded for the prior two years, as IBM has had no measurable outages. Other applications, such as Commerce, have 99.5% availability targets that we still have room for improvement in our attainment.
Fig. 3: Setting Response Time Targets
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ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
Fig. 4
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INDSUTRIAL ANALYSIS
2009 is set to be a difficult year for Indias potentially vast IT market, as the country is buffeted by strong economic headwinds, BMI has downwardly revised its five-year IT spending projections, and the total size of the IT market is now projected to increase from US$13.7bn in 2008 to US$24.6bn by 2013. IT spending growth slowed significantly in 2008, and is expected to ease further in H109, before starting to recover in H2. Sales of both desktops and notebooks were down last year as MNCs and domestic companies deferred purchases, and the malaise spread to the consumer segment, where layoffs and a negative wealth effect from lower asset values affected spending. However, the long-term growth prospects of Indias IT market remain strong because of fundamental drivers such as Indias low computer penetration, rising incomes, falling computer prices and the governments ambitions to connect the vast rural areas.
Sectoral Size of IT Infrastructure Industry (in $billion) Sectoral Size of Paint Industry (in $billion)
0.6, 30%
IT Organized Infrastructure Facility Management Unorganized services
sector sector
1.4, 70%
Fig. 5 Less than 2% of people in India currently own a computer about one-fifth of the level in China meaning particular potential in the lower-end product range. Meanwhile, the IT services sector remains critical to future market growth, with the government projecting that Indias BPO industry is likely to capture more than half of the US$110bn global offshoring market by 2010.
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
QuantM works as partners with local integrator to leverage on their reach and relationships while they can offer the QuantM skills and solutions to their esteemed customers. QuantM is sensitive to the changes of collaboration with all kinds of
companies, even some, which might appear as competitors to some marketing organizations, resellers and systems. 2009 is set to be a difficult year for Indias
potentially vast IT market, as the country is buffeted by strong economic headwinds, BMI has downwardly revised its five-year IT spending projections, and the total size of the IT market is now projected to increase from US$13.7bn in 2008 to US$24.6bn by 2013. IT spending growth slowed significantly in 2008, and is expected to ease further in H109, before starting to recover in H2.
Fig. 6 Sales of both desktops and notebooks were down last year as MNCs and domestic companies deferred purchases, and the malaise spread to the consumer segment, where layoffs and a negative wealth effect from lower asset values affected spending. However, the long-term growth prospects of Indias IT market remain strong because of
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fundamental drivers such as Indias low computer penetration, rising incomes, falling computer prices and the governments ambitions to connect the vast rural areas to the outside world. Less than 2% of people in India currently own a computer about one-fifth of the level in China meaning particular potential in the lower-end product range. Meanwhile, the IT services sector remains critical to future market growth, with the government projecting that Indias BPO industry is likely to capture more than half of the US$110 bn global off shoring market by 2010.
Non Commercial IT Infrastructure 26.19% (2.21 lac) Industrial IT Infrastructure 73.81% (19.70 lac )
Fig. 7: Distribution of Sales
Faced with a sharp slowdown in global and domestic computer sales, in 2009 the India government announced a series of measure to support the market. Service tax was cut from 12% to 10% and excise duty from 10% to 8%.The measures were intended to provide relief to domestic consumers, while also providing some support to IT exporters. However, there were questions about how much effect the measures would have on both scores. Meanwhile, the IT ministry responded to the slowdown by moving to ask the government to extend the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) schemes.
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MARKET SHARE
QuantM is reaping the rewards of a decade-long push into countrys business computer market, and is eyeing upwards of a 50-per-cent share. Citing industry figures, the world's largest computer company boasts a 43.6-per-cent share of China's market for business computers large and small. The computers used to operate everything from State-run banks to e-commerce websites. Its global business computer share is 32 per cent.
QuantM HCL InfoSystems Progressive Infotech Saarc Solutions PC Infrastructure Others
Fig. 8 But while hardware remains its mainstay in NCR, QuantM is focusing on new hiring and investment on software and services, where it sees even stronger growth. While the rest of the world has moved to a software and services market, China's industry remains hardware-centric. In its most recent quarterly results statement, Armonk, New Yorkbased QuantM singled out China, for the first time since it opened offices in the country
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20 years ago, as a key driver of its overall corporate results. Big emerging markets such as China, Russia, India and Brazil grew a combined 35 percent in the first half of this year, or five times faster than overall revenue growth of 7 percent. Currently, the bulk of QuantMs revenues -- 70 percent -- come from hardware, while only 30 percent on software and services. That's roughly the reverse of its global revenue mix, where services lead with 57 percent of sales. But the percentage of its software and services business is increasing as the economy matures. While the typical business technology buyer pays a premium for its foreign-built computers, customers have traditionally expected hardware vendors to throw in technical services for free. Software has been developed and maintained in-house, a legacy of the self-sufficiency forced on State-supported firms. QuantM's closest competitor in the server market is HCL Infosystems, with a 26-per-cent share. Crucially, QuantM leads
across all four segments of Indias server market made of PC servers, Unix, minicomputer and mainframes.
Sun has 12.4 percent, Dell holds 7 percent and China's leading PC brand, Lenovo, has 2.2 percent, indicate the latest data from market researcher IDC. QuantM is a lesser player in the highly competitive desktop PC market -- where its five big rivals each have larger shares -- but leads in the more profitable market for notebook computers used by business travelers, with nearly 24 percent. QuantM has been profitable for 11 years. QuantM is t
Fig. 9: Evaluation Alternative of the Distribution Channel
Industry dynamics highlight that in 2007 India based vendors have grown their IMS Industry dynamics highlight that in 2007 India based vendors have grown their IMS revenues by 70 percent, while it still accounts for a small percentage (an average of 5% to 10%) of the total revenue of IT players. As a result of which some of the big IT
companies like Wipro and Satyam have acquired international IMS companies to expand and grow their size to get International footprint, revenues by 70 percent.
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COMPETITORS ANALYSIS
HCL Infosystems
Progressive Infotech
SAAR Infotech
Team Computers
PC Solution
Fig. 10
Progressive Infotech
Progressive is an Innovative, international technology company formed as a result of the acquisition by the Lenovo Group of the IBM Personal Computing division. As a global leader in the IT hardware market, they develop, manufacture and market professional provide customers around the world with smarter ways to be productive and they can be ascertained as a bitter rival of HCL. SAAR Infotech SAAR India is a subsidiary of HCL that was founded in 1982 in India. SAAR in India has huge market even after its merger with Hewlett Packard (hp). Compaq's desktop,
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notebooks and accessories are the main products manufactured by SAAR in India. The Huston based company works with main focus on computers and servers. It captures about 25% of Indian hardware market. The two IT giants can pose a threat to domestic conglomerates like Infosys, Satyam Computers etc. In Bangalore Compact Computer Corporation has launch. This facility will be used by SAAR India to sell its products like the Presario range Notebooks. Laptops, iPaq Desktops SB Series, fingerprint ID and smart card reader in the online store. The e store is of great help to the customer HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing for consumers, enterprises and small a not a great threat to HCL but its subsidiary Compaq has emerged as arch rival for HCL, its online store can be a strategy that is very important to check. HCLs Digilife is good step but it close watch.
PC Solution This company Incorporated founded by was renamed Mr. P. Raghavan in 1987. It is a largest franchised computer retail chain in NCR, manufacturer in the region (by sales) after and mobile PCs (laptops),as well as peripherals, and e-business services for business, government, education, and home cutting-edge, reliable, high quality PC products and value sidiary and medium businesses. Aruni Raghavan his wife Carolyn Yeh, and a group of five others in 1976, Indian multinational electronics manufacturer. It owns the country. PC Solutions is the third largest computer HP and Dell Inc. and its product), servers value-added launched an online store. e- HP itself is needs line-up includes desktop and storage, displays, users. Its product range has Desktop computers.
Team Computers
Team computers is a company, that is a new entrant in Indian IT Infrstructure Market, specializing in hardware, connectivity, datacenters, computers (personal computers) headquartered in Noida. Internationally, Team Computers considers major products are Lifebook notebook computers,
