Delhi based Kamtron has been at the forefront of software licensing and IT consulting for over a decade and is a trusted brand for the education industry. The company provides licensing solutions for all kinds of business (small, medium, large, corporate, education and government) with special focus towards the education industry. The partner has many key educational institutions in their kitty. With many educational institutions are gearing up for procurement, Kavita Singhal (Kavita), Director, IT of Kamtron tells B Swaminathan(Swami), some tips for partners eyeing the educational segment. Edited excerpts.
Swami: You have a strong foothold in education sector. What is your view on the IT spend of educational institutions?Â
Kavita: Every institution spends a significant portion of their budget on IT but IT in itself is very comprehensive. It includes networking, hardware, infrastructure software, security solution, application software, ERP, LMS , hardware and software maintenance and so on. IT spend of institutions vary from institution to institution depending on their priorities, mindset and admissions in the institutions.
Swami: What are the top three challenges as a partner you face while deploying IT for education institutions?
Kavita: Challenges cannot be generic and standard for any set of customers . It may differ from one customer to other. But yes in education sector it is a little difficult to change the mindset of institution’s management and staff towards the transformation for newer technology every now and then at many institutions. The biggest challenge I see is upscaling with the latest technology which is moving at such a fast pace.
Implementation and training also becomes a problem sometimes as the educators are too busy with
their work and may not be able to take out their time for same. Price is always a challenge . Many a times customer is not ready to pay for services as a separate component.
Swami: Many partners tell that payment cycles are not prompt with most institutions. Do you agree? If yes/no, what is the reason?
Kavita: If we leave aside Govt institutions , delay in payment cycle is not because of customers but partners are much more responsible for that. Partners extend the long credits for customer acquisition and then it gets into the payment policy of customer. Govt institutions have their own sweet payment
cycle which no one can question.
Swami: Are colleges understanding the importance of automation within educational institutions?
Kavita: Majority of colleges have adopted campus automation and still many are in the process of
adopting the same.
Swami: What are the key areas educational institutions will invest in the coming years? Where do you see opportunities for partners in the coming years?Â
Kavita: The solution adoption will vary from an institution to institution basis the level of institution, location of institution, admissions etc. Their first priority is infrastructure , branding and then come others. Partners need to engage deeply with the customers to understand their needs and pain areas and then advice accordingly rather than imposing solutions on them .
Swami: What are the top three suggestions you want to give for partners dealing with education
segment?
Kavita: Continuous engagement , relationship building and creating awareness on new technology and
trends.
Swami: What are the key plans for Kamtron systems in this financial year?
Kavita: Apart from licensing solutions and deployments we have added training solutions in our
portfolio. We are creating academies in institutions for students training , certifications that
will help them with practical exposure to the current trends and with placements upon
completion of their course.