Make Way For Leaders

The Silver Club and Next 25 listing of FY'2008-09 saw several changes. One
trend which stood out was the number of companies which posted negative growth,
which was a stark reflection of how badly the channel community was affected by
the overall slowdown. But one encouraging sign was that the ranking of the top
25 solution providers and distributors also saw the entrance of hitherto unknown
companies.

SOLUTION PROVIDERS

Newcomers

Chennai's Gemini Communications made a dashing entry into the Silver Club
rushing straight to #4 this year. The company was in news for acquisition of two
other SPs last fiscal-security provider Veeras Infotek and storage provider
Sanat Technologies.

Hyderabad's Tera Software was another company which just about made it to the
Silver Club at #25, while Choice Solutions, also from Hyderabad made its entry
into the Silver Club, moving up from #30 in the Next 25 Club to #24. The Next 25
Club saw seven newcomers.

Sliding Down

Amongst SPs, the company which posted the biggest downturn was Bengaluru-based
Vitage Systems which dropped from #16 last year to #41 this year with a massive
60 percent negative growth. Another Bengaluru-based company, Apara Enterprise
Solutions, also found its fortunes sliding down as it came from #7 in 2008 to
#22 this year owing to a product based strategy. Mumbai's Lauren Information
Technologies found itself in the Next 25 Club at #47. Chennai's Quadsel Systems
too lost its position this year, finding itself at the top of the Next 25 Club
instead. Microclinic India found itself out of the Silver Club and Next 25
rankings. New Delhi's Futuresoft Solutions, Gurgaon's Sterling Infoways, Veeras
Infotek and Ontrack Solutions found themselves out of the Next 25 Club.

DISTRIBUTORS

Ingram Micro India held on to its position as the top distribution company
of the year. Even Redington India and HCL Infosystems maintained their positions
at #2 and #3, respectively.

Moving Up

Gela Tida Infotech made its entry into the Silver Club at #20 from the Next 25
Club position of #31. The other entrant into the Silver Club is Shwetha
Computers and Peripherals at #24.

Sliding Down

Kolkata's Alco Infotech was the only distributor from the Silver Club to slide
down to the Next 25 club. Several companies which were part of the Next 25 club
found themselves out of it making way for eight newcomers including Vertex
Trading and Service, Elcom Trading, Modern Computers, Encon Impex, Computer
Empire, Suntronic Systems, CCS Infotech and Universal Microsystems. The entrance
of new players and exit of the older ones shows that the channel is in a state
of transition at a time when customers have become demanding and choosy.

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