MANGALORE: IT CATALYST

The chief port city in the
state of Karnataka, Mangalore is located about 350 km west of the
state capital, Bengaluru. The city derives its name from the local
Hindu Goddess Mangaladevi. Mangalore's economy is dominated by the
agricultural processing and port-related activities. In terms of
cargo handling, the New Mangalore Port is the ninth largest in India.
Mangalore boasts of an established information technology (IT)
market. Major IT and outsourcing companies like Infosys, Wipro and
MphasiS BPO have established their presence in the city. Plans are
also on to create an IT park in Mangalore, for the promotion of small
and medium IT entrepreneurs in tier-2 cities. According to the
dealers of the city, Mangalore IT market generates a healthy amount
of business; however since the last 2 months, the situation is
otherwise. Sujai Monteiro, CEO, CATS and secretary Mangalore IT
Dealers Association (MITDA), said, “Market is not doing good since
the past 2 months, mainly due to the shortage of hardware products in
the market. Sales have dipped drastically. October was a favorable
month though.”

While laptops sell like
hot-cakes in the city, brands such as HP, Sony, and Lenovo are the
top sellers. Talking about the primary growth verticals of the city,
Monteiro said, “For me, SOHO and SMB are the revenue generating
verticals, while we do not get any business from the education
sector.” Talking about the vendor-dealer relationship, dealers of
the city claimed that they do no face any problem while dealing with
them. Work relations is smooth and fine in the city. The only local
association in the city, MITDA is very active in the region. As
claimed by the partners, MITDA regularly conducts elections and
events for its members. “MITDA is very active in Mangalore. It is a
4-year-old association. It has got 53 members in its kitty. Every
month it holds 2 meetings, and overall it has organized 3 AGMs till
date. MITDA also conducts periodic events and drawing competitions
for its member's kids,” asserted Monteiro. Talking about the
future prospects, Monteiro said the future looks good. “On the SI
front, the market may remain dull till February because of the
shortage of products. But March onwards the situation might turn for
the better.”