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Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh
Gwalior is associated with art and culture. It has been a seat of power for many dynasties–the Rajputs, the Mughals, the British and the Scindias. The Gwalior Fort is a major tourist attraction.
Today, with 11 technical institutes and one deemed university, it has emerged as an education hub for northern and central India.
Resellers credit the growth in IT market to the STPI that was established here in 1991. The central government now plans to set up an SEZ in the region. Companies such as Godrej, Cadburys, JK Tyres and Surya Lite have manufacturing units here. It also has a large number of chemical and electrical transformer manufacturers.
Channel scenario
The channel community in Gwalior is 120 strong, of which 78 are members of the Gwalior Computer Traders’ Association (GCTA). The association was started in 2005, with 55 members. Roughly about 500 PCs get sold in the Gwalior market every year.
Working closely with its members, the association is actively redressing channel grievances. Recently, when partners were faced with repeated cases of Dead on Arrival (DOA) shipments from a couple of distributors, the association boycotted business and eventually convinced the vendors to provide better support. “We were incensed by the distributors as they expected us to transport the DOA products to their warehouses at our own cost. Hence we took the extreme step of putting business on hold,” says Arun Rathi, president of the GCTA.
Opportunities
The home segment generates the maximum demand for IT products, accounting for 60 percent of the total demand. As in other developing cities, the PC has come to be seen as a necessity in households in Gwalior too. And, according to channel partners, the demand is increasing further due to increasing interest in the stock market and the ready availability of broadband internet. “Laptops are the most in-demand products. Many of our customers buy laptops to track stocks on a regular basis,” informs Rathi.
Gwalior witnesses higher sales of IT products in the Diwali and the New Year season, which is also the time when the annual Gwalior Trade Fair is held.
The education vertical is also growing. “Many technical institutes have deployed wireless connectivity on campus,” said JS Bhide of Vaibhav Computers.
Government departments like the Accountant General’s office, PWD, Land and Property Records Department, and the Collector’s office have all recently upgraded their IT infrastructure as a part of the state government’s e-governance initiatives.
Yet another opportunity lies in the fact that Gwalior is surrounded by smaller and less developed towns. Partners in Gwalior therefore cater to demand from these locations too. In fact, the demand from the neighbouring towns accounts for about 15 percent of the Gwalior partners’ business.
Challenges
One problem that the channel community faces is delayed replacement. According to them, vendors make tall claims of providing onsite warranty, but only on paper. “One MNC vendor has a local service center and also claims to provide onsite warranty, but replacements take more than 45 days,” Rathi laments.
Partners expect demand for IT in Gwalior to grow 30 percent year on year once the proposed SEZ comes up.
Partner profile
Sudeep Garg,
CEO,
Anki Technologies
Cross-selling software and hardware
In 2000, Sudeep Garg, then a business development manger in an outsourcing firm, quit to start his own software development company, Anki Technologies. The company develops software for hospitals, and restaurant chains and franchisees, and boasts of customers such as Birla Hospital, ICICI, Reliance Telecom and Nokia.
Company Snapshot | | Company | Anki Technologies | | CEO | Sudeep Garg | | Year of Inception | 2000 | | Brands | Lenovo, HCL, Toshiba, TVSE, Numeric, APC | Primary Business | Software development and retail | | Employees | 8 | Products | Printers, desktops, UPS, ERP |
Anki Technology also provides ERP software services to customers. It has signed-up with Marg, an ERP developer, for services like ERP customization. It has also forayed into making its own ERP software. The first customer is Panchi Petha, a sweet shop with a dozen branches across several cities.
Talking about the opportunities in the market, Garg says, “There are mid-sized stores in the city which require software to manage the stocks. We find a lot of potential there, but are not able to use it as awareness is lacking. We keep updating customers about our offerings and how they can benefit from them”.
Garg also provides offshoring services like website maintenance. Anki Technologies has maintained websites for Netkhazana.com and National Informatics Center (Gwalior).
The hardware side of Anki Technologies is housed in a 1,800 sq. ft. multi-brand retail store. “Opening a retail store and partnering with leading brands has added to the credibility of our business,” Garg adds. The company is a Lenovo partner and ASP for TVSE. The hardware business accounts for 40 percent of his total revenues. |