Findings of the SD USERS’ SATISFACTION SURVEY 2008
suggest that today's customers can be divided into two categories. The
higher rating customer is extremely quality conscious still he wants good
value for money and thinks UPS to be an integral part of the computing
system while at the lower end it the price that matters. The survey shows
that power protection equipment customers in India primarily evaluate
product reliability, maintenance and service capabilities while selecting
power protection equipment and hence companies with presence (having a
service center) nearer the installation are preferred, this is more true
in case of large installations.
In the SME segment, suppliers need to actively
anticipate the customer needs and offer pioneering solutions with assured
services. Manufacturers that leverage this opportunity to distinguish
themselves from other peers are likely to gain a strong competitive
advantage. Today most corporate are willing to pay a premium for a truly
reliable product rather than take the risk of suffering outrages by
compromising on quality.
Softdisk believes, Power continuity & Quality still
are the key mantra for success of a Power Electronic Equipment albeit it
is the Energy saving capability of the equipment which will turn the tide
in its favor.
Energy saving is going to be huge factor in determining
the success of UPS equipment. "Manufacturers will need to be more
creative and proactive in identifying and grasping presently unexploited
opportunities in the field of energy saving. With all suppliers already
providing high value to their clients and competition being intense,
energy saving differentiation - although very difficult to achieve - will
be key to accessing new markets.
With increasing value of space, there is an increased
focus amongst the new age customers to incorporate higher wattage per
cubic inch and demand high power factor for higher efficiency. This is
where the Indian manufacturers have lost the plot to the Chinese &
Taiwanese companies. With rack mounted version even the high end UPSs are
coming with small foot print. However Softdisk believes that the
increasing cost of batteries will bring in new equations in to play,
especially at the higher end. Here the innovative technologies like
flywheel and solar photo-voltaic may create a paradigm shift the way UPSs
are looked into.
New vendors who want to position themselves in the
Indian Power Conditioners and transient voltage surge suppressors markets
are taking the easy way out of R&D and now even the established once
need to enhance their capabilities by going the Chinese way. However it is
seen that reputation and previous experience strongly influence customers'
equipment purchasing decisions. This years survey clearly indicates that
trading their way out to win market is no longer yielding success.
Softdisk has always been trying its level best to
educate the end-users. We have always maintained that it is for the
manufacturers who have to identify the users’ need and provide with cost
effective, long term solutions to address them.
No wonders, our readers (the end-users) have positioned
us as Power Quality Consultants. Our mission is to forge partnerships
between Power Protection Equipment manufacturers and end users.
Softdisk sent over 12000 direct mailers. The result of the survey are
based on 7926 responses received to our elaborate questionnaire. The
questionnaire in poll format was made available at www.sdawards.in
Efforts were not limited here. Our executives visited over 250
installations across various locations through out India, and also over
500 installations were touched thru tele-calling.
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