Hale and hearty Vellore

Situated on the banks of the Palar river, Vellore is one of the oldest cities in the state of Tamil Nadu. The city has a blend of heritage and culture reflecting the ancient Dravidian civilization. Its name is said to have originated from the word 'Vel' which is the main weapon of the Hindu deity Murugan. Thus, the city is often referred to as the 'City of Spears'. Vellore has many colleges, ancient temples, and is a major transit point for travelers. A hub for medical tourism, the city is an emerging tourist hot spot as well.

The city, along with its nearby industrial towns, has witnessed a consistent industrial growth and the IT market is no exception. Moving from the gloomy days of recession, the Vellore IT market has evolved with time. However, the market has been witnessing a lull from the past 2 months. M Saravanan, CEO, Carewel Systems said, "Last month, business was a little bit dull. But normally, it does an average business." C Arumugam of Intech Computers said in concurrence, "We were facing a slowdown for the past few months. But compared to May, the business in June is better."

Talking about the most preferred brands in the city, Saravanan said that Dell and Samsung enjoy great demand from consumers. The primary growth verticals are SME and the education sector, owing to a large number of schools and colleges in the city. However, Saravanan was of the view that all sectors are equally contributing to the city's growth. Talking about the vendor-dealer relationship, both  Saravanan and Arumugam confessed to have no issues while dealing with their vendors. Saravanan said, "Generally, I do not face any problem with my vendors. But, if some problems arise, we solve them through talks."

The only IT association in the city, VAIT (Vellore Association for Information Technology) enjoys a good repute amongst its loyal members. According to Saravanan, the association is active in its functioning and regularly conducts programs. The future looks bright for the Vellore IT market and we hope it continues to grow in the time to come.

Interview: C Arumugam, CEO, Intech Computers

What are the top-selling products and brands in the city?

LG, Numeric UPS, Intel processors, and Seagate hard drives sell the most. 

Do you have any computer association in Vellore? How active is it in solving your problem?

VAIT (Vellore Association for Information Technology). Established in 2003 and functioning well ever since. It conducts elections and elects office bearers every year. It regularly conducts fair and is very active in the city. 

What are your market predictions for this year?

This year should be good, as the Government has promised free laptops as part of its election manifesto, we are not able to anticipate the growth. More than 9 lakh laptops were promised to the students which will be distributed in the month of September. It is only after that, that we can predict something.