ProsoftTraining to foray into India, focus on security training

New Delhi: US-based ProsoftTraining has tied up with some leading training players in the country to offer courses on security solutions. Indian vendors with whom it has tied up include NIIT, STG and Karrox. The company's positioning would be to provide courseware on security solutions for multi-vendor certification and marketing support. It will not provide direct training. Eventually, the company hopes to expand its product-line into offering courses in telecom and convergence.

The company's decision to enter the market at this point raises doubts about the wisdom in timing. The Indian training industry has been reeling under one of the worst ever downturns. Faced with shrinking bottomlines and empty classrooms, leading vendors have been increasingly diversifying into corporate training and developing other skill-sets like systems integration and software development. In essence, the industry is passing through a period of consolidation with a lot of fly-by-night operators closing shop and leaders re-aligning their business interests.

But Benjamin Fink, Regional Managing Director, ProsoftTraining is confident. He said, "I know a lot of folks think I am crazy to enter the market just now. But, my gut feeling is that India is in need of courses in security and we might offer what is lacking in the current market."

Prosoft plans to make its formal entry by June. It also expects to tie-up with another 6-7 vendors during that period.



Speaking about the pricing structure, Fink said that Indian pricing would be the lowest they offer globally. Here, the strategy is to leverage on the volume sales. Not that the company does not have a corporate focus. It plans to make combined sales calls on corporate with their partners. In the meantime, ProsoftTraining has been trying to get their courses certified by the government to derive more marketing value.