200 Issues And Going Strong

When DQ Channels was started in May 1999, there were no other dedicated
channel publications in the country. We took up the gauntlet to report the
going-ons in the industry, and especially to see these things from the channel's
perspective.

It has been over eight years now and DQ Channels continues to be a
torchbearer for the country's channel. We would like to believe that we have
done a good job and have touched the lives of our readers in more ways than one.

This is why we decided that on our 200th issue, we would let our readers tell
us what they find good between our pages. We were surprised, to say the least,
with the compliments that were showered on us. But what struck us even more was
the minute attention that some of our readers paid to everything we carried.

It felt good, no doubt. But on the other hand, it has also made our job that
much tougher now. Because we have raised the quality bar so high for ourselves
that we can't ever afford to miss it. That much we owe our readers.

Woman's special

One of the issues, which were really appreciated, was the 'Woman Power'
column, as well as a special issue on the leading women in the channel industry.
We struck upon the idea of profiling the ladies because there were quite a few
of them who were doing commendable business, but they rarely got any
appreciation from the industry in general.

Said Kamini Talwar, Director, Iris Computers, “The women's special issue was
very encouraging. All the ladies profiled therein became an inspiration for
other women in the industry to come up and grab a leading position in their
respective companies. I received a lot of  acknowledgement from across the
country and it really helped Iris in achieving good recognition.”

She also said that such issues should be promoted frequently, giving
credibility to women in the IT industry, especially in the channel, as it is one
aspect that is not given much priority.

Sangeeta Roy, Channel Account Manager-East, Intel agreed with her. She felt
that such a column was a morale booster. “The realization of attaining
something, being a woman in a male-dominated industry, gives great pleasure and
also encourages one to do better,” she said, urging that this column should be
continued. We hear you, ladies and you can be sure we will continue to talk
about the female torchbearers in the channel industry.

"DQ Channels is a one of its kind publication as compared to others in the channel category. It mixes business as well as humanitarian articles in a very justifiable way"	"Every member of the DQ Channels team is personally in touch with most of us and we can mingle with them as if they are part of our own team"	"I remember a very good article about partners expectations in B and C-class cities. It helped us re-plan our strategies and focus on that particular aspect"
Sangeeta Roy Channel Account Manager-East Intel India	Rajiv Sethi Liberty Automation, Mumbai	VK Bhandari Supertron Electronics,Kolkata

Taking up causes

Some partners were very appreciative of the way DQ Channels has taken up
issues boldly. Arvind Modi of Jaipur-based Bits and Bytes recalled an article
where the then editor-Asim Raina, hit out at Microsoft for raiding partners
across the country. “The article reflected the guts of the author to talk on
such a touchy issue and give his views without any diplomacy. Every other
publication spoke about the MS raiding series, but I could not see anybody
criticizing the company or writing anything against it. The article was written
without any bias and gave voice to the true story of channel partners,” he
added.

Rajiv Sethi of Mumbai's Liberty Automation also alluded to the same article
when he said, “I clearly remember an instance during one of the DQ Channels meet
when Asim Raina stood up and told a Microsoft official that his views about the
channel community in India were very unfair.” He also lauded the article on how
channel partners are involved in social causes. “I recall reading about Ravindra
Singh of Gurutek who had helped rehabilitate the Gujarat earthquake victims and
it really inspired me,” Sethi added.

"Asim Raina had written out against Microsoft for raiding partners. It reflected his guts to talk on such a touchy issue without any diplomacy. I did not see any other publication criticizing the company"	"Roughly eight years ago when there was an issue related to octroi charges, the magazine not only flashed the news but its reporters also represented the Jalandhar dealers in front of the government authorities and sorted the issue"	"The Panipat association banned SES Technologies because it had wrongly blacklisted one of our members-Sandeep Bansal. After the article was carried in DQ Channels, Bansal's matter was resolved within a few days"
Arvind Modi Bits and Bytes, Jaipur Â	Rajiv Khanna Computer Touch, Jalandhar Â	Ajay Singla Computer City India, Panipat Â

Local news, made national

DQ Channels has been instrumental in the setting up of associations in smaller
cities. Bhopal is one such example and Anurag Jesani, CEO, Taurus Micro Systems
recalled that when we carried a report about the formation of a new association
in the city, dealers in Indore and other regions, as well as distributors,
learnt about this development.

Satnam Singh of Shimla-based Access Marketing lauded this role played by DQ
Channels. He felt that DQ Channels has given partners in smaller cities the
right kind of support by providing them a platform in the form of IT Panchayat,
wherein local channel issues are addressed. This aside, he felt that the
exposure provided through regular grids like Success Story, gives partners good
publicity and recognition from their peers.

Rajiv Khanna, who also happens to be a key member of the Jalandhar Computers
Dealers Association (JCDA) opined that DQ Channels has always stood by the
association and dealers in issues bothering the channel community, especially in
smaller cities. “Roughly eight years ago, when there was an issue related to
octroi charges, the magazine not only flashed the news but its reporters also
represented the Jalandhar dealers in front of the government authorities and got
the entire issue sorted out,” he recalled.

This aside, whenever a vendor tried to overlook issues bothering the channel
from margins, to services to delay in payments, and the association had to ban
it, DQ Channels ensured that the news was published and heard by the concerned
authorities.

Panipat Computer Dealers Association (PCDA) too is all praises for DQ
Channels. The association members felt that apart from providing in-depth
knowledge about the industry and the latest trends available in the market, it
has ensured that their voices reach vendors through the IT Panchayat.

