PC Manufacturers Focus on Affordability and AI Integration in Indian Market

We're always working on affordability: HP India MD Ipsita Dasgupta

The Indian personal computer (PC) market including desktops, notebooks, and workstations declined by 6.6 per cent year-on-year to 13.9 million units in 2023, but HP India continued its growth and was the top PC maker with a 31.5 per cent market share. It was the number one player in desktop and notebook categories with 25.1 per cent and 33.8 per cent shares each. Again in the first quarter of this calendar year, HP dominated the market with a 30.1 per cent share, leading in commercial (32.4 per cent) and consumer (26.9 per cent) segments, as per market tracker IDC. Going forward, the company expects to get better numbers with the festive season kicking in next month and also its new range of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled PCs. In an interview with businessline, Ipsita Dasgupta, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, HP India, shares more. Edited excerpts: - QThe PC business in India seems to favour you. With the festive season kicking-in, what are your expectations? Yes, the festive season is kicking in, and refresh cycles are up for renewal. Generally, we are beginning to see a sort of consumer confidence and consumer uptick. Most business leaders, even outside of my industry, are talking about this uptick. So it's a good time to be in India being an IT company. There is a need for investment in technology if you look at the sectors that are really growing and are important to the market right now. For instance, MSMEs and their need for increased digitisation. If you look at skilling, and the importance of solving skilling gaps... For the amount of investment that is coming into India in different industries, there is a significant need for IT hardware. And, on the consumer side, given India is so entrepreneurial, it's a freelance-driven, creator-driven, startup-driven market. So, overall, globally, we had a very good second quarter, and even in India, we've started to see a pretty decent uptick. QYou have recently launched AI-enabled PCs. What's the share of your business and what growth opportunities do you see? Right now, it's very early to say because we've just launched the AIPC. It's not the AI-enabled PC but the next generation. By the end of this year, we suspect that at least 10 per cent of all PC sales will be AIPCs and then in maybe two-three years, that will be almost half (50 per cent). As we've just launched the AIPC, we're even seeing a pretty significant consumer traction on the AIPC, very quickly, off the blocks which is great to see. So, there will be a lot of products and in every segment, there will be AI -- both on the consumer and the commercial side. In a few years, almost a major share of PCs will be AI. QYou talked about MSMEs and recently in the Budget also, there were a lot of announcements, a lot of packages for the MSME sector. So, what kind of opportunities do you see from there? I think, first of all, MSMEs are ambitious. We have more than six million in the country. We already see the Budget driving support and opportunity. Now, the onus is on the business to drive this sector. From a technology point of view, digitisation and AI are two areas that MSMEs can really benefit from. They should be left behind in a digital divide where AI is being utilised by large enterprises. So, we've started a new sort of platform called HP Connect which is a Customer Experience Center. This is targeted at SMBs or MSMEs to specifically understand and talk about business needs of a particular SME in a particular vertical and then work with them to identify the right solutions because a lot of SMEs will not have CIOs or IT heads or IT management. So, we are working in the market to drive that kind of sort of consultative interaction with MSMEs. And we're also engaging with state governments for skilling, education as a focus area. QBut, what are you doing especially when it comes to cost? Are you working with local partners here to work towards affordability? What kind of partnerships are you looking at? We're always working on affordability. We have multiple affordability schemes and we continue to look for more. For example, in the financial inclusion area to say how do we get PCs in the hands of people. What are the best financing schemes. My boardroom spent a long time discussing how we get PCs into the hands of people and what is the difference it will create in three/six months/ in one year and three years for a child. So a big part of that is affordability. The second is accessibility; we need to get everyone, we need to go where people are to be able to drive the value and intent. So, getting past tier-I, II cities and getting into rural areas. All of these are sort of focus areas for us and we have been spending a lot of time on this. QThere were reports of HP partnering with VVDN and Dixon for contract manufacturing. What's the status right now? We have nothing going on right now. We are always assessing and talking to partners. Currently, our plans are to expand, but we have not confirmed anything from a partnership perspective. We will be expanding definitely under the PLI 2.0. We will continue to manufacture through a partner. We manufacture through Flex since August 2020, and we manufacture a range of commercial laptops, desktops and all-in-ones (AIOs). QTablet PC was one of the main instruments for learning during Covid by students. What are your plans when it comes to tablets...do you plan to launch some products as there are nil right now? It's not a focus area for us right now. During Covid, children who had to learn virtually from home all had phones, some of them even had tablets, but it was not productive for learning. So, I'm not sure that the distraction is necessary to go down a path because that exists as a use case. SHARE Copy linkEmailFacebookTwitterTelegramLinkedInWhatsAppRedditPublished on July 29, 2024

