Technology

Opportunities in distribution, corporate and govt. sectors

by Surekha GALAGODA

Sandip Naik

There is a lot of opportunity in Sri Lanka not only in the business of distribution but also in corporate as well as in government, said Head of Channel Sales for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal AMD (Advance Micro Devices), Sandip Naik in a telephone interview with the Sunday Observer.

AMD, the world’s second largest chip maker, believes that there is a lot of potential in the education sector in Sri Lanka, said Naik. He said that AMD is dedicated to driving open innovation, choice and industry growth by delivering superior customer-centric solutions that empower consumers and businesses worldwide.

He said that AMD believes that Sri Lanka has got a great market potential for computers and its efforts to address the needs of the customers, therefore AMD entered into a strategic agreement with PC House in the last quarter, by appointing them as the sole regional distributor for Sri Lanka.

The strategy is to increase AMD’s geographical presence and penetrate deeper into untapped markets, said Naik. He said the main reason for selecting PC House as the partner was their overall reach and it was a very important factor for them. In addition the financial stability too was a consideration.

Speaking of future plans he said that they don’t have immediate plans to open an office in Sri Lanka but we are here for the long-term through PC House. At present through PC House you not only get the Hardware but a total solution which is a value addition at all times. Naik said that they recently launched the dragon platform and it will excite end customers as well as system integrators.

He said that prior to appointing of PC house, AMD conduced business in Sri Lanka but it was not structured. `We at AMD wanted to show a proper channel to our valued customers in Sri Lanka and this was the reason we appointed PC House who has the widest reach in Sri Lanka,’ said Naik. AMD recently launched few products worldwide, out of which the below are expected to do well in Sri Lanka.

AMD Phenom II

AMD Yukon platform for `Ultrathin’ Laptops:

At a time when traditional notebook sales were relatively flat, one segment had created excitement - Netbooks. However, considering the limited functionality offered by netbooks, many analysts are re-evaluating the netbook segment. Fortunately, AMD had taken a wait-and-see approach to understand how netbooks evolve. In this market scenario, AMD has identified an opportunity between Atom-based netbooks and the expensive ultraportables and launched Yukon bringing in the best of both worlds. This platform for ultrathin notebooks fills an interesting market above where netbooks exist today. In addition to this, Yukon offers 100 to 150 per cent better performance than netbooks and has features like ATI Mobility Radeon Graphics offering HD experience, ATI Avivo HD technology, HDMI capabilities for outputting to a larger display or TV and an amazing battery life making it a great value proposition. The platform debuts within the HP Pavilion dv2 Entertainment Notebook PC ultrathin notebook, which measures less than one-inch thick and weighs less than four pounds.

AMD Dragon desktop platform for affordable gaming:

“Dragon” platform technology from AMD is a synthesis of power, strength, and wisdom: the fusion of the AMD Phenom(tm) II processor, ATI Radeon(tm) HD 4800 series graphics, AMD 7-series chipsets and AMD software that puts you in control. It’s the PC platform designed for high-definition gaming, video processing and entertainment at an affordable price.

With Dragon platform technology, AMD is changing the desktop industry landscape by offering affordable performance and maximum headroom for gaming, video editing, and other media-intensive tasks. Dragon platform technology capable of delivering HD gaming and video processing performance that rivals “extreme” PC platforms priced more than twice as high. Leading global PC manufacturers HP, Dell and Alienware plan to offer Dragon platform technology-based desktop systems in the first quarter of 2009, with Dell offering immediate availability in its Dell XPS desktop line

Shanghai Processor for data center efficiency:

This enhanced 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors represents the most dramatic performance-per-watt increase for AMD customers since the introduction of the world’s first x86 dual-core processors by AMD nearly four years ago. Simply put, the Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor is the right technology at the right time. AMD’s industry-leading 45nm manufacturing process with new processes and materials including immersion lithography has helped dramatically lower the power consumption while increasing frequencies for significant performance and performance-per-watt gains. Emerging technologies such as cloud computing and virtualisation are being rapidly deployed but require a balanced solution. The latest Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors further enhance AMD’s unique Direct Connect Architecture and offer a superior balanced and scalable solution to support today’s increasingly heterogeneous computing environments.

AMD Phenom II:

AMD Phenom II processors are the latest microprocessors to be launched by AMD which are capable of delivering unbeatable multi-core value with superior high definition computing, advanced multitasking performance, and innovative, energy efficient solutions.

With a substantial performance boost over the previous generation of AMD Phenom processors, new AMD Phenom II processors deliver an amazing experience at mainstream price points and can help eliminate the substantial cost required by competing platforms which force an immediate upgrade to DDR3 memory. AMD’s strategic architecture design lets consumers customise a PC upgrade path that’s right for their budget and overall experience without being forced to pay substantial amounts of money to upgrade their motherboard and memory technology.

