Here’s the transcript of the interview below:
Prateek: Could you take us through the Journey of Radiant Info Solutions?
Nishant Gupta: Radiant was incorporated back in 2007 with a vision to serve the IT Industry in the service sector. Shortly, within a year we explored more and realised that the distribution sector can be a promising vertical for Radiant and then our journey of distribution of networking products started. Initially, our operations were limited to the North Region of India, but gradually we have expanded the business to PAN India.
At Radiant nothing has happened overnight; our channel business has evolved over the years and the hunger to improve the business with our partners and vendors has led us to try different business models to stay relevant in the market. Over a decade, we have observed that there is no fixed formula, which is a right for the partners and vendors. Both ways the channel will keep on adapting the changes and thereby get the market share and today we can proudly say that Radiant is one of the leading channel partners in networking solutions and offers unified network solutions that integrate capabilities in Structured Cabling, Switching, Wireless, AV, Storage, Telecom and Surveillance.
At this point, Radiant is having a turnover of around 20 crores wherein 70% of it is distribution and 30% is the corporate service sector.
Prateek: How did the pandemic affect the business and what policies did the company adopt to overcome the situation?
Nishant Gupta: The Year 20-21 has been challenging for us with lockdown forcing people to work from home. This transforms many aspects of our organizational processes, and it took us time to adapt to the new normal. Also, the pandemic impacted us badly, the reason being we were focused on the products which were being used in the IT infrastructure. Since organizations shifted to Work from Home in the pandemic, and infrastructure work had gone on hold, so inventory got stuck and affected our sales.
During this time, we have focused more on the audio-visual segment, WFH segment wherein we have introduced AV equipment, smart home devices, collaboration devices and this is how we overcame the sale factor during the pandemic.
Also, keeping track of the market direction, marking strong credit decisions, and ensuring due diligence in planning are a few of the ways we have somehow managed to overcome the situation.
Prateek: Could you please share some insights on the recent partnership between Radiant and Vertiv?
Nishant Gupta: Radiant has been appointed as an extended arm for North India to distribute Vertiv’s range of Smart Power Distribution Units (PDUs), Rack & Server Enclosures & KVM switches.
We are excited to collaborate with Vertiv in its expanding domain of KVM switches, PDUs, and Racks & Server Enclosures. Vertiv is a renowned brand with an innovative and cutting-edge product portfolio. Through our wide reach and a robust network of hundreds of partners will ensure seamless availability of Vertiv products to the ever-growing market.
Right now, we are focusing on educating channel and SI partners and providing end-to-end support for the demonstration. We will also leverage our social media presence to increase brand visibility and update partners and end customers on new product additions and schemes.
Prateek: How has the new work culture paved the path for tech startups?
Nishant Gupta: Despite a raging pandemic, the Indian tech start-up ecosystem has attracted a rush of capital as the Indian start-up ecosystem was able to demonstrate its resilience and has been able to leverage the wave of digitization that covid-19 has resulted in. Tech start-ups will continue to scale rapidly with their digital DNA and tech-first approach that makes them much better placed to win in the post-pandemic marketplace than the traditional industry.
Also, it’s not just the pandemic that has given a new path for the start-ups. It’s the use of technology in the present context which is someone’s opportunity is others loss. For example, when the pandemic ramps up, it boosts the pharma industry along with the temperature scanning devices domain but at the same time, it gives stress to other verticals and leads to heavy losses. So, it’s not just the pandemic that has helped tech startups, technology is something that is now dominating everywhere, and it will keep boosting the new tech startups.
Prateek: What is Radiant India’s roadmap for 2020-21?
Nishant Gupta: This year we are focusing more on vendor tie-ups and expanding the existing portfolio. Vertiv for KVM, PDUs, Rack & Server Enclosures and Norden for Security Surveillance are a few of the tie-ups in this line. We believe that it expands Radiant footprints in the IT integrations business. Also, our focus is to make the channel stronger for the existing and long associated partners like R&M, Alcatel, and Netshell.
The idea is to get into a complete solution providing consultancy, pre-and post-sales support, especially in a highly competitive and price-centric segment like networking.
In addition to this, we are diligently working to increase our ties and coverage in Tier-II cities and government sectors. Our sales and marketing engines are working together to identify and execute through geography-specific partnerships.
Our focus for 2021 will be to continue providing customers with a reliable, High-Quality product at a competitive price and support it with our warranty and exceptional after-sales services.
Overall, our priorities are to give pace to our already fast-moving products and at the same time show unmatched supply chain management to our complete networking product range. So, by next year the market would see Radiant at a very different platform altogether.
