Latest Technology News Today – Get Latest Information Technology Updates and Services Latest Technology News Today – Get Latest Information Technology Updates and Services 
Vijay Sharma, Country Head India, Optoma outlines his solutions and services and how the company has expanded its market notwithstanding the pandemic impact.
What are the solutions and services currently in Optoma portfolio?
There are 4 offices worldwide based in Taiwan, China, America and Europe. India is under our Asia-Pacific region under Taiwan. Optoma is a multinational group providing solution on projector, large format display and other products related to audio-visuals. In India we are in this business in the education and corporate segment for the past decade. For the past one two year Optoma in India is working very specifically in providing solutions in the home segment. We are strengthening our home product portfolio with the new product which is 4K leaser ultra-shot through which is a TV which is 120 inches screen size is few inches away from the Cinemax series. In 2021 we are launching our Pro AV series which is specific to the Pro AV segment where solutions vary from 5000 SI Unit laser projector up to 20000 SI Unite projector.
What has been Optoma’s market share in the Indian projector market?
Last year during this tough time the market share shrink by almost 60% as the projector industry was very badly impacted. Optoma is one of the brand whose market share grew double and increased by 100%. Now our market share is 11% in the projector segment overall. And even in the home segment our market share has doubled so now it’s almost 40%.
How did Optoma look to mitigate the pandemic challenges and did you have any alignment with other collaboration solution vendors?
There are two segments in this industry one is home which is consumer based and then there is education and corporate which is more of B2B segment. So the consumer market has grown so we have re-strategized our approach and the whole team has been moved and focused in the home segment. This has provided us many players in this segment and that is why our market share has doubled in the home segment. It has enabled the complete ecosystem to the consumer and helped us and the consumer to make a complete home theatre system at their home. That is why the 4K projector segment in the industry has grown drastically. In the B2B segment everybody was struggling as the projector industry and especially the projector hardware industry was impacted massively. We sustained our B2B approach and our partners along with us and that is because of the growth in the home segment.
What are the Optoma projector applications for the home segment and what are the use cases in different verticals amongst corporates?
Home segment because the easy content availability that enabled the customers use the projectors in the home. On the B2B side other than the use in the virtual meeting and seminar it has also been available to the corporate client to use this kind of a projector for their meeting rooms. So this corporate client have moved from a small screen approach to a large screen approach. Some of this clients have approached us for full HD projector which is used more for their meeting rooms and available for entertainment purposes as well. There is a slight rise in the health care segment as some hospitals with covid patients they have used these projectors in the wards of the patients.
What will be the pricing model for projectors both in the home and corporate segments?
For the corporate the range starts from around 25000-26000 range and as per their requirement it goes up to 5-6 lakh rupees for the hall room, meeting room solutions. For the Pro AV side of the business within the B2B which is like experience centres, exhibition or museums there the solutions start from 3-4 lakh rupees and goes up to 25 lakh rupees. For the home segment the price starts from around 80000 rupees and goes up to 7 lakh rupees.
What are the solutions and services Optoma offers in addition to the projector hardware and for the corporates do you have any rental or leasing model?
In the home segment the solutions are very dependent on the customer requirements. If somebody goes for a full HD or 4K type solutions and the customers have purchased from the experience centres and system integrators has been created throughout India. These partners are very specific and they have created dedicated experience centres for the end users. When they come they will experience the entire setup and accordingly choose the product. From a B2B point of view there are education and corporate integrators where some of them have created such setups on premises and some are giving such setups on lease so that corporate customers can buy it as per their convenience.
What is Optoma’s overall partner ecosystem and how is it structured?
It is a vertical based approach and varies from vertical to vertical. For the home segment we have close 150 plus partners across India. We are targeting those partners who have the experience centres and catering to the end customers. Coming to the corporate and education segment this particular vertical is bringing the regional distributer concept across India and they are buying from the national distributers. We have partners across the major town in India, as the base is very big right now 300-350 system integrators are working with Optoma right now.
What all are entailed in an Experience Centre and how many partners are involved in these centres and across how many cities?
Experience centre is a place from where the end user comes experiences the whole setup with the sound the type of screen used and overall ambiance. Then the customer gives their feedback what they are looking for is it for their living room setup or a dedicated home theatre setup. Accordingly these partners used to give solutions to the end customers.
How does Optoma sell its solutions – offline or online?
We promote purely offline sales. We are encouraging and promoting our channel partners to position and suggest Optoma with their solutions.
How did Optoma support its partners facing cash flow challenges during the pandemic?
Our channel policy is very clear and unambiguous. We ensure margins at each and every level to these channel partners who are being associated with Optoma and promoting Optoma. This challenge comes when any channel partners have excess inventory with them they have to return the money to the national distributer or the segment distributer. When they have a requirement them they can buy from the respective distributer. Overall we were clear that the partner who are there they should make money out of their business.
How many cities does Optoma reach out to for its home segment and did you witness a spurt in sales in the smaller towns?
We have focus on the metros as well, but when this lockdown happened it caused a surge of demands from the tier 2 and tier 3 cities. The teams has started approaching and identifying partners in those cities. I think the growth in particularly coming from those cities.
How did Optoma manage its support and services when every entity in the ecosystem was working remotely?
We have service setup across India, we have a dedicated team who are looking after the services. During the pandemic when people are working remotely has given then confidence as all the services that Optoma offers is onsite services and because all the service providers are available in more than 500 cities so it helped then provide the services and give lot of confidence to the brand Optoma in the Indian market as well.
