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Intel network inside

It first defined the innards of a self-respecting PC, keeping its lead in India despite competition from AMD, Cyrix, Centaur, whatever... And now it's hoping to take over the networking segment in India too.

It gave warning of lethal intent recently when it began offering special incentives to its solution providers to preferentially push its networking products.

Intel, which entered the networking market just a few years ago and currently earns 8-10 per cent of its revenues from this segment, is offering its 15 Indian solution partners two sets of its whole range of networking products free every year. The only condition being set is that for six months these units should be used exclusively for demonstration purposes. The solution providers were free to sell these products after the six-month period.

This offer gives Intel a big advantage over competitors like Cisco which asks customers to take its products at face value, based on its reputation. And marketing personnel are hard put to explain to first time users why they should spend a large sum on a system they cannot see functioning except in demonstration set-ups that bear little resemblance to their office environments.

With Intel's units, the network can be set up in the client's office and, if found satisfactory, can be left in place.

Besides increasing it share of the market, Intel expects this move will improve its ties with its solution providers. The company is already providing its products 25-30 per cent cheaper. This was possible due to the effective use of silicon, used in cards, hubs, routes and switches.

It also hopes to improve the quality of Indian networks, pushing them up from the slow ethernet standards to the fast ethernet technology, up from a data speed of 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps.

-Compiled from the Indian media

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