By far, D-Link is the volume king of the Indian networking industry.

Identifying demand and adapting itself to the ever-changing market scenario are the most characteristic trait of this company. From an obscure Taiwanese company to the top positions in ‘Networking Masters’, since the last two fiscals, D-Link’s meteoric rise to the top defies traditional market wisdom. Sustaining its growth momentum, the company has once again managed to post an impressive 63 percent growth with networking revenues of Rs 240 crore for fiscal 2000-01. Thus making D-Link the No. 3 networking principal in India. D-Link has also crossed some important landmarks during the last fiscal, coming out with an IPO, forging a distribution alliance with Clarent for IP telephony solutions, and kickstarting its R&D efforts at Bangalore, being some of them. Moreover, its third plant at Goa is expected to go online this month.

Most of D-Link’s orders come from SIs—thus making D-Link a visible brand. On the other hand, its well-tested and huge channel network made D-Link’s products reach the farthest of India’s geographical corners.

To the credit of D-Link, its units sold figures are a source of inspiration to anybody analyzing India’s purchasing power. Analyzing the contrasting figures, the extent of parity can be seen. Fifty thousand units of hubs but only Rs 32 crore; 11,000 of switch units but just Rs 23 crore; etc. Falling prices evidently were the culprit. Despite being a late entrant into the structured cabling market, D-Link gained a strong foothold by posting a 100 percent growth, with revenue of Rs 30 crore. The modem business was a relatively new one, and yet one sees D-Link coming out with hammers and tongs. IP telephony and wireless datacom products were the ones that it forayed into last year. This year, we can see more coming.

Success for D-Link, in the future, will lie in balancing its mass business with strides in new segments.