Associations: Active but Fragmented

NORTH

PCAIT signs MoU with TiE...

In February, PCAIT signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TiE,
Delhi Chapter for a period of three years, starting April 1, 2009. According to
the terms of the agreement, both the organizations will come together to
undertake collaborative activities in certain set fields.

... steps up to interface with govt on tenders

During their Executive Committee meeting in August, one of the issues the
members decided to take up was that of government tenders. The association felt
that the situation then was such that the criteria to execute government tender
was very tough in terms of business turnover, which few channel partners conform
to. They wanted to interface with the government and ask them to relax criteria
so that the channel also gets the opportunity to bid for tenders. The initiative
was taken up on a national level.

CMDA, Delhi quits Re-India Expo...

In March, Computer Media Dealers Association (CMDA) backed off from
participating in Re-India Expo, Mumbai. The association withdrew its support to
the event at the nth hour on account of lack of co-operation from Trade Expo
India Promotion, ill-treatment given to their representatives and misuse of
their logo.

....Sends legal notice to Samsung

With the objective to seek a solution on the issue of parallel imports
raised by Samsung, CMDA took matter to MRTP Commission. During the first
hearing, CMDA demanded that Samsung withdraw its 'educational alert' on parallel
import on the ground that such activities imply monopolistic trade practice by
the vendor. Till June, the vendor had sent four petitions to the associations,
in reply to the two petitions filed by CMDA.

PCDA bans HP

Panipat Computer Dealers Association (PCDA) placed a ban on HP, on account of
overlooking the efforts of its existing dedicated partners and supporting new
ones in Panipat. The association stopped billing for the complete range of HP
products from April 25. But with HP, unwilling to pay heed to their demands and
the fact that HP products command a brand pull, the association lifted the ban
on May 6. However, the association has adopted a unique way to protest the
company's move. PCDA issued orders to association members to discontinue
promoting the HP brand in any form.

Alwar association formed

In March, Dealers in Alwar, Rajasthan united to form a local association
called Alwar Computer Dealers Association (ACDA), to address issues pertaining
to non-payments, delay in payments and other issues affecting the IT traders in
the region. The association held its fist election on Feb 24 and Anup Chaudhry,
CEO, Innovative Systems was elected as President.

JCDA, Jammu revived

After almost six years of inactivity, Jammu Computer Dealers Association (JCDA)
was revived and Arvind Koul was elected as the President. The agenda then was to
get JCDA registered with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and getting
economic compensation from the state government.

JCDA gets vendors to sponsor monthly meets

In November, JCDA came up with a novel way to keep its members informed
about the latest in the IT world as well as get sponsorship for its monthly
meets. The association invited vendors to come and address the channel partners
in its region. As per the agreement, the vendor can either organize the entire
event and send an invite to JCDA, or they can pay JCDA about half the amount to
have the meet organized on their behalf.

RCTA sides with Seatel...

Adesh Sant of Creations filed an FIR against Pankaj Sharma of Seatel
Electronics, also the VP, Rajasthan Computers Traders Association (RCTA), and
Mukesh Jain of Surbhi Electronics, on charges of threatening and harassing him
on Jan 13. RCTA came out in support of both the companies in their spat with
Creations. Sant stated that instead of the matter of payment defaults, it is a
case of insecurity that the dealers are facing because of its success.

...Appeals to HP over Creations

Partners in Jaipur alleged that Creations has withheld payments to the tune
of Rs 80-90 lakh, and that Creations is carrying out advertisements of HP and
Dell, offering 10 percent discounts on the brands. RCTA also noticed that
Creations was continuing to do business with vendors including HP and Dell, and
is also offering 10 percent discount on the sale of the products. The
association has also raised objections to the fact that one of HP's Delhi-based
partners-Microclinic, has been supplying HP business laptops to Creations.

... Gets accused by Raj IT Forum

At the same time around, Raj IT Forum, an independent body of IT dealers in
Jaipur, raised a finger at RCTA. The issue came to light when Creations
published an advertisement in the local media for sale of HP and Dell laptops in
Jaipur. Forum members have pointed out that despite the allegations, Creations
continues to do business with big vendors, and RCTA has taken no action against
parties indulging in unethical trade practices in the market.

Shimla association revived

In August, Shimla IT Dealers' Association came out of its inactive state to
form an adhoc committee. This was the first time since the association was
formed six years back, that an election was held. Jayant Upadhyay of Eline is
association's President. This was the same time HPSEDC was posing threats to the
dealers in the region

Egos clash in Amritsar channel

In the absence of a clear leader and owing to ego clashes between the
executive body members of the Amritsar Computer Traders Association, the
association was dissolved

En-mass resignations in Lucknow association

The executive members of Lucknow Computer Vyapar Mandal (LCVM) resigned from
their respective posts, and no one had any idea why the resignations happened.
It was also being said that in order to get the power, few members of LCVM
formed their own association.

