Rajesh Kothari,
Chairman, ISODA

Please share the details of the Governing Body and election procedure at ISODA?

Infotech Software Dealers' Association - known in short as ISODA - was formed in August 2008. It was formally registered as an Association in October 2008. It has Chairman, Vice-Chairman, President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, four Regional Secretaries and two members from each region in the Managing Committee. There are certain invited members also.

Currently, there are little over 100 members hailing from all over India. Since ours is a newly formed association, the present Managing Committee consists of the founder members. Our first election will happen in October 2011. We have already announced the same during our last AGM that was held in Mumbai last year. We have a provision for election of one third of Managing Committee every year. 

Is it difficult to bring people from different geographies to one platform because of different policies and business environment?

Not at all. In fact, nowadays hardly any differences exist because most states have adopted similar VAT laws and rate of tax, and Service tax is common all over India. As per the business environment for software products, there is not much difference. In fact, we have found that due to advances in information and communication technologies, geographical distances have almost disappeared, particularly because nowadays most of the software is supplied electronically. Due to advances in communication technology, bringing together people has been easier than before. For example, we use group-mails for email communications, forums at ISODA website for collaboration, conference calls for telephonic discussions. If need be, we can come together over video conferences. So, geographical distances do not matter much. In fact, issues faced by channel partners are more or less similar. Thus, we have a strong reason to get together.

Do you think the issues faced by channel selling softwares are different from those involved in hardware?

We engage in dialog with principals on a regular basis and if any issue is facing the members at large, we do take them up with principals at the appropriate level and seek resolution. In the short duration of our existence, we have faced some issues between Channel and Vendors which are general in nature, affecting most of the members. But we have seen more of channel-channel issues mainly related to distributor's policies.

Most of the volumes (in terms of money) do not happen by way of stocking but by way of back-to-back orders. Also, complicated licensing and taxation are proving to be a big deterrent. Unfortunately, most of the channel partners dealing in hardware business who also get involved in selling software understand this the hard way. In fact, it is due to these differences, certain key players in the IT ecosystem are not able to plan and offer us proper environment for our growth.

What kind of support ISODA gets from the IT principals?

They extend support by sponsoring events organized by ISODA. Also, certain principals like Microsoft have helped us by providing us a platform to discuss our issues with the government officials. 

Do you organize any social get-togethers for your members and their families?

For the last so many years, members of our Association have been meeting one another during the events organized by the principals. But, in the Tech Fest 2011, our members will play host and will be interacting with some of the principals, who have sponsored our event. We allow spouses of the members to join us during the event. We have chalked out a separate programme for spouses. We are sure this initiative would encourage us to come together socially. We are planning to have this as an annual event.

What is your target for the coming 2011?

We have several issues on our agenda. The main among them is to Transform, Organize and Profit - TOP in short. We are organizing a 3-day conference in Bangkok this month. More than 70 members have confirmed their participation.

When we say Transform - we want to capture and analyze our present business model in general and look at aspects such as where do we see ourselves in future, what is our general business practice and are we satisfied with what we have achieved?  We want to relook at important characteristics of our business and Transform them for the better.

How to Organize - Most of us think that we are in control of our business.  We wish to deliberate on the possible initiatives and best business practices which will allow us to take charge of our businesses and help us achieve our goals.

How do we achieve Profits - With ever-changing business models - striving to remain profitable has been a challenge for all members. ISODA will identify ways and means to remain agile, flexible and knowledgeable to remain in the forefront of business while remaining profitable.

Do you have any expectations from the Government in terms of some favourable announcements for the software industry?

For over two-an-a-half years, we have been demanding that the Government should simplify taxation for the packaged software industry, keeping in view its unique business model.

Currently, we are facing difficulties due to complex paperwork, increase in the prices due to dual taxation, i.e., Service Tax plus VAT. TDS is deducted from our payments at 10% by customers while our profit margin is less than 5%, and Withholding Tax is charged by the Government at the time of import at 10 to 20%, which many of the overseas suppliers are not agreeable for deduction. If all these problems are resolved, we will be able to increase our business manifold in future. 

For more contact:
beenish@varindia.com