120 Not Out

It is always a great feeling for any batsman to score a century in test
matches. He feels on top of the world and gets a different kind of thrill. But
then there are two kinds of batsmen–one who throws his wicket away after
reaching this important milestone, and there are others who take a fresh guard,
determined to go on to a double ton or a triple ton and if you are Brian Lara,
you go on to 400.That’s exactly what Channels India is striving to do. Last
year in August we reached a very

important milestone, completing our first century. But then we treated
it as the beginning of the second part of the milestone–completing five years
of our existence. In the process, Channels India is now 120 issues old and is
going stronger than ever.

These five years have been really momentous not only for us but also for the
Indian channel community. When Channels India started in June 1999, there were
just a handful of channel publications. In fact, the most influential and
significant channel publication at that time was–and still is–The DQ Week,
which is our sister publication.

But despite all odds, Channels India has been able to make its own space and
mind share amongst the channel community. In fact, it won’t be an exaggeration
to say that today we are considered to be one of the most authoritative and
influential publication as far as the channel community is considered.

At Channels India, we have always strived to articulate the problems faced by
the channel community. At the same time, we have also played the role of a
catalyst in bringing together this vibrant community in sync with the
distributors as well as manufacturers.

The most important initiative, which we took last year, was to bring together
the entire channel community of the country under one platform. Channels India
is very proud to have played the catalyst role in the formation of NACIT
(National Association of Channels of Information Technology). This is the first
time the entire channel community converged together and resolved to work for
the betterment of their brethren.

Last year saw another important change–Channels India reoriented itself to
give the due focus to the vast community of solution providers of the country.
We are striving to bring in content relevant and of use to the system
integrators, value-added resellers etc. And in the coming months, this focus
will become more pronounced and visible.

But whatever happens, one thing is for certain–Channels India will not gift
its wicket away. We are certainly not content with a mere century. We want to go
on and on like Brian Lara and occupy the crease for a long-long time. In the
process, we will make sure that this game brings a lot of joy to our valuable
readers.

Asim Raina