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Amitava Banerjee
CEO,
Tech International
How big is the Durgapur IT market?
We have about 30 active resellers in the market selling on an average 250 PCs per month. Over the past two years, the market has seen a moderate 15 percent growth.
What are the drivers for IT growth?
The mainstay of the IT market is the industrial sector here. One of the major industries is steel with over 100 small and large plants. Then there are power and cement industries. Together these industries constitute 60 percent of the market.
Other segments that contribute to the IT demand are the home and the education segments. With many institutions setting up their centers here, education is a market that is opening up. While home segment contributes around 30 percent, education contributes 20 percent.
What are the buying trends?
While 70 percent of PCs sales constitute notebooks, the desktop sales form rest of the pie.
Assembled desktops are still in demand because of the home market. About 20 percent of the desktops sales come from assembled PCs, the rest of it belongs to the branded ones.
There is an increased demand for value addition from the corporate sector. Companies are looking for complete solutions like wireless networking, and integrated software solutions. Additionally, power conditioning is also important for industries operating here.
What are the key challenges faced by resellers?
The challenges have been more in terms of competition. Many resellers from neighboring cities
are moving to our market and eating into our share.
Besides this, there isn’t much post-sales support in smaller cities like Durgapur. Though the scenario is improving, the problem still persists. For instance, to get service from Acer, we have to go to Kolkata.
What activities are organized by the city’s IT association?
Durgapur Computer Association has 30 members, but is not active in resolving any issues. All the office bearers are more involved in their vested interests and do not have an agenda to promote business. |