One of the frequently asked questions that we get from our readers in the
solution provider community is “What can we do to continue to grow in terms of
revenue, margins, and customer relations?” And the best answer that I can offer
them is to narrate the growth and expansion story of CyberMedia, publishers of
DQ Channels.
When this company started 25 years ago, very few people had heard of
computers. Nobody had heard of a mobile phone, and the waiting time to get a
landline phone connection was around 10 years in many places. It needed a person
who could see beyond the present to envisage a magazine for IT and
communications in 1982. When we launched Dataquest, it covered everything about
information technology.
As the years went by and the Indian market matured, CyberMedia realized that
there were niches emerging-some readers were interested in hardware, some in
software. Some readers wanted to know about business issues of the IT industry,
and some wanted to read about implementation challenges in large organizations.
That is when CyberMedia started launching new magazines-PCQuest for technology
readers, Voice&Data for telecom industry, The DQ Week for IT channel partners,
DQ Channels for IT solution providers. For instance, Voice&Data ConnecT is the
only trade publication in the country for telecom channels.
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ibrahim ahmad ibrahima@cybermedia.co.in |
In our journey, we discovered that while the readers were thrilled, but like
any other customer, they wanted more. For instance, many of them said they
wanted information not just through magazines, but also from conferences and
seminars. CyberMedia once again adapted to the market needs. Today, we hold over
100 events with the objective of getting vendors and users on a common platform
to share ideas and experiences. The SP Summit, brings India's leading solution
providers face to face with vendors for networking.
25 years and still young and growing. I am sure all IT channel partners would
want to be young and growing in the years ahead. The mantra lies in futuristic
vision to be able to identify new and potential areas, and the capability to
adapt to customer needs. This formula has proved successful for CyberMedia.
There is no reason it would not work wonders for channel partners too.