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CURRENT SCENARIO
The Indian IT Infrastructure industry has grown from a mere US $ 150 million in 199192 to a staggering US $ 5.7 billion (including over $4 billion worth of software exports) in 1999-2000. competition. The annual growth rate of Indias IT Infrastructure exports has been consistently over 50 percent since 1991. As per the projections made by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) for 2000-2001 (April 1, 2000 - March 31, 2001), Indias exports would be around $ 6.3 billion, in addition to $ 2.5 billion in domestic sale. Indian IT Infrastructure Industry 1995-2000 (US $ million) 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01* Domestic Infrastructure Market Infrastructure Exports Indian IT Infrastructure Industry No other Indian industry has performed so well against the global
490 734
670 1085
920 1750
1250 2650
1700 4000
2450 6300
1224
1755
2670
3900
5700
8750
(* Source: NASSCOM Report)
Today, India exports software and services to nearly 95 countries around the world. The share of North America (U.S. & Canada) in Indias software exports is about 61 per cent. In 1999-2000, more than a third of Fortune 500 companies outsourced their software requirements to India. NASSCOMs survey during 1999-2000 indicates a reversal in the mode of services offered by India. In 1991-92, offshore services accounted 5 per cent and on-site services 95 % of the total exports. However, during 1999-2000 offshore services contributed over 40 percent of the total exports. According to a NASSCOM-McKinsey report, annual revenue projections for Indias IT industry in 2008 are US $ 87 billion and market
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openings are emerging across four broad sectors, IT services, software products, IT enabled services, and e-businesses thus creating a number of opportunities for Indian companies. In addition to the export market, all of these segments have a domestic market component as well. Other key findings of this report are:
Software & Services will contribute over 7.5 % of the overall GDP growth of India
IT Exports will account for 35% of the total exports from India Potential for 2.2 million jobs in IT by 2008 IT industry will attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of U.S. $ 4-5 billion Market capitalization of IT shares will be around U.S. $ 225 billion
Projected Revenues - 2008 ($ US billion) India Based IT Infrastructure Services Software Products IT-enabled Service E-business Total 23 8 15 4 50 India Sub total Domestic Centric (International) 7* 2 2 1 12 30 10 17 5 62 8.5 9.5** 2 5 25 Total 38.5 19.5 19 10 87 2008 2.1 0.6 0.4 0.2 3.3
Exports of $50 billion in 2008 * Legacy/client server, ERP and package work and Internet all have different proportions of work outside India where revenues are not export revenues. ** Resale of imported products included.
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PROFITABILITY OF THE SEGMENT
Server Storage Middleware Hard Disk SAN Switches DataCenters
Fig. 10.1 Manufacturing PC is essentially a business of assembling components from OEMs like Seagate etc and branding the manufactured unit for end customers. The cost of components is the major cost element in the price of PC to the tune of around 80%. The margin for a business is dependent on the manufacturer relation with OEMs, Apart from this margin depends on branding power of the manufacturer. Prices of hard disk, memory, and processor constitute major components is very important.
There is substantial difference between costs of same component for a laptop as compared to the same component of Desktop. Majority of difference lies in costs of hard disk and the cost differential between a laptop and desktop based on components only is around 30% for the same configuration. At the same time difference between a laptop and desktop of the same configuration stands at around 60%.
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MAJOR CHALLENGES
The key issues that face IT administrators today, such as managing inventory, guaranteeing system uptime, managing and deploying software updates in heterogeneous environments and maintaining configuration security and compliance, are pervasive in data centers and network operation centers of all sizes. And, in most environments, these problems have become even more acute due to constraints on IT resources, particularly in a slowing economy. For example, an April 2008 survey of IT decision makers in midsized and large organizations found that a large percentage of them face quite serious problems in managing their infrastructures, as shown in the following figure.
Fig. 10.2 To control costs in IT investments properly requires a unified management solution that can provide extensive visibility, granular control and powerful automation.
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1. Global Uncertainty While the global hospitality industry continues to recover following the effects of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, SARS, the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq, Global Uncertainty remains a major concern. Terror attacks are the most direct example of global uncertainty, however, there are other areas of concern such as geopolitical relations, governmental travel restrictions and currency exchange rates. The industry needs to take a proactive approach in addressing these issues and their potential impact. 2. Human Resources Issues Human Resources is an area that is growing in importance. As the industry continues to recover, it needs to focus on its employees and their roles as service providers. Increasing demand requires increased staffing levels at a time when the labor pool is shrinking. To address this issue, the industry must attempt to work with the unions as allies, devote more time and money to recruitment and training and educate politicians as to the impact of governmental economic and immigration policy on the industry. 3. Branding Issues The society notes the following Brand Issues facing the industry in 2005: - A proliferation of brands and branded Infrastructure products worldwide that is leading to the commoditization of the hotel product. - Increased competition between the brands is leading to amenity creep, and diverging interests between owners and brands. - Instilling authenticity of local culture into brand standards remains a challenge. 4. Financial Viability
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Here is a significant amount of capital currently flowing into the hospitality industry. Not only are investors betting on a strong recovery, but also in some cases they are not performing realistic projections and investment analyses. Should expectations not materialize, then sub-par returns could damage the overall financial credibility of the lodging industry. 5. Technology The infrastructure industry must do a better job of managing technology and addressing the challenges posed by new and changing technology. Specifically, the industry must align technology investment with business objectives, address aging and inadequate infrastructure (at both the corporate and the property levels); and learn to better utilize technology in marketing to guests, training employees, yield management, and meeting customer requirements. 6. Customer Issues Customer issues present a challenge to the industry in several ways: - Increasing loss of control over the customer - The use of the Internet, homogenization of the IT product and increased corporate oversight has reduced the amount of control that operators have over the customer. - Changes in the customer IT Infrastructure customers are changing due to demographics (the aging of the baby boomer generation) and due to lower transportation costs that promote travel. - Changes in customer expectations - Customer expectations are changing as consumers become more sophisticated and better educated. 7. Supply Issues There are three supply related issues facing the industry:
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- Increasing alternative forms of supply such as time-share, fractional ownership, second homes, camping, cruising and water parks. - "Under demolished" (functionally obsolete) supply is, and will remain a challenge for owners and operators, particularly in Europe where new construction is expensive and difficult. - In the United States, the use of public funds to develop hotels and resorts presents a challenge for existing private owners and operators. 8. (Tie) Distribution Channel Management In 2005, Distribution Channel Management as an issue must be viewed in a much broader context than in the past. Whereas most hospitality organizations have devoted extraordinary efforts to managing electronic channels, a broad-based distribution management strategy now must consider the following challenges. In 2005 it is expected that price sensitivity will continue to drive consumer buying behavior in virtually every segment. Pricing structures will need to demonstrate price integrity across all distribution channels-not just electronic ones. The potential challenges are formidable: lead times to booking continue to shrink; the move toward real time inventory becomes paramount, impacting technology, product categories, segments and channels; and the desire to track and manage every revenue stream in every channel means that distribution channel management transitions to a focus on the most profitable customer.
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Fig. 10.3 HCL to close Axon deal by October 24, 2008 With Infosys Technologies refusal to revise the bid for Axon Group, HCL technologies has emerged as the clear front runner in the bid for the largest overseas buyout by an Indian IT company. Axon group has already accepted HCL technologies Bid of 441 million pound. HCL will now submit a Scheme of Agreement on or before 24 October. QuantM puts India on cloud computing map Global computing giant IBM on September 24, 2008 launched a "cloud computing" centre in Bangalore, putting the country on worlds map in an emerging area that takes information technology one step.
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MARKETING ISSUES IN DISTIBUTION CHANNEL

