PCQuest SMB Forum--July 2011

Continuing its flagship event for SMEs, PCQuest, alongwith its partners, APC, HP and Check Point, travelled to Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Jaipur and Lucknow during July 2011. The team PCQuest focused on the IT essentials that SMEs need to deploy to make their businesses more efficient and productive. APC speaker discussed the various power conditioning options before SMEs and the tech that drives those products. HP was represented by two divisions-Storage and Personal Systems Group. The Storage division talked about the data growth within organizations and the ways to manage it, while the PSG division talked about the latest notebook and desktop products and the tech behind those products. Another partner, Check Point, dwelled on the security solutions for the IT network. In addition, the Labs team from PCQuest demonstrated an online CRM solution for SMEs.

Panel Discussions@PCQuest SMB Forum



Ahmedabad



The Ahmedabad panel provided guidance on selecting the 'economically' right IT solutions for SMEs, from amongst the myriad options available. Panelists from L to R: Adeesh Sharma, Operations Editor, PCQuest; Sunil Kakkad, VP, GESIA; Maulik Bhansali, EC & Chapter President-Vadodara, GESIA; Jayesh Tank, GM-IT, Harsha Engineers.

Chandigarh

Discussions in Chandigarh revolved around the feasibility of using open source by SMEs, and factors to consider while buying a UPS. Panelists from L to R: Raman Sharma, APC, Anil Seth, Open Source consultant, Shikhar Gupta and Anil Chopra from PCQuest.

Coimbatore

The Coimbatore panelists shared their experiences on the best practices to follow before deploying ERP. Panelists from L to R: Rahul Sah, PCQuest (not in picture); OA Balasubramanium, Sr. VP-IT, Roots Industries; S Gopalakrishnan, Practice Director, ATNA Technologies India; Hitender Grover, National Program Manager-SMB, APC; WS Satchidanadam, CEO, Servall Engg. Works; and N Raveendran, General Manager-Enterprise-wide Solutions, Sakthi Finance Ltd.

Jaipur

Using the cloud to run your business apps is fine, so long as you don't put your sensitive financial data on it. This was one topic that was discussed and debated by the panelists (from L to R): Anil Chopra, Editor, PCQuest (not in picture); Dr. Ajay Data, CEO Data Infosys; Mahavir Pratap Sharma, CEO Oscar Exports; Dr. D.P. Sharma, Professor (IT) and Observer UNDP; and Hitender Grover, APC.

Lucknow

Vijay Singh, VP-IT, Chandan Healthcare talks about the system of health cards practised by their organization during the panel discussion on 'Tuning IT to meet business demands'. Other panelists from L to R: Gurjot S. Sachdeva, Senior Tech Analyst, PCQuest; S.B. Verma, CTO, Quaere e-Technologies; and Hitender Grover, Program Manager-SMB, APC.

Kolkata

The panel discussion in Kolkata witnessed interesting deliberations on the benefits of using Open Source Software vis-a-vis commercial software, apart from enlisting the key solutions for SMEs. Panelists from L to R: Arun Agrawal, Chairman, Ebzindia Consulting; Arijit Bhattacharya, CEO, Virtual Infocom; Arindam Sen, Tech Admin, Societe Maison de Cuir; S K Rudra, Manager-IT, Usha Martin Group; Sanjiv Kumar, Group CIO, Adhunik Group; and Adeesh Sharma, Operations Editor, PCQuest.

Knowledge Partners

Gujarat Electronics and Software Industries Association

As a state level body, GESIA provides a healthy platform for discussing the challenges faced by IT and associated industries in Gujarat as well as networking amongst its members, professionals and Government officials. Over the years, GESIA has formed various partnerships with National Level Industry Associations such as MAIT, NASSCOM, etc. to work with them as their partner in Gujarat.

The Indus Entrepreneurs , Rajasthan Chapter

TiE focuses on generating gen-next entrepreneurs through mentoring, networking, and education. Spanning 14 countries across the globe, TiE has 13,000 members and 2500 charter members in 57 chapters. TiE Jaipur, one of the sub-chapters of TiE Rajasthan, came into existence in 2002 and has transformed the phase of entrepreneurship and its relevance across all the sectors in the city.