Comtech Systems Making It Big In Small Goa

The beautiful coastal state of Goa is home to a hand ful systems integrators
catering to a PC market that is just about 9,000 PCs annually. And in this small
community shines Shrivallabh Sardesai of Comtech Systems, who has over two
decades of experience in the IT industry.

The beginning of his IT career dates back to 1983 when he passed out of Pune
Engineering College with a BE in Electronics and Telecommunication, and joined
Mumbai-based PC manufacturer MiniComp. From the very beginning, Shrivallabh had
a clear goal set in his mind to return back to his hometown with all the
expertise he can achieve and start on his own.

MOVING TO GOA

The road to success was not easy. After working for a couple of years at
MiniComp, Shrivallabh went to the Gulf to work with Alfa Data - a dealer for IBM
- as support engineer. A few years later, a new opportunity came knocking on his
door in the form of a job at Zenith's factory in Goa. This brought him a step
closer to his goal. The feeling of getting back home was luring enough for
Shrivallabh to take up the new responsibility as Production Manager.

By 1994, Shrivallabh was ready to start Comtech System with an initial
investment of about Rs 2.5 lakh. Operating from a rented place, the objective of
his business was to provide high quality, world class and cost effective
computers to his customers, which he did. Sheer determination and hard work
helped him achieve significant growth every year. The company closed its books
with a turnover of Rs 1.6 crore in the year 2003-04. "Considering the size
of the Goa market, I think we have done reasonably well. Our growth has been
consistent, but still there is always scope for better," feels Shrivallabh.

WHAT'S IN COMTECH'S KITTY

Shrivallabh has all the reasons to be proud of his achievements. Today, the
company has an installed base of over 3,000 computers, which includes servers,
laptops and desktops. Some of his achievements also include bagging big orders
in Government departments like National Institute of Oceanography, corporates,
educational institutes, South Goa Collector's office and MP Local Areas
Development. Apart from these, Comtech also is a supplier to the SOHO segment,
as well as the banking sector. Because of the commendable work and consistent
performance of Comtech, it has owned a coveted place on the credit list of
various esteemed organizations of the likes of Tech Pacific, Ingram Micro,
Redington India, Neoteric Informatique, Rashi Peripherals, SES Technologies Ltd
and Compuage Infocom.

Currently, Comtech is a dealer for most IT products' companies such as HCL,
HP, Intel, D-Link, Samsung, Canon, APC, Logitech and ASUS. While he is happy
with all the products that he deals in, his only grouse is the poor support that
is being offered by all these vendors. "There are service centers in Goa,
but all of them act like a courier company. Nobody actually does the repair and
maintenance here and hence the turnaround time to get anything fixed is very
long for most vendors," says Shrivallabh.

CONSTRAINTS BEING FACED

According to Shrivallabh, Goa is a small market and very few people are in
this business. "We make good margins compared to all those made in the
metros," says he. About 20% of Comtech's business comes from corporates
and 10% from the Government segment, the rest is shared between resellers and
the home segment. Goa being a small state, for Comtech, business has mostly come
through word-of-mouth publicity, and manages to sell around 35 to 40 PCs every
month. It also concentrates a lot on services. It currently has about 200 PCs on
AMC. "We always stressed on support and make it a point to address any
problem within 24 hours," says Shrivallabh. With just eight people as its
total staff strength, it is a tough job to keep no call pending for more than 24
hours.

The company's future plans include expanding the business in terms of
volumes. It is also considering options in the retail business. For this,
Comptech is on the lookout for a strategic location suitable for retail
business. Not that the present location is bad, Comptech is situated in the
heart of Panaji city.

NELSON JOHNY (in Mumbai)