The company announced its entry into the smart mobile phone segment through a partnership

In Intel, more than 70 per cent of shipped device will come from emerging countries in the next few years and I want India to be a part of this. After dominating the PC and laptop segment globally, US chipmaker Intel has begun to move into the mobility space. The company announced its entry into the smart mobile phone  segment through a partnership with Lava Mobile and is looking to sew up more such deals in the country. Business Line recently met Ms Debjani Ghosh. Managing Director, Sales and Marketing Group, Intel South Asia, to know how the technology giant plans to take on the challenges in the Indian market space.

What are the main challenges for Intel in India?

The opportunity to do things in India is huge. But when you start looking at market trends you realise it behaves differently and it's a complex market. All other emerging markets like Brazil and Russia are poised to grow at 25-30 per cent. India is growing at 8-10 per cent. If you look at the link between GDP growth and PC growth all other market is hand in hand with just one or two percentage point gap. But in India, GDP growth is 13-14 per cent and PC growth is at 8 per cent which means even those who have money don't want to buy a PC. The challenge here is to find a compelling reason for the consumer to buy computers. In Intel, more than 70 per cent of shipped device will come from emerging countries in the next few years and I want India to be a part of this.

PC growth may not be all that encouraging, but other computing devices like mobile phones have seen good growth. Isn't that the opportunity?

It cannot be about just about device growth, there has to be usage and consumption. We talk about how increase in computing and broadband leads to a direct increase in GDP. But how will GDP growth be affected if all broadband is used for Facebook or social network. The story to be told is how technology is impacting competitiveness and we have a long way to go in that direction. Ultimately, it's a mix of having right device at the right price, good broadband, and awareness about how to use the device.

Why can Intel lead in connecting the dots?

That's my charter. The goal is by 2015 we want to make India a lead emerging market. Today, it's a big market but not leader. That's my goal over the next 3-4 years. It has to be all about partnership. This cannot be an Intel alone agenda but we will help create a framework. But if you keep fighting for market share, you are not investing in the right areas. Look at the IDC numbers, there's only 1 or 2 per cent difference between the top market leaders and it keeps changing. This is most unhealthy market I have seen. So no one want to invest in anything else than putting a cheap device in the market.

How will Intel do this collaborative work?

We need to build a compelling framework. The biggest problem is that most consumers don't know what to do with a PC. We are thinking about how can do it differently to bridge this relevance gap. That's the most difficult piece. Then you look at device play where all OEMs should invest money to building awareness, channels. Affordability is linked to relevance. If you don't know how to use it, you say it's not affordable.

Are you already talking to partners for achieving this goal?

Our goal is to get this out starting third quarter. We would love if government played a part. There is money in the USO fund they should use it for training centres and create awareness. But you don't have a basic devices for the low end. This is about market growth. If you link such investments to sales then it gets limited. I won't hold back investments to say that until you buy my product, I won't invest. Having said that we are going to be in the entry level notebook segment with a device priced at $200 -250. But I am not worried about not having a low-end device.

Is Intel late to address the mobile segment?

Given that rate at which market is growing, I am not worried of being late. What we are worried is about getting right technology which will offer some-thing different to users.

You have partnered with Lava, are you looking for other such deals? What happened to partnership with Nokia?

We are ready to work with everyone but it's about figuring out the right partner. The partnership with Nokia didn't work out. But has it taken us a step back? No. Our commitment is getting a phone that has best experience with partners who are hungry to win.

So are you then betting more on your strong areas of PC and laptop?

Yes. I think there so much opportunity in that segment. PC and phones will be the biggest chunk of the market. Tablets are growing but it will be small part. I see all three playing out as customers move to multiple devices. With just 8 per cent PC penetration cannibalisation is least of my worries. My focus is to get a strong roadmap with right products with right features and making it accessible to users.

Source: The Hindu Business Line