Distribution strategy can be shaped by how decisions are made in other marketing areas. Product Issues The nature of the product often dictates the distribution options available especially if the product requires special handling. For instance, companies selling delicate or fragile products, such as flowers, look for shipping arrangements that are different than those sought for companies selling extremely tough or durable products, such as steel beams. Promotion Issues Besides issues related to physical handling of products, distribution decisions are affected by the type of promotional activities needed to sell the product to customers. For products needing extensive salesperson-to-customer contact (e.g., IT infrastructure purchases) the distribution options are different than for products where customers typically require no sales assistance (i.e., bread purchases). Pricing Issues The desired price at which a marketer seeks to sell their product can impact how they choose to distribute. As previously mentioned, the inclusion of resellers in a marketers distribution strategy may affect a products pricing since each member of the channel seeks to make a profit for their contribution to the sale of the product. If too many channel members are involved the eventual selling price may be too high to meet sales targets in which case the marketer may explore other distribution options. Target Market Issues A distribution system is only effective if customers can obtain the product. Consequently, a key decision in setting up a channel arrangement is for the marketer to choose the approach that reaches customers in the most effective way possible.
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REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The IT industry has been rapidly evolving with new specialized and value added offerings being delivered. Each of these services is reaching critical mass and has uniqueness therefore necessitating finer segmentation and a more focused approach. Like IT and BPO, we see Infrastructure Management as a large opportunity requiring focused attention and nurturing. With the formation of a new ministry for IT, Government of India (GOI) has taken a major step towards promoting the domestic industry and achieving the full potential of the Indian IT entrepreneurs. Constraints have been comprehensively identified and steps taken to overcome them and also to provide incentives. Thus for example, venture capital has been the main source of finance for software industry around the world. However, majority of the software units in India is in the small and medium enterprise sector and there is a critical shortage of venture capital kind of support. In order to alleviate this situation and to promote Indian IT industry, the Government of India has set up a National Task Force on IT and Software Development to examine the feasibility of strengthening the industry. The Task Force has already submitted its recommendations, which are under active consideration. Norms for the operations of venture capital funds have also been liberalized to boost the industry. The Government of India is also actively providing fiscal incentives and liberalizing norms for FDI and raising capital abroad. Recently, an IT committee was set up by the Ministry of Information Technology, Government of India, comprising Non Resident Indian (NRI) professionals from the United States to seek expertise and advice and also to step up U.S. investments in India's IT sector. The committee is chaired by Minister of Information Technology, Government of India, and the members include Secretary, Ministry of Information Technology and a large number of important Indian American IT entrepreneurs. The group will:
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Monitor global IT developments and refine Indian IT policy to meet global requirements. Specifically, this will help angel investors, venture creators and incubation;
Promote the growth of human resource development in the IT sector with the aim of creating quality-based education;
Promote R&D in the sector by identifying thrust areas and drawing up a blueprint for action.
Indias most prized resource in todays knowledge economy is its readily available technical work force. India has the second largest English-speaking scientific professionals in the world, second only to the U.S. It is estimated that India has over 4 million technical workers, over 1,832 educational institutions and polytechnics, which train more than 67,785 computer software professionals every year. Government of India is stepping up the number and quality of training facilities in the country to capitalize on this extraordinary human resource. It is the knowledge industry that will help take the Indian economy to a sustained higher rate of growth and the policy makers are fully aware of this.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The purpose of study is to identify the untagged business areas because of underlying flaws in distribution network. Among other purposes, infrastructure management seeks to reduce duplication of effort, ensure adherence to standards, enhance the flow of information throughout an information system, Promote adaptability necessary for a changeable environment, ensure interoperability among organizational and external entities, Maintain effective change management policies and practices. The purpose of collecting the attached primary data has been to determine the capability of the company to streamline its communications with its sole clients as well as new clients. Its ability to do so has been reflected in the congruence or lack of it in the project report.
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RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
To find the effectiveness of the distributors in promoting QuantMs Infrastructure product:
I. Dealer network of the company and people involved directly and indirectly in the distribution channel that involves the management personnel in hierarchy of the company in Delhi/NCR. II. To find out the market image of QuantM in comparison to its competitors in New Delhi.
III. To conduct Survey on satisfaction of the top management and middle management in dealerships of the IT Infrastructure firms. IV. To identify the Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction causing parameters and how and to what extent it affects the performance of dealers. V. VI. To suggest the possible ways by which the dissatisfaction level can be brought down. To learn the use of statistical tools in bringing about conclusions based on responses obtained in questionnaires.
The thesis has three stages namely 1. Primary research 2. Analysis of collected data 3. Report Preparation
PRIMARY RESEARCH
The primary data was collected directly from respondents using data collection methods like survey interviews, questionnaires, direct observation or tabulation. Use of internet for primary data collection is still in its infancy. The primary research includes various stages namely
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I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII.
Brainstorming Designing of questionnaire Analysis of questionnaire Approval of questionnaire Field investigations Field findings Recording data and feed back
These stages are explained below in detail.
(i)
Brainstorming
The research team observed the requirements of the IT infrastructure manufacturer. Thus customer needs and the requirements were analyzed. Thus after understanding the needs of the customer the research team brainstormed and prioritized the methodologies and structure of the research.
As an outcome of brainstorming the project was assigned to many representatives to study the satisfaction of dealers and distributors of IT infrastructure manufacturer. The representatives were allotted to study different regions of the state. This thesis report was made based on the study conducted in the various regions of Delhi/NCR. Schedules and methodologies of project were also discussed. As time is a constraint for any study which implies cost. So the research was planned to complete within 90 days.
(ii)
Design of Questionnaire
Thus according to the requirements of the client the questionnaires were designed by the literature and research team. Metric has a special set of questions which were used to study the satisfaction index of dealers.