AI PC generating amazing interest, ready to address as many price segments as possible: Dell | Exclusive

The PC industry is witnessing an unprecedented period of growth and innovation, spurred by the global pandemic and the ensuing digital transformation. Raj Kumar Rishi, Vice President and Managing Director, Consumer and Small Business, Dell Technologies India, offers a comprehensive overview of this dynamic landscape and Dell's pivotal role in it in an exclusive interview with FE.com. "The PC industry is at a very exciting point of time," Rishi states. "Because of the pandemic, there was this realisation that PC is so very relevant in our lives. The things that you can do only with the computing device rather than just another device, here you can do creation and you can do consumption both." This sentiment underscores the integral role PCs play across various demographics, from students and gamers to professionals and creators. Market growth and sustained demand These factors include the refresh cycle of devices purchased during the pandemic and the burgeoning interest in artificial intelligence (AI). "AI is generating amazing amount of interest and rightly so. You've got devices now where the performance goes up multifold. As a user, for example, the way I can use all my data on the machine in a much more intuitive manner [is phenomenal]. There was a time when you multitasked and the machine used to slow down, right? But now that wouldn't happen with these devices." Advancements and affordability The backdrop is the launch of Dell's new consumer Copilot Plus AI PCs in India, namely the XPS 13 and Inspiron 14 Plus. Both devices debut the new Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, Snapdragon X Plus and Elite, which are creating serious buzz in the industry. AI is at the front and centre of these machines. Technological advancements in AI are set to revolutionise the PC industry. Rishi notes, "This is just the beginning. I mean, you can always question whether you have use cases. You can question whether enough apps are working on the same. Yes, that will take time. But I would say that is going to happen pretty fast and hence the market assessment is that by 2027, more than 50 percent of machines would be AI machines." While the initial cost of AI-enabled devices may be high, Dell Technologies is committed to making these innovations accessible. "On affordability, what we try to do is that even if let's say the price of the device is high, we do affordability programs like no cost EMI." A broad portfolio and strong partnerships Dell Technologies is more than just a PC company. "We are there across IT products and services and we are making huge progress across the board on AI front. We would be at the forefront of innovation to provide best in class AI machines to our consumers and try and ensure we address as many segments as possible," Rishi explains. Dell leverages long-standing partnerships with companies like Microsoft and newer alliances with Qualcomm to enhance their product offerings. "We are just not a PC company. We have consumer and commercial devices, we have workstations and servers and the entire services infrastructure that we have now and great relationships with like NVIDIA for example, great relations across the board." Robust supply chain and market reach Dell's robust supply chain is a cornerstone of its operations. "Dell technology has been known for our very robust supply chain globally that's been our strength for decades now. So that helps in everything we do. If you look at only about India, we work with large distributors who help us make the products available across the country." In India, Dell ensures widespread availability of its products through a combination of physical stores and online platforms. "Customer facing, we have these Dell Exclusive [franchise] stores, close to 600, where we make sure that these distributors provide the product availability to them readily. Then we also have great relationships, Amazon is one example. We work with Amazon, and we plan ahead with them. So, it's a mix of planning, mix of supply chain efficiency, then the relationships and the partnerships we have." Customer-centric approach Dell's customer-centric approach is evident in its commitment to providing choice and support. "We cater to each and every kind of customer. The customers who are worried about upgradeability, the customers who buy a machine which they believe can service their requirement for life of the machine, let's say five years or so, and so we do provide choice to the customer." Customers will be hoping for a similar support experience from its new AI PCs. "Support has been one of our biggest strengths, the kind of network of service centres or the network of support online, offline call centre and service centres that we have, so whenever we launch any new devices, we make sure our service network is absolutely equipped to handle them." Local manufacturing and policy adaptation Dell's commitment to the Indian market is further demonstrated by its local manufacturing efforts. "Dell has our own manufacturing in India. It's been there for more than a decade now and our supply chain team works very closely and keeps watching all the policy developments which happen. When PLI 1 happened, we were part of that." The PC industry stands on the cusp of a new era, driven by technological advancements and sustained demand. Dell Technologies, with its robust supply chain, strong partnerships, and customer-centric approach, is well-positioned to lead this transformation. As Raj Kumar Rishi aptly summarises, "Great point of time for the industry because of this technology advancement and the refresh cycle."