NetApp is empowering customers to change the world with data

Parag Amalnerkar
Director Marketing - NetApp India, South Asia & ANZ

Brand Positioning vs. Marketing Tactics 

Fundamentally, the objective of any brand is to differentiate itself from the competition and we don’t think our brand is similar to the other brands in the market place. In the current technology market, while there are several players who are addressing the same geography and segments as us, we remain the only player to have identified data management as our core expertise. We primarily focus on this core area of our expertise while letting the ecosystem take care of other requirements. With data at the core of everything we do, our positioning is quite distinct and focussed unlike any other player in the market whose portfolio offerings and focus scale a larger spectrum. 

Marketing is the headlights of an organization. So, the onus is on marketing to anticipate how the market behaviour is likely to change in the near and long term future and plough that back in the organisations thinking, so that our innovations and our ability to address the market needs are tailored to retain the advantage we have over others. 

We have offerings which are tailor-made for various different segments. Therefore our measuring would vary by segments. The positioning doesn’t change but the value proposition and the targeting is distinct. Because the buying behaviour of each of this segment is different, our marketing plans therefore are devised accordingly.

Good data for a Good Brand Strategy 

Our core vision is to empower our customers to change the world with data and make them data-driven. In line with our mission for the external market, our internal marketing framework is also data driven. 

The starting point for a data driven marketing organisation is to continually assess the performance of initiatives and campaigns, gather insights based on data and re-calibrate; so that the ability to engage audience and transform them through the buyer journey becomes more effective. We have in-house experts who are constantly measuring the effectiveness of our marketing performance. We deploy cutting edge tools to make us data driven. As a company, we are getting more active on the social front through social listening, so that we can track customer sentiments on real-time basis and respond to them in a manner that addresses their requirements. 

R&D driving Growth

NetApp launched its India Global Center of Excellence (GCoE) in January last year to further strengthen its commitment towards R&D. It is the largest R&D centre outside of the US and is already playing a vital role in driving innovation locally. With a 12,000-square-foot datacenter and an engineering laboratory, employees can access the latest and most sophisticated technologies across the world. The India R&D center has been focusing on aligning skilled sales and tech resources to serve both enterprises and SMEs alike. The innovation curve for India is attaining maturity with 280 awarded and 500 filed patents. Our mission for India includes expanding the NetApp line-up of Data Fabric solutions and services, which will maximize control and improve the secure movement of data across the hybrid cloud.