MADURAI: WAY TO GO

One of India's temple cities, Madurai is synonymous with the famous Meenakshi Temple. It has a special significance in India's struggle for independence because it was here that Mahatma Gandhi made the decision to switch to wearing a loin cloth after seeing agricultural laborers wearing it.

In the recent past, the IT industry has made a big mark in the economy of Madurai. Software Technology Parks of India, an agency of the Government of India, has authorized several companies in Madurai to receive benefits under its National IT development program. Moreover, it houses various MNCs like Honeywell Technologies India and other software companies like HCL, Alfa Web Solutions and AJ Square Consultancy Services.

The Madurai IT market is growing at a rate of 25% y-o-y basis and is expected to grow on similar lines. According to channel partners, Sony, Dell, Toshiba, HP laptops and HP printers are in great demand in the market. According to K Senthilnathan of Premier Systems and Peripherals, "The Madurai IT market has an annual turnover of around Rs 250 crore. We sell around 120 laptops and 30 desktops on a monthly basis." Senthilnathan added that there are not much enterprise accounts in Madurai as in metro like Chennai.

The sale of IT products goes up specially in the months of July-October as it is the period when students generally purchase products for new academic session and because of festivals in October, people try to take maximum advantage of various discount offers.

Talking about the vendor-dealer problems, dealers said that it is a win-win situation for both. "We can't live without them and they can't survive without us. So we work as a team to solve all the issues," said Senthilnathan.

The city has Computer and Media Society-Computer Dealers Association (CAMS-CDA) which works to help in resolving dealer-vendor related issues. It is organizing 'CAMS-Computer Expo, 2011' from September 23 to 25, 2011 for the welfare of members. All the leading vendors are expected to participate in the event. "We are organizing this expo after a gap of 4 years. Last time some 18,000 people visited the expo. Because of more technological update and increased literacy rate, this time we expect around 25,000 people to visit the expo," said Senthilnathan, who is also the treasurer of CAMS-CDA.

Interview: K Senthilnathan, CEO, Premier Systems & Peripherals

What is the annual revenue of the Madurai IT market?

It should be around Rs 250 crore.

Which business vertical do you serve?

We serve mostly to SOHO, SMB and education.

Is there any IT association working at the local level? How many members does it have?

Yes, we have CAMS-Computer Dealers Association, Madurai. It has around 106 members on its rolls.

Which is the peak season for sale?

Usually, due to the new academic session and festivals, July-October is the season to look out for.