BELGAUM: IT'S SWEET TOOTH

The fourth
largest city in the state of Karnataka, Belgaum is nestled in the
foothills of the
Western Ghats. The city borders the states of Maharashtra and Goa and
enjoys a cool and healthy climate. It is surrounded by natural
beauties in the form of rivers, hills and dense evergreen forests,
and is an emerging tourist destination. The city is also popularly
called 'Kundha Nagari' because of its famous sweet dish Kundha.

The huge
sugarcane cultivation and production, also serves as a reason for
naming Belgaum the
'Sugar City' and the district as 'Sakkare Jille' (Sugar
District). Belgaum
stands second to Bengaluru in terms of overall exports in the state.
The city is also the
commercial hub of north Karnataka and a major producer of milk in the
state.

Belgaum is
also a strong industrial hub for machine shops and the geographical
location of the city serves as an advantage for it. As far as the IT
business of the city is concerned, the information technology market
is slowly evolving and making its presence felt in the region. Out of
all the business verticals in the city, SOHO and corporate are the
prime contributors to the city's economy; while brands such as
Dell, Lenovo and HP are among the most popular brands in this region.
According to Gururaj R Kalghatgi, CEO, Compu Aid, “Laptops are the
top selling products in the city and Dell, Lenovo and HP the the top
selling brands. However, out of these brands, the sale of HP laptops
has gone down significantly in the city.”

While
talking
about relationship with vendors, Kalghatgi said, “I do not face any
major problems with my vendors. We share a healthy working
relationship.” There is no IT association in Belgaum at present.
Once highly active, the Belgaum Information Technology Association
(BITA) in course of time has lost its active edge. The association
closed down mainly because of internal competition among dealers, and
the economic recession also gave it a setback. Churning a monthly
revenue of around Rs 5-6 crore, the Belgaum market is well-placed to
vie for the tag of an established IT destination in India in the
coming times.