Understanding Customer Demands is Key for Keysight
Sandeep Kapoor, Country Head - Marketing and Business Development & Mombasawala Mohmedsaeed, General Manager - Applications, Keysight Technologies - the veterans spoke about their flagship event and the company's focus and strategies for the Indian T&M market.
Q1: What are the products which are launched in A&D Symposium.
A&D Symposium is uniquely designed to provide a holistic solution for Keysight’s customers and help them with our cutting-edge offerings. We have been developing applications matching our customer needs by closely following their changing demands and requirements. For our existing and potential customers, we have been focusing on providing solutions and sharing different use cases for diverse applications. Last year, our focus was on providing details and insights regarding our R&D and manufacturing processes from Indian scenario and inculcating best practices from across the world. This year, our focus is on new technologies like drones and trends in electronic warfare, alongside, we are focused on shifting towards services like repair, calibration and asset management in a big way.
Q2: Strategies to spur and upskill partners and customer at large in this digital-driven competitive market?
The advent of new technologies and increasing competition has inevitably introduced the need to seek new and innovative ways to upskill both partners and customers. Our initiatives like the A&D Symposium helps to keep our partners up-to-date with the transformations and latest industry trends. We make sure to work closely with customers and keep them well informed of the latest technologies and this has opened new opportunities for us. We will make use of such symposiums in the future to help our partners stay ahead in the market and will jointly venture into new areas with prospects of collective achievement. We conduct Keysight Measurements Insights which is focused around wireless and high speed digital customers. We also have regular training sessions on products and applications for partners.
Q3: The current government has opened up the market for A&D players wooing new ideas and business aptness, Make in India, FDI in defence are few of the current initiatives which rejigging the sector?
Keysight works closely with many Aerospace & Defense industry leaders in India and globally. We are experts in the A&D industry and are well-versed with their processes, technology, practices and methodologies. We have the capabilities and in-depth understanding of the market to support and assist MNC’s who are looking to build their business in India. Elaborating further, Mombasawala Mohmedsaeed said that a decade ago, companies like Keysight, or any other company in this space, were dependent on DRDO Labs. The ‘Make in India’ initiative by the Government has encouraged many private companies to come forward. Keysight plays a key role in educating these upcoming companies, the ones that are getting ready for delivery of complex technologies. We have a perennial engagement with the DRDO Labs but at the same time we believe in the need of initiatives like ‘Make in India’ for the betterment of the country.
Q4: Has Digital Transformation drawn a line of competitive arc in the T&M industry? How is Keysight revving up with this new term?
Yes. Competition is aggressive and technology is hitting a new curve every day. We have an edge over our competition in terms of the products that we offer. Our vast technology and portfolio of products makes us different from our competitors. Our competitors mainly focus on RF Microwave and Digital. They are not widely present in other product markets. There is no other company as deeply connected to their customers in Test and Measurement space like Keysight. In addition, our recent acquisitions in RF and digital test space further enables us to cater to more prominent customers. We also make sure to keep retain and attract new talent and expertise, so we can continue to serve our customers. To meet the market requirements and keep up with changing technology trends, we are investing significantly in software solutions. We recently launched a design and test software platform ‘PathWave’. It is industry’s first software platform that integrates design, test, measurement and analysis. It offers a wide range of plug-ins built upon a common architecture and framework and is available in a wide variety of configurations that target specific users, such as a design or test engineers. Customers can build their specific solution by selecting appropriate plug-ins and integrating application-specific content. Built using open, scalable, and predictive principles, the platform will be enhanced by third parties and customers.
Q5: Evolving technologies like 5G is set to the change the present regulations and explode the IoT market? Howbeit, this is also said to bring a new price-war in the commercial space; how Keysight and at large the T&M industry bouts to this evolving trend?
Our focus is not in the consumer business and are therefore not part of the price war. The level of technological depth involved in developing standards, products & applications for 5G and other advanced technologies is quite intense. As a Test & Measurement solution provider, we need to start ahead of technological curve, so that we can help our customers in testing their products. Our entire business model is driven by specialized technical requirements. Of course, pricing is one of the key but not the sole factor. At Keysight, our practice is to create value for our customers first and then we speak about the price at a later stage. Our investments in R&D for technologies are signficant and we find ourselves well positioned in the market because our customers appreciate our efforts. Our customers across the world weigh technical superiority and quality of our products and services above the price factor.
Q6: A&D Symposium is growing larger every year. What were the key attractions for the attendees? To add compared to last year, how big was the footfall this year?
A&D Symposium is a flagship event of Keysight. We see a lot of footfall ever year because we create a new ecosystem for the attendees and strive to give them great value every year. This year, the session on ‘Drone Technology’ received a lot of interest from the audience. We customize our A&D symposium or other events based on the industry trends and requirements of the market and customers. Our events in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi have brought solutions closer to our customers and partners. We give them live demonstrations of our solutions, which is quite popular among our attendees like scientists, engineers and academicians. We have regular attendees who appreciate our applications and solutions and acknowledge the information they gained by attending our events.
Mohmedsaeed added: our customers find value in what we are presenting during the symposium. We are more focused on application and solutions and not just product. We listen and take feedback from our customers all throughout the year and present them with solutions that address their concerns during these events. This is our underlying focus. Ever since the inception of the Symposium, customer engagement has grown tremendously. A&D Symposium is the one stop place for the customers to find solutions to their problems.
Q7: Alike A&D, today, Telecom is also a vigorous growing sector, wherein, Keysight solutions play a pivotal role. On the other-hand, the first draft of 5G specifications from 3GPP is expected to see more measurements being made by researchers and telecom giants are likely to evaluate possible deployment frequencies for these next-generation networks. How dramatically are these new technologies shaping the T&M industry and how Keysight considers this transforming landscape?
The next generation of mobile communications will launch us forward with more data, more connectivity and lightning fast speeds — moving us into a new age. The race to define 5G architecture is getting gradually written in stone, but the process to design and deploy 5G technology is just beginning. The industry is making rapid progress but there’s still more work to be done. While wireless network operators are working in various forms, including proprietary pre-5G implementations, these early trials are mostly focused on delivering broadband wireless to fixed locations, called Fixed Wireless Access (FWA).
These deployments will not only deliver immediate value to customers, but allow the industry to gain experience with New Radio (NR) and higher frequency bands. Keysight has partnered early with industry-leading chipset and device makers to deliver a common set of 5G design and simulation resources that can be used across the 5G ecosystem. Keysight’s solutions accurately emulate the network, measure 5G devices, base stations and massive subscriber behavior scenarios to reduce errors and speed cycle time. Keysight has applied its expertise in radio frequency, mmWave, protocol and IP networking to develop solutions that enable chipset makers to master complexities of 5G and quickly innovate, transform and win in the market.
In summary, Keysight helps the wireless ecosystem to predict, mitigate and solve 5G design and test challenges by supporting Engineers at different stages of the development lifecycle; by providing customer friendly solutions and doing whatever it takes to get the business advantage in a highly competitive market resulting in innovation as customers transform 5G ideas to reality!