Viper – a local PC brand undaunted by flood of used computers

As some assemblers pack up, Viper expands focus on corporate sector.

KARACHI: The influx of used personal computers has forced many companies out of business in the past decade but there is at least one local brand that not only survived but also expanded to become the country’s largest PC brand by responding to the needs of corporate Pakistan.

In 2005, there were about 20 Pakistani companies that assembled PCs locally including Inbox, Viper, Optimum Technology and others. But Viper is the only brand still focusing on that business while the rest have either packed up or started looking at other products, Director of Intel’s Reseller Channel Organisation in Asia Pacific, Kamil Hasan, told The Express Tribune during Intel Solutions Summit (ISS) 2013, held in Macau earlier this month

A completely unknown name in Pakistan’s retail market, Viper has been expanding its footprints in the corporate sector with its clientele comprising leading textile firms, leather goods manufacturers, banks, telecommunication companies, media organisations, education sector and government departments.



Launched in 1995, Viper Technology Private Limited is one of the first channel partners for chip-making giant Intel, according to Viper’s CEO, Khushnood Aftab, who served as a member of Intel board of advisers for Asia Pacific for six years before becoming its vice president recently.

The company started assembling desktop computers in 1996 from MA Jinnah Road, Karachi and now has five sales offices and over a dozen support offices across the country. Viper has been recognised as Pakistan’s largest PC brand, the CEO said, while quoting International Data Corporation, a global research, analysis and advisory firm specialising in information communications technology.

He refused to share the company’s revenue numbers but maintained that they are the largest buyer of Intel CPUs in Pakistan. The company’s revenues, according to sources, increased at an average of 41% between June 2009 and June 2012.

“We customise our PCs according to customer needs and that’s where we are different from others,” Aftab said while talking about Viper’s strategy for PC business.

The local PC giant has partners in countries like China and Taiwan. It imports internationally recognised components, according to Aftab, and assembles a wide range of computing devices – desktop computers, lap tops, tablets, pocket PCs, all-in-one PCs and others.

“Unlike our competitors that include international brands of the likes of HP and Dell, we even give three-year warranty for our PCs,” he said. “We make sure we assemble our PCs as per local needs.”

Giving an example, Aftab said, “We assembled and provided all-in-one (AIO) PCs for the election cells of Capital TV and Business Plus as per their needs.”

Launched in 2012, Viper’s are the only touch-enabled AIOs in Pakistan that run on Windows 8, he claimed.

Giving another example, he said, they provided a solution to a local problem by providing computers on wheels (COW) cart to schools in places like Balochistan.

The COW cart is a mobile computer lab that bundles several laptops on a mobile cart. It comes with solar cell, allowing sufficient backup in case of load-shedding while teachers can introduce the technology to the students, helping to minimise costs and make the most of tight budgets. The COW cart has been adopted by both private and public sector schools, Aftab said.

He further said Khushhali Banks Easypaisa, Dubai Islamic Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, JS Bank and Avari Hotel have purchased Viper’s products. Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited will also be using Viper Touch Books from July.

Besides PCs, Viper’s services also contributed to the company’s topline. “What we did was we moved from box-movers to value addition,” he said. “In 2002, we realised that change was the need of the hour, therefore, we also built expertise in storage and server solutions.”

Both Pakistani and international PC brands have struggled to compete in retail markets, which are dominated by ridiculously cheap PCs that make it through the grey market.

“We can’t compete with used computers in price. These old computers come to the country at zero cost,” he said.

PC manufacturers are considered an industry everywhere but not in Pakistan, he said. “All we want from the government is a level playing field,” he said.

For instance, some government departments ask for multinational brands in their tenders, depriving Viper of a chance to compete. “Pakistan is a huge market but we are not even able to tap 1% of this market,” Aftab said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2013.

Like Business on Facebook to stay informed and join in the conversation.