Computers Today, May 1-15, 1999, Country Buzz, pg3

May 1-15, 1999 COUNTRY BUZZE

Microsoft, Nortel Ally for Unified Networks

T.G. Ramesh Microsoft Corp. and Nortel Networks have entered into a partnership to jointly address the service provider and the enterprise market in India. The partnership would smoothen the delivery of four categories of Unified Networks solutions being deployed in India by Nortel. These are optical Internet, intranet services, wireless Internet and Internet telephony.

Sanjay Mirchandani, managing director, Microsoft says, "We are excited that Nortel Networks has selected Windows as its platform to facilitate easier management of unified solutions for the service providers and the enterprise market, in India. This joint initiative would deliver industry leading, highly reliable communications and computing solutions that would fill both their telecommunication and computing requirements."

T. G. Ramesh, country manager-India, Nortel Networks says, "Customers in India would benefit from the flexibility, reliability and economy of unified solutions without sacrificing the security and functionality of today's communication and computing products. Our association with Microsoft would bring to the Indian customer the combined power of networks and applications. This will provide a high quality of service irrespective of the application."

Nortel recently partnered in Microsoft Executive Summit held in Jaipur between April 15 and 17.

PERIPHERALS
Printer Shipments to Touch Half-a-million Mark in 1999

According to Dataquest Inc., a Gartner Group company, printer shipments in India are expected to cross the half million mark in 1999, a growth of nine percent over 1998-from 4,74,185 in 1998 to 5,18,103 this year. Inkjet printer shipments will continue to grow the fastest with an estimated growth of around 13 percent from 2,10,090 units in 1998 to 2,37,896 in 1999. Dot matrix printers are expected to grow a modest six percent from 2,24,627 units in 1998 to 2,37,317 units in 1999. Laser unit shipments in 1999 are expected to rise by 9 percent from 39,468 units in 1998 to 42,890 units in 1999.

The fast growth of inkjet printers is an indication of the rapid growth in PC sales in the home and small and medium business segments. The report states that crashing PC prices and increased Internet usage will be the drivers of growth in sales for the home and small business segment. The forecast has predicted that Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) printer shipments are forecast to grow by 15.7 percent to reach 8.1 million units shipped in 1999. Inkjet printer shipments will exceed 5 million units this year, growing faster than the market as a whole at 18.2 percent over 1998.

As per another study, the Indian market shipped 1,43,000 PCs in the fourth quarter of 1998, valued at $167 million. Unit shipments rose by 48 percent in the quarter over the previous year, quarter-on-quarter shipments registered a 9 percent growth, the highest in the year. Revenue rose by a marginal 6 percent year on year, owing to the introduction of high-value PCs at the entry level with the arrival of new microprocessor technologies. Deskbound PC shipments grew by 50 percent in the fourth quarter, in comparison to the same quarter in 1997. In absolute terms, the growth was from 93,030 units in the fourth quarter of 1997 to 1,39,990 units in the fourth quarter of 1998. Deskbound PC shipments grew by 8 percent over the previous quarter. Notebook sales rose by 18 percent quarter-on-quarter, attributable to corporate buying.

TELECOM
VSNL to Invest Rs 500 crore in Global Satcomms

Amitabh Kumar India's international telecom carrier Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) plans to invest in three satellite projects. Of the three, it has decided to put in about Rs 500 crore into two satellite-based mobile communications projects-ICO Global Communications and the Subhash Chandra-promoted Agrani satellite project. VSNL would invest about Rs 284 crore in the $2.5 billion ICO Global satellite project as subscription to an ongoing rights issue, raising the company's total exposure to the project to nearly Rs 1,000 crore.

"We have already invested about Rs 700 crore in the ICO Global project. We will soon channel another tranche of Rs 284 crore as subscription to the ICO Global rights issue which is out now, thereby maintaining its stake at 7 percent," VSNL acting CMD Amitabh Kumar said. VSNL is currently the second largest investor in ICO Global after Inmarsat. Other major partners in the project include Deutsche Telekom, Hughes Network Systems, Singapore Telecom, British Telecom and Swisscom. ICO will launch its services from the third quarter of 2000.

VSNL also proposes to invest Rs 200 crore in the Agrani project, a regional satellite access system, which is yet to receive a Government approval. Agrani is promoted by Afro-Asian Satellite Communications Ltd (AASCL), a consortium of several companies in which Zee TV owner Subhash Chandra holds a majority stake. Other partners include VSNL and Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin will have the largest stake with an investment of Rs 420 crore in Agrani. VSNL proposes to invest in Newsky Satellite, a company which has six satellites and interests in broadcasting and the Internet. Newsky is owned by Intelsat.

LAUNCHES
Compaq's New Presario Breaks Rs 50,000-barrier

Som Mittal As part of its strategy to become the largest brand of home PCs in India by the end of this year, Compaq Computer has launched its first fully featured multimedia Presario 4010 for Rs 45,900. With this, Compaq will have a definitive product in the sub-Rs 50,000 category, which constitutes three fourths of the Indian home PC market. Till now, Compaq Presarios were priced in the Rs 65, 000 plus category. Interestingly, Zenith Computers has announced the availability of its Zenith Pentium III PCs at Rs 49,999.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, Som Mittal (photo), managing director, Compaq Computer India Pvt. Ltd, said, "For the first time in India, a global PC brand will be offering not only the best features, but also the best price in the market. The combined value for money and superior Compaq brand will offer potential customers a win-win deal." The price competitiveness is specially relevant to a market like India, which is the most price sensitive market in the Asia Pacific region. In India, nearly 74 percent of the market consists of the entry level machines, compared to only 42 percent in China.

According to Ravi Swaminathan, director (consumer division), Compaq Computer India, "The Presario 4010 is a 'No Compromise' product. It has not been stripped of features to make it price competitive. It includes features which are found in the high end machines currently available in the market. These include Aureal A3D surround sound, JBL Pro Powered Speakers which offer theatre quality sound, and a 15" Digital Monitor which offers Arcade quality graphics."

Mittal pointed out that India will be the most important market for home PCs for Compaq in Asia for at least the next 5 years. He said it would grow faster than any other market in the region, overtaking even high growth regions like China.

HP Offers N-Class Midrange Servers For Enterprises

Hewlett Packard Company has launched its HP 9000 N-Class enterprise server, a powerful midrange system designed for enterprises and service providers performing business critical solutions. The new product is targeted at business critical applications such as data warehousing, E-commerce and ERP. Ganesh Ayyar (photo), president, HP India, says, "With the mass proliferationof the Net, enterprises do not just need more technology, but also the right technology. HP's N-class gives customers the right package that redefines midrange computing for e-services world."

Issue Contents Write to us Subscriptions Syndication