PCAIT and Cyber Media Organized a CIO-Partner event in New Delhi - A report

Recently Delhi witnessed a mega CIO-Partner event. PCAIT and Cyber Media came together to organize for one of a kind event where Channel partners, CIOs, CTOs, and OEMs, all gathered under one roof. It was hosted at Eros Hotel, Nehru Place, New Delhi where 25 exhibitors showcased their stalls.

The event started with an opening keynote from Saket Kapur, Gen. Secretary, PCAIT. " PCAIT is a 19 years old channel partner and system integrators association. It is a first-of-a-kind event where Top CIOs and Top IT channel partners have come up face-to-face and we are the hosts. We invited more than 500 CIOs, out of which 325 responded, and 125 CIOs were chosen. I would like to congratulate all of them who are here with us." he stated.

He added that CIO's feedback for all the exhibitor's stalls would help them a lot and they are looking forward to hosting many such events in the coming future.

Thomas George, President, of Cyber Media, enlightened the audience with his insights on how in the last decade India has grown, with achievements like Mangalyan, our bright history, and more. Transformation of India on many forefronts was one of his focussed key points. "Today India is bolstered as a young nation. We are at a growing stage where tier 3 cities and towns are also participating," he stated.

He talked about the 7 stages of the Industrial Revolution starting from 1780 to the future of 2047. "Four technologies that are building our future include Information technology, Operational technology, communication, and biotechnology. Partners are needed to align themselves with currently evolving new technological developments."

Panel Discussions on Expectations of Channel Partners

A panel of experts from the industry gathered on the stage for the first discussion. Alok Gupta, President, PCAIT, Devendra Taneja, CEO, of PC Solutions, Gurpreet Singh, Founder and MD, Arrow PC, Rajeev Kumar CEO, of Proactive Data Systems, and Kavita Singhal, Director, Kamtron Systems were the panelists. With the moderator Vijay Sethi, Renowned Mentor, Evangelist, and Board Member.

The first question discussed, What Channel partners expect from CIOs, and how they can help to improve the services.

Starting with Rajeev Kumar, CEO of Proactive Data Systems, " We are working as a service integrator for the last 30 years. We want CIOs to value our services. Our team provides the service element to their products. We provide training and enablement to the staff for delivering the best customer experience."

Devendra Taneja, CEO, of PC Solutions, stated, " There are OEM-centric and Non-OEM-centric projects, we decide what is to be done according to the requirements of each project. Furthermore, Partners are the news beare for all the difficulties that arise in a project. Likewise, CIOs should trust their partners and avoid any verbal information they should look out for factual data."

Kavita Singhal, Director, Kamtron Systems, added, " CIOs requirements should be crystal clear. They should build a strong relationship with the channel partners. As we act as a bridge for them."

Gurpreet Singh, MD, Arrow PC Network, shared his thoughts, "The most important thing is to stop giving all the weightage to OEMs and products. CIOs should focus on the service part as well. Channel partners understand the requirement. Moreover, CIOs should not keep all the partners in the same boat."

Furthermore, Alok Gupta, MD, Unistal Systems and President PCAIT, shared his views, " Partners invest their time to the projects. But after some time OEMs and CIOs deal directly and offer partners a mere 1% commission. CIOs should value the IT channel partners who are a part of the industry with years of expertise."

The panel discussed extensively and collectively all the significant issues they face in the industry as a channel partner. In addition, they discussed the role of CIOs and what they expect from them.

After the first panel discussion concluded a token of appreciation was given to all the panelists and moderator by technology evangelist, Sujoy Brahmachari.

The next panel Discussion was on the perspective of CIOs and their expectations

The second panel discussion comprised top CIOs. Vinod Bhat, CIO, Vistara, Vinay Kumar, CIO, McDonald's, Sanjeev Kumar Jain, CIO, Krishna Maruti Group, Piyush, GD Pandey, CIO, Poly Medicure, Head of IT Muthoot Finance and Sujoy Brahmachari, Corporate Head, CIO, CSO. Along with the moderator, Supriya Rai, Associate Editor, Data Quest.

