Magnon: Taking internet solutions to another level Date:   Tuesday , March 02, 2010 “Internet is something which is not just used as a brochure or promotion, the internet is a medium which derives business value in various form,” says Vineet Bajpai, the Founder and CEO of Magnon solutions. The importance of internet domain has increased tremendously over the last couple of years as more and more companies want to spread their presence online. Bajpai started this company in 2000 with the aim to become the largest internet media house in India. Over the years the company has been able to create competency across the ecommerce sector, not only in terms of product and services but also in terms of market they operate in. Many companies across India provide web designing services, search engine optimization, application development, internet marketing and website hosting as a service but what makes Magnon stand out in the crowd of these companies is that it provide a one-stop solution to all these needs of customers. Magnon starts with the consultation stage with their client, then design website for them, put technology application on website, promote them on internet along with search engine optmimzation and marketing. When the companies in India spend money they spend it in a fragmented way and hence they are not able to get the value that internet offers. Magnon is able to use every corner of the internet and provide an integrated network which delivers the required value for the companies. The web being a blend of creativity and technology, the company operates as a Design Agency and Software Company. The team comprises Creative Visualizes, Web Designers, Web Developers, Programmers, Database specialists and Internet Marketing experts. The company has managed to capture over 1000 clients across 18 countries. Their clientele includes Fortune 500 companies, multinational corporations and organizations in the government sector. But one of the main reasons that contribute to their huge clientele is that customers stick to the company for a very long time. “We are proud of the facts that we have had customers associated with us for many years. Daikin Air Conditioners for nine years, Hyundai has been our clients for five years. The reason why organizations have stuck to us despite fragmented market is because we are single point, single media organization which can meet all their needs.” Magnon helped Hyundai to grow their presence since the initial days when they came to India. Magnon started by making a corporate website and then they helped Hyundai for the branding aspect. “So what we have been able to setup their corporate presence, we have been able to help them grow as a brand in India, we have been able to create internal applications for e-learning and intranet, we have been able to do comparative benchmarking and solution providing,” says Bajpai. A company with so many customers around the world is managed by a combined strength of 110 people. This feat is only possible because Magnon has managed to create an automated project delivery platform. The company has spent around 25 – 30 Lakh rupees on this software, which integrate the entire delivery process at one place. The automated system take cares of advertising aspect as well as software aspect. Programmers, search engine optimizers as well as art designers in the company use the same application to meet customer’s demand. The system is so well built that the process of ISO certification went out smoothly as the certifiers were satisfied at the way the huge bulk of client information was organized. Magnon has been able to expand its presence outside India by opting for various strategies like internet telemarketing and taking part in exhibition and technology conferences. However, Bajpai says that tying up with Channel partners has helped then to enter the local market with ease. These channel partners are companies who are doing similar kind of work as Magnon and hence it is easier to reach out to customers. The company so far has 40 channel partners in Australia, U.K and the U.S. Bajpai says that company is looking to increase to 150 channel partners by the coming financial year. But the company prefers to work on a direct basis when it comes to the Indian market and does not rely on channel partners. Bajpai started this company during the dot-com era. It was a brave venture in a field which is still struggling a bit due to the reach of internet in the country. The company faced many challenges initially and there is one challenge that they still continue to face till this day. “While there has been some improvement in the acceptance of internet by the people in market and Indian business leaders, companies in the SME market today are not ready to invest in internet,” says Bajpai. He feels there is still a mental block as SMEs don’t see a great advantage in opting for internet based marketing strategy. However, Bajpai believes this segment holds great promise for the future. Millions of websites and billions of web pages - marketing on the internet is increasingly becoming more and more complicated. Business people worldwide are groping for strategies that would ensure regular and targeted traffic flow to their websites. At times like this search engine optimization and internet marketing becomes very crucial. Magnon sees this as an excellent opportunity to grow and capture more market share. Bajpai firmly believes that in the next 4-5 years, Magnon would be seen as India’s definitive market leader as it is among the very few companies with proven capabilities in both the domestic and outsourcing markets.