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Kodak India eyes digital imaging revolution
Though the Indian digital camera market is small, it is
growing at a hefty rate of more than 70 percent year-on-year. The leader in
the Indian photography segment, Kodak India, is eyeing a huge chunk of the emerging
digital imaging revolution by setting up dedicated infrastructure for managing
and transmitting digital images. Srikanth R P has the details
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PCS was best placed to maintain Kodak’s network
and train its partners, thanks to its presence in 150 locations across India,
says Goutam Talukder |
Though India is one of the fastest-growing markets for digital photography,
there is a big gap between photographic labs and studios. For instance, each
lab typically services around 30-40 studios. In addition to the huge workload,
the ability to manage multiple tasks like collecting films, processing and improving
images, adding fancy borders or designs as per the varied needs of clients and
delivering printed copies or any other desired medium to the studio again is
time consuming.
Kodak India is looking at bridging this gap with its digital imaging solution
that comprises two main components—Kodak wedding club software and a Virtual
Private Network. The wedding club software has a studio version and a lab version.
The studio version can be installed in studios or even PCs of professional photographers
who want to send digital images to labs for printing. The main USP of this software
is that it compresses and encrypts digital files so that they can be transmitted
faster over networks. Other value-added features include facilities like image
editing, ability to connect to multiple labs, choice of multiple levels of compression
and tracking of orders.
For the lab version, Kodak has thrown in sophisticated features like database
management (allowing labs to set up individual pricing for individual customers),
automatic invoicing and automatic tracking of customer accounts. Also packed
in is a messaging feature that enables labs to communicate with customers. The
labs can also download templates from the Kodak server and show customers attractive
designs. For supporting these services, Kodak has set up a dedicated VPN network
for ensuring high upload and download speeds.
Says Ravi Karamcheti, VP Marketing Output, Kodak India, “With the launch
of this initiative, the entire chain of the Indian photography segment starting
from photographers, studios and labs will be able to offer innovative products
like personalised wedding cards
and personalised calendars.” Karamcheti claims that
this initiative will not only improve quality but will cut down on time (to
process images, transport, etc.) by more than 50 percent.
But while the initiative is revolutionary, Kodak India does not have the required
infrastructure to support and maintain the network. Kodak has addressed this
by tying up with PCS Industries, a company known for its systems integration
and maintenance skills.
Says Goutam Talukder, executive VP, IT services, PCS Industries,
“Our presence in more than 150 locations across India was why Kodak chose
us for maintaining the network and training Kodak’s partners for this
initiative.” The support of PCS is crucial as many lab and studio owners
are not IT-savvy.
Kodak has some ambitious plans up its sleeve and looking at the number of studios
the company has in its fold in India, a huge digital revolution is unfolding
at your neighbourhood Kodak studio.
srikanth@expresscomputeronline.com
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