Thursday, August 30, 2012

INTERVIEW : RAJIV BHALLA, COUNTRY HEAD, SALES & MARKETING, NEC INDIA

Rajiv Bhalla, Country Head, Sales & Marketing, NEC India strives to be an active player in the UID project. He says that the project will completely change the way identity and authentication is viewed today. By Neha Saraiya

B&E: So, what should be a B2B company’s strategy to grow its partner network in the country to reach out to its customer base?
RB: For any B2B organization, direct marketing, relationship management and creation of a partner ecosystem that naturally complements the organization and in that process “value adds to its principal and the customer” is a key to success. Partner selection in a B2B setup is critical. Ideally partners need to have the domain and industry expertise, value sets, learning curve experience and the necessary “reach and depth” to complement and be a “mirror image” for the principal that it represents.

B&E: What is the core of your strategy to increase NEC’s market share in all the B2B categories?
RB: In APAC, we have attained a leadership position in the enterprise telephony space and are upbeat on replicating the same in the Indian market. NEC is well aware of the fact that India is a price sensitive and value conscious market. For this, NEC is working closely with its Japanese counterparts in developing products and solutions which meet the requirements of Indian customers and are also cost-effective.

B&E: Biometrics is another important field where you are working very closely especially with the advent of UID project in India?
RB: We have been very active in the biometric solutions space for the past 40 years globally. NEC is now looking at making a mark in India with its state-of-the-art biometric solutions. Our biometrics solutions are designed for both criminal and civil applications. Our market strategy in biometrics revolves around building partnerships. We hope to be an active player in the UID project. We believe that the project will completely change the way identity and authentication is viewed today. We have invested in the development of a Biometric Centre of Excellence in Bangalore. This is NEC’s first ever Centre of Excellence in India, established with an aim for development, deployment and support of identity solutions. We will continue to invest in developing cutting edge technology in this space and help improve security and preserve identity of people.

B&E: How does the company plan to provide its hi-tech solutions at reasonable costs?
RB: Like any other industry, opportunities and challenges are equally predominant. While hoteliers want to improve their guest experience, they are constantly striving to reduce the total cost of ownership. With the influx of technology and sophisticated solutions, conventional sources of earning revenue have dwindled. With the intention of increasing revenue the hotels are looking at offering a bouquet of value added services like movie on demand, music downloads, interactive games which will entice the guest and also add revenue. And we as ac company provide them an integrated technology solutions that enhance productivity, reduce overall operational costs and ensures customer satisfaction.


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