AMD Dragon platform

Sandip Naik is the Head of Channel Sales for the sub-continental region comprising India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. In this role, Sandip’s is to drive AMD’s processor sales through the channel distribution route, and enhance market addressability and market share in these regions. Sandip is a part of the AMD India management team which is leading the charge for AMD in India. He strongly supports AMD’s philosophy of growing their channel partners along with AMD. In addition, he passionately propagates AMD’s values of providing opportunities for growth to all vendors, partners and customers.

Sandip Naik has been with AMD for over three years, during which he has contributed significantly to building AMD India’s business as the Regional Business Manager for AMD India.

He has also worked in the past at senior managerial positions with other IT product companies such as eSys Distribution Ltd., Nebula Technologies Pvt. Ltd. India, Oxford ComputerNet Pvt. Ltd., etc. In all, Sandip has over 15 years of Sales and Marketing experience in the IT industry.

Through his career he has worked with a diverse set of customers including the channel, OEMs, Large Enterprises, Government bodies and consumers which in turn has enriched his experience in this field. He also has extensive experience of working with the channel community and enjoys strong relationships with channel partners across the country.

Sandip Naik received his Bachelor’s of Technology degree in Electronics and Telecommunication from the University of Amravati.

Dialog Broadband - first TL 9000 certified Telecom Service provider

Kavan Ratnayaka, Chief Executive Officer of Dialog Fixed Telephony and Broadband Services, receives the TL 9000 certification from Debatosh Paul, Lead Auditor - Det Norske Veritas. Mothilal De Silva, Group Chief Strategy Officer- Dialog Telekom (3rd from right) and the Project Lead team look on.

Dialog Broadband Networks (Pvt) Limited received the prestigious TL 9000 quality certification for its retail Broadband Internet products, earning the distinction of being the first telecommunication service provider in Sri Lanka, fifth in Asia, and one of the first ten operators in the world to achieve this significant milestone.

TL 9000 is a telecommunication industry-specific Quality Systems certification consisting of two primary components - Quality Management Systems and Quality Management Systems Measurements. The standard was developed by the Quality Excellence For Suppliers of Telecommunications (QuEST) Leadership Forum, whose systems are used at over 897,000 organisations in 170 countries worldwide.

“This certification is a statement of our commitment to provide the best in wireless broadband services to customers through the adoption of advanced Quality Management Systems,” said Kavan Ratnayaka, Chief Executive Officer - Dialog Fixed Telephony and Broadband Services. “Dialog Broadband is extremely honoured to receive the TL 9000 quality certification, and we consider this the beginning of a journey to elevate every aspect of our products, service delivery and management systems to a superior standard,” Ratnayake added. The TL 9000 Quality accreditation seeks to define Quality Management System requirements for the design, development, production, delivery, installation, and maintenance of products and services in telecommunications.

The performance-based measurements for reliability and quality performance of products and services incorporated in TL 9000 are used to benchmark performance with others in the industry. Dialog Broadband’s new quality certification is a clear indication of the company’s commitment to providing high-quality service to customers through operational excellence.

JKCS launches IT scholarships

JKCS is an aviation software company and a subsidiary of John Keells Holdings - Sri Lanka’s largest listed conglomerate.

The company is ISO 9001:2000 certified and CMM assessed and leverages on a proven global delivery model in providing software services to an impressive international airline clientele in Europe, Middle East and Asia.

The strong customer portfolio consists of such industry stalwarts as Qatar Airways - Qatar, Emirates Airlines - UAE, Air Arabia - UAE, SAS Norge Airlines - Norway, CSC Airline Solutions - Denmark, Trans Maldivian Airways - Maldives and Mihin Lanka.

The company’s services include resource augmentation services, offshore development centres, software projects and Products. JKCS thrives on its ability to rapidly adopt new technologies and build interoperable, scalable solutions that safeguard the clients existing technology investments.

John Keells Holdings (JKH) is Sri Lanka’s largest listed conglomerate with an annual turnover of Rs. 33 billion.

From managing the largest number of hotel rooms in Sri Lanka to owning the largest private-sector-owned transportation business in the country, tea broking to stock broking, banking to real estate, manufacturing of food and beverages to supermarketing, providing port and bunkering services to IT solutions, JKH has made its presence felt in every major sphere of the economy. JKH is a full member of the World Economic Forum, and having issued GDRs, is the only Sri Lankan company to be listed overseas.

As a Member of the Global Compact - the UN-sponsored international corporate citizenship initiative - JKH is also committed to sustainable development and greater social responsibility in a multi-stakeholder context. JKH has been assigned an SL AAA (sri) credit rating by Fitch Ratings Lanka Ltd.