CHANNEL SNAPSHOTS: Kolkata

Arun Jalan             

COMPANY: Jalan Infotech

FOUNDED: 1987

BUSINESS AREA: Distribution, retail business and solution providing

OFFICES: 5

STRENGTHS: The ability to adapt to new business opportunity quickly is the
company's greatest asset. This is how it made a transition from dealer to
disty, even after entering the retail business.

WEAKNESSES: Never ventured into the software business, despite having the
requisite skillsets.

PLANS: Tying up with a US-based company to start a five-seater call center
to provide statistical analysis to the client. Also opening offices nationally.

TURNOVER (2003-04): Rs 40 crore

EXPECTED TURNOVER (2004-05): Rs 55 crore

Shiv Modi              

COMPANY: Trisita Corporation

FOUNDED: 1989

BUSINESS AREA: Corporate reselling and service

OFFICES: 4

STRENGTHS: Since it is a proprietorship, decisions are made quickly and
unequivocally. This ensures quick turnaround of any customer-related issues.

WEAKNESSES: The company lacks the managerial bandwidth to operate offices
outside Kolkata. This has restricted its growth to quite an extent.

PLANS: Trisita is looking at doubling its employee strength from 30 people
within this year. It is also looking at getting into newer product segments,
which will be in synergy with its existing business model.

TURNOVER (2003-04): Rs 25 crore

EXPECTED TURNOVER (2004-05): RS 26 crore

Arun Ghosh         

COMPANY: HiTA Technology

FOUNDED: 1997

BUSINESS AREA: Manufacturing and distribution of UPS systems

OFFICES: 10

STRENGTHS: Arun's long tenure of almost 15 years in the UPS industry has
helped him gain and maintain good customer contacts.

WEAKNESSES: Raising funds for geographical expansion is the biggest
challenge. The company is talking to some Taiwanese venture capitalists for
financial assistance.

PLANS: HiTA plans to go public in 2005 to raise the much-needed capital.

TURNOVER (2003-04): Rs 12 crore

EXPECTED TURNOVER (2004-05): Rs 25 crore

Rajarshi Ghosh                

COMPANY: Epitom Networks

FOUNDED: 2003

BUSINESS AREA: Network integration and solution providing

OFFICES: 3

STRENGTHS: As a pure play network integrator, Epitom has barely any
competition in the eastern market currently.

WEAKNESSES: The company has made a conscious decision not to focus on the
government segment and this has cost it some good orders. But it would rather
lose projects, than get caught in long payment cycles and red-tapism.

PLANS: To open offices in Hyderabad and Delhi to ensure its national
presence.

TURNOVER (2003-04): Rs 1.25 crore

EXPECTED TURNOVER (2004-05): Rs 5 crore

Computer Association of Eastern India

FOUNDED: 1994

MEMBERS:260

OBJECTIVE:The association was set up to
exchange ideas and thoughts for improving channel business as well as protecting
the interests and rights of its members. It also intended to negotiate with the
statutory authorities collectively and spread IT awareness in eastern India.

Computer
Association of Eastern India, popularly known as Compass has emerged as the
leading IT association of eastern India. It is one of the few associations which
actually categorizes its members in four categories: systems, peripherals,
hardware and consumables and software and training. This has helped bring an
organized structure and the association can have selective seminars for each
category. Partners can join the association either as a life, annual or
corporate member.

The association has been a facilitator and catalyst, working closely with
government on policy issues. Association members feel that the government is
more inclined towards software companies, side-lining the hardware business. It
is lobbying with the government to offer better sops to IT companies to set up
their manufacturing bases in the city and state.

Among some of the initiatives that the association undertook last year was
fixing up a service charge for the industry and working out a credit period of
maximum 21 days. Enforcing this policy has helped in bringing down the rate of
payment defaults. Compass also acts as an arbitrator for any payment-related
issues among members through its grievance cell.

Compass has its own office in Kolkata, with a seating capacity of 50 people,
which is also rented to members who want to conduct their own seminars. This
also acts as a revenue stream for the association. It is also a venue for the
technical and entrepreneurial training seminars that Compass regularly holds for
its partners.

For the coming year, the body will focus on organizing seminars relevant to
the trade and partners, as well as organizing fellowship programs to foster
cordial relationship amongst members. Compass had invited vendors to give
seminars on maintaining profitability, but the turnout was very poor.

It will also start sending regular newsletters, so that members can keep in
touch with the latest initiatives of the association. Compass also engages in
philanthropic initiatives and recently gave away several computers to Rotary
Club for educating the underprivileged.

The association is trying to open more local chapters in the eastern region.
It is holding talks with leading channel partners in Guwahati, Ranchi and
Siliguri for this effort. A wider presence of Compass will give it better
bargaining power with the government with respect to better facilities for the
channel.

Compass has a library of legal and management books at its office, which
partners can go through at leisure. It has also engaged a legal advisor and tax
consultants whose services can be availed by partners for free, on two
pre-designated days weekly.

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

PRESIDENT: N Dhanuka

VP: JK Baid

SECRETARY: Neeraj Agrawal

TREASURER: PL Suhasaria