Amid the increasing blare of the pandemic and the spectre of omicron casting its long shadows over the tech landscape, we have ushered into 2022. Channel success which has always been the holy-grail for any business is all set to get a makeover in the new year.
As part of our effort to get the channel community better informed and get an earful of what the leading vendors of the IT industry are thinking, expecting, and planning for the channel community in 2022, we have started this new section to record the channel predictions of the most prominent players of the IT industry.
Here, as part of this special series of Tech Forecasts, Eaton India registers its predictions for 2022.
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“Considering the massive digital transformation taking place, post-pandemic, we do see great opportunity in expanding our channel fraternity in geo expansion locations across the country.”
Debashish Banerji,
Director, Sales and Service, Power Quality Division,
Eaton India
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In a special interaction with SME Channels, Debashish Banerji, Director, Sales and Service, Power Quality Division, Eaton India, shares his company’s Channel Predictions for the year 2022. Edited excerpts…
Give a brief introduction to your company.
Eaton’s mission is to improve the quality of life and the environment through the use of power management technologies and services. Eaton provides sustainable solutions that help its customers effectively manage electrical and mechanical power – more safely, more efficiently, and more reliably. Eaton’s 2020 revenues were $17.9 billion, and the company sells products to customers in more than 175 countries. Eaton has approximately 85,000 employees.
Eaton firstly established a presence in the Asia Pacific region during the 1970s. Since then, the company’s presence has grown significantly with a fast-growing network of sales and marketing offices, manufacturing plants, service centers, and research facilities in the region. Eaton moved its Asia Pacific headquarters from Hong Kong to Shanghai in 2014.
Today, we have nearly 17,000 employees, six R&D centers, and manufacture in 34 manufacturing facilities across countries and regions including China, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, and Australia for all of Eaton’s distinct business.
Eaton Power Quality Private Limited, India is a 100% subsidiary and a part of the electrical sector of Eaton Corporation. We are catering to every industrial segment with versatile solutions which include Switchgear: LV & MV Solutions, Fusegear: LV & MV solutions, UPSs, and software solutions.
As the pandemic is still there and a new variant has surfaced, what are the major market trends you are forecasting for 2022?
2022 will be the 3rd year in a row with the pandemic persisting and, we feel we have learned now how to work and sustain in the given situation. With the onset of the new variant forcing a semi-lockdown situation across the country, it is not so grave so far as businesses are adapting quickly to the new normal.
For the Power-backup (UPS) industry the focus would be on ensuring sales and service to their new and existing customers. Digitalization will get a big push as remote monitoring & management of IT assets would be necessary to ensure business continuity. Work from Home (WFH) will also boost sales of smaller rating UPS amongst the working professionals in all the sectors. Also, there is an emergence of a Hybrid office which will positively impact Edge computing infrastructure as there would be multiple locations for people to work from.
What major trends are you forecasting in the channel market?
For the Channel community to sustain their businesses amidst challenging scenarios, they need liquidity and a timely supply of goods and services from the OEMs. Partners must focus on not just retaining their customers but also adding new ones to cement their positions in the market. On the positive end, the digital offers (software solutions) would yield good returns bundled with the right mix of services for channel partners.
Which areas do you want to focus in the channel – skillsets – sales and marketing, vertical and technology practice development, service capability, etc.?
All the areas are important to grow the business but to scale quickly we feel skill-set and technology practice development should be in focus followed by service capability and sales and marketing. Eaton has a robust partner program called ‘Power Advantage Partner Program’ (PAPP) which encompasses training, business mapping, service enhancement, and sales and marketing tools for the partners.
What percentage of budget growth are you expecting for channel development?
We expect a healthy 35% to 40% increase in channel spends year-on-year.
What is your expectation from the channel this year?
We expect the channel to grow at a healthy pace while increasing its customer base and penetration with digital products.
Are you planning any new product addition for the channel market?
We have new product launches and product upgrades planned in 2022 in 1PH and 3PH UPS which will help channels boost their sales. In addition to physical products, Eaton’s Brightlayer Data Centers suite (software applications) includes everything from data center infrastructure management (DCIM) with capacity analytics and 3D visualizations to advanced, automatic remediations and cloud-based analytics that help predict power component failure. We believe that the Brightlayer software suite will be a strong driving force for the channel partners in 2022.
Is there any channel expansion plan in terms of numbers in 2022?
Channel will be key to our success and long-term growth objectives. We will continue to focus on onboarding new channel partners in our current locations as well in newer geographic locations. Considering the massive digital transformation taking place, post-pandemic, we do see great opportunity in expanding our channel fraternity in geo expansion locations across the country
