PREVIOUS ISSUES

 Vardhaman Technology

Ramdas S, Consulting Editor, CRN, presenting the award to Nikit Rambhia, Director, Vardhaman Technology

Mumbai-based system builder Vardhaman Technology had a year-on-year growth rate of 20 percent with a turnover of Rs 18.1 crore for FY2009-10 against Rs 15 crore for FY2008-09.

“Nearly 56 percent of our turnover came from the solutions business largely comprising point-of-sale (POS) terminals, digital signage, thin clients and small form factor (SFF) PCs,” said Amit Rambhia, Director, Vardhaman. The company sells its white boxes and IT appliances under the Panache brand.

According to Rambhia, the company’s success in the solutions business can be attributed to its ability to create niche products at very low volumes and yet at attractive price tags.

Vardhaman was helped by an economy looking at energy and real estate savings. This meant a surge in demand for thin clients and SFF PCs. The company innovated in the digital signage space. “The digital signage market saw a demand for HD playback, and we created solutions based on Nvidia ION as well as using the Intel Z series,” said Rambhia.

Performance Highlights

• Supplied 1,500 thin clients to Nivio for its virtual desktop offering • Helped SBI to roll out its thin client initiative wherein 2,000 desktops were replaced by thin clients embedded with Windows XP • Supplied 3,000 POS terminals for a lottery company in Maharashtra • Prototyped a new tablet PC similar to the iPad based on the Intel Atom processor • Plans to tap overseas markets for thin clients and SFF PCs

Company Snapshot

Company: Vardhaman Technology CEO: Amit Rambhia Year of inception: 2000 Turnover 2009-10: Rs 18.1 crore Turnover 2008-09: Rs 15.1 crore Employees: 35 Certified employees: 7 Principals: Intel, Suse, Microsoft

Vardhaman also prototyped a tablet PC based on the Intel Atom processor, which it says looks as good as an Apple iPad. It is planning to brand and sell it as Slate. Last year Vardhaman shipped 1,500 thin client units to Nivio, the company offering virtual desktop computing services on the Cloud. Another project, called Kyan Community PC, was for IL&FS Education. This was essentially a PC with a built-in projector and other multimedia features.

Vardhaman helped SBI to roll out its thin client initiative wherein around 2,000 desktops were replaced by thin clients with Windows XP embedded. For Indian Hotels the company delivered a video-on-demand over IP solution across various Taj Hotel properties. Another project was for a lottery company to whom Vardhaman delivered 3,000 units of POS terminals across Maharashtra. To create market awareness about its products, Vardhaman focused on online advertising using Google Adwords, and also focused on events where prospective customers could have a look-and-feel of its products. In addition, the company implemented a CRM solution using Microsoft Dynamics.

During the next year Vardhaman plans to launch a Web store with integrated CRM to grow its online business. Plans are also on to tap overseas markets, including Africa and South America, for thin clients and SFF PCs. To facilitate further growth, Vardhaman is setting up a new assembly plant at Bhiwandi near Mumbai.

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