Aurangabad: Association Catalyst

Named after the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb, Aurangabad is located in the state of Maharashtra. The city houses several historical monuments like the Ajanta and Ellora Caves as well as Bibi Ka Maqbara, which are UNESCO world heritage sites. Aurangabad is also said to be a ‘city of gates', and recently, it has been declared as the tourism capital of Maharashtra.

Off-late, the city has seen a spurt in financial activities. Modern retail industry has made its presence felt in the city. And not only retail, the information technology industry has also flourished in the city over time. However, the dealers of the city claim that the last few months were tough for the market. Pramod Dere, director, Cyber Peripherals said, "Last few months the business was low. The market was tough." Rohit Maria of Accord Computers also said in agreement, "The market is slow at the moment. The last few months were also the same."

Although the IT business scenario is not very encouraging in the city at present, contribution from the SOHO segment keep the dealers going. This goes without saying that SOHO and government are the major contributing verticals of the city. Talking about the top-selling brands of the city, Dere said, "Lenovo, Dell and Sony sells the most, while both laptops and desktops are preferred by the customers." Sanjay K Agrawal of Mainframe Computers said in agreement, "Among the brands, Lenovo, Dell, HP and Acer sells the most."

Talking about the vendor dealer relationship, Dere said, "Generally there are some service issues with our vendors, but mostly we share a healthy relationship." Maria opined, "I face some delivery issues with my vendors, but rest is smooth." Aurangabad Association of Computer Traders is the local IT association functioning in the city. Talking about the same, Agrawal said, "The association is very active in the region. They regularly conduct member meetings. They also frequently organize some or the other events." Dere said, "The association actively solves problems, keeps a tab on market hygiene and organizes seminar on regular basis."

Generating around Rs 100 crore annual revenue and operating with around 120 dealers, the Aurangabad IT market is a scattered one with no particular IT hub to name. Predicting the future prospect of IT in the city Maria said, "Aurangabad market is a normal maturing market. I predict a 10-20% growth in the market, if conditions like dollar value, petrol prices and share market, etc, remains intact."

Market Name: Aurangabad

Market Location: Maharashtra

Surrounding Markets: Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai

Computer Association: Aurangabad Association of Computer Traders

Prominent Dealers: Accord Computers, Cyber Peripherals, Mainframe Computers

Business Verticals: SOHO, government

Number of active dealers: 120