High quality data is essential when it comes to effective decision making in any kind of business process. Every step of a strategic process must be governed and supported by relevant and accurate data, and the old-fashioned trial and error method is often not an option. skyWATS ensures that businesses have the right data in the right place, at the right time. In an interaction with Baishakhi Dutta of Electronics Bazaar, Vidar Gronas, sales director, skyWATS, talks about the company’s strategy to gain a strong foothold in the Indian market.
EB: Help us understand the technology behind the skyWATS platform and how it can help enterprises with better T&M.
skyWATS acquires, analyses and reports data from all test stations during the manufacturing process. It quickly helps manufacturers identify any potential quality problems in their products or issues in the manufacturing processes. The main advantage over traditional tools is that you can see all the data in real-time, and go from high-level yield information down to individual test steps and view the actual measured data.
EB: What are your views on the India market?
The Indian market has great potential due to the increasing demand for test and measurement (T&M) equipment. Several of our customers like ABB, etc, have manufacturing setups in the country. Moreover, the presence of various electronics manufacturing plants is of interest to us.
EB: What potential do you see for your products in India?
We believe our products will add value to all the companies developing and building electronic products in India. These products offer an easy way of getting the correct picture of what is going on during manufacturing and what the existing challenges are.
EB: Are you currently doing business in India?
Yes, at present we are operating in India with the help of various European companies.
EB: For how long have you been doing business with Indian companies?
We have been doing business in India for about two years. However, till now, we have only worked with multinational companies that have factories in India. We have not collaborated with any Indian company yet.
EB: How has your business fared in India over the recent years?
Business is good as of now, but it is not growing too fast. Growth has been slow and steady compared to the global market. But, on the other hand, the Indian market is on the verge of expansion and the demand for quality machinery is also speeding up. Additionally, the number of users and testing machines has spiked in recent times.
EB: Which are the top three countries that you export to?
At present Finland, USA and Denmark are the countries we export to the most.
EB: What challenges do you face while doing business in India?
When it comes to India, the major challenge that we encounter is not having a local partner here.
EB: How do you promote your products in India?
For the promotion of our products in the Indian market we have adopted digital methods. Currently we are using various social media platforms to reach out to our target audience.
EB: Are you looking for local partners in India?
Yes. We are very keen to establish our presence in different countries, including India, with trusted distribution partners. We do not have any local partners in India at present.
EB: What type of distributors are you looking for? Any specific requirements?
Ideally, we are looking for distributors in the test and measurement (T&M) space. However, distributors with knowledge of test systems and automation, as well as knowhow in information technology (IT), quality control measures as well as the vision to sell our products across a wide range of applications, are also favoured.
EB: When are you planning to set up your office in India?
Right now, we do not have any plans for setting up an India based office. We are aiming at hiring distributors and that is how we plan to operate in the country.
EB: What strategies or investments are you making to grow your business in India?
We are publishing articles across various platforms, and are actively seeking partners through the major events organised by National Instruments. We are advertising on LinkedIn and Google. These apply for all markets, and especially for India.
