Power and importance – are these interchange able qualities? Apparently yes. As I learnt when we were compiling the list of the 10 Most Powerful People in the Indian channel community.

Power, according to some textbook definitions, is a measure of a person's ability to control the environment around them, including the behaviour of other people. Importance is a quality or condition of being worthy of note. And it is surprising how people use the two as synonyms.

When we started our exercise for ranking the country's most powerful people and were engaging with vendors and distributors all over the country for the same, most people instinctively nominated people who had huge turnovers. It was only when we asked them to nominate people, rather than companies, who epitomise power in the channel that some not so run-of-the-mill names started popping up.

So, we still have Ranjan Chopra of Team Computers heading the list, who everyone acknowledges is the most important person in the solutions space, because of his sheer understanding of the business and his ability to execute out-of-the-box ideas. But there is also Anil Mhaske of Datacare Corporation, who has become the face of Pune, with his company being the only one from a non-metro city to make it to the 'top 15' slot of the DQ Channels Silver Club ranking.

Or take the reculsive Sunil Dalal of Softcell Technologies that very few people know of but who is one of the biggest Microsoft sellers in the country. Similarly, we have RS Shanbhag of Valuepoint Systems who shies from the limelight, but whose company is noted of having an enviable financial track record.

Of course these companies have an impressive topline, but that is not the sole reason they are part of the list of the Most Powerful Channel Partners. They are there because they have tried to buck the trend and do things before their peers, but with a lot of planning and an eye for the detail when it came to execution of those plans. So, while these people are worthy of note making them important, what makes them powerful is that they do possess the ability to control the environment around them and influence others. And that is why they are here.

I am sure as you read through their profiles you too will be influenced by them. And I would like to see your opinions about it as well.

The panelists: Debabrata Dey, Branch Manager, Redington India, Sanjay Das, Branch Manager, Supertron India, Rajesh Agarwal, Branch Manager, Rashi Peripherals

Vinita Bhatia
vinitavs@cybermedia.co.in

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