Dell says bullish on India's e-commerce sector

The e-commerce industry in India was $13.5 bn in size in 2014, and is expected to cross $16 bn by 2015

With the e-commerce sector out-pacing the growth of several traditional businesses in India, computer hardware and information technology solutions provider Dell is bullish on the segment and is looking at strengthening its participation in the sector.

The Texas-headquartered company, which already works with two large Indian online retail companies — MakeMyTrip and Flipkart — has recently launched a programme called eMavricks, which aims to bring together e-commerce companies to discuss their challenges and learn from each other.

The programme, which was launched in partnership with the CIO Association of India, allows e-commerce firms to meet and discuss business and technology-related hurdles, collaborate and learn from peers, get access to angel investors, and explore technology solutions to scale their businesses.

“We are bullish on the India e-commerce growth story,” said Sudharsan R, commercial marketing head for Dell India. “E-commerce is definitely one of the fastest growing sectors in India and we understand the potential of the segment. We embraced this trend way back in 1996 when we opened our first online store... We are keen to pass on our learnings, and to act as an end-to-end technology solutions provider for leading e-commerce companies globally.”

According to the latest estimates by the Internet and Mobile Association of India and IMRB International, the e-commerce sector in India was $13.5 billion in size in 2014, and is expected to cross $16 billion by 2015.

Several multinational technology companies have been tapping into India's growing e-commerce and start-up ecosystem over the past couple of years. Among others, Microsoft, Google, and Citrix have set up dedicated incubators in India to mentor and work with start-ups. Several other global companies have been looking at participating in India's new-technology ecosystem through annual events, hackathons and even through strategic investments.

While Dell and some of its peers have been working with companies in traditional business sectors for several decades, according to Sudharsan, e-commerce has opened newer business avenues for traditional businesses such as banking, financial services, insurance and manufacturing.

“The way we see it (is that) e-commerce has opened newer business avenues for traditional business segments. The current government's push has accelerated the demand for agile and scalable IT infrastructure, and that is where we deliver and contribute to our customers’ growth story,” he said.

According to Sudharsan, the technology needs of Indian e-commerce companies are quite different from their global peers, as the former lot is still in a nascent stage.

Dell has worked with MakeMyTrip for consolidating its data centres on a high-performance infrastructure with a view to improving business productivity. “Today, the company's website delivers 30 per cent improved performance, 20 per cent reduction in energy and space requirements, 1.3 times number of end-user connections and 50 per cent reduction in data centre management time,” said Sudharsan.

Bengaluru-based e-tailer Flipkart has been working with Dell since its early days. Dell has helped Flipkart run its e-commerce business within a private cloud.

“From warehouse, supply chain and right through to its payment processing platform, Flipkart's private cloud infrastructure powers the business,” said Sudharsan. “The servers were built to Flipkart's exact specifications through Dell’s deployment services and custom factory integration. Today, Flipkart can support 10 times increase in traffic volume thanks to scalable architecture.”