India is a country positioned for rapid Internet adoption: Rajiv Sodhi

Interview with new Managing Director for India, Go Daddy

Domain name registrar and web hosting provider Go Daddy is an operator in the space of domain names, website building and eCommerce solutions. Founded in 1997 in Arizona, it has has been offering .in domain names for Indian businesses since 2009, but now has a presence on the ground in India, and has identified India as a priority market. Pravda Godbole spoke to its new Managing Director for India, Rajiv Sodhi.

What kind of presence does Go Daddy (GD) have in India in terms of office space and manpower?
Go Daddy India is currently operating a customer care centre in Hyderabad, which we plan to expand in the weeks and months ahead. Our customer care centre can currently accommodate about 100 people, and that’s not our full capacity. We will be monitoring the needs of our customers and expanding accordingly.

Was GD always targeted towards the SME sector and will the India strategy be the same too?
Go Daddy and Go Daddy India are geared to meet the needs of individuals and businesses looking to build or enhance an online presence. The SME sector is an area in which we help a large number of people. We are already seeing this trend with our Indian customer base.

Have you identified the ways in which the Indian SME sector is different from what you have seen in the places you have operated before?
The opportunity we have identified in India is with an expected growth of Internet users. More and more people are adopting the Web, and we expect that growth to continue. There are a large number of opportunities, specifically with new businesses looking to leverage the Internet.

To what degree is the India market ready for services like yours?
India is a country positioned for rapid Internet adoption. It is also a country with economic challenges. We believe the SME sector is a strong engine for the world economy. We can help small businesses grow online. We see this as a good opportunity for our customers and for our employees.

GD’s website says that your customer care operations do not work on an outsourcing model. How will that work out in the India situation?
Go Daddy India is rooted in the concept of providing customer service from people who speak languages used in the region.

How would you spell out your business expansion strategy for India?
We expect to have double-digit customer growth within the next two months. Our plan also includes outreach to Web developers who are looking for quality ways to serve their customers in a cost-effective way, supported by personalised services. We are interviewing, hiring, building and expanding now and expect to have a more specific plan for discussion later this summer.

SMEs in India still shy away from investing in IT, for cost reasons. Will this prove to be a hindrance to your expansion plans?
We fulfill SMEs’ IT needs at a very low price. Go Daddy has built an all-inclusive, expansive, reliable portfolio of services and offers it in a package of products and services to small businesses so they can focus on their business and rely on Go Daddy to handle the burden of managing their IT.

For expansion in India, will GD look at fresh funding?
We are working with our strategic partners – KKR, Silver Lake and Technology Crossover Ventures – to build Go Daddy India.

Out of your total customer base, what is India’s share?
We have more than 10.3 million customers worldwide. Out of that number, 100,000 are in India. We expect that number to grow as we invest in people and other assets in India.