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These were key questions which were framed with a listed set of attributes. These questions helped to extract the real picture and mindset of the dealers. The satisfaction study based questions has three different types namely the delight questions, dissatisfaction questions and the normal point rate ranking questions. Apart from these questions there were many other structured closed and open ended questions. These questions help to understand the dealers knowledge in business policies, terms, advocacy, overall satisfaction, latest developments and suggestions.
The overall rankings of the IT infrastructure manufacturer were also studied to make a comparative analysis. There were also questions to study the communication flow of the organization. This question was designed to understand how the top management keeps aware the mid and low level management people about the latest developments and new policies developed by the manufacturer.
Questions of advocacy, loyalty, reliability and general feedback were also framed to understand the mindset of dealers and distributors. As the IT infrastructure
manufacturers distribution channel has various management officials the questionnaires were designed accordingly. The distribution channel has two parts namely the dealers and the service channel. A dealer set of questionnaire has four people to be interviewed. These people include owner of the dealership/ general manager of dealership, sales manager, service manger and spares manager.
(iii)
Test of the questionnaire
The overall structured questionnaire was analyzed completely and was revised with slight modifications. The questionnaire was analyzed by a team of researchers and quality analysts. Thus the designed samples were tested and design of the questionnaire was checked fool proof. After this stage it was then sent to the approval.
(iv)
Approval of the questionnaire
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The structured questionnaire was anatomized again by the chief of the Metric consultancy and was discussed with the client. After which it was matched with the clients requirements and was approved for further field investigations by the client. Thus after the approval of the questionnaire, the attributes and show cards were printed according to the requirement.
(v)
Field Survey
The research team handed over the questionnaire to the group of field investigation officers and to the management trainees. These printed questionnaires were handed over to the officers according to the preferred locations. This was done so that they can communicate and get the output without bias. This was a counter method to reduce expenses as the preferred locations were usually native place. The investigations were started in the month of February 2009.
The lists of dealers allover India were given to the field investigation team. These lists were further subdivided and handed over to the respective officers according to their area of preference. The investigation stage plays a key role as the entire project was based on the results of the data recorded.
This stage was an expensive stage as primary research data collection requires face to face interaction and time consuming process. The dealer satisfaction was done for both SSS dealer (Sales, Service and Spares) and AMC dealer (Annual Maintenance Contract). Thus the field study was conducted at both main dealers (where the dealership has Sales, Service and Spares) place and ASS (Authorized Service Stations). The owner/General Manager, Spares manager, service manager and sales manger were investigated about their satisfactions with the IT infrastructure manufacturer. The data were recorded and brought along with the questionnaire. The investigations were done by fixing prior appointments with the dealers. The feedback and views of the dealers were recorded as it is. The data were recorded and fed in to the system for analysis and interpretation.
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(vi)
Field Findings
The needs and complaints of the customers were understood and recorded. Some of the field findings or observations which were found from the respondents across the field were listed below.
Biasness in responding to the questionnaires. Reluctance to respond to the questions. The data about the dealers were not updated. Difficult to fix appointments and to cover the target on time. Dealers were looking forward for prompt payment systems from the company. Dealers were not satisfied with the availability of spare parts. They reported that the spares were not available on time and spare parts for old model were not available. Dealers were happy with the overall satisfaction with the infrastructure manufacturer. The advocacy of the dealers to recommend to their friends was positive.
(vii)
Recording Data and Feedback
The data which were collected from dealers were the intellectual property of Metric Consultancy limited. These data are preserved for future analysis and comparison. The data which were recorded were produced to the data entry department. This department would check the validity of data and feed them in the system. The feedbacks were also recorded and observed. These feedbacks were observed and recorded by asking open ended questions to the dealers.
Sample Size
The project was done to understand the satisfaction level amongst the dealers and distributors of the leading IT infrastructure manufacturer.
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As the IT infrastructure
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manufacturer has various channels all over India it would be difficult to get the satisfaction study from all the dealers. So a sample of five dealers of SSS and 5 dealers of ASS were taken as a sample. These sample size is taken from each state and the sample size varies according to the number of outlets in that particular state.
Sampling Procedure
The list of dealers and the list of people whom to be met were provided by the company database administrator. From the list of dealers and distributors the sample was selected based on the number of servers sold and the turnover of the dealership. Based on the state the number of dealership may increase or decrease. These dealers were dealing with the commercial usage of the product.
Analysis
The analysis was the next phase of the project where the collected data were analyzed for preparing report. The data was recorded and fed in the system. The various analysis and interpretation which were found are illustrated below. The following analysis shows the most preferred attributes by the management persons:
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1.1 Most Preferred attributes according to dealership owner
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1.2 - Most Preferred attributes according to dealership sales manager
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1.3 Most Preferred attributes according to dealership spares manager
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1.4 Most Preferred attributes according to dealership service manager
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Cost structure of product
1.5 Most Preferred attribute according to authorized cost structure of the product
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Competitors Analysis structure of product
1.6 Most Preferred attribute according to competitors analysis of the product INTERPRETATION- MOST PREFERRED ATTRIBUTES
From the above charts the following interpretations are made,
1.
The above mentioned attributes were the most prioritized qualities which the dealer and service station management persons preferred.
2.
The satisfaction index of these management persons could be increased by concentrating and improving these areas.
3.
The management policies of the manufacturer should be framed according to this preference to foresee a better satisfaction.
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4. 5. 6.
The most preferred attribute was adequate margins to the dealers. The manufacturer should increase the profit margins for the dealers. The data interpreted shows a clear chit to concentrate on revenue of dealers and availability of spare parts.
SATISFACTION INDEX
2.1 Satisfaction score of dealer owner
Marketing
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2.3 Satisfaction score of dealership Sales manager
2.4 Satisfaction score of dealership service manager
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2.5 Satisfaction score of authorized service Owner/General manager
Logistics Manager
2.6 Satisfaction score of satisfaction index of logistics manager
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INTERPRETATION SATISFACTION INDEX

