ITAO expo will be bigger, better

Having remained dormant for a while, the IT Association of
Orissa (ITAO) has now geared up for an eventful year. In an exclusive chat with Piyali
Guha, Anil Kumar Choudhury of Bhubaneshwar-based Maple Computer and
Communication, the newly elected President of ITAO, shared his plan of
action for the association

What are the new initiatives we will see once the new executive
committee takes centerstage?

We want to make ITAO active and have planned a lot of activities for
members. That's why we have identified the major areas, which need immediate
attention, and have formed our task force accordingly. Also, to smooth out the
job we have appointed different individuals to take the responsibility of
executing different jobs in order to deliver in a professional manner.

ITAO has formed three new cells this year in order to execute
three most important tasks that have been defined during the first executive
committee meeting. The committees are Club Committee, Exhibition Committee and
Members' Business Development Committee. Manoj Patra of InfoWorld, Manoj
Lalani of Lalani Computech and Brahma Prakash Mishra of Targous Technology, will
head the committees respectively.

What are the focus areas for the new committees?

The ITAO Club Committee will be working to realize the association's long
cherished dream of constructing a dedicated building for ITAO. We have been
talking to the local government for subsidized land allotment. This time we will
pursue the matter in a more active way in order to make it happen as soon as
possible.

We are also keen on increasing ITAO's member strength as well
as work towards the betterment of the trade in Orissa. The Business Development
Committee has been formed with the objective of monitoring ethical business
practices to be maintained by partners and also focus on the development of
business prospects of local players. We have seen that many business
opportunities, especially those related to the banking/finance sector and
corporate accounts are being bagged by outsiders. We will try to restrain this
for the benefit of local players. Our objective is to ensure that the IT
industry in Orissa and ITAO members get maximum marketshare.

We are also launching a center of excellence for end users,
which will be personally looked after by me. For this we have already identified
a place where we will install computers. Handicapped people will be given
training free of cost in order to provide them with basic computer skills.

We have decided to organize the annual IT exhibition of ITAO in
a better and bigger manner than it was done last year. The exhibition will be
organized during February 2008, but the exact date is yet to be finalized. ITAO
Exhibition Committee will work towards making the show a grand success.

What are some of the highlights of the forthcoming exhibition?

Last year, the ITAO expo was done in a smaller way. Due to shortage of time
last year the event was organized within the readymade platform of Real Estate
Development Association, Orissa (REDA). But we realized that by doing so we had
lost our own identity amidst the bigger expo, which was primarily a real estate
fair. Therefore, this time we plan to organize it on our own, with the branding
of ITAO. We had done the expo in a grand way in 2005 and had also held an awards
night, which was appreciated by all. We want to recreate the same impact this
time also.

The association has also planned to hold activities engaging
ITAO members. We are also planning to conduct seminars before the expo, which
will act as an appropriate tool for the publicity of the forthcoming exhibition.
We have approached Microsoft to conduct a joint seminar on anti-piracy,
addressing end-users and to impart awareness among them regarding the benefits
of using original Microsoft software. Another seminar we plan to hold will
involve the government of Orissa and will highlight Orissa as the next
destination for IT manufacturers to set-up their facilities.

Piyali Guha


piyalig@cybermedia.co.in