Gwalior: Desktop will be the future of IT

Gwalior is considered to be a city where a rich cultural tradition has been interwoven into the fabric of modern life. Also where a princely past lives on in great palaces and their museums. And where a multitude of images merge and mix to present to the visitor a city of enduring greatness.

Gwalior's tradition as a royal capital continued until the formation of present day India, with the Scindias having their dynastic seat here. The magnificent mementoes of a glorious past have been preserved with care, giving Gwalior an appeal unique and timeless.

The cradle of great dynasties ruled the city Gwalior. With different dynasty, the city gained a new dimension from the warrior kings, poets, musicians, and saints who contributed to making it renowned throughout the country. The Gwalior Gharana is one of the oldest Khayal Gharanas, to which most Indian classical musicians can trace the origin of their style.

The city is also the setting for the memorials of freedom fighters such as Tatya Tope and the indomitable Rani of Jhansi. Today the old settings stand side by side with the trappings of modernity.

The top selling products and brands in the city include Dell, HP and Lenovo. The current trend is with hard disk drive (HDD), laptops, and smartphones. hard disks and and laptops are the products which have done the maximum sale. “Over the past 6 months, the computer market (IT Market) is not performing well and our business is making losses. Due to rise in online retailing, physical retail stores are facing several challenges," informed Arun Rathi, CEO, Data Print."

Speaking on the current market situation, Rathi said, "Currently the IT market of Gwalior is doing good but online shopping has adversely affected the economy and this is a threat for IT market. Business has gone down over the last one year.

Talking about the vendor-dealer relationship, dealers of the city stated that they dont face any major problems while dealing with them. Work relations is quite smooth in the city. One of the common issue faced by the dealers is warranty issue. Rathi commented, "Vendors commits warranty on their products but they do not live up to their commitments. To that we face problems while dealing with customers."

Gwalior Computer Traders Association is the only IT association for channel partners in the city. Dealers of the city stated that the association is not active in holding meetings or elections. Rathi said, " The association has not been active in holding meetings, activities or elections from the last two year. Elections have not been conducted since long and because of that no meetings, happenings, activities are taking place. We are not satisfied with the working of the association. Our association needs to be reformed for the betterment of the dealers."

Talking about the future, Rathi said, “IT market has a bright future and it will continue to grow. Online business is a threat for our business but it has a broader impact on new customers and young generation. This has no effect on our existing customers. Future of IT will be good only if online business gets a slowdown. Desktops are going to be back in the market in the coming times and desktop is going to be the future again."

Market Name: Gwalior

Market Location: Madhya Pradesh

Surrounding Markets: Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain

Computer Association: Gwalior Computer Traders Association

Prominent Dealers: Data Print, Mahalaxmi Computers, Marquis Computers, Porwal Enterprises, The Computer Associate

Interview 1: Arun Rathi, CEO, Data Print

How has the market been in the last 6 months?

Currently the market is doing fine

How active is the association?

Gwalior Computer Traders Association is not active in the city

Is e-commerce a threat?

Yes, online business is creating problems for us. New customers are moving towards ecommerce.

Interview 2: Rajiv Poddar, CEO, Mahalaxmi Computers

What are the top selling brands in your city?

Dell and HP

What are the primary business verticals in Gwalior ?

Education and SOHO

What are your market predictions for this year?

The market is going to do well and grow in the near future