The following interpretations are made from the above charts
1. 2. 3.
The overall satisfaction for owners/GMs was good. The overall satisfaction for the Sales managers was poor and rest was average. The manufacturer should concentrate on the issues related with spare parts and availability of parts.
4.
The satisfaction in sales was really doing a good part as the score was overall good.
AWARENESS ABOUT MANUFACTURERS INITIATIVES
The following graphical diagrams shows the awareness of manufactures initiatives and polices amongst the management persons of the dealers and service station persons
3.1 Awareness about initiatives taken Dealership Owner

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3.2 Awareness about initiatives taken Pre-Sales Manager
3.3 Awareness about initiatives taken Sales manager
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3.4 Awareness about initiatives taken Dealer Service Manager
3.5 Awareness about initiatives taken Product Quality Associate
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3.6 Awareness about initiatives taken Managing Director
INTERPRETATION AWARENESS ABOUT INITIATIVES

The following interpretations were made from the above diagrams
1. The initiatives taken by the manufacturer in the last one year was to be known by all the people in dealership and service station. To check the communication the analysis was done. 2. The dealership owner and service station owner were well aware. 3. The service manager of dealership was not that aware the rest were well aware. 4. In many stations the managers were aware but initiatives were not implemented.
5. The training provided by the manufacturer for the workers were the satisfying factors for the dealers.
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LOYALTY
The following charts show the loyalty of dealers:
4.1 Loyalty of delaership owner
Product Manager
4.2 Loyalty of dealership product manager
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4.3 Loyalty of dealership Sales manager
4.4 Loyalty of dealership Service manager
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Loyalty of Senior Sales Executive
4.5 Loyalty of Senior Sales Executive station
Loyalty of Partner Companies
4.6 Loyalty of partner companies
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INTERPRETATION LOYALTY
The loyalty of the dealer was also tested along with the satisfaction level. The dealers were asked about the continuation of dealership for the next five years and the data are interpreted. 1. The charts shows the loyalty amongst the managers expect the spares manager and rest all were found to be happy to continue. 2. The spares manager of authorized service station was also found to be not happy with the manufacturer relation. 3. It was found that the spares managers were dissatisfied with the availability of the
spares on time from the manufacturer.
SATISFACTION WITH DEALERSHIP

The following charts would describe the satisfaction level with dealership with the manufacturer.
5.1 Satisfaction Level of Dealership owner with holding dealership

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5.2 Satisfaction level of dealership managerial holding dealership
5.3 Satisfaction level of dealership sales manager holding dealership
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5.4 Satisfaction level of dealership service manager holding dealership
Satisfaction with after sales service
5.5 Satisfaction level of authorized after sales service
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Satisfaction with endurance of IT Hardware product
5.6 Satisfaction level of endurance with IT hardware product
INTERPRETATION SATISFACTION LEVEL FOR HOLDING DEALERSHIP

The following interpretations are made from the above charts 1. The dealership owners were found to be highly satisfied for holding the dealership with the IT infrastructure manufacturers. 2. The dealership service manager and sales manager were partially satisfied for holding the dealership with the IT manufacturers. 3. The spares manager of both dealership and authorized service were not found to be satisfied. The chart shows poor result.
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
The following charts shows the satisfaction level of the dealers on returns of their investments
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5.6 Return on investment Dealership Owner
5.7 Return on investment dealership Manager
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5.8 Return on investment Senior Sales Executive
5.9 Return on ivestment Dealership Team Co-ordinator
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5.10 Return on Investment Authorized OEM
6.6 Return on Investment Pre-sales Manager
INTERPRETATION RETURN ON INVESTMENT
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The dealers were analyzed on the basis of their business generation and revenue earned. The above charts show the satisfaction level. 1. The business revenue and business generated by the dealership were mostly found satisfied. 2. The owners were found satisfied even the individual part sales generate a good return 3. The service area were found to be not so satisfied with the generation of business
RELATION AND CARE OF MANUFACTURER

Questionnaires were framed to find the relationship between the manufacturer and the dealers. The following charts show the relationship level between them.
7.1 Relation and care of manufacturer Dealerhip Owner/GM
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7.2 Relation and care of manufacturer Dealership Manager
7.3 Relation and care of manufacturer Area Sales manager
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7.4 Relation and care of Manufacturer Dealership Service manager
7.5 Relation and care of manufacturer Pre-sales Manager
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7.6 Relation and care of manufacturer Research Team Analyst INTERPRETATION REALTION AND CARE
The following interpretation shows the relationship and care of manufacturer with the dealership owner and management staffs.
1. On the whole the relationship and care of the manufacturer was found to be good. 2. The relationship with the service department was found to be weak. 3. The manufacturer should concentrate on the relationship level and polices with the service department.
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GENERAL FEED BACK FROM DEALERS

