"Our value proposition has always been to offer tailor-made and customized service solutions to our customers"

Founded with the mission of staying ahead of the curve and delivering latest technology, optimized and tailor made for customer needs, Sterling Infoways provides end-point computing, servers, storage, active & passive network, cloud offerings etc. The company designs technology infrastructure for its customers and also builds sustainability and resilience into its architecture. Sterling Infoways not only caters to large enterprises and global organizations but also serves the startup ecosystem. The company serves a wide range of verticals with a high customer retention rate. In a chat with VARINDIA, Rajesh Kalra, Director, Sterling Infoways discusses services and solutions, differentiating factor, preferred brand among customers etc.

Tell us a little about yourself and Sterling Infoways.
We founded Sterling Infoways in 1995 with our operations out of Gurgaon, which was then the hub of the Automobile industry in India. Gurgaon eventually started expanding from automobile to IT/ITES, which brought in tremendous opportunities for IT Infrastructure in the area. In the year 1998, we signed up with IBM for Intel Servers and PC products, and as you know, in the year 2005 the PC Division of IBM was taken over by Lenovo. Since then we have continued our passion for the Think product line with Lenovo. We participate with Lenovo in new businesses of commercial products across all verticals. Currently, we are also partnered with Lenovo as National Distributors for the Software & Peripheral Division and the DCG Services.

The mission of Sterling Infoways has always been to stay ahead of the curve and deliver the latest in technology, optimized and tailor made for customer needs. In the past 25 years, we have developed a keen eye on technology trends, an enviable product & services portfolio, and an extremely agile tech team. We provide domain expertise in end-point computing, servers, storage, active & passive network, cloud offerings, power conditioning, printing services, leasing, mobility, and asset disposal. Our focus on building a robust IT muscle has helped over 2000+ clients achieve a significantly high ROI on their IT investment.

What kind of services and solutions do you provide? What are the most important segments you target?
We offer services & solutions like - Client Financing Services, Endpoint Computing which includes PC products, Mobility devices & Printing devices. Additionally, we not only build technology infrastructure for our customers, but we also design sustainability and resilience into its architecture. This includes Active and Passive Network, IT Security, Server & Storage solutions, as well as, IT asset lifecycle management, like E-waste management. Over the years we have built competency for targeted customer segments and have domain expertise in terms of planning and deployment of services.  

Majority of our customers are large enterprises and global organizations. We also work in close tandem with the startup ecosystem. Lenovo’s excellent product range has helped us gain visibility within the ecosystem. Additionally, we conduct many demands generated activities in co-working spaces to extend our reach.

Kindly describe your customers and why they would select you over your competitors?
We serve customers across a wide spectrum, from manufacturing, retail, telcos, aviation, BFSI, IT/ITES to consulting. Our customer retention is high because we engage with them starting right from product identification, planning, pricing to the post-sales support. Our value proposition has always been to offer tailor-made and customized service solutions to our customers. Over the years we have built competency for some targeted customer segments. Most of our acquisitions are through referrals from old customers and this has only been possible because we provide our customers with exceptional service support.

Are you seeing any trends that are causing customers to shift to another brand or product? What is the most preferred customer brand in your view?
We have had an incredible journey with the Lenovo brand for the last 24 years. Majority of our customers are ThinkPad and ThinkBook users who choose to stay loyal to the brand because of product reliability, quality and product innovation that Lenovo provides. The ThinkPad range is probably the most iconic name in terms of IT devices. It is also the most preferred brand amongst our customers.

What suggestions do you have, if any, to improve the efficiency and performance of the channel ecosystem?
Lenovo has been a trustworthy organization driving strong channel partnerships. With access to training modules for our team members and frequent interactions with the top management, we have gained a lot of industry insight. Since the training modules have proven to be quite advantageous, Lenovo may want to extend their management training programs for partner owners.

What level of resources do you expect from your service & solution providers?
Lenovo's Services and Solutions journey has been significant in helping us reach a new level by offering customized solutions to our customers. It provides us with infrastructural solutions and services such as - Accidental Damage Protection, Sealed Battery Warranty, Premier Support etc. which are key to our customers. More so now, with the on-going pandemic and work from home scenario. We are thrilled to be associated with Lenovo and would expect them to keep sharing their new learnings and help with training & certifying our team to keep them up- to date.  

What are the technology trends to look out for in 2021 in the SMB segment?
The technology trends to look out for in the SMB segment this year would be - Touch-based convertible laptops, large display devices, and with more companies shifting to a longer work from home solution - work from home accessories. We are also noticing a rise in demand for SSD over SATA Hard drives by the customers.