Gurgaon gets local IT association?

Channel partners in Gurgaon united to form a local association in order to
resolve matters pertaining to IT trade in the region. The association, called
Gurgaon Information Technology Association (GITA), came into effect by the end
of June.

NCTA takes note of negative selling in Wazirpur

North-West Computer Traders Welfare Association (NCTA) resolved to hold
discussion with partners in Wazirpur, in view of the fact that many dealers in
the market were indulging into negative selling. Regarding this, the association
held a meeting to discuss the issues with the dealers who are indulging in the
same.

EAST

IT Forum dissolved...

Signaling what was a long drawn rivalry between IT Dealers Association of
Siliguri (ITDAS) and IT Forum-the two local IT associations, the latter was
finally dissolved paving the way for a unified IT dealers association. Dealers
affiliated to both the associations stated that the two rival associations were
being used as a platform for personal ego clashes; hence the move to create a
common association gained considerable momentum among the non-aligned dealers in
the region.

Dealers ban Rashi

One of the major decisions taken by the associations was to ban Rashi
Peripherals in the area. Not only dealers banned the distributor, they also
demanded the transfer of Pallav Surai, Branch-in-Charge, Rashi Peripherals, on
grounds of misbehavior with the local dealers.

Ranchi dealers form an association

The idea first took form in the The DQ Week IT Panchayat, which was held in
the city in March. The community of computer dealers in Ranchi finally decided
to form an association, titled Jharkhand Computer Welfare Association (JCWA).
The association has been mooted with a view to promote fraternity and unity
among the channel community and address grievances in a united form., dealers in
the region have already applied for the registration number.

Bihar association expo postponed

After postponing its expo to June end, Bihar IT Association (BITA) has cited
poor weather conditions as the primary reason for for the same. Some dealers in
the region suggested that the global slowdown is the prime suspect for the
postponing of the expo. The association had collected huge funds under its Flood
Relief program when BITA had gone to the remotest parts of Bihar to help flood
victims in Sep'08. BITA also urged for more cooperation from its members in
meetings and in execution of projects. The casual attitude of the BITA members
has already taken a toll on the association as, BITA failed to repeat the
success of the 208 expo.

Compass collects old debts

Compass also undertook the task of recollecting old debts from the market
owed to its members. This has been an ongoing effort by the association and has
won the appreciation of members across the city. Already a 'Grievance and Legal
Cell' had been formed to deliberate the process and make the defaulters pay back
the money they borrowed from the channel community. In a disclosure in August,
the association claimed to have settled Rs 1 crore debt payments amongst its
members.

ITAO eyes C-class cities

To take the number to atleast 250 by the end of March 2010, ITAO started
exploring C-class cities. In this process, a dedicated committee had been
formed. The association also planned to conduct its expo in one of the proposed
C-class cities. Besides focusing on expansion, the association also considerably
put its efforts in the social forum too. Previously, the association had donated
Rs 10,000 to an orphanage and also working over a blood donation camp.

Purulia Association goes in for registration

In September, Purulia IT Association (PITA) got itself registered, after one
and a half years of formation, owing to the complexity of legal hassles. PITA
consists of 16 dealers in the city and was formed as a consequence of the
Microsoft raids and tender poaching by dealers in the big cities. During its
formation, the dealers elected an interim committee to conduct its functions and
the same committee is continuing since the last formation.

Eastern Indian IT associations to get an unified body

In a recent move to head towards solidarity and unity within the channel
space, all IT associations in the East decided to unify as a single confederacy
under the presumed leadership of Compass.

The move came shortly after Microsoft began its anti-piracy raids in Bihar.
Unable to come to terms over this, Bihar IT Association (BITA) decided to ban
Microsoft in the region with the IT fraternity, with the support of Kolkata
dealers in their endeavor.

WEST

ISODA holds its first national meeting

The first national meeting of Infotech Software Dealers Association (ISODA)
was held on Feb 1 in Mumbai. Partners from all over the country attended the
meeting. The major issues discussed were:

The implication of various taxes applicable on packaged software products
viz. VAT, service tax, CVD, withholding tax; The impact of working capital of
partners due to the deduction of TDS by customers where service tax is charged
on invoice.