1. Dealers expect more support from the manufacturer to improve the ambience of the IT infrastructure market. 2. Payment of incentives within specified time frame. 3. The spares were always found to be inadequate. 4. The quantity of spares supplied to the dealers was found to be less than estimated. 5. The dealership looks for sales promotion activities from the manufacturer side. These were some of the major suggestions and requests given by the dealers during interaction.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The following were the limitations of the project;
The sample size on which data will be analyzed is very small. This is because, for a particular project, data will be collected from different places. However, the conclusions and recommendations drawn out of this project will be analyzed on the basis of data collected from only one field of survey i.e. Delhi. Biased data provided by the respondents due to time constraint and fear of name revelation.
Respondents may not provide full or accurate information during the survey.
There could be some errors, data collection, data interpretation, and even the environment plays an important role in the outcome of the results.
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RECOMMENDATIONS:
The following are some of the recommendations for the manufacturer to look upon. These are based on understanding and learning in the field:
1. QuantM should improve the availability of required models and spare of hardware which is of utmost priority to the dealers. 2. There should not be area conflict amongst the distributors. 3. Enhance the relationship with the distributor to gain the customer confidence. 4. Dumping of obsolete components and spare should be avoided which becomes the most annoying factor. 5. Complaints should be attended to at the earliest possible and correctly to mutual satisfaction. 6. Appropriate training on new products should be provided to sales executive and research analyst in the company. 7. It should be made sure that awareness of new initiatives taken is cent percent. 8. The company can help the dealers in managing the business thereby improving their rate of return on their investment.
Concentrating in these areas would definitely result in increased satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy of the existing dealers.
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SWOT ANALYSIS
Strength: I. A very Huge IT infrastructure provider with largest no. of channel partner potential II. III. IV. V. VI. One of the fastest growing sectors Corporate customers are ready to pay for cutting edge services FDI limits are 74% Unified license regime Largest infrastructure provider in government organizations
Weaknesses: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. Poor quality of after sales services Low cost of facility management services Higher level of dissatisfaction amongst the dealers High fluctuation in the endurance of product in the market Too many authorities ruling this sector Wide scales of consumer churn in this sector. Now the number portability is coming up so it will increase the consumer churn rate VII. Problem of limited spectrum availability and the issue of interconnection between private and government organization Opportunities: I. II. III. IV. To offer more VAS on servers, storage and facility management services Increase grip on government organization Providing huge knowledgebase to the dealer for a particular product. Scope of improvement in after sales services
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Threats: I. II. Threat of low cost service provider Critically analyze the customer preference and satisfaction measurement in Indian IT Infrastructure Industry The service providers have to incur a huge initial fixed cost to make a mark in rural markets. Achieving break-even under these conditions Shifting of dealers to other major players network Payment delays in government organizations
III.
IV. V.
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CONCLUSION
After careful research study, it can be concluded that the overall satisfaction of the dealers and authorized service centre owners were found to be above average. It can be further improved by concentrating in the area of spares department, payment and credit issues.
Satisfying the dealers in all aspects is practically impossible. Thus the manufacturer is found to perform reasonably well in the industry which also gives it a prominent place in the automobile industry. After working for nearly 5 weeks I came to the conclusion that marketing not only comprises of 4Ps (Price, Place, Product, Promotion) but there is still scope for more. Secondly a huge price pressure is there, one can easily watch how 4Ps is applicable in market. Being there as HCLs representative, I not only followed 4Ps but also tried to find something else that is more applicable to the retailer of consumer durables and ultimately I landed on 4As (Analysis, Attention, Acceptance, Action) .
Analysis Time needs to be earmarked to determine the drivers, emotional and logical needs and traditional & Psycho graphic nuances of the intended audiences. This step allows focus micro segmentation and a significant decrease in marketing cost. Attention. Once you've identified who are the core prospect for your or services is creative efforts must be taken to and maintain their attention.
Accept. You must use the tools of copy design, social networks psychology and repetition to get the intended audience to accept that your solution is the best one to take. This acceptance must take place despite the fact that your solution is just one.
Action The prospect has to act on acceptance of your proposition by doing whatever it is you want them to do Generally, this might be making one or more purchases (be sure your market strategy includes opportunities for buyers to evangelize their experiences).
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REFERENCE
1. Manav Marwah-Sales Manager, QuantM Net Technologies Pvt. Ltd. 2. Sameer Arora- Managing Director, QuantM Net Technologies Pvt. Ltd. 3. Prashant Mukharjee- Senior Sales Executive, QuantM Net Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
1) 2)
www.metricconsultancy.com Business research methods by Icfai Centre for Management and Research
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books & Journals 1. QuantM The configuration Team
2. Journal- How to be the most preferred channel Partner 3. The building tool for modern organizations 4. Configure your sales team with technical knowledgebase Websites 1. www.quantm.com
2. www.businessconfig.com 3. www.channelsales.co.in 4. www.sdpertners.com
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ANNEXURE
A Study on DEALERS SATISFACTION with QuantM Net Technologies, Gurgaon Questionnaire 1. 2. 3. Name: Address: Experience in Dealership: 1-3 years 4-7 years 8-10 years above 10 years How long are you dealing with QuantMs IT infrastructure product? 1-3 years 4-7 years 8-10 years above 10 years How do you feel about quality of QuantMs product? Very Good Good Satisfactory Poor Which factor enables you to be the dealer of QUANTMS hardware products? Very Good Good Satisfactory Poor What do you feel about credit period given by QUANTM? Very Good Good Satisfactory Poor What do you think about Promotion Activities given by QUANTM? Very Good Good Satisfactory Poor What do you feel about the Price of QUANTMS products? Very High High Average Poor What type of promotional activity do you prefer with QUANTMS products? Discount Gift Vouchers Prize Offers Whether the expected quantity of QUANTMS hardware products is supplied to you in time? Yes No Are you dealing with other companies? Yes No If yes, specify __________________________________________________________________ Are you dealing with other companies? Yes No If No, specify
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14.
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__________________________________________________________________ What do you feel about the employees dealing with you in QUANTM? Highly Satisfied Satisfied Average Dissatisfied What are the factors that you expect from QUANTM? Promotional Scheme Sales follow-up Service Credit facility Do you have any complaints about QUANTMS hardware products? Yes No If Yes, specify the reason, _________________________________________________________________ Do you recommend your customers about QUANTMS products? Yes No If No, specify the reason, __________________________________________________________________ Do you have any suggestions to improve the quality of QUANTMS hardware products? Yes No If yes, specify the reason, __________________________________________________________________ What do you feel about after sales service given by QUANTM? Highly Satisfied Satisfied Moderate Dissatisfied
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A Study on SALES TEAM PERSPECTIVE in QuantM Net Technologies, Gurgaon Questionnaire 1. 2. 3. Name: Address: Total work experience in the company: 1-3 years 4-7 years 8-10 years above 10 years How well versed are you with QuantMs IT infrastructure product? Very Good Good Satisfactory Poor How do you feel about senior officials in the company? Very Supportive and Motivating they support very rarely At times they do not support can not say Do you get sales support while selling the product? Yes No If no, specify __________________________________________________________________ How is your pre-sales Team? Very Good Good Satisfactory Poor What do you think about your salary rise given on time? Yes No If no, specify __________________________________________________________________ What do you feel about the logistics of QUANTM? Very good Good Average Poor What type of perquisites do you prefer with QUANTM? Discount Gift Vouchers Prize Offers Whether the expected conveyance charges are given to you in time? Yes No If no, specify __________________________________________________________________ Are you dealing with other products besides, QUANTMs product? Yes No If yes, specify __________________________________________________________________ Are you dealing with other companies? Yes No
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14.
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If No, specify __________________________________________________________________ What do you feel about the employees dealing with you in QUANTM? Highly Satisfied Satisfied Average Dissatisfied What are the factors that you expect from QUANTM? Promotional Scheme Sales follow-up Service Credit facility Do you have any complaints about QUANTMS products? Yes No If yes, specify the reason, __________________________________________________________________ Do you recommend your friends and relatives about QUANTMS products? Yes No If No, specify the reason, __________________________________________________________________ Do you have any suggestions to improve the work process of sales team? Yes No If yes, specify the reason, __________________________________________________________________ Do you get the payment from your client companies on time? Yes No If no, specify _________________________________________________________________
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Thesis Response sheet