How did Optoma balance between retaining existing customers and acquiring new customers in 2020?
We have a dedicated team how is looking after the service part so they are completely dedicated towards the customers we have. They are working very hard to provide the service whenever the call comes even in this tough time. They are even providing on site services as well. So over a period of time this small this make a difference. The way things have been improving within Optoma it has helped us as a brand to grow. On the other hand we have a sales structure and sales team available in most of the regions, they were focusing on capturing the new clients from India. So it has balanced out both keeping the old customers with us and getting new customers for Optoma.
What will be Optoma’s unique differentiators over other competitors in the projector segment?
Optoma is one of the leading projector manufacturer and our USP is to bring the latest technology beyond anybody who is coming from the industry. Last year we have introduced our 4K leaser premium ultra shot through projector which is giving you 120 inches of screen placed a few inches from the wall or the screen. Similarly we have introduced last year world’s first 240 Hrz gaming projector. So Optoma is always the leader in bringing the new technology or innovation in the market.
What are the applications for 4k projectors in airports, shopping malls among others?
These can be used but primarily the objective of these projector is very specific about who will be the end customer who will use this projectors. The projectors are made for specific location keeping that in mind like for living rooms or the 250 inch screen size projector is for anyone who want a mini cinema hall in their villa or place. These can be used in malls airports but as a brand we suggest to use then in the segment they are meant to be.
Does Optoma have upgrade from existing model kind of option available?
We always encourage the end customer to upgrade the setup they have. Last year the surge happened because many customers where new customers who had bought 4K and old customers who had full HD, they upgraded their full HD projectors to 4K projectors and these solutions have been provided by Optoma as an organization. So we always encourage the customers to upgrade as the technology is upgrading.
What are the new launches planned in 2021 and what are going to be the new segments targeted with them?
2021 is going to be an exciting year now as lot of schools are opening up, the government initiatives are there for the digital classrooms are there in the new sessions. We are very keen in working with the government system integrators there. Considering all these things we are launching our new interactive flat panels in 2021, which varies from 65 inches to 85 inches and being a B2B product it is enable both is education and corporate. Other than that we are considering bringing our all in one display of 163 inches which is targeting a semi outdoor kind of setup.
What are the traction you are witnessing in the government segment?
In the recent past we have seen this traction. The courts are using this virtual setup where they are conducting their day to day activities on a virtual way. They are also adapting to the newer technologies where they are buying these kind of products for their requirements. So lot of tenders are coming up in that segment and a lot of demand is coming up.
What are the new applications coming among corporates and what sort of traction are you witnessing?
Corporates are holding up their requirements for their meetings and board rooms for quite some time and lot of people are coming back to their work places and this will enable companies like us to sell more corporate or board room types of products. Still travelling is not easy for many people so many meetings and board meeting will still take place virtually and so these will set up in their specific city.
How are you looking at expanding the partner ecosystem to support the new products and launches?
As we have different approaches for different verticals so with the new launches of our products like the IFT which is the education based or corporate solution so our approach is very clear that we will have a geographical and partner based expansion in these area. So the education corporate and PRO AV are linked so we will reach out to those kind of partners.
How is the mix between Pro AV partners and IT partners or are there overlaps?
It is like an overlap between the two. There are partners who are very dedicated in the Pro AV space who are giving solutions to the Museums or planetariums they are very specific partners. In the corporate of B2B there are different partners who are giving solutions there. But still there are partners who overlap between the solutions.
Where does a vendor like Optoma with its solutions fit in a hybrid mode of working likely in the future?
Till the time the vaccine is available it gives a lot of confidence to the customer to start visiting this experience centres. Many people are still sitting at their home and it is a hybrid kind of a solution so this hybrid model will be there as the pandemic is still there and at Optoma our solutions are very specific in terms of the real world where people are experiencing the demonstration on the large display. So it’s on the display side where Optoma plays an important role.
Other than the new launches, what will be Optoma’s key focus areas in 2021?
Optoma is globally number one as a DLB brand as well as we are number one 4K UHD brand worldwide, so that is what we will bring to India and that will be our focus in 2021. To retain our leadership in the 4K UHD space that is very specific in the home front. Bringing in new solutions then the interactive flat panel we are introducing. We will give opportunity to all our channel partners to have such kind of a product in the Indian market to offer to the Indian customers.
Which are some of the marquee customers where Optoma solutions have been deployed?
It is very easily available on our website with case study. If any customer want to see who all our customer they can visit the website and see the solutions and case studies we have successfully done.
Other than education, which are the verticals you witness maximum traction?
As of now the trend with in the corporate space and vertical space SMB and the large and very large enterprises are opening up in 2021 and the demand has started coming up from then. Many CSR activity are being done by this companies and there also Optoma plays a very important role in working with this organization to offer solutions.
Does Optoma offer any special solution for SMBs?
We have not categorized on giving certain solutions for the SMB’s very specifically, but if any partners needs particular solution then we will whole heartedly support the partners to sell Optoma solutions to them.
What will be Optoma’s message for both partners and customers?
Our channel policy is clear and unambiguous, we encourage and ensure margins to all our partners at each and every level to whatever solution they sell to their set of customer.
When we talk about enterprise or end customers, Optoma is bringing the latest technology to the market which will enable them to use and make their life easier. So that is what our message for out channel partners and end customers.
