Focus the Spotlight

The PM, our
political fraternity and even the economists like to call it
inclusive growth, trade and business analysts view it as secular
growth while the IT industry would believe it to be the overall
growth. The Bard of Avon would have said 'whats in a name?' as
long as it is undiluted growth with no statistical shenanigan
involved. 'Who cares' when it is unfettered growth, feels DQ
Channels; instead, we would rather hail this growth story as the
ultimate democratization of Indian IT. Especially, if solution
providers, the glorified moniker given to the tier-2 system
integrators, prove to be one of the biggest and most critical
stakeholders of the Indian IT sector.

The specific story
here is of course the growth of the domestic IT services sector, and
how it is gradually attracting similar interests to that of the
software exports story. And more precisely true to its colors, DQ
Channels is focusing on the achievements, successes as well as trials
and tribulations of the solution providers. Though India in FY12 is
still the kingpin of the global off-shore lexicon, thanks to an
overwhelming increase in domestic consumption, it is also supporting,
at the same time, a vibrant local IT services market, a phenomenon
not visible a few years back. At least a few years back, domestic IT
services was synonymous with the likes of Wipro and TCS and IBM. Now,
there is no way you can ignore the likes of Allied Digital, Gemini
Communications, PC Solutions, Targus Technologies or Value Point
Systems. The democratization of Indian IT is now complete.

Even the growth of
these solution providers is no more a new or unique story. However,
the catalyst till now has primarily been hardware, not surprising
considering their genesis from a hardware channel background.
Analysts have tracked with interest their maturation from box pushers
to value added services; but now a look at the nature of solutions
and services they are offering, the magnitude and complexities of
deals they are inking, the kind of customers they are servicing (and
no more just in India), it is evident that it is time to consider
them at par with most mainstream system integrators instead of
looking at them as an exclusive club. After all, our politicos with
their vested interests might not understand, but once democratization
is complete, reservation not just becomes superfluous but can even
be damaging. This is what precisely, what DQ Channels attempts to
highlight or I may say celebrate with the Solutions Champs issue. As
you will find over the next few pages, most solution providers are
handling complex solutions and services and no more dealing in just
plain vanilla hardware. And we have further attempted to recognize
the champions in each of their precise areas. A clarification though:
we do not claim that a particular solutions provider generates the
maximum revenues or they have signed the maximum deals in one
particular segment. The Solutions Champs have been, however, one of
the most prominent players in their respective domains and to
recognize more names, we have not repeated any winner in another
category.