'India is big on adopting new technologies'

To begin with could you share with us your whole approach to the Indian market?

We have a market share of more than 80% in India. We have been very dominant and our business is pretty stable. The dynamics and needs of customers keep on changing and HP works very closely in sync with that.  Having a number one position in one or two quarters is good, but sustaining it is a very big achievement and this has only been possible because we are connected to our customers from the grass-root level. The point is that it is easy for an organisation that has a high market share to continue selling its products successfully. However, launching a new product, poses some challenges, especially in terms of adoption. But then we are very strong in terms of technology and we optimise the feedback which we get from the customers. Consequently we have been monitoring the trends of the customers.   

Speaking of trends, what are the key market trends that you see in the printing industry?

There are three trends which really have come up:

1)  Global Competition- Today customers want to compete globally. For example, an architect in China would be competing with an architect in India for a project in Spain.  So it is all about global collaboration.  So one needs to radically innovate in order to differentiate and so the work becomes more complex.

2) Mobility- Many times half of the work force is out of office. They don't sit in the offices and work because they are either out doing business or they are on project sites. So when they are mobile, they need real time access to the information to take better decisions.

3) Robust Collaboration- There are new areas of specialisation which have come in and which are very important. There is a requirement for joint efforts to do any work. Thus everyone has to come on the same page to understand it. The challenges here again are quite complex.

4) Digitalisation- The fourth trend is that everything is going digital now. Nobody depends on hard copies and everyone needs an eco-system where they can digitally translate.

Coming to large format printing in the Asia-Pacific region, what is the market size for LFP?

Large format printing is a very strong proposition as a market. LFP is a very imperative need for the customer. Our industry is divided into two segments: one is the technical market and the other is the graphics market that includes the print solution providers. For Design jet, 70% of the market comprises the technical segment and the rest 30 % includes the graphics art segment. In a month, we sell approximately 450 units of Design jet in India and this is definitely going to grow. Also, we have been radically innovating in making the product cost affordable. For instance, a Design jet never used to be less than Rs 1.5 lakh, but now we got a Design jet for Rs 75, 000-Rs 80,000 and it comes with all the features. Therefore, these advantages are making people adopt large format.  Today printing cost is getting lower, so people have started valuing large format printing. We see this as a positive sign and we are happy with what's coming from India and getting translated into numbers.  

What is your market projection for large format printers in India? How do you see it growing in comparison with other markets?

Large format segment is doing great in India. When you have that 80% of market share, then the responsibility of growing the share is also high. Subsequently, we have been working in India on educative initiatives. We are reaching B, C cities and we realize that there is much more adoption rate there of large format printing with the real relevance for it kicking in. India is a good 65% market share country for us when we look at the overall design jet segment and we are more than 80% within the technical segment.

There are various factors which come into the play like the market size. If you look at China and Australia, they have bigger geographies but the number of units which we sell in India may be higher when compared to Australia. India is one of the very stable countries and customers' HP acceptability is good here. Acceptability also depends on how close you are you to the customer. We have a robust network of channel partners and good people to take care of the business. As an APJ manager, I would consider India as a good country and I bank a lot on India and obviously India gets a good share of the pie.       

What are the key market drivers?

The four global trends are the key market drivers. We understand the changing trends which demand for things such as accuracy, seamless printing, precession, data complexities etc. We fit all these features into our devices and the eco-system. Another market driver would be organisations that aren't really selling products but an eco-system. Products become complementary in these cases. Customers want ability and competence so that they can innovate on their products.     

Also Cloud and mobility based solutions are the need of the day. We are improvising on these solutions and modifying them for better applications. So product usability is another thing which will drive the market.

In fact, convergence and remote access integrated on Cloud and other platforms are the trends in this industry. Can you share some more of your initiatives/new plans in this regard?

Like I said, India is one of the better countries when it comes to adoption rates. Surprisingly India is more adventures in adopting new technologies and we are seeing a lot of potential in terms of adoption. In India customers find a lot of value in multi function printers, the adoption is here is better than many other countries in Asia-Pacific, and all our printers are web connected now.  Lot of work on new applications is also going on. We keep on innovating and doing R&D. The market will see some new technologies coming in, may be next year.
We are really investing in this country and investing in new product ranges.

Under-cutting is a big problem in the printing industry. How can the end users (brands) be educated on print quality standards for best output?

Like I said, we have two segments. First is the technical segment, where the question is not about under-cutting but about volumes. The game is driven by volumes. Yes, we keep on organizing educational forums for the customers. But you see, here customers are not really bothered about the cost. They only want something that can radically help them in saving time and in innovation. But for the other segment, that is OOH and signage printing, there a quality issue. If the print solution provider has multiple printing set up then the ball game is different, and the benchmarking is different, for you then talk about the graphics printer, outdoor and indoor signage etc. SO we have an in built system in graphics machines which takes care of the quality factor. For example, our printers have optical media senses which understand the profile of media which is uploaded and according to that it places the ink. So we ensure that the customers who are particular about quality, get it.  We also have forums where we educate our customers; we have sales teams that go and talk to them.  

What growth are your clients witnessing in terms of ROI?

Our ROI is defined in terms of our client productivity. More than 50% of customers are our repeat business customers. This is where we gauge that our units haven't de-grown. We are selling the same units all the time which shows that the same customers are supporting us. This is a good sign and we feel this is the ROI.

HP is involving clients in making better printers. What is going to be your next step in making your clients more efficient?

Our new plan is to keep working with customers. We have a concept where we give beta machines to customers and we call them the beta customer. We will keep on working with the customers and taking their feedback. This ensures their participation and also helps us know the trend. We are also getting into the other segments such as GIS, education, path labs; clinics etc. Anybody who has the need to communicate and showcase to the customer requires large format printers. So we are improvising on other technical segments as well. Of course, in core segments, we are the number one but we are trying to make our products more homogeneous as well.

So what are your Future plans now?

HP is working on really big things. It is going to transform the market. We are working in the headquarters with a lot of new solutions product upgradation.  So there are some big plans for the market.