Coming of age

Known for Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), Asia's biggest

industrial township, Ankleshwar is the hub of booming IT industry in the Gujarat

upcountry. With about 5,000 chemical plants, the region, which has survived a

slowdown with relative ease, has shown a lot of potential for IT growth.

Talking about the IT business in Ankleshwar, Irshad Gaud, the newly-elected

President of Ankleshwar Bharuch IT Association (ABITDA) and CEO of Lakhotia

Computer Center informed that there were 500 boxes sold this year, apart from

laptops and PCs. Shedding light on a survey conducted by Intel, he said that

Ankleshwar and Bharuch were awarded the title of being the fastest developing

upcountry regions in Gujarat. “We were thrilled to know that Canon earned a

growth of 230 percent in South Gujarat,” he added.

Inova 'Flood IT Project', an initiative by Gujarat government in association

with Cooperative Bank, recently stirred channel partners in the region, because

vendors attempted to keep partners away from the project. Later, vendors agreed

to involve channel partners after all.

Talking about ABITDA's future plans, Gaud informed that the association is

planning to hold meeting with Gujarat Assembly members, establish an e-library

in Bharuch and start an ABITDA Benefit card.

Vinesh Modi, CEO, Roman Telecom shared that his business has seen a downturn

in revenue figures of only 10 percent as compared to last year.

Sharing the same notion, Gaud added, “Since partners in this region don't

follow the traditional methods of doing business, we never experienced any

negative impact in business. There is unity amongst our members, and that is our

strength. In times of need, we help each other in investing or financing issues.

We have also come up with an ABITDA song, which is like an anthem to us and

depicts our unity,” he cheerfully added.

Modi is hopeful that with festival season right around the corner, his

business will see a remarkable growth, though he will be holding up his

expansion plans for some time. Sharing his future business plans, he said, “By

next quarter, we want to establish a new Lenovo retail team, which will consist

of 20 people, including engineers and technical people. We will soon be going to

Surat and Vapi for the same.”

Sharing the issues that channel partners are facing in the region, Modi

highlighted that there is very less margin in the box pushing business. “If the

IT market is affected in Ahmedabad, it affects our business directly or

indirectly,” he said.

Mayank Mehta of Sunshine Computers said that HP, Compaq, Dell and Lenovo are

the vendors who are doing well in the region. Lenovo is contributing upto 35

percent to Sunshine's revenue figures. But the matter that is a cause of worry

for Mehta, like many partners in Ankleshwar, is the practice of dumping the

boxes in the region. “This is adding to the pressure that we are facing to

perform in the business,” he shared. Talking about the opportunities, he

informed that with GIDC, SEZ and petro-chemical industries are the ones with

most potential for growth.

Talkin Zamindar, CEO, Media Infocom has a different story to share about the

impact of slowdown in his business. He informed that about 40-45 percent of his

business was affected by the downturn in the market. “Owing to little

competition in the region, as partners are handling their individual brands, we

are able to earn a profit of about three to four percent,” he informed.