Intel to strengthen channel partners in Gujarat

Intel India, which considers Gujarat to be an important market, said that it would work closely with its channel partners in the state for offering customised solutions and for the World Ahead Programme, under which the Classmate PC, a small laptop based on Intel's 900 MHZ Celeron-M processor has been developed.

Under the World Ahead Programme, the company intends to enter the educational laptop segment which was pioneered by Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Association. Intel is in the process of developing its client network through schools, educational institutions and state departments through its current product offerings.

The company is also looking at consolidating its presence in Gujarat through small and medium businesses (SMBs). It has decided to offer customised sector specific solutions to the textiles, jewellery and diamond industry in the state for which it has been working closely with companies offering solutions such as Dsoft which can be installed on jewellery makers' desktop to enable them to operate applications that are specific to their business.

At the Ahmedabad leg of Intel's bi-annual Channel Conference (ICC), officials from the company said Gujarat was being looked as a major market owing to the response received from its channel partners. The company has close to 270 channel partners in the state and plans to ramp up the numbers in coming months.

"The channel is critical to Intel's success and we believe it was essential to go beyond the metros. The theme of the Intel Channel Conference this year was 'Multiply' with focus on how to use technology to multiply the efforts and results of consumers, SMBs and large enterprises, " said Rupal Shah, director- marketing, Intel APAC.