FITAG bans HP, HCL and Acer

Federation of IT associations of Gujarat (FITAG), an umbrella organization
of as many as 20 IT association of the state lifted the ban imposed on three
major brands HP, HCL and Acer in the state, after holding a round of talks with
the IT majors in March. The ban had been called by the organization in protest
of the decision of the IT companies not to involve the IT channel community in
the ambitious Flood IT Project. It was launched by Gujarat Urban Co-operative
Banks Federations to finance a desktop to students studying from Kindergarten to
post graduate level on zero percent interest rate. The move was targeted to
increase the penetration of PCs across Gujarat, especially in rural Gujarat.
Earlier, all the members of the Federation, around 2,500 in the entire state,
had been directed to stop the sales and purchase of these brands.

...Withdraws from Flood IT Project

Flood IT: KG to PG scheme failed to impress channel partners in Gujarat.
FITAG expressed its resistance to support the scheme in July, despite GUCBF
issuing orders to extend the scheme till end of July. According to FITAG's
expectation, the scheme was supposed to deliver over one lakh units of laptops
and desktops in there months time. However, according to sources at FITAG, the
scheme that was scheduled to come to an end by June 30, had been able to deliver
only around 10,000 units of laptops and which was later extended till July 31.

ACDA mulls indefinite strike to protest Octroi

In their bid to oppose the Octroi, Amravati Computers Dealers Association (ACDA)
held a strike on Aug 10. The day-long strike saw the 62 dealers refrain from
indulging into any sort of business activity throughout the day. The protest was
initiated by Vidharbha Chamber of Commerce and ACDA joined by 15 other IT
associations including Akola, Aurangabad, Jalgaon and Sholapur among others.
However, this was not the first time that an effort to get the tax abolished has
been initiated in Maharashtra. Prior to this TAIT in Mumbai, CMDA in Pune and
VCMDWA in Nagpur have already held talks, rallies and strikes to get rid of
Octroi in their respective regions.

Cmda, pune Arbitrates 14 cases

In a bid to resolve issues pertaining to IT trade in the region, CMDA, Pune
successfully closed all the 16 cases for arbitration during the financial year
2008-09.

...Raises service issues with Seagate

The association met Seagate and has requested them to look into the pending
and escalating issues pertaining to replacement and other such service issues.

TAIT bans Shree Sai Traders

TAIT has advised its members not to conduct business with Shree Sai Traders, as
it claimed that the latter was been indulging in unhealthy business practices.
Seth was allegedly absconding after duping several of his business partners to
the tune of Rs 1.75 crore. The case was being investigated by the Economic
Offense Wing (EOW).

...Claims top spot again

For the fourth year running, TAIT has been ranked as the best IT channel
association in the country. This was determined by the results of a survey
conducted by IDC India and commissioned by DQ Channels. The two other
associations that followed TAIT were Nagpur-based Vidharbha Computer
Manufacturers and Dealers Welfare Association (VCMDWA) and Pune-based Computer
and Media Dealers Association (CMDA), interchanging their positions from last
year's ranking.

...Supports Confed in SES standoff

In another major development in the Confed-SES standoff, TAIT extended its
support to Confed-ITA in getting the matter solved in an amicable manner.
Following the letter sent to SES by Confed in June, the disti sent a strong
reply to the association. In the letter to SES, the association demanded that
the disti withdraw the cases filed against the channel partners.

...Extends support to small retailers

With the aim to combat rising competition from large format retailers (LFRs),
TAIT undertook the task of setting up TAIT Retail Group, including 100 odd
retailers from Mumbai. The group was headed by Satish Bhatija, CEO, MX
Information Systems, and one of TAIT's prominent directors. The body looks at
ways of solving issues and grievances that are affecting the IT retailer
community. Over 50 retailers tied-up with TAIT.

Rajkot association launches bulletin

In their bid to solve IT problems and to be in the know about activities in
the Saurashtra region, RCTA launched a bi-monthly bulletin on Sep 9. The
bulletin was distributed free of cost to the retailers and dealers in the
Saurashtra region. The association also started a website www.rcta.com, which
includes a fraud alert segment where companies, dealers, retailers can indicate
any fraudulent activity that they come across in their region and warn others
about the same. The association made an annual tie up with Intex to sponsor its
bulletin. The bulletin publish ads and provide information about the upcoming
products of Intex.

Vidarbha association serves legal notice to Intel

VCMDWA served a legal notice to Intel Technology (India) for misusing its
trademark. The association, which ranked third in the DQC-IDC best IT
associations' survey, demanded a compensation of Rs 15 lakh from the company for
the damage caused. Every year, VCMDWA holds its IT event Comp-Ex. This time the
event was held from Jan 11-12 in Nagpur and saw a footfall of 1.5 lakh visitors.

