CRN Network, November 04, 2009, 1200 hrs
In a bid to gain SMB and commercial enterprise market share, Acer has started wooing SMB partners through a new program titled Acer select partner program.
Later this month, the PC vendor is expected to announce a global strategy for the SMB and enterprise segment, which the Taiwanese PC maker feels will help capitulate it to the No 1 PC slot in the next two years.
In mid September, Acer roped in around 50 new partners who predominantly focus on the enterprise and SMB segment, as a part of the newly launched program.
“The response has been good and we have already managed to generate around Rs 35 crore revenues through new partners. We are hoping to sign on 100 new partners by end of the financial year. Our internal target is about Rs 200 crore, through the new relationships, during the JFM quarter,” said S Rajendran, CMO, Acer India.
The company said that there have been several new corporate and SMB accounts cracked as a result, including names such as Mahindra Finance, BSNL, L&T and Kotak group. “In our larger goal to be the PC market leaders, it's important for us to gain market share in the SMB segment, especially in India. There's a potential 35 million SMB customers out there. Though we are addressing a vast majority of them through our existing partners, this is our first step as an organized approach to reach SMB customers,” he added.
The biggest challenge for Acer, Rajendran admitted, is building relationships with mid-market resellers who have aligned with competitors such as HP, IBM and Lenovo for many years. Acer's inherent weakness, lack of a strong server and storage portfolio will hurt them at least in the shorter run. The company also has been product-centric and has ignored the solutions path in its consumer-centric format.
However, all this is likely to change said Rajendran. “Later this month you can expect a major global announcement where our senior management is likely too announce a strategy that could surprise many. We'll unravel the missing pieces in the jigsaw soon,” said Rajendran.
While he was non-committal on exact details, he threw enough hints on possible ISV partnerships, network storage product line and a more solution-centric approach. |