"Lenovo supported our multi-location SMB/Enterprise customers for resolving the transformation towards work-from-home"

Rajiv Gite, MD & CEO, Minitek Systems

Please give us a little brief about yourself and the company.

Minitek Systems is an avowedly customer-oriented organization with a primary focus to achieve 100% customer satisfaction. We partner with our clients to provide Information Technology Solutions and services that create value addition to their business. Since 2000, we have been an upcountry partner and are proud of our growth and consistent performance, since the incorporation. Headquartered in Nasik, Maharashtra, we have major branches in Mumbai, Pune and Aurangabad. We have a strong network that has helped us execute several large orders PAN India successfully. The strong tie-ups we have with our customers, OEMs and distributors have also contributed to our growth.

Briefly explain your business model. What are the growth opportunities you see for yourself in the near future.

We are a solution base system integrator partner, supporting our customers with the latest technologies to improve their IT Infrastructure securely and cost effectively. Post pandemic, several companies are revamping their old setups, to upgrade to the latest technology, cloud networks, etc. The digital movement has taken a precedence in their comeback. Our vision is to be a globally admired and respected company that provides out of box technology-enabled business solutions, in a socially responsible and ethical manner. We aim to do this by being best in class people for clients to succeed in competitive dynamic markets. 

What drives your business growth? Can you describe your customers and why they would select you over your competitors?
Providing the right solutions to our customers along with the completion of commitments, is what drives our business. We work in all verticals & every customer-single user to large corporations are valued and equally important to us. We prioritize in maintaining good customer relations, with strong services and solutions which in turn gives us repeated business. The support and relationship with our OEMs and national distributors also plays a major role in our organization's growth.

What is the most preferred brand/product by your customer and do they opt for any additional services? Have you seen any customer trends in the last few months?
We have been associated with IBM since the year 2000 and ever since, its merger with Lenovo, we have noticed Lenovo becoming the most preferred brand with our customers. In the last few months we have seen a growth in the demand for the cloud services, additional accessories and warranty care pack services from our customers.

During the lockdown period in particular, we saw the Premier Support and DaaS (Device as a Service)  from Lenovo being preferred by a majority of our customers. It allowed them to increase their productivity and continue their work as their technical issues were being addressed very quickly.

How equipped is Minitek Systems in addressing the current WFH challenges? How have you supported customers to ensure that the IT remote workforce runs smoothly during the pandemic?
With our own servers in place, portable laptops to all concerned players and Microsoft team licenses of over 100+ users, we were able to stay connected both with our staff and our customers during the pandemic lockdown.  Regarding our customers, our qualified technical force ensured the smooth transition of their employees from office to work-from-home network taking care of all security concerns of data. They were available 24x7 through the remote network to resolve any issues that popped up and we are proud that our bonds with our customers have grown stronger with the effortless services of our team. Some of the services include Lenovo’s Premier Support, which gives VIP treatment to both the IT staff and end users. It provides a direct line to their technicians who listen first then deliver advanced troubleshooting. They aim for first time fixes; therefore our clients enjoy prompt and accurate resolution. 

Which segments do you target and what opportunities can you foresee for the SMB business?
The major target base for us are SMB accounts as we are headquartered out of Nasik. In addition to this, we also work with some major large corporations. We see a lot of opportunities for growth in the government and educational sector in the coming future. Further, we see an uptake on service offerings that help in quick IT resolutions to reduce downtime, as most customers are working remotely.

We have seen SMB’s reaching out to us for Lenovo’s solutions that address their challenges. During the lockdown period, Lenovo supported our multi-location SMB/Enterprise customers for resolving the transformation towards work-from-home. In some cases, they went out of the way, to arrange spares & accessories to speed up & smoothen this transformation. They also supported us with the replacement of the critical AIO PC enabling the higher-end customer to complete the tasks within the due time assigned to him. Lenovo supported our customers with the spares for the material that was out of warranty. The right spares from the OEM directly helps maintain the quality and efficient output of the product.

How was your digital transformation journey and how has it aided your employees and customers?
Since we recently shifted to our new corporate office, we were quite equipped with the digital transformation as part of our infrastructure itself. Taking care of few of the initial challenges, the transformation had remained smooth. Our sales and service employees are already equipped with the portable devices, hence our communications and services remained live throughout the transformation journey. We configured our firewall and network structure to the VPN network such that our tasks are simplified to shift to a work-from-home network. So, even during the lockdown, our project team could coordinate and complete the executions of some projects successfully.