In this conjunction, Intel recently announced the formation of The Channel Products Group to expand on Intel’s success in global markets. By combining into one organization existing groups such as the 10year-old Reseller Channel Organization, Intel will consolidate efforts to develop and sell Intel technology and products to meet the unique needs of local markets worldwide.
Since the inception of the company, Intel has worked with the distribution channel to supply technology products to customers globally. The early informal channel programs further evolved in 1994 as Intel strategically formed a boxed products group and invested in its first reseller customer programs: the Intel Premier Provider and Genuine Intel Dealers. Intel launched its first boxed Intel Pentium Processor for the channel in 1995 with 200 dealers in Australia and China.
Today, Intel has expanded its offerings beyond that one product to include hundreds of building blocks for the desktop, server, mobile and communication segments. These products are sold through a network of more than 1,000 distributor locations to a broad and sophisticated channel organization of 160,000 members in 112 countries around the globe, with a significant portion of sales coming from Intel’s investment in emerging markets. During 2004, Intel doubled its coverage of emerging market cities to achieve a presence in 1,200 cities. The company also added 25,000 new dealers and opened offices in Peru, Lebanon, Mongolia, Costa Rica, Romania, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
"Evident by our long history and the increased focus we announced with the standalone organization for our channel programs, Intel is committed to bringing computing and communications technologies to countries around the world," said Ricky Banaag, Country Manager, Intel Microelectronics Philippines. "We can accomplish this by helping to establish local businesses and providing training on how to build and sell computers. We also collaborate with local governments to bring PCs and technology literacy to people in order to bridge the technology gap between established and emerging markets."
Intel provides products, programs, initiatives and other marketing resources to new and existing integrators to help them develop and grow their businesses. For example, last month Intel rolled out a Small Business Solutions Campaign to help its resellers sell more effectively to small-business customers. The campaign’s centerpiece is in the form of a browser-based program that resellers can use to walk customers through their IT configurations and assess potential needs. The program charts potential customers’ setups on the systems, storage and networking fronts, and then comes back with specific recommendations.
Intel also helps educate consumers, governments and businesses on how they can benefit from technology. Intel has formed initiatives with governments and computer companies in several emerging markets to make PCs more affordable and to teach people how to use them. Some of the initiatives rolled out this last year include the People’s PC in the Philippines, Malaysia’s "IT For All", Thailand’s "PCs for Thais," Egypt’s "PC for Every Home," Latin America’s "PC Clubs" and Russia’s "Digital Week."
The People’s PC is spearheaded by the Philippines’ Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT) and Intel to make available affordable, high-quality PCs to Filipinos nationwide. It is aimed at bridging the digital divide and building an ICT-enabled knowledge-society in the Philippines. Consumers will now have the option to purchase a "People’s PC "from participating retailers nationwide that display the "People’s PC" logo at their outlets.
"Intel works closely with leading players in the ecosystem to make PC ownership easier for more Filipinos. Our channels have been instrumental in growing our business, increase the technology skills of Filipinos and help us work towards our goal of bridging the digital divide," said Jennifer AbacaLai, Sales Manager, Intel Microelectronics Philippines.
The Intel Channel Program in Philippines has benefited over 300 of its members from the incentives offered under the program. "The Intel Channel Program has helped our company to be more successful in selling Intel based solutions and at the same time helped to grow our business over the years." says Manuel Villaroman, president, VillMan Computer Systems. "We have also seen increased visibility and gained a sharper edge in the competitive marketplace." Wilson Tan of Thinking Tools, a Cebu-based reseller, shares the same sentiment. "The Intel Channel Program has proved to be successful in becoming a backbone to our business, giving us an edge over the competition by providing us with the much-needed back-end support when we face our customers."