Recently, PCDA banned American Power Conversion due to certain service issues
that the dealers and customers were facing. “When we banned

SES Technologies because they had blacklisted one of our members-Sandeep Bansal,
the magazine not only published the news but contacted the authorities and
representatives, and ensured that their voice was heard. The results were
overwhelmingly good. Bansal's issue was resolved within a few days and he was
able to resume his business as usual,” Ajay Singla, President, PCDA noted.

"When DQ Channels carried news about the launch of Kanry, I received many enquiries across India. I even received calls from my relatives in Bhubaneswar and Mumbai. They had read the article in DQ Channels and had called to congratulate me"	"When I read DQ Channels, I get good and updated information about the market. DQ Channels never indulges in negative reporting of any kind. Reading the Silver Club issue gives me an idea of where my company is lacking and where our competitors are placed in the market"	"Through its articles, DQ Channels has helped me to realize things about my own company which I myself was unaware of earlier. The interviews and the write-ups have helped me prepare my company's profile, which we show to our clients and other business associates"
KL Lalani Lalani Infotech Kolkata   Â	Champakraj Gurjar Maxtone Electronics Mumbai   Â	Manoj Rathi Diamond Infotech Kolkata   Â

Events and more

Vendors too have been vociferous with their support to DQ Channels. Realtime
Systems was able to reach out to smaller cities, using DQ Channels as a platform
and appoint partners in cities like Jabalpur, Bhopal, Trivandrum and Shimla.
Sanjay Modi, Chairman and Joint Director, Realtime Systems mentioned that the
columns and grids in the magazine are up to the industry standards and the
information on the latest trends in technology gives his company in-depth
knowledge about the happenings in the industry.

R Zutshi, Deputy MD, Samsung India also finds the magazine a very useful
platform for communicating with the channel community. “I would expect this
magazine to also become a reference point for channel. We are currently using
this magazine to educate the channel on what constitutes parallel imports and
the issues involved therein,” he said.

Ajay Verma, Director-Channel and Alliances, Veritas Software Solutions makes
it a point to read DQ Channels regularly. “We at Symantec have always used the
magazine as a medium to know our channel community better. We come to know about
various IT majors adopting different channel strategies, which helps us in
understanding the market trends better and design our business plans as per the
needs of the market,” he said.

UR Acharya, VP-India and SAARC, Cisco felt that over the years, DQ Channels
had evolved to include comprehensive channel-relevant features like Channel
Chief (profiling of a channel head of an organization), The Perspective (focused
on channel trends) and comprehensive channel event coverage. These grids have
helped his company understand how channel business in the country has evolved.

“As my profession involves a lot of travel, tracking information/news on
channel industry is now just a click away for me, thanks to the online version
of DQ Channels. It has in fact helped us at Cisco to reach out to our channel
partners through news updates on latest Cisco technology and new partner
programs,” he added.

Pallavi Kathuria, Director-Server Business Group, Microsoft India mentioned
that DQ Channels is the perfect source for garnering information related to
channels. “There have been numerous occasions when Microsoft has come out with
new partner programs and schemes, keeping in mind the requirements of the
partners which they convey in the form of news provided by the magazine,” she
said. Also, the best practices adopted by other vendors have helped Microsoft
gather knowledge about the industry.

"The columns and grids in the magazine are up to industry standards. The information on the latest trends in technology gives us in-depth knowledge about the happenings in the industry"	"The best practices adopted by vendors help us gather knowledge about the industry. DQ Channels has always provided us with varying news and events"	"DQ Channels has become more interactive. I expect it to become a reference point for channel. We are currently using this magazine to educate the channel on what constitutes parallel imports and the issues involved "
Sanjay Modi Chairman and Joint Director Realtime Systems, New Delhi	Pallavi Kathuria Director-Server Business Group Microsoft India	R Zutshi Deputy MD Samsung India

That personal touch

There have been instances when DQ Channels has helped people, not just in
their business, but also in their personal lives. Vinay Duggar of Kolkata's
Supreme Technologies talked about a time when his eight-year-old daughter was
surfing the net to find out what her father does for a living. She was thrilled
when she saw the first two articles from DQ Channels' website profiling him and
his company with his photograph carried alongside.

“She was naturally very excited to see her dad's photograph and was impressed
to know that her dad is doing something constructive which is recognized in such
a manner,” he smiled. Also, when Supreme decided to shift from box pushing to
retail and sub-distribution two years ago, an article mentioning this helped him
to attract vendors and sign up lucrative deals after that.

VK Bhandari of Supertron Electronics recalled how an article about the
expectations of partners in the smaller cities actually helped him redesign his
company's entire go-to-market strategy for the B and C-class cities.

KL Lalani of Kolkata-based Lalani Infotech, Kolkata had an amusing anecdote
to share. He recalled that when DQ Channels carried an article about the launch
of his own brand-Kanry, he got calls from the wives of his nephew and brother,
who reside in Bhubaneswar and Mumbai, respectively. They congratulated him on
this new venture, and he was surprised to know that the source of this
information was the DQ Channels.

There are several other stories and incidents that our readers shared with us
about the way DQ Channels touched their lives. We would love to share them with
you, but that would be equivalent to immodesty.

At the same time, we also realize that we have a loyal reader base that
expects nothing but the best from us. This is enough motivation to keep us on
our toes. You can be sure you will see many new things from DQ Channels in the
near future.

This issue is dedicated to you, our readers, as we send out our heart-felt
thanks for making us India's foremost IT channel publication.

TEAM DQC