As part of our series titled ‘Global Trade Opportunities’ in which we feature global brands eager to do business in India, Anurag Gaur from EFYTimes.com spoke to Sirena Cheng, sales manager at AirLive, about the company’s business strategy for India and its plans, going forward.
As one of Taiwan’s pioneering tech firms in the telecom space, the company has a lot to offer India. AirLive, backed by OvisLink Corporation, Taiwan, has been in the market since 1993. The company will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. It offers products that are a great combination of quality, service, technology and value. OvisLink Corp was the first company in Taiwan to introduce fast-Ethernet NICs and switches when the IEEE 802.3u standard was established in 1996. It then entered the WLAN market in 2001 with the AirLive series, and became a major provider of wireless solutions. In 2002, AirLive launched the world’s first multi-function wireless access point, and in 2005 announced the first multi-function AP 5 GHz for WISP (Wireless Internet Service Providers). It expanded its portfolio to surveillance solutions with IP networking around five years ago.
EB: Can you tell us more about your organisation’s products and services?
AirLive is one of the first companies to provide wireless solutions and IP surveillance, and it has 20 years of experience in the industry. With over 200 products, the company boasts of hundreds of distributors around the world. Today, AirLive products are being introduced into three major sectors– home/retail, Wi-Fi systems integration (for ISPs and WISPs), as well as IP surveillance and networking.
EB: What is your annual turnover as per the latest available financial reports?
We do not publish our financial results. However, we are very proud of being officially recognised as one of the Top 5 exporters of wireless access point in Taiwan, in the past. This year, our company was also ranked amongst the Top 30 most-viewed and most inquired-about companies during the Computex Taipei 2012 international exhibition.
EB: What are your views about India as a market for your products and services? Which products or services do you expect to sell more in a country like India?
India is a very important market with lots of potential for AirLive products and services. There are two major product lines in our portfolio—Wi-Fi outdoor/indoor CPE and IP surveillance. We not only offer products but also solutions to meet each customer’s environment and application requirements.
The telecommunications industry is the most important driver of India’s economic growth. IP surveillance is another key requirement in this area.
EB: What is your business strategy with respect to the Indian market?
We would like to associate with ICT distributors in India. Also, we have plans to tie up with Indian systems integrators and telecom operators to develop products to meet local market requirements. Each market has its own business style and is at different stages of developing its network infrastructure. It is important to adjust ourselves to these different local requirements, or else we will lose the market.
EB: Do you have a direct presence in India or have you entered the market via partners?
We don’t have our own office in India but we have some project partners in a number of cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Chennai.
EB: Are you looking for partnerships with distributors and systems integrators in India?
Yes. We are looking forward to having solutions distributors, IT distributors and systems integrators in India. We would like to share our successful global experience with Indian partners and also ensure Indian customers enjoy improved convenience and safety with our Wi-Fi and IP surveillance solutions.
EB: What are the challenges you foresee or have experienced while operating in India?
People in India want to purchase good quality products from Taiwan as well as from China, which are available at a cheaper price. That’s the major challenge for us.
EB: Have you ever engaged in any marketing activity to generate business from India?
In the past two years, we attended events such as Convergence India 2010, IFsec India 2010 and EMMA India 2011. We also have one editor for India to get news about us published in the local media. We wish to increase our visibility in the Indian market by means of the media and exhibitions.
EB: If any organisation from India is interested in affiliating with you as your partner or customer, whom should they touch base with?
Those who want to get in touch with us directly could send e-mails to info@airlive.com, sirena.cheng@airlive.com or brian.lin@airlive.com. Brian Lin is our project manager
