CIOTechOutlook >> Magazine >> April - 2013 issue

GLOPORE IMS: Thrice As Ready to Make the Most of the Burgeoning IMS Opportunity

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With the number and kinds of devices proliferating and companies - big and small- and homes becoming increasingly wired, technology has become pivotal to businesses and homes alike. And, how often, has each of us had to wrestle with seemingly simple but irritatingly bothersome problems with those devices? With increasing reliance on technology, managing the IT environment seamlessly and efficiently calls for expertise that often may not reside within. GLOPORE IMS aims to be this expert that can manage the complex IT environment of large enterprises in one avatar while providing quick fixes to technical problems that hassle the home user in another.


The demand for outsourced infrastructure management services (IMS) manifested a decade ago in the B2B space and among large enterprises. Fuelled by factors such as growing expectations on the service and performance levels of the IT infrastructure, the need to keep costs down, and the increasing complexity of the IT environment, enterprises began looking outside for reliable expert help. It is not surprising therefore that the global IMS market accounts for US $524 billion and is poised for further growth.


The raison d’ etre of GLOPORE IMS, a pure play IT Infrastructure and Service Management company, is to deliver top notch services to fulfill this market need. Through its portfolio of Managed IT Services, Remote Technical Support and Transformation Consulting Services, the company serves a global customer base that includes names such as PEARSON, Accenture, Campus Management, Tata Interactive, NEC, OnMobile, & Talisma Corporation. GLOPORE IMS is led by an excellent leadership team with strong academic (Babson, 3 IIMs: IIM-A, IIM-B, IIM-C, and Harvard) background and global IMS/ITSM industry experience. Since its inception, GLOPORE IMS has developed highly matured shared services delivery capabilities with ISO/IEC 27001:2005 and ISO/IEC 20000:2011 certification. In fact, GLOPORE IMS is the first company in to be certified for the latter by BSI in India. Furthermore, through an outcome based partnership model, the company has empowered enterprises to focus on their core business and maximize their growth.


As GLOPORE IMS expanded its client base and service delivery capabilities across India, the market was evolving to accommodate some interesting shifts in the use of technology. First, even medium and small companies began appreciating the value of IT and started investing in systems. Second, two key technologies - the internet and the mobile- have led to a proliferation both in the number and nature of devices as well as their uses. And third, the global differences in ownership of technology devices began coming down and emerging markets with their large populations and growing purchasing power were becoming significant. Today, it is not uncommon to find consumers in India owning a desktop, laptop, tablet and a smartphone. These trends presented an exciting opportunity, one that GLOPORE IMS's founders, Satish Kumar (Founder, Chairman & CEO), Dr. Srinivasa Rangan (Co-Founder and VP- Global Strategy & Alliances) and Ashwini SKumar (Co-Founder, Director & COO) had anticipated even as they incubated the company at the NSRCEL, IIM, Bangalore in 2006. Back then they felt the mid- market and consumer market were too nascent and chose to focus instead on the enterprise segment to build shared services IT service management capabilities.


However, when the market opportunity became real, seven years down the road, they were well prepared to seize the moment. Satish terms this well thought through move as the transition from, "GLOPORE IMS 1.0 to GLOPORE IMS 2.0."

GLOPORE 2.0


Continues Satish, "With the proliferation of laptops, tablets and smart phones, India is going through a boom in smart devices. Going forward, internet connectivity and data are going to play a significant role and this will make tech support critical and much sought after". "Only 15-20 percent of India has access to smart devices today and so we are seeing just the tip of the iceberg. By marking our presence now, we want to be the go-to people for anybody who own smart devices. With BYOD becoming a reality, companies may also need to think beyond conventional cap-ex investment and having IMS services to providing BYOD bundled tech support and end-user support for their employees' personal devices as well" adds Ashwini.


The Three Pronged Go-to Market Strategy


The opportunity was huge no doubt. But Satish and team realized that they were really looking at three different segments: large enterprises; SMBs and end consumers. Since each segment has its own needs, characteristics and service expectations, the company has prudently decided to create two more brands to address the entire market end-to-end. GLOPORE IMS will continue to service the enterprise segment; GLOPORE Geeks will serve small and medium businesses while geekstree will address end consumers and households. Together these new brands will provide remote and on-the-ground technical support for networked or discrete desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones in India and abroad.


Creating Core Capabilities across India


What has enabled GLOPORE IMS to make such a swift transition from being focused on one segment to multiple segments is the highly matured capabilities and shared service management network that the company has assiduously built over the last seven years. Having created a shared service reach and capacity across India, GLOPORE IMS is now well positioned to leverage that strength in B2B as well as B2C segments. Sums up Dr. Rangan: "It is very exciting for us to go from an outside-in perspective for the enterprise market to an inside-out approach for the larger consumer market."


Adds Sudha Kumar, Chief Marketing Officer, GLOPORE IMS "The extensive country-wide service delivery reach that covers over 6000+ locations across 580+ cities in India will prove to be our trump card to reach out to SMBs and consumers spread across the length and breadth of the country". In fact, GLOPORE IMS is not exactly new to serving end consumers. Even in its GLOPORE1.0 phase, the company had been forging partnerships with enterprises that catered in turn to individuals and consumers. Now, as GLOPORE 2.0, the company will be reaching out to SMBs, consumers and households directly as well.


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