Response sheet number: 1 Thesis Topic: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF CHANNEL SALES IN QUANTM NET TECHNOLOGIES
Date: 24.07.09
Details of the student ( Name ,Batch ,Alumni Id ,Phone No and Email Id ) Ankur Yadav FW/07-09 DF79-M-0800 09811815381 ankur97@gmail.com
Thesis synopsis ( Attach thesis synopsis [ if response sheets are emailed] with every response sheet )
Date when the guide was consulted: 27/07/09
Progress of the work : (Students are required to give a gist of the literature review, data collection, analysis and recommendations etc... however; the questionnaire (if it is part of the methodology) has to be complete (use a separate sheet if required).
Histiorical Perspective, Introdction to QuantM Net Technologies Ltd. QuantM was incorporated in 1988 as a unique concept of vendor independent integration Sevices Company providing the heterogeneous platform integration for servers, network and databases. Over the year we have added the skills and competence to address the more recent infrastructure needs of storage, middleware and security
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Market Place availability: Service availability and response time expectations are two basic Quality of Service metrics an institution needs to achieve to maintain satisfied constituents. For example if there are two gas stations close to your home, and one is open more hours and the wait time to be served is significantly shorter, over time you are likely to use the more available gas station, and possibly switch forever Key Application and business process: Key Applications or Business Processes are designations at QuantM that mandate a minimal level of system availability, system response time, and metric reporting. Key Applications or Business Processes meet one or more of the following criteria: 1. Use by external QuantM Customers. 2. Quantity of revenue or order capture volume. 3. Web Site or Event influencing company image in major way
Comments from external guide:
I find the work quiet informative and is in the alignment with exact work process of the company. The rate of work progress is satisfactory.
Manav Marvah Signature of the external guide: Ankur Yadav Signature of the Student: Signature of the internal guide:
Note: -Whenever a student emails his/her response sheet, he/she has to send all the previous response sheets too. Response sheets should be emailed to the concerned internal guide. Signature of the guide is not mandatory if the student sends the response sheets through email. Note:- Students must always use the thesis title as approved and sent to them by email
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Thesis Response sheet Response sheet number: 2 Thesis Topic: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF CHANNEL SALES IN QUANTM NET TECHNOLOGIES Date: 25.07.09 Details of the student ( Name ,Batch ,Alumni Id ,Phone No and Email Id ) Ankur Yadav FW/07-09 ALUMNI ID NUMBER: DF79-M-0800 ankur97@gmail.com Thesis synopsis ( Attach thesis synopsis [ if response sheets are emailed] with every response sheet ) Date when the guide was consulted: 24.07.09 Progress of the work :
SETTING AVAILABILITY TARGETS

