Start-ups in India to be backed by Dell

By NewsGram Staff-Writer

Computer manufacturer Dell has announced that it will support growing start-ups in India. On Monday, they said that they are extensively working on ideas that are unique and disruptive.

Dell Inc chief executive Michael Dell told media, "We will support start-ups with technology, scaling up and capital wherever it is required as we want to be the entrepreneurs' best friend. He further added, " I met several interesting start-ups in Bengaluru, including InMobi and others. They are doing amazing work."

Praising the eco-system of start-up in India, Dell said that the business landscape in India was very different four-five years ago in India but now it has improved dramatically.

Ruling out making smartphones, Dell said only one or two firms were making profits in it and quite a few of them were losing substantial money in that business. He said, "One of our competitors which recently acquired another large smart-phone company had lost $1 billion in smart-phone business. We will focus on our business as there is enough opportunity."

Dell privatized the listed firm two years ago by buying out shares of all institutional and retail investors in a $24.9-billion deal with his private equity partner Silver Lake. "Almost 20 per cent of my time is freed up now, which I am spending with customers, products and team members," he noted.

Asserting that going private had helped him personally and his firm a lot, Dell said the decision has ignited new energy in employees and made decision-making faster. He also insisted that employee satisfaction will be given priority this year.

Noting that Dell India's business has grown at 30 percent in 2014 was the highest globally for the company, Dell said India is the third largest market for its products and services. He said, "We are expanding and making investments in all our businesses in India, including services, R&D, data centre, Dell global finance, support services and manufacturing."

Predicting consolidation in the global PC market, Dell said the top three companies (Lenovo, HP and Dell) could corner about 80 percent market share over the next five-seven years.

"The top three companies only have 53-54 percent market share currently. In the PC space, we see a consolidation and gaining share. In the first half of this year, we outgrew other two companies in notebooks. We have been able to grow even though the market is shrinking," he said.

With about 28,000 employees in eight cities across the country, Dell India focuses on major industrial verticals spanning telecom, banking, financial services, insurance, manufacturing and utilities. Dell India is also looking to expand retail outlets to 825 by this year's end.

With Inputs from IANS