The other movers
Bhubaneshwar's Information Technology Association of Orissa (ITAO) sadly moved down by a spot not because members were unhappy with its performance, but due to the inclusion of
newer associations that were ranked higher.

The Computer Association Nashik (CAN) entered the survey this year, but managed to come at #12. Its claim to fame in this survey was its annual IT exhibition that saw good vendor participa-tion. The association was also able to get over 50,000 visitors for the event with its mass advertisement campaigns.

Once an active association, the Ahmedabad Computer Manufacturers Association (ACMA) has been lying dormant for quite sometime which can explain why it fell by three ranks to #13, slipping a notch below its last year's position of #12.

Bangalore's Association for Information Technology was a fast mover in the survey moving up 12 points to rest at #13 from the previous year's #26. Contrary to what was reported in trade publications earlier, it appears that the association has managed to resolve internal member issues effectively.

Two other newcomers, the Yavatmal IT Association came in at #14 while the Association of Computer Entrepreneurs in Ludhiana followed it at #15. The latter's close neighbor, Amritsar IT Association came up next
at #16.

New Delhi-based Progressive Channel Association of IT (PCAIT) fell several rungs down to settle at #18. The association, which was every active till a year ago, suddenly stopped holding its meetings and was unable to have any spectacular initiatives for its members.

Pondicherry's Information Technology Trade Association (ITTA) too lost ground and came in at #19, five spots below its last year's positioning. It was followed by newcomer Ankleshwar Bharuch IT Association at #20.

Methodology
Operatives from IDC India got in touch with 34 associations in the country to find out how active they have been in the year gone by. In each association members of the executive council were asked basic questions about the body. These included details of the number of registered members since 2003 to gauge how many new partners have joined.

Responses were also solicited about the number of executive council members, if the association had any full time employees and the periodicity of holding elections.

To gauge the lobbying power of the body, the survey questionnaire sought to find out how many times the body had made representations to the government and the number of partners who were part of the delegation. Details were also collected about the nature and number of activities organized by the associations annually.

The operatives then got in touch with registered members of the association who were not part of its executive council to find out their satisfaction levels with the way the body was functioning.

The ranking was based on three parameters-analyst evalua­tion (50 percent weigh­tage), size of city (10 percent weightage) and member feed­back (40 percent weightage).

Some key findings
The survey threw up some very interesting facts. Almost all the top ranking associations held the successful expositions. TAIT's Com IT was the most successful on the basis of the amount of business generated, which was Rs 35 lakh, while Compass's event saw over four lakh visitors participating in Kolkata event. This proves that members wants their local bodies to have more expositions as its increases their chances of doing more business on a unified platform with minimal expenses.

All new entrants to the survey got very good ratings from their members. One could consider this an initial euphoria related to having a common body that will address their problems. But if these asso­ciations want to continue holding onto their ranks they will have to be more proactive in organizing seminars and workshops for their members.

Members also gave their thumbs up for associations that lobbied with government bodies and vendors to make the trade smoother. Here is another lesson that the executive council of associations can learn. If you want to be popular, be active.

DQC News Bureau

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