The service level expectations, in commercial and non-profit operations, historically started out with the hours the physical facility was open by law, became a differentiator among firms. A web site, or any technology that enables access to a commercial organization (i.e. automated teller machines for banks), raises customer expectations that these institutions are always available to process a request with prompt response time. ORAGANIZATIONAL CHART
COMPANY ANALYSIS
QuantM works as partners with local integrator to leverage on their reach and
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relationships while they can offer the QuantM skills and solutions to their esteemed customers. QuantM is sensitive to the changes of collaboration with all kinds of companies, even some, which might appear as competitors to some marketing organizations, resellers and systems. 2009 is set to be a difficult year for Indias potentially vast IT market, as the country is buffeted by strong economic headwinds
Comments from external guide: The company analysis done is in alignment with company structure and business process. However, there is some scope of improvement is present. The work done is satisfactory.
Manav Marwah Signature of the external guide: Ankur Yadav Signature of the Student:
Signature of the internal guide:
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Thesis Response sheet Response sheet number: 3 Thesis Topic: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF CHANNEL SALES IN QUANTM NET TECHNOLOGIES Date: 28.08.09 Details of the student ( Name ,Batch ,Alumni Id ,Phone No and Email Id ) Ankur Yadav FW/07-09 ALUMNI ID NUMBER: DF79-M-0800 ankur97@gmail.com Thesis synopsis ( Attach thesis synopsis [ if response sheets are emailed] with every response sheet ) Date when the guide was consulted: 27.07.09 Progress of the work : COMPETITORS ANALYSIS Progressive Infotech Progressive is an Innovative, international technology company formed as a result of the acquisition by the Lenovo Group of the IBM Personal Computing division. As a global leader in the IT hardware market, they develop, manufacture and market professional provide customers around the world with smarter ways to be productive and they can be ascertained as a bitter rival of HCL. SAAR Infotech SAAR India is a subsidiary of HCL that was founded in 1982 in India. SAAR in India has huge market even after its merger with Hellwet Packard (hp). Compaq's desktop, notebooks and accessories are the main products manufactured by SAAR in India. The Hoston based company works with main focus on computers and servers. It captures about 25% of Indian hardware market. The two IT giants can pose a threat to domestic conglomerates like Infosys, Satyam Computers etc. In Bangalore Compact Computer Corporation has launch. This facility will be used by SAAR India to sell its products like the Presario range Notebooks.
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PC Solution This company Incorporated founded by was renamed Mr. P. Raghavan in 1987. It is a largest franchised computer retail chain in NCR, manufacturer in the region (by sales) after and mobile PCs (laptops),as well as peripherals, and e-business services for business, government, education, and home cutting-edge, reliable, high quality PC products and value sidiary and medium businesses. Aruni Raghavan his wife Carolyn Yeh, and a group of five others in 1976
CURRENT SCENARIO The Indian IT Infrastructure industry has grown from a mere US $ 150 million in 199192 to a staggering US $ 5.7 billion (including over $4 billion worth of software exports) in 1999-2000. competition. No other Indian industry has performed so well against the global
Comments from internal guide: The work done shows the overall analysis of competitors present in the market and puts up areas of major challenges to the company. The quality of work is in accordance with company work processes.
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CURRENT SCENARIO
The Indian IT Infrastructure industry has grown from a mere US $ 150 million in 199192 to a staggering US $ 5.7 billion (including over $4 billion worth of software exports) in 1999-2000. competition. No other Indian industry has performed so well against the global The annual growth rate of Indias IT Infrastructure exports has been
consistently over 50 percent since 1991. PROFITABILITY OF SEGMENTION Manufacturing PC is essentially a business of assembling components from OEMs like Seagate etc and branding the manufactured unit for end customers. The cost of components is the major cost element in the price of PC to the tune of around 80%. The margin for a business is dependent on the manufacturer relation with OEMs, Apart from
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this margin depends on branding power of the manufacturer. Prices of hard disk, memory, and processor constitute major components is very important.
MAJOR CHALLENGES
The key issues that face IT administrators today, such as managing inventory, guaranteeing system uptime, managing and deploying software updates in heterogeneous environments and maintaining configuration security and compliance, are pervasive in data centers and network operation centers of all sizes. And, in most environments, these problems have become even more acute due to constraints on IT resources, particularly in a slowing economy. Product Issue Promotion Issues Place Issues Pricing Issue
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REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The IT industry has been rapidly evolving with new specialized and value added offerings being delivered. Each of these services is reaching critical mass and has uniqueness therefore necessitating finer segmentation and a more focused approach. Like IT and BPO, we see Infrastructure Management as a large opportunity requiring focused attention and nurturing.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY & OBJECTIVE
To find the effectiveness of the distributors in promoting QuantMs Infrastructure product:
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VII. Dealer network of the company and people involved directly and indirectly in the distribution channel that involves the management personnel in hierarchy of the company in Delhi/NCR. VIII. To find out the market image of QuantM in comparison to its competitors in New Delhi.
IX. To conduct Survey on satisfaction of the top management and middle management in dealerships of the IT Infrastructure firms. To identify the Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction causing parameters and how and to what extent it affects the performance of dealers
PRIMARY RESEARCH
The primary data was collected directly from respondents using data collection methods like survey interviews, questionnaires, direct observation or tabulation. Use of internet for primary data collection is still in its infancy. The primary research includes various stages
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Thesis Response sheet Response sheet number: 6 Thesis Topic: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF CHANNEL SALES IN QUANTM NET TECHNOLOGIES Date: 01.08.09 Details of the student ( Name ,Batch ,Alumni Id ,Phone No and Email Id ) Ankur Yadav FW/07-09 ALUMNI ID NUMBER: DF79-M-0800 ankur97@gmail.com Thesis synopsis ( Attach thesis synopsis [ if response sheets are emailed] with every response sheet ) Date when the guide was consulted: 28.07.09 X. Progress of the work :
Recording Data and Feedback
The data which were collected from dealers were the intellectual property of Metric Consultancy limited. These data are preserved for future analysis and comparison. The data which were recorded were produced to the data entry department. This department would check the validity of data and feed them in the system. The feedbacks were also recorded and observed. Major Implication The list of dealers and the list of people whom to be met were provided by the company database administrator. From the list of dealers and distributors the sample was selected based on the number of servers sold and the turnover of the dealership. Based on the state the number of dealership may increase or decrease.
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Analysis The analysis was the next phase of the project where the collected data were analyzed for preparing report. The data was recorded and fed in the system. The various analysis and interpretation which were found are illustrated below. The following analysis shows the most preferred attributes by the management persons:
GENERAL FEED BACK FROM DEALERS

Dealers expect more support from the manufacturer to improve the ambience of IT infrastructure market. Payment of incentives within specified time frame. The quantity of spares supplied to the dealers was found to be less than estimated. The dealership looks for sales promotion activities from the manufacturer side.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The sample size on which data will be analyzed is very small. This is because, for a particular project, data will be collected from different places. However, the conclusions and recommendations drawn out of this project will be analyzed on the basis of data collected from only one field of survey i.e. Delhi.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
The following are some of the recommendations for the manufacturer to look upon. 1. QuantM should improve the availability of required models and spare of hardware which is of utmost priority to the dealers. 2. 3. There should not be area conflict amongst the distributors. Enhance the relationship with the distributor to gain the customer confidence.
SWOT ANALYSIS
The SWOT analysis has been done after care analysis of data collected from dealers and management officials of the company. The company should focus on the available
opportunities available with it and needs to take care of threats.
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CONCLUSION
After careful research study, it can be concluded that the overall satisfaction of the dealers and part owners were found to be above average. It can be further improved by concentrating in the area of spares department, payment and credit issues.
Satisfying the dealers in all aspects is practically impossible. Thus the manufacturer is found to perform reasonably well in the industry which also gives it a prominent place in the IT infrastructure industry. After working for nearly 16 weeks I came to the
conclusion that marketing not only comprises of 4Ps (Price, Place, Product, Promotion) but there is still scope for more. Analysis Time needs to be earmarked to determine the drivers, emotional and logical needs and traditional Attention. Once you've identified who are the core prospect for your or services is creative efforts must be taken to and maintain their attention. Accept. You must use the tools of copy design, social networks psychology and repetition to get the intended audience to accept that your solution is the best one . Action The prospect has to act on acceptance of your proposition by doing whatever it is you want them to do Generally, this might be making one or more purchases (be sure your market strategy includes opportunities for buyers to evangelize their experiences).
Note: -Whenever a student emails his/her response sheet, he/she has to send all the previous response sheets too. Response sheets should be emailed to the concerned internal guide. Signature of the guide is not mandatory if the student sends the response sheets through email. Note:- Students must always use the thesis title as approved and sent to them by email.
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The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

IT Infrastructures in India consist of:

Technologies and many more.

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

Availability Reliability Manageability Scalability

These are often referred as ARMS of the IT Infrastructure.

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

INTRODUCTION TO QUANTM NET TECHNOLOGIES

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

component issues, application availability issues, or errors in business process monitors.

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

MARKET PLACE IMPACT OF AVAILABILITY

Fig. 1: Customer Satisfaction trend compared to site

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

KEY APPLICATIONS AND BUSINESS PROCESS

Fig. 2 Key Applications

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

SETTING AVAILABILITY TARGETS

Fig. 3: Setting Response Time Targets

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

IT Organized Infrastructure Facility Management Unorganized services

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

Fig. 7: Distribution of Sales

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

QuantM HCL InfoSystems Progressive Infotech Saarc Solutions PC Infrastructure Others

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

(* Source: NASSCOM Report)

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

PROFITABILITY OF THE SEGMENT

Server Storage Middleware Hard Disk SAN Switches DataCenters

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi

Alumni ID No. DF79-M-0800

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management, New Delhi