Interview

Mumbai's premier IT association TAIT is all set to hold its first IT
exhibition. Umang Mehta, Spokesperson, Traders Association of Information
Technology (TAIT) spoke to Vinay Dalvi of The DQ Week about setting standards in
the industry and his vision for Com-IT

Q) Why was there a need for an IT exhibition in Mumbai?

TAIT wanted to have an IT exhibition in Mumbai on international standards. The
dream is to build something on the lines of Computex, the computer show that is
held in Taiwan every year. Another reason for holding an exhibition in Mumbai is
to give a chance to all our members, other partners and vendors to showcase
their products and solutions.

Q) What are international standards and how do you plan to differ from other
exhibitions that are held in the country?

MNC vendors would be allotted pavilions, were they can showcase their products
exclusively. Apart from this, we would be inviting people from all over India.
We have sent invitations to CIOs, CTOs and IT managers and also various partners
across India. We would also be organizing a conference called 'Synergies', where
veteran of IT industry will educate partners about the trends in the sector.
They will also talk about new technologies and innovations that are happening
the world over in this sector. People like Sivakumar from Intel, R Swaminathan
from HP, R Khurana from Seagate, M Jain from Logitech, J Kapur from Samiksha
Marketing and A Gaur from Ingram are expected to visit the exhibition. They will
share their knowledge on the current and future trends in the industry.

Q) What are your expectations from Com-IT?

We want to create a platform for our partners and vendors across the country and
globe to showcase their products. We want participants to get full returns on
investments (RoI). Showcasing their products would help them get more buyers,
with increased demand for their brands via this exhibition. We want it to be a
grand event. We almost have 105 confirmations till now and hope this exhibition
will be a successful event that will generate sales leads for our partners and
vendors.

Q) Who all are you contacting for this event?

We have already sent invitations to CIOs, CTOs and IT managers. Apart from them,
partners across the country have also been invited. We are also approaching
engineering colleges in Mumbai and nearby places to visit and participate in
this exhibition.

Q) How do you plan to promote this exhibition?

We have appointed a marketing team and will use all possible communication
methods to promote the exhibition throughout the country. We also plant to
release advertisements in newspapers. We will also target our IT customers with
the help of specialized publications like The DQ Week and DQ Channels. We have
already placed hoardings at various places in Mumbai and would also be sending
e-mails to partners and vendors.

Q) How will TAIT members benefit from this exhibition?

TAIT members will get stalls at discounted rates. This will indeed help them
save money. Apart from that, members would be allocated prime locations.