It has been a nice week for the channel community.
The Federation of IT Associations of Gujarat (FITAG) has shown a great courage by withdrawing support to the Flood IT project, launched by Gujarat Urban Co-operative Banks Federation (GUCBF). Rolled out about four months back, the project aimed at increasing PC penetration in rural areas, and involved vendors such as HP, HCL and Acer and GUCBF.
All vendors are now driving strategies to help partners in the B, C and D class cities. I had written about the issue in this space sometime back, and the emails I got in return have encouraged me to delve into the topic, albeit only a little more.
I start by quoting a partner in one of the C class cities in north east: “Do the vendors know what we want? Do they understand our problems? Have they read the pulse of our customers here? Some of the vendors have not even bothered to speak with us…” Now this is apathetic, and that too in a business that relies solely on communication and relationships! But everything is not as bleak, as some partners wrote to me on a positive note saying, at least a beginning has been made. Yes I agree.
With that I want to share with you certain initiatives your favorite channel portal has taken. We are going live with the ‘Ask an Expert’ column on July 20. We have received a decent amount of queries – 20-21 odd. I will not hype the number. I am happy with this figure because at least this is a start, and at least 20-21 of you actually think our experts will be able to help you, and in turn address concerns of a similar nature among many of you. I am sure the participation will increase over a period of time, and the platform will get more interactive. You can also write to me with advice, suggestions and recommendations on how we can collectively enhance this experience.
Secondly, I and the ChannelTimes team is inviting you all to bring out old files from the cabinet, dust those and write about the first case study or the first deployment or deal you made, which changed your business forever!! Till date, you probably looked at those files for inspiration and encouragement – remembrance in times of distress. We are inviting you to share those experiences in the form of Channel Files’ with your brethren. How does that sound? And the invitation is open to all
And so till the next weekend…