Mr Toh: While products need to demonstrate value, "relationships" still play a decisive role in ensuring business viability.

At last year’s Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing, NetGain Systems (http://www.netgain-systems.com/) broke new ground by providing the Games with a unified monitoring and management solution that supported technical teams in over 40 competition venues. In previous Games, real-time or non-real-time monitoring of the IT architecture only covered the data centre and some of the game sites.

NetGain, which provides IT management solutions for enterprises, entered the China market in 2003 and currently has a representative office in Beijing and two other sales offices in Shanghai and Guangzhou. Besides sales and marketing, the 20-strong China team is responsible for local R&D, product customisation, channel training, product delivery and project management.

Today, the company has over 100 customers spanning a wide range of sectors including telecommunications, financial services, government and energy. Its Chief Executive Officer Mr Toh Soon Seah talks about the strategies that have enabled it to crack the China market.

How did NetGain make inroads into the China market?
We adopted a channels strategy where we integrated our solution with local partners’ solutions in various vertical industries. This allowed NetGain to gain market penetration quickly and effectively.

In addition, China’s IT has been evolving at a breakneck speed. Huge investments have been made in the use of IT to conduct business. However, the management of IT has not been able to catch up without proper tools and solutions. We believe that our products and solutions would provide true customer value in such scenarios.

How different is China from Singapore and other markets that you have ventured into?
If the IT business is a people business, then China’s IT business is definitely more so. The way business deals are structured are more complex. The relationships between NetGain, its partners and customers need to be well-balanced. While products need to demonstrate value, "relationships" still play a decisive role in ensuring business viability.

In what way has the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) assisted NetGain in establishing your presence in China?
IDA was instrumental in helping us to establish our relationship with Sun Microsystems through the IDA Overseas Development Programme. IDA has also provided marketing support to help NetGain improve brand awareness in the market.

What are some of the key learning points that you can share with other aspiring Singapore infocomm companies?

• Focus on delivering value to the customer with well-designed products.
• Have a channel strategy to work with local partners. Give your best support to them.
• Take good care of your employees.
• Always think "win-win".
• Last but not least, be patient and persistent.

What are some of the challenges/hurdles impeding success in your market?
There are cultural differences, even though we speak the same language, and local competitors always present a challenge. It also takes time for the business to grow, so you need to be able to sustain and grow the business at the same time. Another hurdle we have had to overcome is a lack of strong branding compared with companies from the United States.