SOUTH

AKITDA gears up for statewide elections

The year 2009 was an activity filled year for All Kerala Information
Technology Dealers Association (AKITDA). The association, spread across 14
districts in Kerala, held its state-wide elections in March and then a
state-wide convention in April for all 14 districts of Kerala. AKITDA also
conducted a state convention in a place called Vaghaman near Kottayam, where
nearly 500 dealers participated and launched a website-www.akitda.com this year.

ITTA warns distis of direct billing

Information Technology Traders Association (ITTA), Puducherry sent a notice
to distributors about direct billing, which was been happening in the region for
quite sometime. The association called for a meeting in March to address the
issue. A notice was sent to distributors about the practice and they were
requested to immediately stop direct billing in the region. Distributors, on the
other hand, reportedly rejected all the claims put by the association.

CAMS launches monthly bulletin

Computer and Media Society (CAMS), Madurai became the first association in
Confed-ITA to launch a monthly bulletin for its members in July. The bi-lingual
bulletin titled 'Winchester', the tabloid is circulated among the members free
of cost and informs the members about the association activities along with
other interesting stuff. The main aim of this bulletin is to keep its members
updated about the association's activities and introduction of any exclusive
product by the member.

Hyderabad association revived

After three years of inactivity, Hyderabad-based Twin Cities Computer
Dealers Association (TCCDA) conducted its election and formed a new team in
January. KVR Menon, MD, Orient Business Services was elected as the new
President of the association. Formed in 1998, TCCDA has 150 members from
Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

After being inactive for nearly three years, members of the association took
the initiative to revamp the association, starting by holding the elections.

Confed Undergoes the acid-test week with TN partners

The question of vendors' trustworthiness arose among TN channel partners in
February. This happened after they received a notice from Central Excise asking
them to pay 12.36 percent service tax for the discounts, backends and incentives
that they received from vendors since 2004. The Central Exercise Department
levied service tax, considering that the dealers were involved in brand
promotional activities (selling vendors products), to which the sub-distributors
totally disagreed. However, according to partners, their activities do not come
under business auxiliary services so the purchase-based rebates should not
attract service tax. A week before the issue, Confed-ITTA sent a mail to all
major vendors, including HP, Lenovo, Numeric, Acer, TVS-E and Samsung. However,
none of the vendors stepped up to the occasion. The sudden imposition from the
Central Excise came as a bolt of thunder on the heads of channels at a time when
the channels were already reeling under the impact of the global slowdown.

...Shows red signal to Samsung and HP

Confed-ITA revoked the ban on all products of HP and Samsung, and gave time till
March 23 for vendors to get back to them with a clear picture.

...Steps up to safeguard dealer accounts

After a number of channel partners fell prey to misuse of dealer accounts at
various distributors' offices across India, Confed-ITA drew up measures to
ensure such incidents do not happen with its members in future. The IT body
requested all distributors to implement the suggested steps to avoid misuse of
any dealer accounts for billing to third parties and the malpractice of
diverting material without the knowledge of the dealer. The association received
numerous complaints of misuse of dealer accounts from locations like Madurai and
Coimbatore.

... Launches SOUL Project

Stand On Your Own Leg (SOUL) Project was proposed for the welfare of the
channel partners across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The association held talks
with a software company to develop a system to monitor the transactions and make
the complete information easily available to all members with a click from their
place. As per the initiative, each purchase from tier-1 distributor will
contribute 10 paisa per Rs 100 of invoice value towards that member's
contribution towards the fund. Channel partners in Confed-ITA contribute a small
percentage of their turnover towards building a corpus which is used entirely
for channel members' welfare.

...And materialized

Finally in September, the SOUL project materialized, but with an alteration
in the model. It was decided that it will be implemented at tier-3 level,
wherein there will be an increase of 0.1 percent in product price and the amount
thus collected will be transferred directly to SOUL account, at the end of every
month. In Tamil Nadu, Karthikeyan, CEO of Bloom Electronics was the first one to
implement the project from August 1, in the memory of Late Ponnarasu of Addons
Computers. Canon and Samsung agreed in-principle to the initiative.

Karur gets an association

After years of futile attempts and discussions, an association named Karur
Information Technology Association (KITA) formed in Karur on Sep12. Sadasivam,
CEO, NBTech, was unanimously elected as the President. KITA was inaugurated by
PN Prasad of Confed-ITA and Selvasekaran, former President, CAMS, Madurai.

Namakkal forms new association

Channel partners in Namakkal have formed an association named Namakkal
District Information Technology Association (NDITA). An election was held on Sep
5 which was attended by 28 members. Ravichandran, CEO, Surya Software Services,
was unanimously elected as President. On Sep 21, the association was
inaugurated.