Creating Infosys in IT channel
By Dhaval Valia
Welcome to the eight edition of CRN Xcellence Awards. We bring to you 28 of India’s finest channel companies in the area of solutions provision, retail, system integration and sub-distribution.
And boy haven’t they done us all proud! With best business practices, strong customer focus and smart marketing these companies have shown that they are among the best in the country.
The way channel companies have evolved in the last four years is quite remarkable. We are at a major inflection point in the evolution of channels and the next phase is going to be even more exciting.
I believe that the IT channel is going through the same phase as the software services sector went through in the early nineties. In 1993, when Infosys launched its IPO, its revenue was $30 million (at the old dollar rate!).
Many of us may even recall that Infosys IPO was almost called off as it was terribly undersubscribed a few days before its closing. The IPO just about managed to go through with just over 100 percent subscription (Allied Digital IPO was oversubscribed 61 times!).
Since its listing, Infosys has given unparallel ROI to its stock holders. As per an estimate, an investment of Rs 9,500 in 100 Infosys shares at IPO price, has returned nearly Rs 3.5 crore at the current market price.
Infosys and many other software companies have created immense value and wealth for the nation. And this hasn't been easy. They have toiled through really tough times. The 1997 meltdown of Asian economies; the dot-com bust and the recent dollar devaluation, nothing has deterred these companies from their growth path.
The future of IT channel is amazingly bright. What we need are a few companies like Infosys who with their leadership and innovation can compete with the finest globally.
Briefly, I want to talk about the man called Ravi Swaminathan. In the 11 years that I have been an IT journalist, I have met Ravi face-to-face only twice—the first time at a Compaq event in 2002, and the second time at the recently concluded CRN Leadership Summit.
But I have heard so much of him from HP-Compaq partners, most of it positive. What has often amazed me is the trust Ravi inspires among PSG channel.
We at CRN are extremely proud to award Ravi the Outstanding Channel Contribution Award for 2008. |