Siliguri to benefit from formation of ITDAS and NBIF

Kolkata



May 14th 2007

The IT community in Siliguri seems to be waking up to the benefits of being

associated with a local body. Now, there are two local bodies that are willing

to address the woes of IT channel. While IT Dealers Association of Siliguri (ITDAS)

was formed about five months back, recently a second IT body called North Bengal

IT Forum (NBIF) took shape.

In order to co-exist harmoniously both ITDAS and NBIF have decided that they

must stick to their individual objectives and function according to their

declared plans. Speaking about the newly formed forum, Gitesh Tibrewal,

President, ITDAS said, "After a discussion with members of NBIF it has

become clear that the two bodies have different purposes and action plans."

Elaborating further on the issue he said, "ITDAS is a pure IT

association that has been formed to deal with the various problems of IT dealers

and resellers in our region. NBIF on the other hand, is open to anyone who is

related to or interested in IT. The objective is to bring users on the same

platform as the reseller and vendor community, and solve reoccurring issues or

address those which might spring up in future."

According to Tibrewal, the two groups working side-by-side would not only

help in resolving any issues affecting the IT industry that might crop up but

would also help in growing the market. Supporting Tibrewal's opinion, Gagan

Joshi, a member of NBIF said, "NBIF has been conceived with a totally

different objective. It is an open forum that is a result of unified team effort

and not an individualistic effort. Our plan of action is absolutely different

from that of ITDAS, so is our method of implementation and action."

Unlike ITDAS or other existing IT associations in the country NBIF recognizes

all its members as equals. "Though we have elected our board members we are

not identifying any particular person or group of persons with any designation

or authority. We do not have any hierarchy and NBIF is an open. We are trying to

bring end-customers closer to the dealers and vendor community and then

resolving their issues related to service and warranty" explained Joshi.

Interestingly companies like, Technocrat, Computerland, International

Powertronics, Micro Infosystems are members of both the bodies. "I feel

that the two bodies have their own set of objectives which are very different

from each other. The local market will benefit since any issues or problems,

which might come up will be dealt with from different angles by these two

bodies," said Amitabha Bose, Director, International Powertronics.

Asim Khan of Technocrat also felt the same way. "We are members of both

ITDAS and NBIF. Local players need to follow market trends. We have understood

that the two bodies have different objectives with a common goal to develop IT

in the region. We believe that if the two work in harmony it will be

advantageous for the local market," he said.