Country Manager India & SAARC,
Seagate Technology HDD (India) Pvt Ltd
Q. SEAGATE has been operational for a long time in the industry; please share some of your milestones & achievements?
In the nearly four decades of its existence, Seagate has been at the forefront of technological innovation. Our history is rich with achievements and accolades. Not only have we been market leaders in terms of drives shipped but also in bringing newer and more efficient products to our customers. Our continuous focus on R&D has resulted in the introduction of revolutionary products like the 7200 RPM, 10K RPM and 15K RPM drives in the past. Recently, Seagate has taken the initiative in offering drives purpose built for specific usage. The Guardian Series of internal drives includes SkyHawk surveillance HDDs, IronWolf NAS drives and BarraCuda drives optimized for desktops and notebooks. In the external drives category, Seagate has taken the lead in bringing to market drives meant specifically for drone video storage. We are at the cutting edge of storage technology and are committed to delivering the best products and services at all times.
Q. Could you brief us about overall business activities of SEAGATE (tie-ups, associations, reach, network)?
Seagate has always believed in collaborating with partners who have similar vision and commitment to customers. In our long history in India, we have built many robust alliances and continue to do so. Our recent appointment of Prama Hikvision and Aditya Infotech as Authorised Distributors for Surveillance drives is testament to our focus on creating value for our business partners and on working hand in hand to strengthen our brand too. Today our footprint spans a large part of the country and we are always looking to expand this.
Q. Can you elaborate more about Seagate product portfolio & its applications?
Seagate is right up there when it comes to providing customized products for users across diverse categories, be it personal, enterprise class or vertical specific. From purpose built internal drives like the Guardian Series to high performance SSD drives; large capacity portable drives to super slim personal storage, we have a solution for every requirement.
Q. Which are some of your pioneering products that you introduced in the market recently or is there any plan to launch new products?
Seagate has introduced quite a few pioneering products. Surveillance HDDs, game drives and our DJI Fly drive for drone video storage are a few that come to mind. Also we have launched new ranges of enterprise class drives and SSD drives which are sure to set the standards in their categories.
Q. How do you account R&D activity in your company?
Our ability to deliver new technology and systematic upgrades to existing products demonstrates our deep rooted belief in R&D as a growth catalyst. We are proud to state that a significant portion of revenue is reinvested in R&D.
Q. Brief us about the quality policy for your business?
Our longevity and market dominance would not be possible without our stringent quality policy. Seagate’s industry leading warranty policies reflect our confidence in product quality as well as our commitment to customer satisfaction.
Q. How do you foresee “India” as a potential market, what are the prospects?
Globally, data is proliferating at exponential rates every day. There is also an increase in the number of data creators, both human and machine. IoT, Gaming, Surveillance and Drones are anticipated to be some of the key drivers in the data storage industry. In India, the sheer size of the country and its population is going to make it amongst the top data creating geographies. For example, in the internal drive segment, rise in surveillance applications has corresponded to an increase in surveillance footage. Smart city projects and growth in video analytics are expected to fuel a further surge in demand for data storage. Similarly, in the external drive segment, more and more people across age groups are creating and storing data. Yes, India is a very exciting place for data storage brands now and in the near future.
Q. According to you what are the factors affecting your business?
Several factors are going to impact the storage industry. As I said before, the explosion of data, and the availability of storage solutions that provide high capacity in small sizes and at economic costs is the biggest factor. A robust distribution network that can match demand is another. A stream lined after sales process that reduces downtime and enhances customer experience is also essential to business success. Government policies on data generation, storage, security and privacy are also going to directly and indirectly affect how we go about our business.
Q. What are the key technological trends that are driving the industry?
Amongst the continuous developments in the industry, I think the focus in the foreseeable future is going to be on increasing areal density in HDDs. This basically means increasing the amount of data you can store in the same space.
Q. What is your vision for SEAGATE?
My vision for Seagate is to go beyond just market leadership in numbers or revenue. I see the brand delivering on the corporate values we are committed to – of putting the customer in front, of excelling in whatever we do, of being responsible to society and environment. Above all, I see Seagate creating benchmarks in providing long term value and satisfaction for whoever we touch, be it our employees, customers and business partners.