No life sans IT in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO: It is the people of San Francisco who always try to give a bit more than just a detail to the form factor and the usability of IT products — before making buying decisions. And it is a responsibility of a reseller here to make sure that the customers get the best in IT.

“We are not just resellers, we are doing a lot more than just pushing products. Yes, information technology and all the hi-tech gadgets fast, becoming a part of the daily life of people over here. In fact IT is more than just a way of life in this city. People give a lot of detailed look at the form factors — so whether it is a PC or even something like a hard disk — everything has to be according to the taste,” explains, Tim Timalsina, executive corporate sales at Central Computers.

Based right at the heart of the city, Central Computers is a solution provider-cum-retail store catering to the local and regional IT needs of San Francisco. With a manpower of 25 people, the store has three outlets within the vicinity of San Francisco.

In the big IT stores customers can buy cutting edge IT products and solutions all under one roof. CompUSA is just one of such 'Computer superstores' in the city.

“Customers are so educated that they know exactly what they want, so it makes our work a lot easier — at the same time it is our responsibility to provide the best to them otherwise they won't come back,” informs, Josh Bohenkamp, assistant sales manager at CompUSA.

It is the demanding nature and the maturity of the market which has prompted IT players to look for different reselling models and create niche areas for themselves in this region. OfficeDepot is one such example — from printers, to cartridges and other peripherals — Office Depot caters to all kind of office needs not only in San Francisco but also to the neighbouring areas as well.

“We looked at different segments and Office or the corporate segment is one of the most active. So we have been catering to this segment and the company has done pretty well so far. We have three stores over here, catering to customers from different parts of the city as well as the adjoining areas,” informs, Micheal Smith from OfficeDepot.

Active segments

When it comes to categorising the active segments — corporate is the first choice and most solution providers and system integrators are devising ways to target this segment in a better way.

“We have a dedicated team for the corporate accounts. It is surely one of the most active segments here. Then comes the government, and after that it the home segment which is the most profitable,” adds Tim from Central Computers.

Talking about the home segment, Josh from CompUSA says that being a mature market — there are homes where four or five systems are going. “Form factor becomes very important for this segment as most people have their own taste to life and lifestyle. More so, San Francisco is regarded as a place where art is everywhere, so whether it is an iPod or a mobile phone - we always try to take things that are in fashion,” Josh adds.

No associations

Unlike many parts of a country like India where there are different IT associations taking care of the various issues evolving around the reseller community — San Francisco does not have any such association. Closeness to the vendors is regarded as the reason for IT channel not to form such associations here.

“I have heard that India has a lot of vibrant IT associations. Even though, we have the same vibrancy, most of the vendors take note of our problems quite seriously, so we do not have that need to form associations over here. We might have some in the future but right now we don't have it,” Tim says.