The topic of discussion was how the CIO channel connects harnessing synergies to bridge the gap. Supriya Rai, Moderator of the discussion and Associate Editor, of Data Quest, started the conversation," According to a survey, 86% of executives believe that channel ecosystem is a critical success factor. Another 56% believe that the lack of an ecosystem in a company is a serious disadvantage. Consequently, harnessing synergies is extremely important in an ecosystem, and CIOs play a critical role in the ecosystem. I would request our panelists to throw some light on this."

Vinod Bhat, CIO, of Vistara, stated, "There are tremendous changes and technological advancements in the last few years. Therefore, with these changes, we require different solutions. Channel partners should provide relevant solutions. Sometimes as compared to the veterans with 30-40 years of experience, the fresh mushroomed start-ups offer us a well-rounded solution that we have not received before."

Vinay Kumar, CIO, of McDonald's, added, " We consider our partners as an extended team. We have a vast range of business. Consequently, we can't manage such a wide network on our own. We have a dependency on our partners. With time partners should infuse a fresh perspective as dynamics change."

Supriya Rai, the Moderator, asked the panelists," What are some of the key factors while forging the partnerships in channel ecosystems?"

Sanjeev Jain, answered," Each partner has its specific skill set. Channel partners should be very clear about the requirements. No company wants to hold the money of a partner until they deliver the results."

Furthermore, Piyush Shrivastava, Head of IT, Muthoot Group added, "Each industry has their different requirements. NBFCs have a closed kind of work culture. However, We want our partners to help us understand and adopt the latest technology. Partners should tell us beforehand about the new industry standards."

GD Pandey, CIO, of Poly Medicure, shared," I have been a part of manufacturing in different verticles. Our needs are changing with time. We should have a complete solution in which partners can assist. Clear conversation is the key."

Sujoy Brahmachari, shared his views, "Most important expectation from the channel partners is quality of service. Partners should invest in their resources. They should be transparent while deciding on project partners."

To sum up, The discussion went on where the CIOs shared their thoughts on elevating the partnerships. ROIs, technical aspects, and bridging the gaps are some of the key points of the whole discussion.

PCAIT's Mission and values

After the discussion CIOs were given a token of appreciation from the key members of the PCAIT. Saket Kapur, Gen Secretary, and Alok Gupta, President, of PCAIT came over to the stage. They talked about the strong belief in 'Judo, Jodo, Aage Badho'. Saket Kapur shared how PCAIT always believed in quality over quantity. All the members of the association are chosen by invitation only. They further added about the members who have grown from channel partners to OEMs.

Alok Gupta, President, PCAIT shared in detail about the association's Mission and vision. They invited Kamal Gulati on stage as he unveiled his latest book Mr. Backup 2.0. Subsequently, He shared his views that IT backup is the backbone of the industry.

Sewak Nautiyal, Spark Technologies came up with a closing note. He thanked the community, Alok Gupta, President, Saket Kapur, Gen. Secretary, all the PCAIT members, exhibitors, OEMs, and CIOs to make the event successful. In addition, He did a special mention to Supriya Rai, Ankit Parashar, and Harminder Singh from Cyber Media.

An Evening filled with entertainment and Prizes

The evening was filled with colors and fervor with special exotic dance performances. Guests were seen having a gala time while enjoying the cocktails and dinner.

There was prize distribution for the early birds. Lucky winners got Armani watches. Subsequently, there was another lucky draw for CIOs where 3 lucky winners got iPhones. The evening went on and ended beautifully with a soulful performance of Pransenjit Mukherjee, he sang some old melodies which swooned the audience.

To sum up, the event was a huge success. Where channel partners, OEMs, and CIOs jointly discussed their issues and encountered solutions. All this happened with a dash of entertainment.